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Examining A Pivotal Offseason For The Boston Bruins

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Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub wrote a piece today going over his thoughts on the offseason that was for the Boston Bruins. Anderson writes that while the offseason losses were a challenge for the team, he believes the club can still contend for a division title, and at the very least make the playoffs in the Atlantic Division.

While Anderson offers up many reasons for optimism, he does believe that if the Bruins were to falter, they should look to move on from the eight unrestricted free agents that the Bruins will be dressing on opening night and try to acquire assets for them rather than throwing assets after band-aid solutions. Boston does have an extensive list of unrestricted free agents at the end of this year including Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk, Milan Lucic, A.J. Greer, Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Jakub Zboril. Moving on from these players would help facilitate a re-tool should the Bruins opt to go down that path.

There is a belief with Anderson and others that the Bruins could be buyers in the summer of 2024 when the cap goes up and the bonuses come off Boston’s cap. An added bonus to selling at the deadline would be that any assets acquired at the deadline could help the team make moves next summer when they have cap space to play with. Now, while it seems silly to be looking at trade deadline moves when the season hasn’t even started, it is an interesting idea for the Bruins for the reasons mentioned above.

One final note, and this could be a big one, is that Boston’s first-round pick this season was dealt in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade. The pick is top-10 protected and if Boston were to fall down the standings, they could grab a top-10 pick this year in a re-tooling year and give Detroit their 2025 pick when they presumably have re-stocked the NHL roster. The risk there of course is that they falter again in 2025 and hand the Red Wings a top-10 pick, but that seems unlikely given that the team will still have some solid pieces in place and possibly some reinforcements to join them.

Snapshots: World Championship, Grzelcyk, Ceci

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The medal games have been set at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.  After Latvia and Germany were able to pull off significant upsets to get to the semi-finals, one of them was able to do so again as the Germans scored late in the third to tie it at three send their game against Team USA to overtime, paving the way for former Pittsburgh prospect Frederik Tiffels to score the winner late in the extra session.  Meanwhile, in the first semi-final, the presumptive second-overall pick next month, Adam Fantilli, picked up the winner in the third period as Canada doubled up the Latvians 4-2.  Latvia and the US will face off for Bronze while Germany and Canada will battle for Gold with both games slated for Sunday.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic examines (subscription link) some potential trade options for the Bruins this summer, including defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The 29-year-old has been a capable secondary producer offensively for the past several seasons, including notching a career-high 26 points in 75 games in 2022-23.  However, his $3.6875MM AAV is a bit on the high side relative to his ice time which is that of a player on the third pairing and with the team facing quite a cap crunch this summer, Grzelcyk is a luxury they might not be able to afford.  He, along with fellow left-shot defenders Derek Forbort and Mike Reilly, are all a year away from unrestricted free agency and there’s a good chance one of them, if not more, will be on the move in the coming months.
  • While the Oilers will need to free up some cap space to re-sign Evan Bouchard and round out their roster this summer, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal argues that one of those money-saving moves shouldn’t involve moving defenseman Cody Ceci. The 29-year-old still has two years left on a contract that carries a $3.25MM price tag and saw his output dip from 28 to 15 points this season while seeing his playing time go down slightly as well.  However, the fact that he can still handle second-pairing minutes remains valuable on a team that has some unproven defenders and others that are best served with limited ice time so if they can find a way to cut costs elsewhere, that might be a better way for them to go.

