For the first time since the early weeks of March, the full Bruins roster will be back at Warrior Ice Arena — shaking off the rust and gearing up for what is assured to be the most frantic end to an NHL campaign in … well, ever.
With the Bruins granted less than two weeks of on-ice work in Brighton before heading up to Toronto to start their pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup, Bruce Cassidy and the rest of Boston’s coaching staff are up against the clock when it comes to putting the best lineup together for the NHL’s revamped postseason tournament.
Here are the eight things I’m watching as Phase 3 — Boston’s full-squad training camp — gets underway.
1. How long will it take players to shake rust off?
Even though a majority of the Bruins roster has been back on the ice at Warrior for voluntary workouts during Phase 2 (with some starting on-ice work back in mid-June), Cassidy and his staff don't entirely have a lot of room to work with when it comes to getting the B's in the best possible shape from this postseason push.
Once camp officially opens on Monday morning, Boston will have less than two weeks of on-ice work together at Warrior before heading up to Toronto on July 26. Aside from a scheduled exhibition game between July 28-30, the Bruins don't have much leeway to continue to steel themselves before their round-robin opener against the Flyers on August 2nd.
As such, Cassidy and his staff have the difficult task of charting out a camp regimen that succeeds in both shaking off the rust formed from four months of inactivity — while also not incorporating too much added nuance beyond what this roster is used to working on during practices.
"I think Bruce and his staff do a really good job of turning the dials as we go forward," Don Sweeney said. "We have a defined period of time that we know we have to get up to full speed. It doesn't have to be tomorrow. But we do have to get to Toronto with the mindset that we're playing in an exhibition game and then the games from there really mean something — as opposed to the normal course of training camp where you may be able to approach it better.
"Players have to understand it's a very short window to, again, get back up to full speed. But you gotta be be ready. As I said, we're not going to hit the ice for three hours on Monday. We're going to go back into our normal routines and incrementally move the pace of practice and physicality of practice accordingly, and making sure we're in full consult with our players as to how they're feeling. We have the benefit of a strong leadership group that can hopefully lead us in some of those areas.
While Boston could opt to juggle a few lineup combinations during various intrasquad scrimmages, don't expect the B's to really put their roster in a blender once we get to the end of July.
"I think we’re going to have to pin it down right away, get back to going over who we feel is the best with who and again, I think our team strong no matter how we end up moving the wingers around," Cassidy said back in April. "We got some new bodies, we use Richie and Kase as examples — we were trying to see where they best fit. At the end of the day, I do believe come playoff time that our guys will all be committed. All playing the same way — team first. So no matter what lines are out, I still think that we’ll be okay in that regard.”
2 - Will the protocols put in place avoid a COVID-19 outbreak?
As strict and stringent as the the safety protocols are once the Bruins head to Toronto's "Phase 4 Secure Zone" at the end of the month, the plans put in place to stymie the risk of COVID-19 during Phase 3 are no joke, either.
Along with the regular testing and temperature checks that will be required for all players and personnel to avoid the risk of an outbreak within the team facilities, the Bruins will have to adjust to a new normal from the moment they enter Warrior to the time that they get off the ice after a camp session. Masks will be required at all times off the ice, while social distancing will be stressed, even in the locker room — although such distancing will enforced, per a league memo, "to the extent possible."
Add in smaller adjustments such as no shared meals or water bottles at the rink, no eating of pre-packaged meals at the facility, no sauna or steam-room access, and it's rather apparent that the league and teams are pulling out as many stops as they can to limit the spread of COVID-19.
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Still, unlike Phase 4, in which players will be accounted for at their hotel venues, the Bruins and other NHLers still have the freedom to be out and about during this abbreviated training camp. Even if social distancing will be stressed strongly over the next two weeks, the risk of a COVID flare-up — or even outbreak — will likely be at its highest during this phase, given the number of players all back together, plus the lack of a lockdown mandate away from the rink.
