Boston, MA (My Sportsbook) - The Boston Bruins announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to terms with forward Sandy McCarthy on a one-year contract, accepted the arbitration decision on center Brian Rolston and exercised their "walk-away" rights on defenseman Bryan Berard.

McCarthy, 31, played in 82 games for the Rangers last season and scored six goals and assisted on nine others while compiling 81 penalty minutes.

A 10-year veteran, McCarthy has also played for the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. Financial terms of McCarthy's contract were not disclosed.

The 30-year-old Rolston recorded 27 goals and 32 assists in 81 contests for Boston last season. A nine-year veteran, Rolston has also played for New Jersey and Colorado and has 171 career goals.

"McCarthy adds size and toughness to our lineup and he is a very difficult player to play against," said Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell. "Rolston has been a valuable and versatile player for us since we acquired him and we feel he is one of the top forwards in the league."

The team also announced that it has exercised its "walk-away" option on the $2.51 million arbitration award to Berard, who had 10 goals and 28 assists in 80 games for Boston last season.

Arbitrator Elizabeth Neumeier made the award during Berard's hearing on August 8th after Berard agreed to accept a decision on the figure the Bruins put forth in their argument. Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Berard becomes a free agent with the Bruins exercising their 'walk-away' option. If he is offered a contract by another team for less than 80 percent of the arbitration award, the Bruins have the right to match that offer and retain Berard's services. If the offer is above the 80 percent figure, Berard is then an unrestricted free agent with no compensation due to Boston by the team that signs the defenseman.

The 26-year-old Berard returned to the ice in the 2001-02 season with the New York Rangers after suffering a severe eye injury that nearly cost him his right eye. The defenseman was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs when he took a stick to the eye during a game in March of 2000.

A former Calder Trophy winner, Berard has tallied 46 goals and 173 assists in six seasons in the NHL. He was originally selected by the Ottawa Senators with the first overall selection in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

"We also are very interested in having Berard return to our lineup this season," O'Connell continued. "We worked very hard to reach agreement on a contract with Bryan prior to the hearing and when we could not, I made Bryan aware of what our strategy would be in trying to gauge the current NHL marketplace. While there is some risk involved, we are hopeful that we will be able to retain Bryan at a salary that better fits that marketplace."