Injury Updates: Grzelcyk, Walman, Wahlstrom

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With several key injuries already, the Bruins aren’t the healthiest team heading into the regular season.  However, there is good news on one of those fronts as Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will not begin the year on LTIR.  He underwent shoulder surgery in early June that was supposed to carry a minimum recovery time of five months.  With the minimum LTIR placement time only being 21 days, the expectation was that he’d be a safe bet to go on there to give Boston a little bit of short-term wiggle room on the cap.  The fact that he isn’t going there suggests that Grzelcyk will be ready ahead of schedule.  The 28-year-old is coming off a career year offensively with 24 points in 73 games and certainly will be a welcome addition when he’s cleared to play.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman skated today at practice and told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link) that he is ahead of schedule as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery and expects to be back before the original return date of mid-November. The 26-year-old was acquired from St. Louis just before the trade deadline last season and saw his ice time increase considerably from just under 12 minutes a night with the Blues to over 17 minutes per contest with Detroit.
  • Islanders winger Oliver Wahlstrom missed the last three preseason games due to an upper-body issue, notes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Despite that, it appears as if he’ll be available to suit up in Thursday’s opener.  Wahlstrom’s sophomore year was an underwhelming one as he managed just 13 goals and 11 assists in 73 games last season and he’ll certainly be looking for a stronger showing heading into a contract year.

Three Bruins Defensemen Undergo Surgery

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A trio of Boston Bruins defensemen underwent significant surgeries today, with two of them expected to miss the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, per the team. Most notably, Charlie McAvoy had a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization procedure that’s set to sideline him for six months, meaning he won’t make his season debut until early December. Additionally, Matt Grzelcyk will miss five months after a right shoulder open stabilization procedure and Mike Reilly will miss three months after a right ankle tendon repair and removal of bone fragments.

They all join forward Brad Marchand, who’s also expected to be out until late November, on the injured list for the B’s.

Having Marchand and McAvoy out of the lineup, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Patrice Bergeron’s NHL future, will be incredibly tough to navigate for this Bruins squad. Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak will be relied on very heavily for the first weeks of the season to keep the team from imploding.

However, if there’s good out of any of this for Bruins fans, it’s salary considerations. With Grzelcyk, Marchand, and McAvoy potential candidates for long-term injured reserve out of the gate, the team could have upwards of $15MM set aside on LTIR. This would give the team ample time into the season to figure out their salary picture, rather than just being constrained by the offseason. Prior to the injuries, the Bruins had just $4MM in cap space without Bergeron on the roster. The team had no real flexibility in free agency, but that might change if they can play their cards right.

It’s still a gutting loss, though, to have a top-ten defenseman in the league out of the lineup. Trade Deadline acquisition Hampus Lindholm will need to live up to his extension immediately, and that’s a lot of pressure for an also injury-prone defenseman. Head coach Bruce Cassidy will open the 2022-23 season undoubtedly facing the rockiest road he’s had so far as coach of this team. The team’s goal will be desperation mode until their stars are back, hopefully not falling too far back of the strong Atlantic Division pack.

Bruins Notes: Bergeron, Marchand, Grzelcyk

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After the Boston Bruins fell in seven games to their first-round opponent Carolina Hurricanes, the conversation surrounding the team and its future has centered around its captain: Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron, who turns 37 on July 24th, is one of the franchise’s biggest stars and one of the most widely respected players in the modern history of the game. He’s also set to become an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of the new league year, as the eight-year contract extension he signed in 2013 is expiring. So, naturally, given his age and contract situation, there is a significant amount of attention fixated on Bergeron’s future with the only NHL club he has ever known.

There is at least some uncertainty here. As relayed by The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, Bergeron said today that he will need time to make a decision about his future and whether he will continue playing. But, with that in mind, when asked if he could imagine playing for another team if he chooses to continue his career, there was no hesitation from Bergeron. He gave a simple answer: “no.” While Bergeron may be now well into his late-thirties, his game is still at an elite level. He is expected to be among the top contenders for a Selke Trophy once again, and he was productive offensively, scoring 25 goals and 65 points in 73 games. So, he would likely have many suitors on the open market if he sought to explore other options. But based on his comments today, it seems that he is making it clear to the hockey world that he will remain a Boston Bruin for the rest of his playing days.