"We're going to have positive patients throughout this — Phase 3, Phase 4," Sweeney said. "We just have to avoid the outbreak. ... But the league has done a really good job of lining things up according to hub city in Toronto and Edmonton. They're well prepared and we're going to give it our best effort, and hopefully we're able to carry it off."
Still, even if this these new safety measures will require a period of adjustment, a number of Bruins have already advocated for the peace of mind that comes with the measures put in place by both the NHL and the team.
“It’s different, for sure,” John Moore said. “But that’s the world we live in now. You could go blue in the face complaining about it, but at the end of the day, they have our best interests in mind. It’s really about adjusting and it’s something we’ve talked about as a group — the teams that will have the most success will be the most comfortable with being uncomfortable.
“You don’t let any of that distract you from the work that needs to be done. Again, for everyone’s safety, you come in, you take your temperature, you do your testing, but then you go to work, you get on the ice, you go in the weight room, and it’s just like it was before. So there’s certain freckles here and there with the process, but you’re learning them and you’re adapting and I guess that’s really what it’s all about with COVID and the new world that we now live in.”
3. Can a Providence call-up actually crack Boston’s roster?
A number of NHL regulars on Boston's training-camp roster are expected to return to the ice Monday without a defined role or entrenched spot in Cassidy's lineup, with the next couple of weeks crucial for the club when it comes to maximizing where deadline acquisitions like Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie can best put this B's club over the top come August and September.
But for many Bruins fans, most of the intrigue surrounding Boston's Return To Play roster centers around some of the blue-chip prospects that will be along for the ride – headlined by a pair of Providence forwards in Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic.
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Given Boston's struggles at finding consistent offensive production from its middle-six wingers this season, Studnicka could be just the spark plug Boston turns to in order to get either David Krejci and Charlie Coyle's line rolling. Even though he only logged two games up with Boston this year, the dynamic prospect had a knack for generating quality looks from Grade-A ice, with the Bruins holding an edge in goals scored (2-0) and high-danger scoring chances (9-1) during Studnicka’s 22:10 of 5v5 ice time.
Frederic will need to round out his overall game, especially when it comes to consistently capitalizing in the O-zone, but the pugnacious forward could be a welcome addition to Boston's fourth line, given that the St. Louis native racked up an AHL-leading 148 penalty minutes in 58 games this season down in Providence.
Now, are we likely going to get a good look at all of Boston's top-flight prospects over the next few weeks? Of course. In fact, you could even see one or two of these prospects earn a spot in the lineup once Boston begins its round-robin play against the Flyers, Lightning and Capitals at the start of August. But it's important to temper expectations a bit as far as a youngster like Studnicka leap-frogging an already pretty deep pool of skaters in the span of a few weeks.
(For the record: These are NOT my official lineup predictions for when Phase 4 begins. We’ve got a long, long way to go. However, these are all the forwards Boston was already rotating through at the time of the pause.)
“The obvious scenario is necessity — which is injury or if there’s a positive test within the group,” Cassidy said of how younger players could get into the lineup. “Otherwise, we have confidence in our guys. Obviously, we had a strong regular season. We use different players, we had depth. Realistically, 15 forwards, eight defensemen all played. So in that regard, they would have to excel to push someone out that’s done a good job for us to this point.
"The other area could be if a player comes in and conditioning-wise, he’s not there yet. We should have enough time to get him where he needs to be. But if that’s not the case, and if one of these younger guys has a little more to give, then we’ll certainly consider it. That’s the facts of it. I mean, it’s a short window to get it right. So there’ll be some tough calls to make if players aren’t up to speed in a hurry. But I’d like to think with the group we have will be fine in that regard.”
4 - Where do Kase/Ritchie best fit in Boston's lineup?
If we were to turn the clock back a few months (granted, it feels like a few years at this point) to the start of March, Cassidy and the Bruins seemed to be in a pretty advantageous spot. Sure, both of Boston's deadline pickups in Kase and Ritchie hadn't exactly settled into a regular spot in the lineup, but with close to 10 regular-season games left on the docket, the B's appeared to have a pretty solid window to tinker with their lineup ahead of a playoff push.
