Bruins Blog: A Look At The Peverley Signing

BOSTON (CBS) - While it will probably be dwarfed by the challenges Rich Peverley has already conquered in his career to just become an NHL regular, what waits ahead for the Bruins forward is still going to put a lot of heat on him to produce.

Peverley, who just four years ago was more than two years removed from his collegiate career and without an NHL contract, signed a three-year extension Tuesday with Boston worth a reported $3.25 million per year.

Regardless of how you look at Peverley's multifaceted talent as a fixture on the Bruins' power play and penalty kill, starting next season he'll be paid top-six money. That means that as this season and then the rest of this contract unfold, he's going to need to be a consistent threat with the puck. That means building on what he's already accomplished in the NHL.

"Well I think when I came here there was an adjustment period and I feel like I can put up numbers close to what I've done before or, you always try to improve, so in whatever area of the game, I feel I can improve on," said Peverley after the Bruins' practice at Ristuccia Arena on the day his deal was announced. "I always want to be an all-around player, but you always want to contribute."

At 29, Peverley is in the early stages of just his fourth full NHL season. His career high for goals is just 22 and he dropped off to 18 last season split between the Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers. Of course, it's easy to forget Peverley's offensive struggles during his 23 regular-season games with Boston (4-3-7) in light of his postseason eruption – 4-8-12 totals in 25 games, including two goals in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final – and his fast start this season with two goals in Saturday night's win over Tampa Bay.

So far during the Bruins' disappointing start to the new season, Peverley has looked like a solid replacement for Mark Recchi on Boston's second line with Patrice Bergeron. In addition to those two goals against the Lightning, he's been active in creating chances and showed signs of chemistry with his linemates. Whether he can maintain his current level of play and continue to be a late bloomer remains to be seen.

Peverley toiled in the ECHL and AHL before Nashville rewarded him with a contract in January 2007. He was lost on waivers to Atlanta and then seemed like a subpar addition for the Bruins last season before his sterling playoffs. In response to a question about whether he foresaw Peverley in a top-six role when he acquired him, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli noted that he always considered Peverley at least as a top-seven player and that he might not be among the top six for this entire season.

Chiarelli's probably expecting that Tyler Seguin, currently skating on right wing on the third line, will at some point bump someone else out of the top six. The GM could also be thinking about a trade or two he might swing down the road.

Nonetheless, the contract is the contract. Peverley is getting paid top-six money. Even if he's forced down the depth chart, the Bruins are going to need him to put up 20 goals minimum every season in addition to holding down a consistent job on special teams. But because of his late-starting NHL career, Peverley doesn't have a track record. His prime years are going to be the ones that determine what type of player he'll be remembered as.

Those years are now here and the Bruins are banking on him being able to meet this challenge like he has every other one in his underdog career. Now it's up to Peverley to prove he deserves that money.