Now, for some other notes regarding the Bruins:

  • It seemed that Bergeron’s longtime partner in crime Brad Marchand was his normal self in the team’s playoff series versus the Hurricanes, agitating opposing players and fans while stuffing the net to the tune of eleven points in seven games. But in reality, despite that production, Marchand was not his normal self, at least regarding his health. Marchand revealed today, per Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now, that he had been playing through an injury to his shoulder since suffering the ailment due to a hit from Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway in the regular season. While he remained productive throughout the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, Marchand did say that there was the possibility that he may require surgery this summer. He noted that he would need to “get it checked” with doctors first, though.
  • Marchand is not the only Bruin who was playing through an injury in the first round. Today Matt Grzelcyk revealed (per Matt Porter of the Boston Globe) that he had been playing through a dislocated shoulder, and that he would need surgery this offseason. He also noted that his recovery from that surgery could cause him to miss the start of next season. Grzelcyk only got into five games against the Hurricanes and did not manage to score a point, play that could be reflective of the toll the injury was taking on his game. Grzelcyk did have a productive regular season, though, and ranked second among Bruins defensemen in points. He has grown into one of the more important defensemen the Bruins have, so getting him back to health will be crucial if Boston wants to hit the ground running at the start of next season.

Injury Notes: MacEachern, Bruins, Flyers

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The regular season is over for Mackenzie MacEachern, but fortunately his Blues are planning to play well beyond then. The team announced today that MacEachern has been placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury. The LTIR placement requires that MacEachern sit for ten games and the Blues have just eight games left on the regular season slate. The 27-year-old forward did his best to stay off the shelf; after missing the past three games, MacEachern was back at practice today but was forced to leave early, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The cap-strapped Blues had little choice but to add MacEachern to the LTIR and recall forward Dakota Joshua from AHL Springfield on an emergency basis. The swap actually adds the superior player to the roster, as Joshua has more games played, average time on ice, goals, points, plus/minus and more with the Blues this season.

  • It took injuries to David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo, and Linus Ullmark to send the Boston Bruins into their first three-game losing streak of the season, the final team in the NHL to fall in three straight this year. As the team looks to right the ship on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’re hoping that improved health could help. Grzelcyk was back in the lineup on Thursday night and defense partner could be the next to return, reports beat writer Eric Russo. Carlo was back at practice on Friday and there is optimism that he can return tomorrow from an undisclosed injury. Ullmark, who left Thursday’s game after the first period, did not practice and could be dealing with a concussion, but for now is considered day-to-day. Pastrnak and Lindholm skated by themselves on Friday and there is still no timetable for their return. While there is something to be said for being bit by the injury bug before the postseason, especially for a Boston team that has been decimated in the playoffs in recent years, this rough patch is potentially costing the Bruins their shot at divisional playoff berth as opposed to a wild card spot.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers had no update on injured defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen today, as it is looking increasingly likely that his season is over. Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays that head coach Mike Yeo does not expect Ristolainen to return “any time soon” from an upper-body injury. There was also no update on Cam York, who is out with a lower-body injury and considered day-to-day. There is slightly more optimism surrounding Cam Atkinson, who is also out with a lower-body ailment. Atkinson won’t play on Saturday at Buffalo, but could suit up on Sunday for the second game of the home-and-home with the Sabres.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goaltending, Batherson, Pinto, Allen, Grzelcyk

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To say Toronto’s goaltending has struggled as of late would be an understatement.  Now, Jack Campbell is on injured reserve and Petr Mrazek didn’t exactly fare any better in his first game as the short-term starter.  However, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun cautions that the Maple Leafs making a trade for a goalie wouldn’t necessarily be worth doing.  Most of the goaltenders that are believed to be available aren’t sure-fire upgrades over Campbell and Mrazek and it’s quite possible that Campbell would still be the starter for the playoffs.  Considering that Toronto has limited cap space to work with (since Jake Muzzin is expected to return before the season ends), would that be better off being used on a player who will play in every game over one that would more or less be a short-term goalie stopgap that isn’t necessarily an improvement over their current options?

