The Boston Bruins took a few baby steps into free agency Thursday, signing veteran forward Steve Begin and re-signing defenseman Johnny Boychuk and forward Byron Bitz. They also apparently lost a player, as defenseman Steve Montador reportedly has agreed to a free-agent contract with the Sabres.

The moves came a day after the B's elected to buy out the remainder of Peter Schaefer's contract.

Begin, 31, played for Bruins coach Claude Julien in Montreal. He also spent part of last season in Dallas playing with the Stars after being traded by the Canadiens.

"He's a tremendous, tremendous, competitive player and person," said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. "He'll kill penalties. He'll fill a role. He has some energy. We're excited to get him . . . He's a guy that can slide a little bit up the lineup. He can kill penalties. He'll wear the emblem on his sleeve. There are a lot of good things about him."

Begin — who scored seven goals and added five assists in 62 games last season between Montreal and Dallas — got on the Bruins' bad side when he broke a bone in Marc Savard's back with a hit two seasons ago; Shawn Thornton took him on in a fight last preseason as payback. But Begin says there'll be no carryover.

"It's hockey," he told the Boston Globe. "One day you play for one team. Another day you play for another team. It's part of the game. In all those years I played against Boston in the playoffs, a lot of things happened. I'm going to be on the right side now."

Begin is also happy to be reunited with Julien.

"He listens to the players and he knows how to play you and how to use you," Begin said. "Look at [Michael] Ryder. A year ago in Montreal, people thought he was done. Now he's playing for Claude and he had his best season last year.

"That's what it's like with Claude. He gave me a lot of ice time. He played me a lot. The most important thing is he listens to the players and gets the best out of you."

Begin signed a one-year, $850,000 contract.

In other news . . .

-- Bitz, 24, agreed to a multiyear contract. He scored four goals and three assists in 35 games as a rookie last year and showed a physical style. In five playoff games, he had one goal and one assist. The Bruins drafted Bitz in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL draft after four years at Cornell.

-- Boychuk, who was named the AHL's best defenseman last season as he scored 20 goals and 45 assists in 78 games with Providence, agreed to a one-year deal.

-- Schaefer spent all of 2008-09 with the Providence Bruins, recording 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 47 regular-season games. In eight career NHL seasons, Schaefer played in 556 games for three clubs (Bruins, Senators and Canucks). Overall he scored 98 goals with 161 assists for 259 career points. Schaefer was acquired by the Bruins from Ottawa for Shean Donovan on July 17, 2007. Following the buyout, Schaefer becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any other NHL team.

-- The Canadian sports network TSN reported that Montador signed a two-year, $3.1 million contract with the Sabres. Montrador, acquired from Anaheim for Petteri Nokelainen at the trade deadline, will be paid $1.55 million in each contract year.

-- Another former member of the P-Bruins, enforcer Colton Orr, has agreed to a four-year contract with the Maple Leafs. Orr has spent the last several seasons with the Rangers. And former Mount St. Charles goalie Brian Boucher of Woonsocket has signed a two-year deal at $925,000 a year with the Flyers, according to sportsnet.ca. Boucher played for the Sharks last season.