By: Seth Corwin
With the upcoming NHL season, which starts January 13th, Bruins fans will see a Bruins defense that will look different from past seasons. On Wednesday, December 30th, the Boston Bruins 14 year captain, Zdeno Chara, said goodbye to the Bruins and the city of Boston, as the 43 year old defenseman signed a one-year deal for $795,000 with the Washington Capitals. The Bruins also lost star power play defenseman Torey Krug, who signed a 7 year, $45.5 Million contract with the St. Louis Blues back in October. The signings have left lingering questions in the back of many Bruins’ fans minds as to who will fill Chara’s role as a leader in ice time on the Bruins back end and who will quarterback the Bruins’ first powerplay unit after Krug’s departure?
An obvious name fans will look to is Charlie McAvoy, who will take on a larger leadership role among the Bruins defensemen this upcoming season. The 23 year old D-man is coming off what would have been a season of career highs before the season was abruptly stopped short due to the navel coronavirus last March. McAvoy played a career high 67 games, netting 5 goals and 27 assists for a combined 32 points and a +/- of 24 during the 2019-20 campaign. With Krug’s departure, McAvoy will also have a chance to quarterback the first powerplay unit. The 3 year NHL veteran has not had a large impact on the Bs’ powerplay his first 3 seasons, netting just 11 points, leaving questions as to how the long island native will perform in such a role.
Should Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, decide to go a different direction for the first powerplay unit, the other likely candidate is 26 year old, Matt Grzelcyk. McAvoy and Grzelcyk both played on the Bruins’ second powerplay unit at the end of the playoffs in August and will likely battle with each other for the top powerplay spot during training camp. Last season, Grzelcyk posted career highs with 68 games played, 4 goals and 17 assists for a combined 21 points. The Charlestown native has 15 points on the powerplay over his 3 full seasons with the Bruins emphasizing questions marks as to who can make up for Krug’s 28 powerplay points last season. While Grzelcyk and McAvoy will probably round out the Bruins 1st defensive pairing, fans could see the two D-men rotating on the Bs’ first powerplay unit during the regular season until one establishes themself as the clear number one.
Moving down the roster, Brandon Carlo should remain on the Bruins second defensive pairing. The 24 year old is coming off a good season posting 4 goals and 15 assists for a combined 19 points in 67 games played. However, Carlo will likely have a new partner on that second pairing given Krug’s departure. One likely candidate is 23 year old, Jeremy Lauzon. Despite not having much NHL experience, Lauzon worked his way into the Bruins’ lineup at the midway point of last season playing 19 games and was dressed for 6 games during the playoffs this past summer. The Quebec native was drafted by Boston back in 2015, 52nd overall, and has spent much of his time playing for Providence in the AHL, netting 3 goals and 24 assists in 127 games played with a +/- of 31 in his time there. Despite having worked his way into the lineup last season, Lauzon will have some competition from Bruins’ defensemen John Moore and Connor Clifton.
While Moore and Clifton will likely fill the Bruins’ 3rd defensive pairing, both of them could make a push for a spot alongside Carlo depending on what Cassidy sees during training camp and the beginning of the regular season. Moore, who has had a steady 10 year NHL career with 5 NHL clubs did not see much action in the first half of the 2019-20 campaign after missing time with a shoulder injury. When he did return to the lineup, he played in just 24 games netting 3 points and had a +/- of -2. The 30 year old will have some healthy competition from 25 year old Bruins D-man Connor Clifton. Clifton, who is entering his 3rd season with Boston, had just 2 points in 31 games played last season with a +/- of 4. While Clifton has not had much of an impact in his first two seasons, fans will remember the Long Branch, NJ native seeing plenty of action during the 2019 Bruins Stanley Cup Playoffs run. Despite his lack of game action his first two seasons, Clifton will have a strong opportunity to prove his worth and earn a more prominent role among the Bruins defensemen this season.
A dark horse that could reappear among Bruins defensemen is 33 year old Kevan Miller. The 7 year NHL veteran missed all of last season and playoffs after suffering a fractured kneecap during the 2019 playoffs. The 6’2” D-man is slated to skate at training camp, which got under way earlier today, January 4th, and could make a return to the lineup this season forcing Lauzon, Clifton, or Moore out of the lineup if Cassidy decides not to dress 7 defensemen, a strategy Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, used against the Bruins during the playoffs this past summer. Prior to his injury, Miller had posted 67 points and maintained a +/- of 80 in 327 NHL games played. If he can bounce back from injury, Miller could be an important leader among a relatively young Bruins’ back-end.