More from the Atlantic:

  • Although Senators winger Drake Batherson has returned to practice, he won’t play in Ottawa’s current five-game homestand, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 23-year-old has averaged over a point per game this season with 34 points in 31 games but hasn’t played since late January when he suffered a high ankle sprain.  Meanwhile, Ottawa expects to find out in the next couple of weeks if center Shane Pinto will be able to return at some point this season.  The rookie was expected to be a big part of their lineup this season but a shoulder injury has limited him to just five games so far.
  • While Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen has resumed skating, he won’t suit up in either of Montreal’s games this weekend, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 31-year-old is having a tough year like many are in Montreal and has a .901 SV% in 24 starts this season but has come up as a speculative trade candidate if he’s able to show that he has fully recovered from the lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last two months and get into game action before the March 21st trade deadline.
  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will return tonight against Arizona after missing the last two games – one due to an upper-body injury and the other to illness. The 28-year-old sits second in scoring among Boston defenders with 19 points in 51 games.  Jack Ahcan, who scored his first career NHL goal while taking Grzelcyk’s place in the lineup, will be a healthy scratch.

Bo Horvat, Mike Reilly Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks have both announced new additions to the COVID protocol today, obviously affecting their lineup for tonight’s action.

In Vancouver, it’s captain Bo Horvat that is now unavailable to the club, as they look to try and put another dash in the win column this evening. Horvat was a huge part of the team’s win Sunday night against the Washington Capitals, scoring the game-winning goal and registering an assist in more than 20 minutes of ice time. Those two points took his season total to 23 in 38 games, good for fourth on the team and third among forwards.

His absence will be felt all over the ice but perhaps most in the faceoff dot, where he takes more than twice as many draws as anyone else on the Canucks roster. In fact, Horvat leads all NHL players in faceoffs this season, taking 891 through 38 games so far. His 503 wins sit just barely behind Patrice Bergeron for the league lead; the Bruins captain has an incredible 63% win rate this season.

Boston meanwhile will be without Mike Reilly, who enters the protocol after playing more than 21 minutes on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators (Nashville will face Vancouver tonight). The 28-year-old defenseman has found a home with the Bruins, where he has seen more ice time than anywhere else on his NHL journey and contributes in all situations. While he has just nine points in 32 games this season, Reilly’s puck-moving ability is an important piece of the puzzle for Boston.

Luckily, Matt Grzelcyk is set to return after his own stint on the COVID protocol, meaning the Bruins won’t really miss a beat. Urho Vaakanainen will also be afforded a bit more time with the big club, something he has taken advantage of in recent days. The young defenseman will skate beside Charlie McAvoy and very well could break the 20-minute mark for the fourth consecutive game.

Coyle, Forbort Expected To Step Into Top Roles For Bruins

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With the unexpected departure of David Krejci, the unknown status of injured Tuukka Rask, and a shockingly busy first day of free agency that included adding a number of top names, there are plenty of questions surrounding the Boston Bruins and how they may look next season. With so many possible lineup combinations and the team having yet to even practice together once, it would be understandable to leave fans wondering how the team may be structured in 2021-22. However, head coach Bruce Cassidy is not afraid to hint at his plans. Speaking with beat writer Eric Russo, Cassidy was open about who he sees stepping into some of the most important vacancies in the Bruins lineup.

First and foremost on the minds of most is who will step into Krejci’s role as second line center, especially after Taylor Hall was re-signed following stellar production with Krejci and Craig Smith. Well, despite some speculation to the contrary, Occam’s Razor prevails. Third line center Charlie Coyle will indeed get the first shot at centering the second line, as Cassidy called him the “obvious choice”. Coyle may be coming off of the worst offensive season of his career, but the two-way forward will be healthy this season following off-season knee surgeries and will look to return to form, which is a player whose career full-season scoring pace is 40 points. Cassidy notes that with Hall and Smith having experience playing together and Coyle and Smith also having played together, the familiarity that the three would share makes it an easy initial choice as the team’s second line. However, Cassidy does note that free agent additions Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek both play their best at center as well and could be next in line if Coyle is not a fit.

