Tomas Nosek might be lone constant on a crowded fourth line - Where do other pieces fit?

When the Bruins inked former Vegas forward Tomas Nosek to a two-year, $3.5 million contract back in July, there was considerable intrigue — and plenty of questions presented. 

After getting put on the ropes during far too many shifts in 2021, Boston’s fourth line was in desperate need of an injection of new blood, with Nosek offering a more tangible scoring punch down the middle. 

His numbers may not jump off the page, but the 29-year-old Nosek served as a steady presence on the Knights’ bottom-six corps over the last four seasons — notching at least 15 points in all of his campaigns out in the desert. 

For Bruce Cassidy, Nosek offered the plenty of size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), speed and O-zone production lost when Sean Kuraly returned to his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency. 

"Pace,” Cassidy said of what Nosek brings out on the ice. “I think when you think of a bigger man and down the lineup, I think he gets around the ice well. I didn't know a lot other than what Pete DeBoer told me in Vegas. Some of that is coach-speak that we keep internal, but I can share the fact that he loved him as a player and as a person and would really help any team he was on. … I thought his numbers were very under the radar last year.

“Some of that you have to dive into it a little further probably to see how that played out. But at the end of the day, it's nice to know there's a guy that could move up in the lineup if you have an injury from the fourth line and compliment the skill guys and still do his job down there.”

Cassidy did hit the nail on the head in terms of correlating Nosek’s usage last season in Vegas with the production he put forward. Because if there was a potential red flag with the straight-line forward, it was that DeBoer often placed Nosek in favorable ice — with 58.96% of his faceoffs at 5v5 play set in the offensive zone last year. 

In Cassidy’s system, fourth liners aren’t granted the same favorable starts out on the sheet. With O-zone reps allocated more for Boston’s top-six unit in years past, Cassidy often pencils in his checking unit for some daunting on-assignments, tasked with slowing down the opposition’s top weapons while spending most of their shifts in Boston’s own zone. 

Last season, the two Bruins with the lowest offensive-zone faceoff percentage at 5v5 strength were, unsurprisingly, Chris Wagner (24.88%) and Kuraly (22.99%). As such, concerns about Nosek’s ability to positively impact Boston’s fourth line with so few O-zone starts did hold some validity. 

But the B’s free-agent pickup did assuage some of those worries in his first preseason tune-up with his new club on Tuesday. The man in the middle of a line with a couple of viable fourth-line stalwarts in Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar, Nosek kept things simple during Boston's loss to the Rangers — knocking pucks loose on the forecheck and hanging around Grade-A ice for quality chances.

Despite having just 22% of his faceoffs set in the offensive zone during 5v5 play, Nosek still managed to land some punches down the other end of the ice — leading the B’s in shots on goal with seven on eight attempts while later drawing a penalty. 

He may not win many style points, but Nosek’s knack for hovering around the crease and jamming in loose pucks is a welcome sight on a checking unit that far too often was unable to string together productive shifts down the other end of the ice last year.

It might be just one game, but Nosek’s presence down the middle offers at least some hope for a bounce-back campaign for Boston’s fourth line. But that result might ultimately hinge on which wingers get penciled in to the left and right of Nosek. As of right now, that remains a work in progress.

A fourth-line combination of Nosek, Frederic and Lazar makes plenty of sense as far as roster building is concerned. 

While Frederic’s knack for getting under the skin of opponents is well-documented, Boston believes the young forward has a higher ceiling than just a bruiser, especially in terms of his O-zone capabilities. Lazar offered some intrigue last year as an additional piece in the Taylor Hall trade, bolstering Boston’s depth as a straight-line winger in a simple, forechecking role. 

But despite skating together for a majority of camp, that assortment of talent struggled at times to put it all together on the MSG ice Tuesday. A poor turnover by Lazar in the neutral zone eventually led to a breakaway tally from Artemi Panarin, while Frederic both failed to make much of an impact in the forechecking game and took a bad penalty that wiped out a B’s power play.

"They can be better, that's for sure,” Cassidy said of Boston’s fourth line. “Those guys have been in the league. A little more the wingers — I thought Freddy didn't move his feet nearly well enough to be effective. A couple of chances off the rush got blocked because he didn't separate a little more to create time for himself and then for a line that's going to be an O-zone puck possession line, there's some work to do there for them. 

“They lost the puck in the second period there that led to Panarin's goal where they just need to be a little harder. It's a bad change, of course. I think they had their moments where they did attack, but other times they're gonna have to work off each other better. I thought the PK part of it was good. But the 5v5, we'll take another look at it. But there's, like I said, room to grow for that line to learn each other's tendencies so they can control pucks better.”

Of course, one lackluster showing does not signal a call to push the panic button on the fourth line — especially with Boston still intrigued by what a player like Frederic can offer in a regular role. 

But if this current combination doesn’t gel, the B’s also have the luxury of setting their sights on a number of other potential fourth-line contributors either currently on the outside looking in at guaranteed reps or youngsters knocking at the door. 

Wagner stands as the logical next man up if Boston has to shuffle through some bodies on the fourth line, with the Walpole native looking to bounce back from a lackluster 2021 campaign. Wagner, who has yet to earn regular reps with guys like Nosek or Frederic during camp, is cognizant of the fact that a definitive starting role is not a guarantee this upcoming season. 

“I'm never comfortable. I haven't been comfortable in 10 years," Wagner said of his outlook in camp. "So just try to do the best I can. Work as hard as anybody on the ice and be physical, forecheck, penalty kill, all that and try to be an asset to help the team win."

Of course, if Boston is looking to inject a bit more speed into the mix, could an AHLer like Jakub Lauko make the jump and serve as a spark into the bottom-six? One has to think that more tenured players like Karson Kuhlman might get a look after Wagner, but Lauko could change some of that sentiment with a strong camp.

As far as play styles are concerned, the Bruins can go in a lot of different directions when it comes to slotting in wingers around Nosek. Wingers like Kuhlman and Zach Senyshyn offer straight-line speed. Frederic and Anton Blidh offer some more thump. Oskar Steen presents a high motor, as does another AHLer in Cameron Hughes. Lauko serves as a bit of a blend of skill and snarl, although it remains to be seen if the details of his game are refined enough at this stage to handle the daunting minutes given to fourth liners in Cassidy’s system.

And, of course, the Bruins could have a very good problem on their hands if Jack Studnicka does enough during preseason action to warrant a spot in the lineup, which could push a third-liner like Nick Foligno or Erik Haula further down the depth chart. 

Thankfully, the Bruins have four more preseason games and a couple more weeks to identify the proper mix of players that can complement Nosek and get that fourth line in order. 

It’s a tough gig, but someone in a black-and-gold sweater has gotta do it. And it sure seems like there’s plenty of faces still on the camp roster lining up for a chance at it.