Bruins re-sign Ian Mitchell to one-year, two-way contract

Some more blue-line depth has been ensured by the team from New England for at least next season.

On Sunday, the Boston Bruins announced they have re-signed defenseman Ian Mitchell to a one-year, two-way contract.

The deal will carry a $775,000 cap hit through the 2024-25 season.

Mitchell played 13 games with the Bruins this past season, registering two assists during his stretch of games that carried from late October until December. The St. Albert, Alberta native spent the majority of the season with Boston’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In 42 games, Mitchell scored six goals and 24 points, adding two goals and two assists in the team’s four games in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The 25-year-old came to the Bruins organization after being traded by the Chicago Blackhawks in June last year. Mitchell had spent the first three years of his pro career with the team that selected him in the second round, 57th overall, in the 2017 NHL Draft. While he also appeared in many games with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, Mitchell was with the Blackhawks for the majority of the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as the team was going through its rebuilding phase.

In 95 NHL games, Mitchell has scored four goals and 14 assists. In his 109-game AHL career, he has notched 19 goals and 47 assists, including six points in nine playoff games.

Mitchell has previously represented his country a few times. Along with winning gold with Team Canada White at the 2015 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, he played for the Maple Leaf at the 2017 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship and 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. Mitchell was also on the 2019 Spengler Cup squad that won gold.

As a result of the signing, the Bruins have 31 players on board with standard player contracts for next season. According to CapFriendly, Boston has over $21 million in projected cap space.