On defense, while some were content with the Bruins’ most frequent top pair of Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy, not everyone was convinced. Count Cassidy among that group. The head coach opined that the role may have been asking too much of Grzelcyk. He believes that free agent addition Derek Forbort, who plays a much more defensive and physical style, could in fact be the better match with McAvoy. Cassidy stated that between competing for that role and likely playing alongside Brandon Carlo on the top penalty kill unit, Forbort will be expected to play “big minutes”. Of course, Forbort will have to prove himself worthy, as Grzelcyk has the advantage of being the incumbent. Cassidy noted that Mike Reilly will likely continue to play with Carlo, but that too could change if Grzelcyk is bumped from the top pair.

Elsewhere on the roster, Cassidy firmly stated his support for Connor Clifton as getting the first shot as the regular third pair right-handed defenseman in the wake of Kevan Miller’s retirement. However, he also noted that youngsters Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen as well as recovering veteran John Moore all have experience playing their off side and will compete for opportunity. In the bottom-six, Cassidy offered a vote of confidence for Jake DeBrusk retaining his starting job as third line left wing, while also advocating for top prospect Jack Studnicka to get a look for a roster spot. With the versatility of additions Haula, Nosek, and Nick Foligno, there are plenty of potential combinations on that third line and there is a high likelihood of a more offensive fourth line in Boston than in years with the overflow of the third line position battle matched with the likes of Curtis Lazar and Trent Frederic. In goal, Cassidy did not just announce free agent splurge Linus Ullmark as the new starter; in fact quite the contrary. Cassidy expects Ullmark and breakout rookie Jeremy Swayman “to compete for the majority of the starts.” While Ullmark was compensated like a starter by the Bruins in both salary and term, Cassidy notes that Swayman will be given a fair chance to “come in and potentially be the No. 1.”

How it all plays out in Boston remains to be seen, but Cassidy did not hold anything back about his thought and plans for the current roster. That should give fans of the Bruins and their Atlantic Division rivals something more concrete to consider as the days tick down to the start of the regular season.

East Notes: Eichel, Beecher, Boston Injuries, Hart

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While Sabres center Jack Eichel continues to rehab his neck injury and wait for a decision on whether or not to have surgery, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in a recent appearance on WGR 550 (audio link) that Eichel’s preference is to simply have the procedure, one that carries a six-week recovery time.  That would give him plenty of time to rehab and be ready for training camp in the fall.

Where he goes for that camp is going to be one of the storylines to watch for this summer.  Eichel has been in trade speculation for a while now but a trade in-season would have been tough to do for salary cap purposes.  Dreger reports that the Kings are one of the teams that have been interested in the 24-year-old.  They would be an interesting fit as they have young center prospects (including Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Gabriel Vilardi) that would need to be part of the deal plus the cap space to afford his $10MM price tag.  Of course, should the Sabres make him available, there will be plenty of other suitors as well.

More from the East Division:

  • The Bruins aren’t expected to try to turn John Beecher pro this summer, suggests Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). His sophomore campaign at Michigan came to an early end due to shoulder surgery and he was limited to just 16 games, recording four goals and four assists.  Accordingly, it makes sense for Boston to want him to stay in college for another year although Divver indicated that if Beecher wants to turn pro, they will oblige that request.
  • Still with Boston, the Bruins were happy to have Tuukka Rask back in the lineup on Thursday for their match-up against the New York Islanders.  However, that appears to be the only addition from the infirmary that they’ll get, as Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Brandon Carlo (upper body), and Kevan Miller (undisclosed) aren’t expected to return for the team’s next game on Sunday, according to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter.
  • Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was a late scratch from this afternoon’s contest against Washington with the team tweeting that he has a lower-body injury. Hart has been better this month after a disastrous March, posting a .910 SV% in five games before this setback.  There’s no word yet on how long he’ll miss.

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