With regular-season hockey now just over a week away, the Bruins are getting closer and closer to whittling their training-camp roster down to the grouping that Jim Montgomery expects to roll out on the ice come Oct. 12 down in Washington D.C.
Following Boston’s fourth preseason game against the Devils on Monday night, the B’s were busy making moves on the player transaction wire Tuesday — with Oskar Steen, Nick Wolff and Connor Carrick all placed on waivers.
Boston’s plan is for all three to clear waivers in hopes that they will be able to report to Providence, although that all depends on whether another team claims them within the next 24 hours. In addition, the Bruins assigned defensemen Victor Berglund, Mike Callahan and Kai Wissmann to Providence.
As of right now, here are the remaining players listed on the Bruins training-camp roster:
Forwards: John Beecher, Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Nick Foligno, Trent Frederic, A.J. Greer, Joona Koppanen, David Krejci, Jakub Lauko, Vinni Lettieri, Fabian Lysell, Brad Marchand, Marc McLaughlin, Tomas Nosek, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith, Jack Studncika, Chris Wagner, Pavel Zacha
Defense: Jack Ahcan, Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, Hampus Lindholm, Mike Reilly, Dan Renouf, Jakub Zboril
Goalies: Kyle Keyser, Keith Kinkaid, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark
Injured: Matt Filipe, Taylor Hall, Brad Marchand, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy
The Bruins will still need to subtract a hefty portion of players from their roster in the coming days, but it does seem like things are starting to come into focus when it comes to Montgomery’s plans for this lineup — especially as it pertains to a number of roster battles further down on the depth chart.
As we get closer and closer to the end of training camp, here are three quick takeaways on the current state of Boston’s roster.
The 4RW spot seems like it’s Marc McLaughlin’s spot to lose
Among the group of six players sent off the B’s camp roster on Tuesday, Steen stands as the headliner — with the 24-year-old winger entering the preseason as the likely favorite to replace Curtis Lazar at right wing on Boston’s fourth line.
Some of that thinking had to do with the fact that Steen was no longer exempt from waivers, giving him the edge over another young winger like Marc McLaughlin — who could have been sent down to Providence without any risk of getting plucked up by another team.
Had both Steen and McLaughlin played at the same level through these first few preseason games, it would have been a given that Boston was going to roll with Steen first.
But aside from a shorthanded tally against the Rangers last Tuesday, Steen has done very little to convince Montgomery and Don Sweeney of why he should earn regular minutes in this B’s lineup — with the forward not filling the stat sheet in just about any category during his reps over the last few weeks.
Even though McLaughlin and his linemates in Jack Studnicka and A.J. Greer didn’t generate much in Monday’s loss to New Jersey, Steen was largely a no-show — generating zero shot attempts in 13:40 of 5v5 ice time.
The Bruins were really going to need McLaughlin to force their hand (and Steen to underwhelm) to run the risk of letting another team snag Steen off waivers at the end of camp. But such is the scenario that played out, with McLaughlin’s solid two-way game — coupled with a bit of a higher offensive ceiling courtesy of that sneaky wrist shot — making him the current leader in the clubhouse for that checking-line spot.
Also, don’t discount Chris Wagner, who has been as advertised as a physical presence during his reps on the ice (16 hits in two preseason games). Would not be surprised if he earns a spot out of camp as one of Boston’s extra skaters.
No real surprises on defense
It still remains to be seen just how the final D pairings are sorted out in the next week-plus, but there weren’t any major revelations following word that Carrick, Wolff, Wissmann, Berglund and Callahan were getting moved off the camp roster.
Even though Carrick was brought in as some insurance on the right side, the Bruins appear to have that area of their D corps sorted out in the short-term, especially following Anton Stralman’s arrival as a PTO candidate and Jakub Zboril’s strong play on the right through most of preseason action.
Of course, the Bruins still need to sign Stralman to a one-year contract some time in the next week, but the writing seems to be on the wall that the B’s will keep the 36-year-old veteran around, potentially as a partner next to Hampus Lindholm on Boston’s top D pairing.
At this point, the only remaining question mark for Boston’s defense between now and Oct. 12 is who the seventh D will be. If an offensively-rejuvenated Mike Reilly earns a starting spot to open the season, it might come down to whether or not Zboril can push Connor Clifton out of his right-side spot on the third pair.
Wednesday’s preseason tilt in NYC should hold some significant sway on roster decisions
With two more preseason games left on the docket, it does seem as though Montgomery and Co. are envisioning Saturday’s home matchup against New Jersey as a sort of “dress rehearsal” with a mostly full lineup set to hit the ice.
As such, Wednesday’s tune-up against the Rangers might be the final chance for some of those lingering roster battles to be decided — be it where Nick Foligno and Trent Frederic slot into the lineup, the aforementioned 7th D debate and both A.J. Greer and Jack Studnicka’s ability to stick on a fourth line next to McLaughlin.
One player to watch will be Fabian Lysell, who Montgomery noted could be in play for Wednesday night despite suffering an injury last Saturday against the Flyers. Even though it seems increasingly likely that Lysell will open the year in Providence, perhaps a strong game in a top-six spot against the Blueshirts does open the door for Boston to give him an early look.
It might be setting the 19-year-old winger up for disappointment when it comes to adjusting to the NHL game on the fly, but if you’re asking me which forward trio offers a higher offensive ceiling — I’ll opt for a configuration of DeBrusk-Bergeron-Lysell, over, say, Foligno-Bergeron-DeBrusk.