Yelle

The Boston Bruins easily could’ve entered this season without Stephane Yelle and instead filled his lineup spot with a rookie or a borderline veteran NHLer, but boy would they have missed the two-time Stanley Cup-winning center.

Boston needed Yelle in all three zones, they needed him at the faceoff dots and, oh yeah, they really got the most benefit from his presence on the penalty kill. The Bruins’ penalty kill was one of the worst in the league without Yelle in 2007-08, but moved to 12th this season. While that can’t all be credited to one guy, it was obvious to all observers that his savvy and positioning instantly made the Bruins’ penalty kill miles better.

Stats: 77 GP, 7-11-18, 32 PIM, plus-6 regular season; 11 GP, 0-1-1, 2 PIM, minus-4 playoffs.

Contract status: UFA July 1.

Season highlight: Yelle posted three points in that much-recapped win over Montreal in November, but really his best performances of the season came in the four-game sweep of the Canadiens. The Bruins’ penalty kill was a perfect 8-for-8, and that’s a number you know Yelle was more proud of than any individual numbers he put up — regular season or playoffs.

Season low light: After scoring a goal against Philadelphia March 3, Yelle didn’t record a point the rest of the regular season (13 games played plus five missed with injury) and then he added just one assist in the 11 playoff games. While not counted on for scoring, Yelle should’ve been able to add some numbers to the score sheet considering all the chances his line generated almost every night.

In summation … Yelle’s veteran presence aided the Bruins’ up-and-comers in their development as much as his play contributed to the club’s victory total.

Grade: B-plus. The effort was always there, but sometimes Yelle’s physical play was as non-existent as his offensive finish.

The crystal ball says … if Yelle returns, he’ll have a battle for a roster spot on his hands — against the likes of Vladimir Sobotka, among others — so that might make him look for a better spot. But if he’s back, he’d continue to be a stablizing presence in every situation he’s put in.