The Presidents Trophy winning team from the 13-14 season lost first line right winger Jarome Iginla to free agency while failing to add any significant pieces. It will be interesting to see if they add any depth players via trade before the start of the season.
Forwards
– Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Loui Eriksson
Lucic and Krejci have been mainstays on the Boston first line for many years. Eriksson will slide into Iginla’s old spot. He played right wing on the third line last year for the B’s
– Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Reilly Smith
In the Top 6, four players, (Lucic, Krejci, Marchand, and Bergeron) held their exact spots on the team that won the Stanley Cup in the 2010-11 season. Reilly Smith was excellent playing next to Bergeron, and he will continue to progress this year.
– Chris Kelly – Carl Soderberg – Matt Fraser
The third line will regress from last year’s unit because of the loss of winger Loui Eriksson to the first line.
Matt Fraser showed some promise in last year’s playoffs, and he scored the only goal in Boston’s Game 4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in their playoff series. It looks like he will make the jump from the AHL this season.
– Daniel Paille – Greg Campbell – Jordan Caron
The Bruins’ decision not to re-sign winer Shawn Thornton broke up the line that was fondly known as the Merlot Line. Paille and Campbell still remain from that fourth unit, and Jordan Caron will be able to contribute offensively on this line.
Defense
– Zdeno Chara – Dougie Hamilton
Boston’s defensive core is its strength. Chara is still one of the best blue-liners in the NHL, and Hamilton showed in last year’s playoffs that he can provide offensive skill from the point.
– Dennis Seidenberg – Johnny Boychuk
Seidenberg’s injury last year might have lost Boston a playoff series. Even though he starts on a different line than Chara, by the playoffs, the two shut down defenders are usually put together.
Seidenberg would have helped in shutting down the speed of the Canadiens. Boychuk has one of the hardest shots in the NHL, but he might get traded before the season starts because of Boston’s salary cap needs.
– Torey Krug – Kevan Miller
Krug is the quarterback of the Bruins powerplay. He has an incredible shot, is slick with the puck, and has hands that compare to the best goal scorers in the NHL. Miller is strictly a shut down defenseman, and he fulfills that role very well.
I think that Adam McQuaid will be another casualty of the cap. He will likely be moved as the Bruins have a surplus of defensemen.
Goaltending
– Tuukka Rask
What else is there to say? He won the Vezina Trophy last year for being the best player at his position, and that’s all there is. He is the best goaltender in the NHL, and he will hold down Boston’s back-end quite well.
– Niklas Svedberg
Chad Johnson was a very good backup last year, but the Bruins weren’t able to re-sign him. Svedberg has done his time in the minors, and he’ll get the first shot at the second string net-minder position.
[Photo Credit: Steve Babineau/Getty Images]
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