It's easy to label Tanner Jeannot's contract as a win for the Boston Bruins after five games. The power forward still has five years to prove that Don Sweeney made the right move, and that's the thing that scares Bruins fans. However, with the ever-rising salary cap, if Jeannot continues to play like he has through the first six games, does the deal truly look that bad?
We'll have to see Jeannot continue to play this way through the lull of the season instead of using the adrenaline of being on a new team motivate him for the first five games. There is still a chance that Jeannot gets comfortable and his play flatlines, but right now Jeannot has been everything as advertised for the Bruins.
He established instant chemistry with Fraser Minten, and that duo has been wreaking havoc on the forecheck. Even though Minten has gone a little quiet over the past few games, their line has been defensively responsible at 5-on-5 and are generating more scoring opportunities than most expected.
Jeannot isn't scoring at his 41-point pace from the 2021-22 season with the Nashville Predators, but he does have two goals through his first five games. No one really expects him to stay on that 33-goal pace to finish the season, but a few assists here and there and a willingness to get to the front of the net and bang in some rebounds should get him over the 14-point plateau that he has been establishing since that breakout season.
Don Sweeney didn't sign him to be a 41-point player. The team was lacking a certain identity that is synonymous with Bruins hockey for years, and Jeannot brings that element. There was a lack of goals from the blue paint over the past few seasons, but both of Jeannot's goals this season have been of that variety, including his one to open the game on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The fans will have to see much more of that from Jeannot, but the early returns are great. If he continues to play like that for the duration of the contract, fans will look at the signing in a much different light than they did on July 1. The tide is already starting to change, with the caveat that it is much too early to give Sweeney a pass on the controversial deal.
