Earlier this morning, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announced that the Bruins have signed forward Shawn Thornton to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension through the 2013-14 season.
Peter Chiarelli on Shawn Thornton:
Peter Chiarelli on Shawn Thornton:
"Since we got Shawn, he's improved as a player, and his conditioning has allowed him to be a good fourth-line player in this league, and then a good catalyst in his own way," Chiarelli said. "You see some of the skill that he has when he scores, when he makes some plays, but most importantly, you see the enthusiasm and the vigor that he brings to the rink every day, and that's important for this team, and his character's important for this team."
The 34-year-old Thornton originally signed with the Bruins as a free agent on July 1, 2007, and has skated in 360 regular season games with the team. As a member of the Bruins, he's registered 25 goals, 37 assists and 601 penalty minutes. During the 2010-11 season, Thornton set career highs in goals (10), assists (10) and points (20). This season, Thornton has 143 penalty minutes -- an NHL career high -- and currently leads the league in fighting majors (19).
"There's the role of someone who exclusively fights in the league, and...I don't put Shawn in that category," Chiarelli said. "He really [takes] pride in his conditioning, and that's allowed him to maintain his skating, and it"s allowed him to make plays...and he recognizes that that's a valuable part of his game."
Source: BostonBruins.com
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