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Bruins sign Jimmy Hayes to 3-year deal, extend Brett Connolly

Bruins sign Jimmy Hayes to 3-year deal, extend Brett Connolly

The Summer of Sweeney continues!

The Boston Bruins announced a trio of signings on Monday, and they all fall in the “yippee, GM Don Sweeney!” category rather than the “Dougie Hamilton debacle” category.

From the Bruins:

Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, July 6, that the club has signed forward Jimmy Hayes to a three-year contract through the 2017-18 season worth a cap figure of $2,300,000, forward Brett Connolly to a one-year contract through the 2015-16 season worth a cap figure of $1,025,000 at the NHL level and forward Brandon DeFazio to a one-year, two-way contract through the 2015-16 season worth a cap figure of $575,000 at the NHL level.

Hayes is the type of “on the way up” goal-scorer that Sweeney said the Bruins were seeking this summer. He had 19 goals in 72 games for the Florida Panthers last season and is 25 years old. And of course, his acquisition was a cause for celebration in Dorchester pubs.

The $2.3 million over three years is good value on Hayes, who is going to be given every chance to break out offensively for the B's next season.

Connolly for one year at $1.025 is about right, too. Cam Neely loves him a bit more than a lot of people do, but he’s 23 years old, entering his fifth year in the NHL and shackled to the team as an RFA next season too. Take a year, see if he can be better than 12 goals in 55 games last season and then revaluate.

If you want to understand how much the Bruins have changed in the last year, give this a look from Nick Goss:

Lost in a lot of this: What does David Krejci do with a guy like Matt Beleskey on his wing?

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