Boston Bruins Finally Sign Forward Jay Pandolfo

February 7, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) is checked by New York Islanders left wing Jay Pandolfo (29) during the 3rd period of game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Islanders defeated the Flyers 1-0, winning the shootout, 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

He’s been with the Boston Bruins since their shortened training camp on a pro-tryout basis and it appears to have finally paid off.

38-year old, Jay Pandolfo, signed a one-year deal with a pro-rated value of $600,000 at the NHL level and $350,000 in the AHL according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Pandolfo still needs to clear waivers before he can join the Bruins.

Pandolfo is a local boy who was born in Winchester, MA and even attended Boston University for 4 seasons where he compiled 72 goals and 88 assists for a very respectable 160 points.

Although his offensive numbers were pretty good in college, it didn’t fully translate to the NHL where over his 14-year career he never scored more than 13 goals. Also, in those 14 NHL seasons, Pandolfo has scored a total of 100 goals and registered 126 assists.

He is known for being a very smart and defensive-minded forward who often drew comparisons to former Bruin, P.J. Axelsson, for his ability to kill penalties and take care of business in the defensive end.

I like the addition of Pandolfo and I doubt he sees much playing time. B’s head coach Claude Julien loves defensive forwards and players that are responsible in their own end, Pandolfo is just that. He’s also another veteran presence in the locker room and he knows what it takes to stay fresh to be ready if/when his time comes. Did I mention his contract is pretty cheap?

Now that the B’s have dealt Tim Thomas and shored up their already impressive penalty kill while adding a little depth upfront, maybe the time is now for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli and company to make a move for a forward who can get that anemic power play going. Just a thought.