Season Rewind: Tanner Jeannot Adds an Edge to Bruins Lineup

BOSTON –– Tanner Jeannot picked his spots wisely for the Boston Bruins this season.

The fiery forward threw punches when needed and led with his physicality and grit as a fourth-line staple alongside Mark Kastelic and Sean Kuraly. His tenacity on the forecheck and sacrifice on the penalty kill became valuable pieces to the grinding role Jeannot built for himself in his first season in the Black & Gold after signing a five-year deal with Boston in July.

Jeannot posted 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) through 77 regular-season games, marking the second-highest total of his career. The 29-year-old also scored in the playoffs. Jeannot’s one multi-point showing came against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 8 when he had two assists in the 4-1 win.

It was beyond the scoresheet, though, where Jeannot made his biggest impact. The 6-foot-2, 221-pound winger led the B’s with 239 hits. He dropped the gloves eight times, ranking second-most on the team in fights behind Kastelic, who had 10.​

One of Jeannot’s biggest bouts sparked the Bruins on March 29 in Columbus. Boston found itself trailing the Blue Jackets 2-0 early in the first period. Jeannot fought and steadily handled Erik Gudbranson (who is 6-foot-5, 222 pounds) at 17:35 of the first period. Kastelic followed suit at 17:41, taking on Mathieu Olivier.

While Charlie Coyle soon scored on the power play at 19:32 of the opening frame to make it 3-0, Jeannot had shifted the momentum for his group, providing new energy for the rest of the night. The Bruins went on to score three goals in the third period (one from Charlie McAvoy and two from Pavel Zacha) before Viktor Arvidsson snatched the extra point in the shootout – which proved to be critical in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

After the final buzzer, head coach Marco Sturm and all the B’s players immediately credited Jeannot and Kastelic for dragging the team into the battle en route to the comeback victory.

Jeannot also fought against the rival Montreal Canadiens twice this season – facing Arber Xhekaj on Nov. 15 and against Josh Anderson on Dec. 23. He took pride in making the Bruins hard to play against and adding sandpaper to the squad’s identity.

​Jeannot’s play made his teammates buy into the cause. Kastelic said it best: “It just makes me play bigger than I am and play more confident, having a guy like him on the wing.”