The Bruins are set to kick off their 2022-23 season tomorrow night against the Washington Capitals. Today they finalized their roster as they get ready to make a run at the Stanley Cup. This training camp, the Bruins had one player invited to camp on a Professional Tryout. Defenseman Anton Stralman was brought in to provide depth as the Bruins will be without Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk.
Stralman proved during camp he was worthy of a one-year deal and, even at 36 years old, can still be a contributor on the blue line. Stralman had a strong camp and proved to gel with the rest of the team, and with such a young defensive core, his veteran presence is welcoming.
The Bruins had to wait and become cap compliant before extending Stralman the one-year contract. They put Mike Reilly, Nick Foligno, and Chris Wagner on waivers and followed those moves up by placing Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy on LTIR. This provided them the space to create the contract and also recall Reilly and Foligno to the NHL club.
Stralman traveled with the team to Washington and was at practice prior to the deal being announced, indicating this was always the plan.
In his career, Stralman has recorded 63 goals and tallied 230 assists for 293 points across 930 games. He also has a career plus-49 and 285 PIM. His ability to generate plays will be welcomed in head coach Jim Montgomery’s new system, where he has put a focus on his defensemen being more involved offensively.
