Training camp may not open for another couple of weeks, but new Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery is already busy collaborating with his new staff and formulating ways for a talented (but banged-up) Bruins roster to hit the ground (or ice) running this fall.
In a wide-ranging interview with Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Montgomery did tip his hand when it came to revealing a few key facets about the makeup of the B’s with him at the helm — including roles for his fellow coaches, Boston’s defensive structure and a lot more.
Let’s run through a few highlights from Conroy’s interview with Montgomery and how these tweaks might help draw more out of this veteran roster.
Coaching roles announced for Montgomery’s staff
While a majority of Bruce Cassidy’s staff was retained following his firing, Montgomery is going to be shifting around some of the duties that fall on his assistants.
New hire John Gruden will primarily be tasked with overseeing both Boston’s defense and its power play — following a similar role as the one he served under Barry Trotz with the Islanders. Joe Sacco will handle both the forwards and the penalty kill, while Chris Kelly will focus on faceoffs, puck protection for forwards, along with pre-scout work.
No surprise, but Bob Essensa will once again hold court over Boston’s goalies in 2022-23.
Of course, given Montgomery’s track record when it came to working with both the power play and PK during his previous stint as an assistant coach with St. Louis, it’s to be expected that he will have some input with Boston’s special-teams systems.
Gruden’s tasks here in Boston also aren’t much of a surprise, given the former blueliner’s resume with the Islanders. During his four seasons with New York, Gruden helped overhaul a defense that ranked in the top 10 in fewest goals against per game each year.
The most interesting wrinkle will come with how Gruden augments Boston’s power play, with an expected avenue coming by way of encouraging more shots from the blue line in search of rebounds and other high-danger chances.
“I think there's always a time to just get pucks to the net,” Gruden said last month. “When teams are out of the structure, that when there's someone at the net front, but other than that, it's always good to get some movement with three high up top and get the D moving a little bit more laterally and create some confusion to the D-zone coverage, whatever the D-zone coverage that the other team is playing.
“But you have to create some movement, some puck movement amongst the five in the offensive zone to create. So that's something — it'll be a challenge for us, but it's also I think it'll hopefully be exciting for the players as well and the defenseman especially.”
Staying in zone
While Montgomery’s systems and coaching style are expected to help coax more tangible scoring out of this group, he confirmed that the Bruins aren’t going to completely uproot the stingy zone defense that both Claude Julien and later Cassidy installed years back.
“It goes back to ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix anything.’ I’ve always been impressed with the Bruins D-zone since Claude Julien’s days and through to (Cassidy’s) days,” Montgomery told Conroy. “They have two centermen that have done it for 15 years, minimum, and they have a third center in Charlie (Coyle) who’s been doing it a while. So we’re going to maintain that. We’re going to put in a few wrinkles that I’ve seen in studying the film and talking with assistants and Don Sweeney that we think can get us out of our zone a little quicker. But it’s basically going to be the same D-zone system.”
Such a rationale falls in line with Gruden’s comments during his first meeting with the Boston media — in which he said that Montgomery stressed the need for Boston to continue to uphold its identity as a defensive-minded club that can grind even the most explosive offenses to a halt.
“One of the points that he made is that he'd like to get done a little bit more active but without losing that ability to defend — because that's Boston's M.O,” Gruden said. “You can still do both and grow on the offensive part to get the D more involved to get the puck to the forwards and then take some ice when it's available, but not force it.”
While zone defenses often require greater execution and an emphasis on communication, successfully implementing and executing it often offers greater returns than a more straightforward man-to-man defense — especially when it comes to creating layers of defense for the opposition to break through.
Offense through the blue line
A number of players up front on Boston’s depth chart might have more to give in terms of offense, but Montgomery believes that the primary area where the B’s can generate more O-zone production is located on the back end — with the B’s new coach signaling a willingness to give players like Connor Clifton and Mike Reilly more leeway to jump up into plays when the opportunity arises.
“You’re going to have to give them leeway to jump into holes that they see,” Montgomery told the Herald. “I look at guys like a Mike Reilly or a Connor Clifton, guys that are naturally aggressive offensively. You’re going to have to live with a little bit of risk to get more reward. That might mean we give up a few more odd-man rushes. I don’t like giving up odd-man rushes and the Bruins haven’t given up a lot of them. But even a guy like Brandon Carlo, who I think with his skating and his reach can probably take a lot more opportunities getting closer to the net, moving more on the offensive blue line to make it harder to block shots.”
Again, Montgomery’s comments to the Herald reinforce the thoughts that Gruden shared when it comes to augmenting a D corps by way of facilitating a bit more risk-taking — but not to the point where Boston’s identity becomes muddled.
“I think there's a way to evolve the D as far as still playing their position, doing it the right way but also knowing the right times to jump," Gruden said. "Obviously, it's situational too as far as where the score is at, without forcing it. So there is a balance. I think there's a little bit of the new and a little bit of the old in today's game that's effective. And that's the beauty of it is finding where each player can get comfortable on the back end to where they're not putting themselves in too much trouble.
“But also utilizing some of the skills that they may not have had the opportunity to use in the past. So it's just finding, and once I get to get a chance to really get in there and get to know them on a better basis, as far as their talents and their personalities. That's the enjoyment of it. There's always a way to get something more out of some players. So there's a balance there between the old and the new. But it's something if you be there to help them through it, there's always room to grow either way. And that's the exciting part about what we do.”
No surprises with the lineup
In a far from shocking development, it seems as though Montgomery plans on keeping Jake DeBrusk with Patrice Bergeron (and eventually Brad Marchand) — while David Krejci and David Pastrnak will likely log heavy minutes together.
For as much as Boston might need to juggle its lineup in the early going due to injuries, splitting up the 63-37-88 configuration and keeping DeBrusk up on the top line stands as an easy way for Boston to create a pretty devastating matchup nightmare for opposing defenses — especially if Krejci doesn’t miss a step in his return to the NHL ranks.