Bruins sign defenseman Anton Stralman

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With an incredible amount of injuries to start the season, the Boston Bruins signed veteran defenseman Anton Stralman of Tibro, Sweden on Wednesday. According to Rogers Sportsnet, he came to terms on a deal for one season worth $1 million. The Bruins will be Stralman’s seventh National Hockey League team. He has previously played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes.

2021-22 in Arizona

Last season with the Coyotes, Stralman had eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 74 games. He was a -16 with 12 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 95 shots on goal, 100 blocked shots, 99 hits, 32 takeaways and 28 giveaways. Stralman notched his game-winning goal on February 9, 2022 in a 5-2 Coyotes win over the Seattle Kraken.

Stralman had three multi-point games for the Coyotes last season. On March 30, he had two assists in a 5-2 Coyotes win over the San Jose Sharks. Stralman then had two assists in a 5-4 Coyotes overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on April 23, and then one goal and one assist for two points in a 5-3 Coyotes win over the Minnesota Wild on April 26.

International Success

Stralman was part of the Swedish team that won the gold medal at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men’s Hockey Championship in Cologne, Germany, and Paris, France. In the gold medal game, Sweden beat Canada 2-1 in a shootout. In 10 games, Stralman had four assists.

Bruins Injuries

The Bruins will not have two defensemen to start the season. Matt Grzelcyk of Boston, Massachusetts and Charlie McAvoy of Long Beach, New York are both out with shoulder injuries. Grzelcyk is projected to be our for two weeks and McAvoy is projected to be out for two months. The Bruins will also not have their elite forward Brad Marchand of Halifax, Nova Scotia in the lineup for two months either, as he recovers from double hip surgery. Boston begins the regular season on Wednesday in Washington.

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