During the final rounds of the NHL Entry Draft, the Bruins traded the negotiating rights to pending RFA forward Benoit Pouliot to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for UFA forward Michel Ouellet and the 131st overall pick, which was used to select forward Seth Griffith from the London Knights of the OHL.
While Pouliot most likely will never live up to the potential and the expectations he had when selected 4th overall in the 2005 draft by Minnesota, the young forward seemed to find himself in a sense during his stop in Boston. Despite his wild inconsistency, Pouliot managed to put up 32 points (16 G, 16 A) and play with a lot of heart this season. Pouliot was also one of the few Bruins to show up to play against Washington in the playoffs along with forwards Rich Peverley, Chris Kelly, Patrice Bergeron, and Tyler Seguin.
Pouliot will be remembered by Bruins fans for his occasional highlight reel goal and his grit throughout the season. Hell, his hair even became a fan favorite, inspiring someone to create the popular Twitter account "Benoit Pouliot's Hair". Pouliot was a solid third liner for the Bruins, but with the emergence of rookie Jordan Caron as a solid bottom 9 forward for the Bruins that can provide about the same production for a fraction of the money. Personally, I believe that it isn't out of the realm of possibility for the Bruins to add a veteran such as Jamie Langenbrunner to the bottom 9 to split duties with Caron as Pouliot did in the beginning of the season.
Back to the Boston Bruins Newsfeed