It was hoped that the Bruins would come to an agreement with Chris Bourque after dealing with the Washington Capitals for him last week, and that hope turned into reality when the Bruins announced a two-year deal with the minor league forward.
The 26-year-old Bourque nearly reached 100 points in an outstanding AHL season with the Hershey Bears last year, and will have two years to follow the footsteps of his Hall of Fame dad, Ray, and became a cog for the Bruins. The deal includes a two-way contract for the 2012-13 season that will pay Bourque 550,000 if he makes the Bruins out of training camp, and 200,000 if he spends the season with the Providence Bruins.
Then the contract becomes a one-way deal in 2013-14 and will pay him 550,00 with the expectation hell be playing in Boston.
Given his offensive abilities demonstrated in the minor leagues and his ability to play up-and-down the lineup, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said theres a legitimate chance that Bourque could make the Bs next season.
I told Chris that I think he has a good chance of making our team. I told him that hes just not there to go to Providence, said Chiarelli. If he goes to Providence then thats great, but giving him a one-way deal in the second year speaks to how we feel about Chris. Hes got a couple of areas to work on and I told him that.
Hes very keen and Im happy to have him in the organization. Obviously his dad was huge for our organization, but Chris has his real positive traits and parts of his game that well all be happy to see in a Bruins uniform.
As with many players attempting to make the jump from established AHL player to a card-carrying member of the NHL, versatility will be one of the keys for Bourque.
Boston Bruins
He does have the ability to shoot and find seams, but he also has a grit element to his game where he can play lower down in the lineup if he has to, said Chiarelli. I told himamong other thingsthat he needs another quarter-step to maintain it at this level, and hes a young guy so I think he will.
The Bruins are banking on the contract theyve handed to a very familiar-looking last name for the next two years.