The Boston Bruins brought back Sean Kuraly this off-season by signing him to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.85 million. With this, the veteran forward is expected to be a key part of the Bruins' bottom six once again.

The Bruins announced on July 14 that defenseman Andrew Peeke has given up No. 52 so Kuraly can sport the number again, just like he did during his first stint in Boston. With this, Peeke will now wear No. 26 for the Original Six club.

Peeke giving up No. 52 for Kuraly is certainly a nice gesture, but also not too surprising. Peeke was teammates with Kuraly on the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2021-22 until the Metropolitan Division club traded him to Boston at the 2024 NHL trade deadline. 

Peeke will now be the 20th player in Bruins history to wear No. 26. The last player to do so was former Bruins forward Marc McLaughlin, who wore it until he was traded to the New Jersey Devils at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. 

Former Bruins Defenseman Is Best Free Agent Left We are now roughly halfway through the month of July. As a result of this, things have quieted down significantly around the NHL. The majority of this year's unrestricted free agents (UFAs) have signed their new contracts, most of the big names have landed their new contracts. 

Photo Credit: © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images