7 things to watch for as Bruins training camp opens

With training camp for the Bruins set to open up later this afternoon, here’s a look at seven things to keep tabs on as Boston gears up for the 2019-20 season:

Are the Bruins bracing themselves for a Cup ‘hangover?’ 

159 days. 3,816 hours. Over 13,000,000 seconds. 

Whichever way you want to put it, this offseason has dragged on for just about every club in the NHL, but especially for the 15 franchises that didn’t punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

For clubs like the Canadiens, Rangers and more, those 159 days off — amounting to more than five months — represent an extended timeframe to both refocus and reset in anticipation of a brighter future in 2019-20.

The Bruins have those same lofty goals this season — with both the personnel and talent to back it up. But their extended postseason all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final means that Bruce Cassidy’s club was not afforded quite the same window when it came to rest and recovery this summer. 

It’s only been 92 days — or three months to the day — since the Bruins' season ended in such a crushing fashion on June 12 at TD Garden. 

And while the Blues are tasked with defending their Cup title and dealing with the “hangover” that follows after a summer filled with celebration, Boston is very much behind the eight ball as well — without any of the perks that come with winning a championship. 

That loss on home ice will be fresh in the minds of many in the Bruins locker room once camp opens, and yet, while the sting of that defeat may not subside for years and years — Cassidy’s first task this camp will be to get his club focused on the task at hand: The 2019-20 season. 

“I have not been through it,” Cassidy said Monday of a Stanley Cup hangover. “So that’s why, again, talking to the veteran guys, it will be good to get their feedback on what they feel should be the approach. I hope we’re not talking about it after Day 1 (of camp). It’s done. It’s over. We’ve got a few new players. It’s not the same team. It’s a new year. 

“We’ve got to be ready to be at our best going into the season — Game 1 against Dallas and then on to Arizona, that type of thing. I hope we don’t have a hangover. I certainly don’t intend on having one. Again, I don’t want to talk about it after the next four, five days. It was a good year, we fell one game short. Now we’ve got to work on getting back to that position and not falling one game short.”

How will Cassidy and Bruins tinker with training camp? 

With such a short summer, Cassidy was quick to note that training camp at Warrior Ice Arena will be a bit different than in years past.



While many clubs were earning a reprieve from the game of hockey, Boston’s roster endured another two months and 25 games of grueling playoff action, and it certainly took its toll.

Players that needed offseason procedures had to wait until the end of June to go under the knife, with defenseman John Moore scheduled to miss the start of the regular season due to shoulder surgery that he underwent on June 26. Zdeno Chara suffered a fractured jaw and a slew of other injuries that might limit him a bit during camp, while Patrice Bergeron might also be a bit slow out the gate after getting a PRP injection this summer to deal with a nagging groin injury. 

And even without the injuries, the extra mileage tacked on all of Boston’s roster this past postseason — especially its veterans — is going to factor heavily into how Cassidy runs this training camp. 

One can expect the regulars like Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and others to either get very limited reps during preseason matchups or days off entirely — opening the door for youngsters like Zach Senyshyn, Oskar Steen, Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Studnicka and others to get extended looks. 

As such, it might be hard to get a pulse on the structure of this Bruins club — the forward lineup especially — with so many key cogs either held out of games or kept away from heavier minutes. 

But if it keeps Boston’s core fresh before jumping right into the fire with a grueling October slate, then it certainly seems like more than a fair trade-off. 

“Some of the veteran guys wouldn't see as many games,” Cassidy said on Monday. “Some of that is schedule-based, we only play six (games). Typically we play eight. I think tomorrow when we get together a little more business-like, we'll see where the veteran guys are. 

“A little more evaluating of the younger guys, even though we don't have that many spots maybe on paper, we still want to take a look at ‘em, so that's probably how we (look) at the first week — a little more evaluation, than the next week, we'll get our group together and get ready for the opener.”



When will Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo return?

The first major RFA domino on the blue line fell earlier this week, as Zach Werenski and the Blue Jackets came to terms on a three-year, $15 million contract that falls in line with the kind of “bridge deal” that should become a regular sight as the market begins to sort itself out after months of inactivity. 

And while Werenski’s contract might have set the market and provided a template for Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo as they look to cash in on their own RFA deals in Boston, as of Thursday morning, neither player has signed the dotted line and is expected to report to camp on time. 

“Still works in progress,” Don Sweeney said of negotiations with both players. “We continue to communicate every day and are hopeful that we can find the right landing spot for both players. Obviously, they are important to our hockey club and we’re going to keep working at it.”

