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Alex Steeves earned a new contract extension with the Boston Bruins. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)

Bruins Sign Alex Steeves to Value Extension

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Brandon Share-Cohen | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 8:45 AM ET

The Boston Bruins have signed forward Alex Steeves to a two-year contract extension worth $3.25 million and it looks like a worthwhile bet for the team. The 26-year-old was undrafted and spent four seasons in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Most of that time came with the Toronto Marlies, with just 14 NHL games mixed in. The Bruins identified Steeves as a player potentially worth taking a flier on this offseason and he was finally able to make a consistent leap to the NHL level in Boston.

Steeves started the season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, scoring three goals and eight points in nine games. He earned an opportunity with the big club due to an injury to Elias Lindholm in November and hasn’t looked back since. Scoring eight goals and 14 points in 33 games this season, Steeves has become a fixture in the team’s lineup in recent months. He’s found himself playing up and down the lineup, but for the most part has settled in as a bottom-six regular.

Providing depth scoring may be a big part of Steeves’ potential contributions for the Bruins, but he’s also no slouch defensively. Steeves provides speed and energy to the lineup, but his natural scoring touch makes him a more intriguing depth option than your everyday bottom-six signee. His hot stretch of six goals on 21 shots in 13 games catapulted him into the spotlight for a short time, but he’s since come back down to earth with just two goals on 23 shots in his next 20 games. The reality is that Steeves’ upside likely falls somewhere between those two stretches and that’s what makes a $1.6 million cap hit so palatable in the short-term for this Bruins team.

Steeves’ Contract Carries Little Risk

The Bruins need to continue building and if they can unlock a more consistent version of Steeves to be a regular on their third line for the next few seasons, they’ll make out like bandits for the dollar value they signed him to. If things don’t pan out, the cap hit isn’t so significant that it’ll hurt them in any meaningful way, and the term makes it a lower-risk move that has far more chance to help than hurt.

Slumps are to be expected for most NHL players, particularly goal-scorers who tend to produce in bursts. Steeves being a rookie, albeit an older one, adds another layer to that evaluation. Finally, and perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle to consider is that Steeves may have played well during his time on the Bruins’ top line, but expecting that same kind of offensive production while he’s playing on the team’s third or fourth lines would be unrealistic. He’s been a solid player for the Bruins and it’s a feel-good story to see him earn another deal with the Bruins after lingering in the AHL for so long after being undrafted.

One area that general manager Don Sweeney has done well throughout his tenure with the Bruins has been identifying pro talent around the NHL and signing them. Sweeney and the entire pro scouting team deserve credit for this as it’s not easy to find players who may not be impact players on their teams but who could flourish more in a new scenery. Steeves is looking like another success story for Sweeney and, at the very least, the upside should outweigh any downside that could come with a signing like this one.