The Bruins might have dodged a bullet with David Krejci - and a major roster reshuffle

Considering all of the questions revolving around the Bruins roster and how best to maximize its potential once the regular season commences in nine days — Bruce Cassidy and Co. have had the luxury of not needing to fret over what Boston possesses at the pivot this year. 

While some less fortunate clubs are both scribbling and erasing names on a whiteboard while fretting over the lack of stability down the middle, Boston has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the four men it has locked into the lineup come October 3 in Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly. 

“We have a very dominant group through the middle,” Brad Marchand said. “The puck control and their ability to set plays in the middle and distribute wide or to get pucks wide or to get pucks back and open up space. They all have different abilities and different ways that they can do it. Kurls has that speed and Chuckie is just so dynamic — the way he can cut back and is very fast. Krech can slow it down or can dangle through anyone. And Bergy does a bit of everything. So it’s just dynamic all the way through the middle.”

And yet, for all of the talent at the center position — what stands as a well-oiled machine up front for the Bruins, faces the risk of grinding to a halt with just one mishap.



Boston received such a scare on Monday night at TD Garden, as Krejci — playing in his first preseason game of the fall — exited Boston's matchup against the Flyers after just two shifts and 1:55 of ice time, with the veteran removed for good due to a lower-body injury. It didn't look good for Krejci (who played in 81 games last season) during the sequence below, as his knee/ankle appeared to buckle while falling down in the slot.

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Despite the scare, Cassidy assuaged some fears about Krejci's status going forward following Boston's 4-3 overtime victory over Philly — although adding that Boston isn't exactly out of the woods quite yet.

"I don’t think it’s serious," Cassidy said. "Took a hit early on, tried to keep playing but he just felt it was better to not push through, it wasn’t worth it. Obviously we’ll know more tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s serious."

For now, the Bruins aren't hitting the panic button when it comes to Krejci — although Boston can't be thrilled that, even if he doesn't miss games, Krejci is clearly much worse for wear going into the regular season.

But still, a dinged-up Krejci is better than the alternative, in which Boston might have to flip its lineup on the off chance that Krejci had suffered a serious injury.

All things considered, Boston is in a much better place — center wise — than it was a year ago thanks to the addition of Charlie Coyle, who primarily played alongside Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on Monday and could handle a top-six assignment if No. 46 was to miss time.

"He's a great player," Marchand said of Coyle and his play so far this fall. "He's dialed in this year. He looks incredible. From the first day of camp to now, he's by far been the best player. He's just dominating in every area right now."

With Coyle, Boston already has a dynamic third-line center and a more than capable second-line pivot ready to be pressed into duty if the injury bug bites. But promoting Coyle in a such a situation does create quite the domino effect in the bottom-six, with uncertainty abound despite the number of names waiting in the wings.

There's no doubting that Kuraly has hit his stride as the driver of Boston's fourth line, with the speedster and Chris Wagner teaming up for a game-tying tally in the closing minutes of the third period on Monday.

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However, the 3C spot wasn't kind to Kuraly last year — who only spent the first three games of the 2018-19 regular season and 11 minutes of 5v5 TOI total with David Backes and Ryan Donato before getting relegated back to the fourth line. On the NHL roster, Boston's Swiss Army Knife in Joakim Nordstrom could slot over to fourth-line center if Kuraly moves up the ladder, although his status is a bit murky due to a lingering foot fracture that has prevented him for appearing in a preseason game this fall. Par Lindholm is another intriguing candidate, although Cassidy noted Monday morning that Lindholm could warrant a look further up the lineup, even on the wing, if Boston is presented with the opportunity — given the forward's impressive scoring totals while overseas in Sweden that Boston could look to unlock.

In a scenario in which Krejci is forced to sit out due to injury, the most intriguing option would be for Boston to dive headfirst into its prospect pool for an injection of dynamic, young talent. But as Boston saw last season when the trio of Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic all made it to the final week of camp — expectations and potential can only take a player so far when thrown into the meat grinder that is 82-plus games of NHL hockey.

Frederic, who should be viewed as having a more extended development window due to his power-forward style of play, should be spending a majority (if not all) of his minutes this season down in Providence, where some much-needed, top-six minutes await.

The same could very well be said for Studnicka. Studnicka has the "wow" factor when operating in the O-zone, for sure. But the 20-year-old forward has only logged a whopping nine games of pro hockey (all with Providence) in his career.

Yes, he had a nice goal with an extra skater deployed during Boston's preseason opener against the Devils last week. But during 5v5 play? The Bruins have been out-attempted, 22-14, and outscored, 2-0, during Studnicka's 22:55 of ice time. Studnicka is a great talent and very well could be contributing on this team later in the year. But a stint in Providence is the best course for him to start the year — rather than getting thrown into the fire and tasked with sparking a third line in wake of a Krejci injury and subsequent roster shuffle.

For now, such decisions will not need to be mulled over for Cassidy and his staff. Still, things can change with one MRI or follow-up appointment on Tuesday morning. And if Krejci does need to spend some time on the shelf? What stands as one of the pillars of Boston's success this season suddenly becomes a lot shakier.