With the return of team captain Patrice Bergeron and the hiring of head coach Jim Montgomery, the Bruins’ plans are starting to look more transparent for the upcoming season. There were talks the Bruins were heading towards a rebuild, but with the return of Bergeron, those talks are now out the window for at least another year. It’s evident that Bergeron would not come back if the Bruins were going to be rebuilding, leaving the only possible option that the Bruins will attempt to contend and make it back to the playoffs. In a loaded Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division, this will be a challenging task considering all the injuries the team will begin the season with. Couple that with the lack of cap space to bring in new talent, and the Bruins have an uphill battle ahead of them.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed the recent report on Patrice Bergeron’s extension with the Boston Bruins.
On his ‘32 Thoughts’ podcast he noted what the signing means to the Bruins plans for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
” They’re going to try to hold their heads above water while everyone gets healthy, but they’re going to try to compete. Bergeron’s not coming back if they’re rebuilding.”
With McAvoy out till Christmas and Reilly and Grzelcyk out till November, newly-appointed head coach Jim Montgomery will have his hands full as he navigates, finding balance on the defensive pairings. The Bruins will have Lindholm, Carlo, Forbort, Clifton, and Zboril to open up with and rely upon Jack Ahcan, who spent last season down in Providence with a few call-ups to the NHL sprinkled in.
The Bruins will also be without their top left winger in, Brad Marchand, who underwent hip surgery and will be out six months from the surgery date. It will be interesting to see who Montgomery moves into that top-line left winger spot. Taylor Hall is an option, but how much will that disrupt the chemistry of the second line?
It will be a wait-and-see game for the Bruins as there are more question marks than answers surrounding the team at the moment. General manager Don Sweeney will have to make trades this off-season to clear cap space if he wants to sign free agents when free agency opens on July 13th.
