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Brian Boyle signs with Tampa Bay Lightning

After adding Anton Stralman earlier in the day to solidify their blue line, the Tampa Bay Lightning then added to their forward depth by signing forward Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers.

The move makes some sense — Tampa Bay was reportedly in on a few veteran forwards to balance out what might have otherwise been a very, very young lineup, and Boyle has some good qualities. But part of the reason Boyle wanted out of New York was apparently a chance to play a scoring role, which doesn’t seem likely in Tampa. He’ll presumably be the fourth line center behind Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, and Tyler Johnson.

The move might keep Cedric Paquette and Vladislav Namestnikov in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch for the near future.

Release from the team:

TAMPA BAY -The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed free agent center Brian Boyle to a three-year contract today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.

Boyle, 6-foot-7, 244 pounds, played in all 82 games with the New York Rangers in 2013-14, recording six goals and 18 points with a plus-1 rating. He was second on New York for hits with 154 and second among forwards with more than 500 draws taken for face-off percentage with 52.9 percent. Boyle also played in all 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Rangers, helping them to the Stanley Cup Final. He recorded three goals and eight points during this year’s postseason.

A native of Hingham, Massachusetts, Boyle has played in 391 career NHL games with the Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings, recording 52 goals and 100 points along with 311 penalty minutes. He has played the previous five seasons in New York.

Boyle was drafted by the Kings in the first round, 26th overall, at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played college hockey at Boston College prior to joining the professional ranks.

Boyle’s NHL.com Profile: http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8470619

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