We’ve already talked ad nauseam about the ongoing discussions with McAvoy/Carlo and the Bruins all summer long, so we won’t harp too much on what we already know: Both defensemen are set to get paid, and for good reason. And with around $8.1 million in free cap space, Sweeney and Co. are going to have to get real creative to absorb both contracts as is. 

LTIR for Moore and Kevan Miller. A surprise trade. Whatever it may be, the Bruins are now on the clock to both free up the necessary capital and re-sign McAvoy and Carlo before both skaters find themselves struggling to get back up to speed in the later stages of the preseason — or perhaps even later. 

As the Maple Leafs learned last year when William Nylander held out until the start of December while in an RFA contract dispute, those three months missed, especially in training camp, put the forward in a hole that he was never really able to climb out of. Boston can't afford to have Carlo and McAvoy suffer a similar fate as training camp progresses.

"Every player has their own personal beliefs about where they need to be," Sweeney said of the dangers of missing camp. "But I have my own preferences, yep, no question about it. I much prefer the continuity and I think the player and team benefit mutually in that regard."



A change in philosophy? 

The "Big Bad Bruins" have largely become a thing of the past under Cassidy's tenure as bench boss, with Boston embracing the current trajectory of the league — one now rooted in speed and skill over size and snarl.

Unfortunately, that did come back to bite the Bruins in a cruel twist of fate this past June. After beating the Canucks into submission to clinch its first Cup title in 39 years, Boston found itself on the receiving end of a physical Blues team years later, as St. Louis put the B's on the ropes and boxed them out of Grade-A areas thanks to an imposing blue line and a suffocating forecheck down the other end of the ice.

Now, the 2019-20 Bruins are far from a pure finesse club, especially with bruisers like Kevan Miller, Chris Wagner, Brett Ritchie and others on the roster. But Cam Neely did note that the league could once again shift back in favor of a grinding, physical mentality to ride the coattails of St. Louis' success.

"It’s somewhat of a copycat league," Neely said Wednesday. "But I felt we had a good combination of that until some of our guys got banged up. Especially Kevan on the back end, I think that hurt us a little in the Columbus series and in the St. Louis series. You have to look at where you’re playing the bulk of your games and know what style is going to be good for you to get you into the playoffs. And then it’s almost a tale of two seasons where we all know playoff hockey is just so much different than regular season hockey. But you got to get to the dance, so you gotta figure out what’s the best way to get to the dance and then as the season goes long you can maybe adjust a little bit with how you want to play."

Boston may not all of the sudden by throwing haymakers in the stands at Madison Square Garden once again, but Cassidy does expect the 2019-20 Bruins to find some sense of equilibrium between its blue-color, hard-nosed past and the high-end skill sprinkled throughout the roster.

"St. Louis wins so does the pendulum swing back to the bigger, heavier teams now? We’ve had that conversation," he said. "We like to think we’re a good balance. Will that affect how we structure our lineup? I guess we’ll see how the games play out. We always feel we can play that style of game but also be up-tempo and use our skill. We looked at that. We’ve added a Brett Ritchie who is a bigger body. Does he push a smaller guy out of the lineup? Does that make us better? I think some of that plays itself out as the season goes along. I still think there will be both schools of thought. Just like there was for the last five years. Speed versus brawn and may the best style win. I think it’s gone both ways."

Can any youngster break through? 

The youth movement has been underway for quite some time in Boston, and the 2018-19 season was no different. Opting for an internal competition to fill the void left by Riley Nash in the 3C role, the Bruins turned to youngsters like Trent Frederic, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Jack Studnicka to try to earn a pivotal spot on the NHL roster right out of camp.

It didn't exactly work out too well — leading to a carousel of forwards that tried to take the reins before Charlie Coyle finally solidified the bottom-six in late February.

This preseason, the usual suspects at the top of Boston's prospect pipeline are another year older and more primed than ever to compete for a starting role — headlined by Studnicka, Vaakanainen, Senyshyn and Steen —who is coming off of a monster year against much older competition in Sweden. 

But even with all of the extended reps that these players should earn over the next couple of weeks, a spot up with the big club is anything but a guarantee.

"We’re not integrating as many players as we have, so that shouldn’t be — there's a couple of new ones, we’ve got some young guys pushing," Cassidy said. "I think in the past, there were more — I don’t want to say openings, but there was, we had left some spots. This year, I think it’s gonna be more of a challenge for those younger guys, so to get them to understand that and, you know, push for those spots, because you always want that internal competition. Whether they can crack that lineup in October or November, we want to make sure."

