Bruins put in the call for veteran forward Yelle

STEPHANE YELLEDepth up front

Looking to add veteran presence, in part to fill the leadership role vacated when Glen Murray's contract was bought out in July, the Bruins yesterday signed seasoned NHL forward Stephane Yelle to a one-year, free agent deal worth $750,000.

A center/wing, Yelle, 34, is effective at faceoffs and also has been a key component on penalty-killing squads during his dozen seasons with Colorado and Calgary. He is not as slick or clever on offense as Glen Metropolit, but he has a more tenacious game and much of the overall versatility that Metropolit showed here last season before signing with the Flyers as an unrestricted free agent in July.

"There is a defensive bent to his game," noted Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, who, in a prior work life as a player agent, was a member of the Larry Kelly-led firm in Ottawa that still represents Yelle. "He gives us some depth, both center and wing, up and down our lineup."

Yelle, 6 feet 2 inches and 182 pounds, won the Cup in 2001 with Colorado, the Avalanche club that featured former Boston captain Ray Bourque lifting the Cup upon completing his final NHL game. Yelle also shared roster time in Calgary with Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference, both of whom will be teammates in the Hub of Hockey.

"I've followed the Bruins closely because of [Ference and Kobasew]," said Yelle, in Boston yesterday doing some house hunting with his wife. "It's a great town, a team with a lot of history, and I think it's going to be great to play here."

According to Chiarelli, the Bruins attempted to deal for Yelle during the 2007-08 regular season.

"Stephane's a guy who has been on our radar screen here for a while," said Chiarelli. "He can kill penalties for us, win some faceoffs, and with [Murray] gone, he can add to the leadership of the team. He helps us up and down our lineup, both at center and wing. We think he's very compatible with the way we want our team to play."

Nicknamed "Sandbox" because of his gritty, fearless style, Yelle also was an alternate captain in Calgary, where he showed a penchant, especially on the penalty kill, for blocking shots. He got off to a slow start last season in Calgary, where taskmaster Mike Keenan was his boss, then picked up his game as the season progressed, playing much more on the wing (left and right) than at center.

Now the question becomes, how does he fit into coach Claude Julien's game plan? With his age and skill set, Yelle projects as a third- or fourth-line component. A lefthanded shot, he is likely to be one of the club's top four penalty killers, which could put some heat on the likes of veteran P.J. Axelsson. Yelle also will compete for ice time with youngsters such as Petteri Nokelainen, Vladimir Sobotka, and David Krejci.

"What we want is competition for jobs," said Chiarelli. "He'll help create the competition we're looking for. P.J. is a valuable part of our team, and some of the young guys, like Sobotka and Krejci and Nokelainen, they showed us some good things last year. But at the same time, spots aren't guaranteed to anybody . . . and we want to improve our PK."

The Bruins last season did an excellent job of limiting power plays, playing shorthanded only 154 times (only Colorado, with 152, was better). However, they killed only 78.6 percent of those chances, ranking 28th in the 30-team league.

Yelle averaged between two and three faceoffs a game last season and finished nearly dead even (190 wins, 191 losses) at the dot. He played in 74 games, collected three goals and 12 points, and finished a minus-4. In 12 seasons, he has played in 844 games and produced 85 goals and 239 points.

"My total number of faceoffs fell last year," said Yelle, noting he shifted more to wing on a line with Matthew Lombardi and ex-Bruin Wayne Primeau. "And usually I win around 55 percent of them - that's kind of my goal each season. But when I played more at wing, I didn't get as many draws, and when you don't take a lot of them, it's hard to get in the groove."

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.