For Boston, It’ll Be Win by Committee This Year

The Boston Bruins kicked off their 2022-23 campaign without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. Both of whom were recovering from off-season surgery. Many predicted a decline in team production due not only to their absence but also for sporting a roster aged a year and not much sexier than a year prior, lest we forget the long but often one-sided seven game opening round playoff series loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes that spring. 

Despite media and sports radio manufactured hurdles, Boston launched out of the gate. Enjoying so much success that by the time you were cutting turkey, there was nothing left to question. 

So isn’t it ironic that it’s a calendar year later, and the Bruins, on the eve of their centennial season, find themselves right back where they started. A less than satisfactory opening round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers. Key pieces in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring from hockey and a forward depth chart that is all but unrecognizable. There are plenty of reasons to assume Boston will slip into that sticky middle ground separating genuine playoff contenders from the draft lottery hopefuls.

This is expected when two franchise pillars retire, Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno are traded away, and Connor Clifton and Tomas Nosek depart via free agency. But such is life in the salary cap era.

To remedy the losses Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney made a slew of savvy free agent signings, called in two veterans for professional tryouts, and inked a key college free agent center in John Farinacci.

Now, it would appear Sweeney and company have opted to grind out a path to the postseason. After all, there is no replacing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. But in their wake is a strong, defensively structured team with perhaps the best goaltending duo in the NHL. 

Offensively, they’ll lean on Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, and Jake DeBrusk. But James Van Riemsdyk, Charlie Coyle, and newcomer Morgan Geekie are dark horses to make major contributions. On a wretched Philadelphia Flyers team ‘JVR’ was about a half-a-point per game player in 2022-23. Similarly, Charlie Coyle produced his highest point total (45) since 2016-17 (56) despite starting an overwhelming number of his shifts in the defensive zone, a trend surely to change this coming year. Not to be outdone is Morgan Geekie, who produced back-to-back career highs in goals, assists, and points in his two seasons as a member of the Seattle Kraken. 

That is nothing to say of Milan Lucic, Jesper Boqvist, and Trent Frederic, all of whom are expected to round out Boston’s bottom-six forward group. 

What is most fascinating are the aforementioned forwards who are competing on professional tryouts, or a ‘PTO’ for short. Alex Chiasson and Danton Heinen are familiar faces in Boston hockey circles. Chiasson played his collegiate hockey for Boston University, and since Sweeney loves his local NCAA players has been linked to the Bruins for years. Heinen, obviously, was drafted and developed in the Bruins system and even played for Jim Montgomery while at the University of Denver.

Both players are low-risk signings and are due nothing financially beyond Boston’s upcoming training camp if they fail to make the final roster. But, if nothing else, add a layer of competition with spots up for grabs. 

Boston will be calling for all hands on deck to produce the level of offense required to earn a playoff bid in 2024. Despite your preconceived notions about the state of the Bruins, this team does, in fact, have the pieces to compete in their division. The parallels to a year ago are quite evident, so here’s to hoping for a similar result. 

Season 4. Episode 34. Marco? Polo? Bruins Benders Podcast

 Join the Bruins Benders Podcast as they cover the HOTTEST topics in the Boston Bruins market, along with…- Who will be the next Bruins coach? Sturm? Woodcroft? Leach?- Swayman wins gold with Team USA at the World Championships. Good sign?- Max Comtois has been linked to the Bruins? Thoughts?- Some Bruins' coaches on the way out, will the new coach be able to bring in his own guys?& Much More!Bruins Benders Premium Hoodies $55https://shop.insidetherink.com/products/get-bent-premium-hoodieBruins Benders Long Sleeve Tee $40https://shop.insidetherink.com/products/bruins-benders-long-sleeve-tee-1Bruins Benders Tee $30https://shop.insidetherink.com/products/bruins-benders-t-shirt-1For more from us, visit: insidetherink.com/bruins-bendersBoston Bruins Trade Rumors, Boston Bruins News, Boston Bruins, Jeremy Swayman, Joonas Korpisalo, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Andrew Peeke, Parker Wotherspoon, Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic, Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke, Trent Frederic, Matthew Poitras, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Oliver Wahlstrom, Fabian Lysell, Georgii Merkulov, Joe Sacco, Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, Brandon Carlo Trade#nhl #nhlbruins #hockey #bostonbruins #nhlplayoffs #bruins #nhlhockey #nhlmemes #boston #nhlallstar #nhldiscussion #nhlnews #nhledits #nhldraft #bruinsnation #nhlawards #nhltrade #hockeylife #tdgarden #nhlhighlights #bostonsports #bruinshockey #bruinsfan #nhlblackhawks #nhlglobalseries #nhlfi #nhlleafs #nhltrades #nhltradedeadline #nhlcanadiens #nhl #nhlnews #hockey #nhlhockey #nhlplayoffs #nhledits #nhldiscussion #nhlmemes #nhldraft #nhlallstar #hockeylife #hockeynews #hockeymemes #nhlhighlights #icehockey #sports #hockeyislife #nhlbruins #hockeyplayers #hockeyfan #hockeyplayer #hockeyedits #stanleycup #nhlawards #hockeygame #hockeyboys #hockeygram #hockeyfights #nhltrade #nhltrades 
  1. Season 4. Episode 34. Marco? Polo?
  2. Season 4. Episode 33. Sweens Extension
  3. Season 4. Episode 32. Dude, Where's My Coach?
  4. Season 4. Episode 31. The Draft Lottery
  5. Season 4. Episode 30. The Bruins Are Watching The Playoffs

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Stuart Skinner

Opinion: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Showing Some Steadiness Between the Pipes

When it comes to Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, one never knows what they are going to get. On one hand, one might see a version of Skinner, 26, who stands tall, comes up with big saves, does not get out of position, and does not allow soft goals. When this version of Skinner is […]

Read More

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Carolina Hurricanes Game 5 | 05/28/2025

“Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them too.” That’s what Sam Reinhart had to say about his captain, Sasha Barkov, in his post-game interview. The Cats rallied from a disappointing first period to score three unanswered goals in the second. The eventual game winner scored by Verhaeghe developed from […]

Read More
Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Playoff Thoughts: Round 3, Game 5

Happy belated 9th Birthday, Ben Stelter. Tuesday night’s win was for you. We’re just one win away from a second straight Finals appearance. We always wish Ben were still with us and imagine how joyful he’d be to watch the Edmonton Oilers in these Playoff runs the last couple of years. A really nice gesture […]

Read More