Jeannot Believes His Style, Bruins Are Perfect Fit

BOSTON – Tanner Jeannot could see himself fitting like a glove.

The Bruins’ tradition of hard work, toughness, and grit has always appealed to him from afar as it lined up perfectly with his style of play.

So, when the Black & Gold expressed interest in his services on July 1, the 28-year-old jumped at the chance.

“Being the type of culture that I've tried to emulate in my own game, it obviously sparked some interest for me when they showed interest in me,” Jeannot said last week from his home in Kelowna, British Columbia, a day after inking a five-year contract with an annual cap hit of $3.4 million.

“Just as a place that I could go to, play my game and be the best version of the player that I can be, and really show my full potential – be the player I know I'm capable of being, and that was a big reason for choosing the Bruins.

“I can't be more excited to get things going and become a Bruin.”

Jeannot spent last season with the Los Angeles Kings, notching 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 67 games. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound forward was also one of 30 players to reach the 200-hit mark in 2024-25.

Since he became a full-time NHLer in 2021-22, Jeannot ranks sixth in the NHL with 1,030 hits behind Radko Guad (1,160), Garnet Hathaway (1,101), Luke Schenn (1,093), Keegan Kolesar (1,039), and Brady Tkachuk (1,034).

“I bring a really physical game, hard to play against. I try to make other guys know that I'm on the ice, and make them feel uncomfortable, and maybe that makes them get rid of pucks a little bit quicker, put their teammate in a tougher spot,” said Jeannot. “And that tends to create more turnovers and gets the puck into my team's hands a little bit more often. So that's the type of element that I can bring to a line.

“And then when we do have the puck, then I can be hard down low and make plays down low and things like that. And just try to put the puck in my team's hands and create chances that way.

“As far as creating space for my linemates, I think it's just from playing a really physical, hard-nosed game, throwing my body around and making sure guys are aware of my presence on the ice.”

The Estevan, Saskatchewan, native has shown he’s got some skill, too, having potted a career-high 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games during his rookie campaign with the Nashville Predators. In 2022-23, Jeannot was moved to Tampa at the trade deadline and finished with six goals and 18 points in 76 games between the two clubs.

Over the past two seasons, Jeannot has played just 55 and 67 games for Tampa and Los Angeles, respectively, as injuries have hampered him.

“He popped a few years ago, he’s had some injuries since then that have probably derailed a little bit in that regard,” said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. “I don’t know if he’s getting back to scoring [24] goals. I sure hope so. Deep down we believe he’ll bring a lot more energy to our group, physically is there. We run through a tough division. I just think everybody gets a little taller.

“I think if we fast forward with what we tried to do from a Draft perspective, an eye toward that as well, introducing those young players that we hope are infusing skill. I do believe that the complement that Tanner brings will help in that regard as we move forward in improving our organizational depth and talent.”

Sweeney added that Jeannot will also be able to supplement David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy from a leadership perspective.

“His leadership skills, how he prepares to play the game, I think that all just boils over into what we need to improve upon,” said Sweeney. “And also support David and Charlie who are stepping into leadership situations – they’ve been assistant captains – but there’s a lot that goes into being at the upper echelon level of leadership and what’s required of you along with being an elite player in the National Hockey League.

“Zdeno [Chara], [Patrice Bergeron], [Brad Marchand], those guys did it and they learned from it but now they’re on their own for the first time. I think bringing in those players that are capable of being outlets and relief in that sense plays big part in what team success is all about.”

Ultimately, as Jeannot pointed out, he is aiming to help bring the Bruins back to the level of success that became expected because of the culture built by that legendary core.

“It’s such a historic organization, it has such a great history, and now to get to be a part of that, it's obviously a really special thing,” said Jeannot. “Coming to this group, this team – it's been such a good team for so long. Last year, there's a few pretty key injuries and just some other things going on. Didn't go the way that they were hoping. But the group on this team is still so talented, so good.

“And bringing in some guys [on July 1], we're going to be a really hard team to play against. That's the type of team that if you can do that consistently for the entire year and into the playoffs, it's a really hard team to beat and just wears other teams down.

“We're going to be a team that teams aren't going to be wanting to go against and when they are going to see the Boston Bruins coming into town, they know it's going to be a fight. That's how it always has been, that's been the Bruins culture.

“I feel like me as a player, I've always tried to embody that type of culture. That’s what really excites me about coming there. I want to be a big part of that, big part of that culture, a big part of this team success."

Wait, There’s More

• Sweeney on the signing of forward Michael Eyssimont to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $1.45 million: “A lot of juice there, forechecking ability, can get down ice. Also chipped in his share of goals. We’re gonna have to probably give a little bit of trust building the penalty killing to a little bit more of a consistent level and that will be an area that we’re gonna tease out of Mikey…the juice, the competitiveness. Everybody you’ve talked to in terms of how Mikey shows up to practice every day, he’s a pain in the ass and I want him to be a pain in the ass for us.”
• Sweeney on the signings of forward Matej Blumel (one year, $875,000 AAV) and Alex Steeves (one year, $850,000 AAV): “They’ve done what they need to do at the AHL level in terms of scoring at a high, high level with consistency. There are a number of players around the league that have gone through this and when they’ve gotten their opportunity, they’ve taken advantage of it. The conversations we had with both Matej and Alex were, ‘If you’re gonna score at the National Hockey League level, we want you here not anywhere else.’ We provided that opportunity today and they’re excited about it. If they take the job of somebody that believes they’re an incumbent, that’s what happens in the National Hockey League when a guy gets passed. Internal competition, organizationally, we talked about getting back to having. We’re hoping that they’re going to take advantage of that opportunity.”
• Sweeney on the signing of defenseman Jordan Harris to a one-year deal worth $825,000: “Good skater, puck moving, plays both sides. You look at what the group needs for depth and how we’re gonna get pushed when guys aren’t necessarily playing or injuries come. Mike Callahan is a little different flavor, more on the PK and stiffness side of things, got his feet wet last year. [Victor] Soderstom is puck moving, has some power play. You look at the blend of guys who are going to compete for that spot and that depth…everybody knows you need insulation with defensemen as a group throughout the year. I think Jordan will push for playing time. Happy to bring him on board.”
• Sweeney on re-signing goalie Michael DiPietro to a two-year contract with an $812,500 AAV: “In Michael’s case, he had a tremendous year. He was AHL Goalie of the Year. Him still being young enough, there’s growth potential with Michael as well. Michael comes and pushes, maybe it makes our decision even harder for all of us. But that’s what we’re trying to make sure we’re driving. It should be uncomfortable. We missed by a wide margin [last season], we need to be better.”