While the rest of the league broke open its checkbooks in another surge of wild spending many will come to regret, the Bruins stayed largely quiet on the first day of free agency.
Boston made just three moves, including re-signing minor-leaguers Anton Khudobin and Trent Whitfield to two-year, two-way deals. The only move likely to impact the big club was a one-year deal to forward Benoit Pouliot, who comes over from enemy territory in Montreal for $1.1 million.
Pouliot is a classic case of unfulfilled potential, and the Bruins are making a modest investment in the hope that he can finally put his ample tools to use once surrounded by a winning atmosphere in Boston.
"[He's] maybe someone who's underachieved but has a real good skill package and size package and you know he has to be pushed," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a conference call Friday evening. "And I think we have a strong group that can push him and I told Benoit that. He's only, I think he's 25. He's still relatively young. So we hope that he could buy into what we're selling and again I said I like his size. I like his skating. I like his shot."
Pouliot actually doesn't turn 25 until September, but he is already moving on to his third NHL organization. He was originally drafted by Minnesota in 2005, with the Wild taking him with the fourth overall pick after Sidney Crosby, Bobby Ryan and Jack Johnson and one spot ahead of Carey Price.
Pouliot's NHL success has been more sporadic than the stars drafted around him. He's mustered just 37-35-72 totals in 183 career games, plus no goals and two assists in 22 postseason contests. He did fare better in Montreal after being dealt to the Canadiens for Guillaume Latendresse in 2009, posting a career-best 17-11-28 line in 53 games split between the two clubs that season and 13-17-30 totals in 79 games this past year.
But Pouliot also found himself in Montreal coach Jacques Martin's doghouse at times, seeing limited ice time and even being scratched for his inconsistent play and effort.
"My first year in Montreal, when I got there, I played on the second line the whole year and it went well," Pouliot said. "[This] year was a whole different story, by starting on the third line, fourth line, up and down like that. I did the job well on the third line. It's a little different but at the same time it's good for my game. It shows what I can do. I can maybe be a top two-line guy or maybe play on the third line, do the same thing there. So I learned a lot from it, playing a little bit everywhere this year, and it helped with my game."
Pouliot feels he can be a more consistent performer and earn more ice time to put up better numbers.
"I can do more," Pouliot said. "Obviously, this year was a tough year, not saying that I didn't really get the chance that I should have, but sometimes, you know, you want to be on the top two lines, you want to be [on the] power play, especially when you're playing well. And at times, I was playing well and sometimes it's the coach's decision and you can't really do anything about it, you just have to keep playing. It's just a thing about being consistent every night, being good, playing good, in practice and in games."
The Bruins will be looking for Pouliot to replace some of the offense lost with the retirement of Mark Recchi and departure of Michael Ryder, who signed with Dallas on Friday. But the Bruins won't simply hand him one of those open spots up front, not with youngsters like Jordan Caron hungry to earn full-time duty in the NHL and Tyler Seguin expected to take on a bigger role in his second season.
"Listen, he's been a healthy scratch in Montreal," Chiarelli said of Pouliot. "He's certainly has shown flashes. He's got to earn a spot, as will everyone else. So you know, he's anxious to come here and to prove himself. We think he's got a pretty good package that we can work with."
Working with Pouliot could prove a challenge for some of his new teammates. He'll bring some baggage to the Boston locker room from his role in the heated rivalry between the Bruins and Habs. Pouliot is the player who decked David Krejci with one punch in one of the many fights between the clubs in a night of brawling at the Garden on Feb. 9.
Milan Lucic tried to get revenge the following meeting in Montreal in March, but the 6-foot-3, 199-pound Pouliot refused to drop the gloves against that level of competition. Andrew Ference gave him no choice in the playoffs, though, forcing the issue in Game 3 of the opening round after Pouliot delivered a dirty elbow up high on Johnny Boychuk. Pouliot did not play again in the series, as he was scratched for the final four games.
Despite that history, Pouliot is not concerned about the reception he'll get from his new teammates.
"[I'm] not too worried, actually," Pouliot said. "You know what, it's part of the game. It's part of the business. It's what you have to do. Now I'm on the Boston Bruins and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it and try to help the team out as much as I can, and this is my team now. So I'm not looking to the past, I'm looking in the present, and what's going to happen later on, when the camp starts. So I'm not too [worried]. Yeah we play Montreal often, which is going to be fun, I'm not going to lie. I'll love it, but I'm a Bruin now and that's what it is."
Chiarelli agreed. "It's a different dynamic when they come over and are in your locker room," the Bruins GM said. "So you know, the due diligence we did on Benoit is that he's well-liked. … I feel he'll fit in with our team."
