Tyler Johnson has officially left Purgatory.

The veteran forward, who signed a professional tryout with the Bruins, now has an NHL contract and can finally play in games. He signed a one-year, $775,000 contract on Monday.

Johnson, who practiced with the team in Boston on Monday, is eligible to play in Toronto on Tuesday.

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The Bruins liked him in camp but were motivated to wait to sign him to protect the available salary against the cap. If he wasn’t going to play right away, they probably would have waited to sign him.

The Bruins maneuvered similarly with Danton Heinen last year. Heinen signed on October 30 and contributed the rest of the season.

Johnson, 34, played well for the Bruins in the preseason, earning praise from both the players and coaching staff. He can play in the middle and on both wings and has experience on the power play and penalty kill.

Johnson, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound right forward, had 17 goals and 14 assists in 67 games for the Blackhawks last year. The Spokane, Washington native won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020 and 2021) before moving to Chicago for the last three seasons.

In his 12-year career – nine with the Lightning and three with the Blackhawks – he scored 193 goals and 238 assists in 431 regular-season games. He has three goals and nine assists in 30 career games against the Bruins. He has 32 goals and 33 assists in 116 postseason games.

Early in his career, he received Selke Award votes three times and scored five short-handed goals as a rookie.