Such a scenario isn't in the cards, now, however. With Cassidy and his staff like having to pencil both wingers into defined roles rather early into camp in an effort to develop some chemistry with Boston's pipeline of playmaking pivots. My hunch is that Kase, a winger with a propensity for peppering the net with shots, will ultimately slide in to the right of Krejci, while a bigger body in Ritchie could be of use at the netfront on a puck-possession line anchored by Coyle.
Still, the results for Kase next to his fellow Czech countryman in Krejci were decidedly mixed upon his arrival in Boston, with Boston tallying zero 5v5 goals (and relinquishing a pair down the other end of the ice) during the 54:46 of 5v5 ice time that Krejci and Kase have logged together this season. At the time of the pause, Cassidy had completely shuffled up his regular lineup — swapping Kase and David Pastrnak on the top-two lines, while giving Ritchie an extended look with Coyle.
Don't expect a momentum switch like breaking up the 63-37-88 line ahead of the postseason, but this could very well a scenario in which Kase and Ritchie are flipped around different line combos in in-game situations come August.
5 - Will any players join Steven Kampfer and opt out?
As of Sunday afternoon, a total of seven NHLers have decided to opt-out of the NHL’s Return to Play plan — a move offered to all players without any penalty attached. The lone condition that players abstaining from the league’s return must abide by is informing their club in a timely manner, with players tasked with announcing their intentions by Monday.
Bruins defenseman Steven Kampfer was one of the first to announce that he was going to sit out the remainder of the 2019-20 season — citing the health and wellbeing of his family as the primary determinant in what the blueline described as “one of the hardest decisions” he’d ever had to make.
No athlete should be subject to criticism for placing a higher value on safety and their family over a game — regardless of whether said player is an AHL call-up, depth player or franchise star.
Still, from an X’s and O’s perspective, the Bruins — and many other clubs — might have to adjust on the fly with their lineup if additional players make the call to sit out the next few months.
"We haven't heard from anybody else," Sweeney said of any other Bruins players officially opting out. "We may have one or two players that are still facing international quarantine rules, per recommendations of our staff. But within a day or so we should be fully up and going."
6 - Can Anders Bjork assert himself back against a crowded list of wingers?
Where both Kase and Ritchie factor into the lineup stand as the top two questions when it comes to sorting out the revolving door of wingers that Krejci has had to work with this season, but don’t overlook Boston’s third-line center in Coyle — who also hasn’t benefited all that much when it comes to consistently logging minutes with a set line. It's been an ongoing issue with Coyle ever since Boston traded for the Weymouth native back in February 2019 — with the center logging at least 50 minutes of 5v5 ice time with 13 different Bruins forwards.
Danton Heinen: 390:10 of ice time together
Anders Bjork: 383:13 of ice time together
Jake DeBrusk: 362:19 of ice time together
David Krejci: 198:46 of ice time together
Chris Wagner: 148:33 of ice time together
David Backes: 104:30 of ice time together
Sean Kuraly: 100:27 of ice time together
Brad Marchand: 92:15 of ice time together
David Pastrnak: 72:52 of ice time together
Joakim Nordstrom: 72:46 of ice time together
Karson Kuhlman: 69:54 of ice time together
Peter Cehlarik: 57:10 of ice time together
Marcus Johansson: 54:24 of ice time together
While Ritchie remains as a logical fit as Boston's 3LW, Anders Bjork could be in line to reclaim his spot at 3RW — with the crafty winger an early favorite when it comes to evaluating potential X-factors on this Bruins club. Even though Sean Kuraly could be an appealing option next to Coyle, the likely preference would be to keep him at his usual spot at 4C — where he is usually tasked with driving a versatile and physical forward group that will be counted on to negate opposing top-six forwards this postseason.
At the time of the pause, Bjork appeared to be on the outside looking in at the B's lineup, serving as a healthy scratch in four of Boston's final five games of the regular season. Granted, there's still a lot for Bjork to work on when it comes to rounding out his offensive game. Among the group of 16 Bruins skaters with at least 400 minutes of 5v5 ice time this year, Bjork has the sixth-lowest expected goals for per 60 minutes rate at 1.99 — with Boston’s fourth line of Joakim Nordstrom, Chris Wagner and Kuraly standing as only forwards with lower xGF/60 totals.
