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We’re still close to seven weeks away from the official start of training camp, but with just a little over $1 million in available cap space, what you see might be what you get when it comes to a Bruins’ lineup that will be looking to fill the void left by David Krejci’s departure.
Of course, there’s still plenty that can transpire between now and Sept. 22, especially on the trade market, but Bruce Cassidy — speaking on Thursday during Day 4 of Boston’s Development Camp — offered his initial impressions of his revamped roster and just what kind of lineup we might see at Warrior come the fall.
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
“If it ain’t broke…”
Given the lack of top-six production down the middle outside of Bergeron, it wouldn’t be an outlandish idea to potentially break up Boston’s top trio of Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak in hopes of balancing out the scoring further down on the depth chart.
Promoting a two-way, shoot-first winger in Craig Smith would still give Boston an effective, 200-foot first line — while a surefire way to ease Charlie Coyle into a high-pressure, 2C role would be handing him two lethal wingers to his left and right in Taylor Hall and Pastrnak.
But for as tempting as such a move might be in terms of giving Boston four potentially great lines instead of one ELITE trio and and a few question marks — Cassidy doesn’t seem to be willing to split up that top line anytime soon.
“No, I think we’re going to start with it together,” Cassidy said of the 63-37-88 crew. “We know what we have there. They’re a handful to play against. And let’s see how the other guys shake out, probably more than moving David around. Then as the year goes on, see how the chemistry develops with other lines. We know the top line has it. If we need to drop David down and move some pieces around, we’ll look at that if it makes us a better team.”
Taylor Hall — Charlie Coyle — Craig Smith
As we mapped out last weekend, it sure seems like we’re going to have a “2C by committee” scenario set to play out in camp — with Boston looking internally for the player with the unenviable task of stepping into David Krejci’s skates and driving play in a top-six spot next to Hall and Smith.
And to the surprise of very few, Boston’s bench boss knows who the first man up will be for said top-six gig.
“I think the obvious choice is Charlie Coyle. He’s the most familiar with our guys. I’m the most familiar with him,” Cassidy said of Coyle. “A lot of the other guys fall into place. I know that (Erik) Haula and (Tomas) Nosek prefer to play in the middle. Nick Foligno’s a little more of a guy that will move around, so that’s probably how it’ll play out for him. So Charlie and Taylor Hall, and Smith was on that line last year. If Coyle can bring some of what Krech did, that’ll be a real good line .So that’s the way we’re leaning, and see how the other pieces shake out.”
Coming off a 2021 season plagued by nagging knee ailments, a lack of support on the third line and a subsequent dearth in O-zone production (six goals, 16 points over 51 games), Coyle may not exactly inspire the most confidence when it comes to moving up the depth chart and getting handed the keys to such a key spot in Boston’s lineup.
But you could very well make the argument that this was the plan all along for Boston when it came to identifying Krejci’s successor —— at least it sure seems like that was the thinking when Boston handed Coyle a six-year, $31.5 million contract back in November 2019. Even before this current flat-cap era, that’s not exactly money you toss out to a 3C.
But even if he rebounds from last season and is more of the puck-possession monster we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Coyle in years past, can he be an effective top-six stalwart — or are his tools better suited as a matchup nightmare in the bottom-six unit? Boston sure is hoping for the former.
Jake DeBrusk - Erik Haula - Nick Foligno
With Cassidy noting that Boston intends to keep Haula in the middle, this could be a very interesting group — especially if DeBrusk sticks with the club and isn’t used as trade bait to acquire help down the middle or on the blue line.
As appealing as DeBrusk might be as a trade chip, Boston isn’t going to deal the hot-and-cold winger just for the sake of dealing him — especially given the pretty solid chance that he pots another 20+ goals in short order after being handed a clean slate elsewhere.
With Haula adding speed and two-way play down the middle (his 55.1 FO% led Nashville last season), Foligno adding some thump and defensive responsibility at right wing and DeBrusk afforded easier matchups and a chance to serve as the finisher on some greasy chances set up by his new linemates, there’s both intrigue and risk involved with a third line that needs to pull its weight far beyond what its predecessor did in 2021.
“Jake, obviously, on the left side, third line, behind (Marchand) and Taylor, will be a good fit for him to start, and see where it goes with the other guys,” Cassidy said. “We added some good pieces we can move around. … "If Jake ends up third-line left winger, he’s not going up against top pairs, maybe as much as he used to. So can you convince him to bring a little bit more in that regard?”