Now, there still are some major vacancies on this club — primarily to David Krejci's right in a top-six role, along with the spot left by Marcus Johnasson on Coyle's line. The absence of McAvoy and Carlo also cause a bit of a headache for the Bruins, who could be without both Moore and Miller to start the regular season.

But it seems rather unlikely that two or three rookies are going to earn spots out of camp, given the amount of NHL talent already factoring into the mix for those same vacancies. Arguably the most NHL-ready forward among the bunch in Studnicka might not get a chance until much later this season, given Boston's unwillingness (so far) to move him to the wing — where all of the available minutes would be with Boston.

While things can change in a hurry over the course of a training camp, one shouldn't be too surprised if many a highly-touted prospect begins the year down in Providence. But that doesn't mean they'll be there for long.

Can anyone solidify the top-six internally?

Chris Kreider isn't walking through that door. Mark Stone isn't walking through that door.

Despite Neely's words in June about Boston's need to add a top-six wing, none came this summer that provided much of a splash — paving the way for yet another internal competition to earn the right to play on a line anchored by Krejci.

So, who's it going to be?

Karson Kuhlman should be the favorite out of camp and for good reason — as a DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman line generated an absurd 7.00 goals for per 60 minutes rate.


While his O-zone numbers have plummeted as of late, perhaps power forward Brett Ritchie can hit his stride again when paired with top-six players?

Boston seems hesitant to do so, but if a Studnicka or Frederic pushes in camp and grabs the 3C spot, could Charlie Coyle move up to the wing?

Maybe Danton Heinen — who tallied 21 points over the final 28 games of the regular season — could warrant a look?

Well, maybe Anders Bjork can get back on track?

Maybe just slot down David Pastrnak and make our lives easier? Hmmmmm. who else?

Peter Cehlarik, perhaps?

Zach Senyshyn? 

Bueller? Bueller?

As you can see, there are are a number of ways that the Bruins can go when it comes to finding a suitable winger for Krejci. Let the games begin.



What role will David Backes have?

I have to say, I'm very surprised that Backes is still with this club after all he went through last season.

Forced to watch his former club beat the Bruins while serving as a scratch for the final three games of the Stanley Cup Final, it looked as though the writing was on the wall that Backes and Boston had run its course together. While he's a key member of a strong Bruins locker room, Backes was largely a man without a line last season, primarily relegated into a fourth-line role as his play continued to dip.

In a perfect world, the Bruins likely would have jettisoned the remaining two years and $12 million remaining on Backes' contract by way of a buyout or trade — but both scenarios were either not financially feasible or not attainable over the course of the summer — setting the veteran up for a somewhat awkward return to Boston.



As seen above, there isn't much room for Backes outside of a potential fourth-line spot, which, admittedly, he did somewhat thrive in last season.

Nordstrom-Acciari-Backes: 107 minutes of 5v5 TOI together — 5 5v5 goals scored / 2 goals against – Bruins held a 90-73 edge in shot attempts (55.21 CF%) & a plus-13 shot differential

Wagner-Kuraly-Backes: 100 minutes of 5v5 TOI together — 2 5v5 goals scored / 1 goal against — Bruins held a 109-75 edge in shot attempts (59.24 CF%) & a plus-22 shot differential

Back in June, Sweeney did note that Backes provides some strong value as a bottom-six option, but when carrying a $6 million cap hit and unable to log major minutes on special teams, Backes' value is a bit more constricted when weighing him against other fourth-line contenders like Par Lindholm and Joakim Nordstrom.

“I thought he best fit in with, Kuraly, Acciari, Nordstrom, in that type of role,” Sweeney said of Backes. “At the end of the day, when Wagner, Acciari were all healthy, there was competition for those spots, so sometimes he was in there, sometimes he wasn’t. So, that’s where I see his best contribution to the team. At times he can move up in the lineup and give you some grit, a net-front presence, but in general, that’s where he played his best hockey for us. So, we’ll have to see how it all shakes out. Like I said, who else is in there, in that role, that he’ll have to be out for a minute.”

Of course, things can change and Backes could find himself on a new team come October. Or he could start the year in Providence — a reality that both player and team would likely want to avoid. Whatever the solution is for Backes this fall, it isn't exactly going to be pretty for any of the parties involved.