Still, Bjork does boast a number of merits to his game, especially on the defensive end. Among that same group of 16 skaters, Bjork ranks fifth overall in goals against per 60 minutes of play with a rate of 1.76 — with only Krejci, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk ahead of him. If we want to switch to expected goals against per 60 minutes, only Grzelcyk has a lower rate than Bjork’s 1.82.
Even though Boston relies quite a bit on its puck-moving defensemen to move the puck through the neutral zone, Bjork has also showcased signs of people a plus-transitional player this season. As noted in our piece on Bjork from back in April:
While Bjork may not carry in the puck nearly as much (49%) nearly as much as offensive juggernauts such as David Pastrnak (64%), David Krejci (64%) or Brad Marchand (64%), he does lead all Bruins skaters in terms of entries per 60 minutes — posting a rate of 25.80. So even if he isn’t directly carrying the puck into the O-zone at the same rate as a player like Pastrnak, Bjork’s ability to consistently enter the offensive zone — whether it be carrying it in, dumping it in, etc. — makes him a very valuable asset that should only continue to improve once he continues to round out his overall game.
Bjork might have been on a downward trajectory at the time of the pause, but some extended time off should do some good for what should be a very motivated young forward entering camp.
7 - Who will play next to Matt Grzelcyk on Boston's third D pairing?
With Kevan Miller officially ruled out for the entire 2019-20 season, it appears as though Boston is going to roll with another rookie on Boston's third D pairing for the second straight playoff run. While the emergence of Connor Clifton served as one of Boston's top surprises last season, Jeremy Lauzon has likely supplanted the Quinnipiac product as Boston's sixth D entering the playoffs.
Lauzon's emergence as a steady, stay-at-home presence on the blue line helped Boston shore up the back end of its D corps after Clifton was sidelined due to injury and Moore struggled after undergoing major shoulder surgery last summer. The Quebec native ranks second among B’s blueliners with an expected goals against per 60 minutes rate of 1.80, with a pairing of Lauzon-Grzelcyk only tagged for three goals against during their 194:49 of 5v5 TOI together.
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Still, don't discount Clifton when it comes to his chances of winning back his starting spot. The dynamic defenseman logged a little over 12 minutes of ice time in Boston's final regular-season game on March 10 — his first game since Dec. 29 after suffering an upper-body injury. Expect to see plenty of "Cliffy Hockey" highlights during camp as the promising skater looks to fight for his spot back in the lineup.
8 - Can Boston settle some free-agency negotiations before camp ends?
With the new CBA extension confirming that the NHL's salary cap upper limit will remain flat at $81.5 million — Sweeney and the Bruins finally have the parameters (as disappointing as they are) in place to begin charting out the upcoming offseason.
Even though the primary focus for this club remains its pursuit of the Stanley Cup this summer/early fall, Sweeney will have his hands full retaining a number of free agents entering the 2020-21 campaign — with Boston currently projected to have around $18 million in available space to sign the likes of:
UFAs:
Torey Krug
Zdeno Chara
Kevan Miller
Joakim Nordstrom
RFAs:
Matt Grzelcyk
Jake DeBrusk
Anders Bjork
Karson Kuhlman
While the preference will likely be for both player and team to hold off contract negotiations until after this postseason wraps up, Sweeney did not rule out a scenario in which inroads are made when it comes to new contracts.
"I've never stated that we'll never have conversation," Sweeney said. "So yeah, ultimately, I think we'll have it — case by case. I'm not going to be overly aggressive as we go through this whole training camp, phase three, getting to phase four and ultimately playing in the playoffs. But if something makes sense, then we'll do it. Some players are very particular in the fact that don't have any of those conversations until you're done. I respect that as well. ... I think I'll just touch base with each and every one of them. And that includes RFAs that need to be and want to know where they're going to be when we start up next year."