Last summer, it wasn't a big offseason for Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. There were some low-risk, high-reward signings, but there was one signing that caught a lot of people's eyes. It wasn't who it was, but it was more how much money the Bruins and Sweeney spent.
Boston signed forward Tanner Jeannot to a five-year contract for $17 million with an AAV of $3.4 million. That quickly became one of the worst contracts in the NHL, and despite the salary cap going up, it looked like it could be a long-term bad investment. However, for one season, it worked out very well.
Tanner Jeannot's 2025-26 regular season
Playing in the bottom-six for first-year head coach Marco Sturm, Jeannot quickly became a fan favorite. Number-wise, he finished the season with six goals and 16 assists, which is one helper shy of his career-high 17 in 2021-22 with the Nashville Predators. In 77 regular-season games, he averaged 12:39 a game.
With a physical presence, Jeannot became one of the players that teams didn't want to mess with when playing the Bruins. For instance, when youngster Matthew Poitras was brought up, Jeannot was placed on his line to protect him, which led to him scoring a goal in the Stadium Series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. One question going forward is whether or not Jeannot can produce more offensively than he did this past season.
Tanner Jeannot's 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
In Boston's six-game first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, Jeannot logged 11:25 a game with a goal and nine shots on the net. It was surprising that he was able to land that many on the net, but it compounds just how underrated his offensive skill is and raises the question as to whether or not he could produce more down the line for the Black and Gold.
Tanner Jeannot's 2025-26 Grade: A-
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