Another name to also keep tabs on here is Jack Studnicka, who could find himself contending for a middle-six role on this roster with a strong showing in camp. The 22-year-old pivot has apparently been working out like a madman in Foxborough this summer and has put on a healthy amount of bulk this offseason - and he sure looks it when you spot him out on the ice at Warrior these days after Dev Camp practices wrap up.
Curtis Lazar / Trent Frederic — Tomas Nosek — Chris Wagner / Lazar
Don’t be surprised if this fourth line looks drastically different from the one that Cassidy eventually trots out when the 2021-22 season opens in October.
Despite Don Sweeney noting last week that they wanted to try Trent Frederic at 4C, it looks like new FA pickup Tomas Nosek will get first dibs down the middle — with Frederic and Curtis Lazar potentially vying for a regular spot at left wing. Chris Wagner might be thin ice at right wing, and could get pushed out of the rotation if either Lazar/Frederic flip sides.
Of course, the fourth line is also an avenue for some younger players to cut their teeth up in the NHL ranks, so newcomers like Cameron Hughes or perhaps even a Jakub Lauko might make a push for a regular spot during training camp.
Matt Grzelcyk/Derek Forbort — Charlie McAvoy
As impressive as the underlying metrics are when Grzelcyk and McAvoy are deployed together, Cassidy was cognizant of the fact that Boston’s top pairing was exposed at times during the postseason against a frantic Isles forecheck.
As such, don’t be surprised if McAvoy earns extended reps with both Grzelcyk and Boston’s free-agent addition in Derek Forbort — especially if Boston is matched up against heavier opponents.
"We know Grizz and Charlie can play together,” Cassidy said. “Didn't work out as well in the playoffs as we'd like. It's a lot of demands on Grizz so we brought in a guy like a Forbort that's ... a bigger defender, a different type of defender (than Grzelcyk).
“So we want to see how that would look with Charlie. Now whether we do that every night or not remains to be seen. That's a big ask. We know Grizz can slot in there at times, so I think you'll see some toggling.”
Mike Reilly — Brandon Carlo
Based on the way Cassidy mapped out the rest of his revamped blue line, it sure looks like Reilly is going to be logging plenty of minutes next to Carlo in 2021-22 and beyond.
That more or less falls in line with what Boston attempted to craft last season before Carlo’s concussion issues thwarted regular reps. In terms of a potential partner on Boston’s blue line, keeping Reilly with Carlo does make plenty of sense — with Boston holding a 40-14 edge in shots on goal when they were deployed together over 58:34 of 5v5 ice time in the regular season. Carlo himself has also noted that he enjoys playing with a smaller, puck-moving partner rather than another defenseman with a similar play style.
Derek Forbort/Matt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
We might see Grzelcyk and Forbort regularly move up and down the lineup when it comes to earning reps next to McAvoy, but on the right side, it sure seems like that third-pairing role is Connor Clifton’s at this stage in the offseason.
"Clifton has a great shot to be that regular guy on the right side, A — because he shoots right. And B — because he's gotten better every year and now with a bit of an opening there let's see if he can take advantage of it," Cassidy said.
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
No surprises here in net when it comes to Boston’s overhauled goalie corps, with Boston banking on some strong production from Ullmark after posting some lofty numbers as the last line of defense on a dreadful Buffalo team.
But don’t expect Swayman to simply serve as the backup option looking to get his feet wet up in the NHL ranks. Ullmark might open the year as the No. 1 netminder, but it sure seems like Cassidy and his staff will give Swayman every opportunity for fight for more reps if he can continue the absurd run he put together last spring.
“I think they're both going to compete for the majority of the starts,” Cassidy said. “That's the way we see it ... The work Swayman did last year, that he was able to handle what we threw at him and then Ullmark, playing in front of our team — does that change the way he approaches the game? At the end of the day, we feel he's a young goalie that's got a lot to give.
“Some upside there that's put up some solid numbers in this league but certainly has room to improve on those with our group. It's going to be new for Sway to come in and potentially be the No. 1 and Ullmark — a new organization, having been the No. 1, how's it gonna play out for him? It's a different environment here, different expectations. So, at the end of the day, we're all looking forward to seeing where they're both at.”