Image: 98.5 The Sports Hub; Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports
Bruins management and coaching staff will also have a chance to view 5 other defensemen at training camp who will have an outside shot of making the roster this season, barring any injuries to players listed above. Fans will be familiar with Urho Vaakanainen, the Bruins 1st round draft pick in 2017, who is returning from Finland , where he was loaned by the Bruins to play for SaiPa of the Finish Elite League (SM-Liiga). While there, the 22 year old played in 2 games and had a goal. The Finnish D-man has only spent 7 games with the big club in Boston and has 0 points in those 7 games. Vaakanainen has a shot to stay in Boston if he has a good camp and in light of a younger Bruins D-core, but coaching staff and management could desire him to get another year of development in Providence, where he has played in 84 games and mustered 28 points. Either way, there is potential that Vaakanainen could see the NHL lineup at some point this season.
One of these 5 defensemen who will be interesting to keep an eye on is 32 year old Bruins defenseman Steven Kampfer, who has spent time bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL the last 10 seasons with 4 different NHL organizations. While Kampfer has not been able to stick with the NHL club in Boston, the Bruins have tended to rely on Kampfer when illnesses or injuries occur during the regular season. Last season, in the 10 games that Kampfer was with Boston, he had 2 assists and had a +/- of 2. This year could prove different given the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the uncertainty of Covid-19 and the likelihood that players will get sick, the NHL has created the Taxi Squad, a system similar to the NFL’s practice squad, where teams can have 4-6 players who practice and travel with the NHL team, but are paid their AHL salaries and do not count against the $81.5 million salary cap. Given how Boston has used Kampfer the last couple of seasons, it seems all too likely for Kampfer to land on Boston’s Taxi Squad this season.
Also at training camp is Bruins’ 2015 1st round draft pick, Jakub Zboril. Zboril, eyeing a spot on the 3rd defensive pairing, has only seen 2 NHL games played during the 2018-19 campaign and logged no points in those 2 games. The 13th overall pick has spent the last 3 seasons in Providence developing his game, where he has accrued 11 goals and 46 assists for a combined 57 points and a +/- of 35 in 182 games played. While Zboril has not made much of a splash yet and has only drawn criticism since being drafted by Boston, the time is now for Zboril to show what he can do now that Krug and Chara are gone and there are 2 roster spots that are unsolidified.
The last two defensemen the Bruins will have at training camp are Jack Ahcan and Nick Wolff, both two relatively unfamiliar faces around the Bruins organization. The two Minnesota natives were undrafted free agents signed at the end of last season by Boston. Ahcan, who played for St. Cloud State, had 7 goals and 18 assists and had a +/- of -8 in 33 games played for the Huskies, while also serving as captain. Ahcan did see 2 ECHL games in Jacksonville before the pandemic cut the season short. Wolff, who played for the University of Minnesota Duluth, netted no goals and 10 assists and was a +18 in 33 games played for the Bulldogs last season, where he also won 2 national championships during his tenure. Wolff did not see time with any teams in the Bruins organization at the end of last season, but is returning from Slovakia, after being loaned by Boston to DVTK Jegesmedvék of the Slovakian Elite League, where he had 5 points in 18 games and was an even +/-. Both Ahcan and Wolff will more than likely be heading to Providence this season to develop and will more than likely only see time in the NHL in the event of injuries.
With an average age of 25.6 years old, this Boston Bruins D group is a young one, but with lots of upside and potential. The departure of Chara and Krug, while worrisome, leaves an opportunity for Boston to develop their younger players into career NHLers. If Boston hopes to be successful in one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL this season, where they will play the Flyers, Rangers, Islanders, Penguins, Capitals, and a retooled Sabres team eight times each, they will need their young defensemen to step up and develop at a quick pace. The Bruins will also need McAvoy and Grzelcyk to make up for the loss of Torey Krug’s scoring ability both at even strength and on the powerplay if Boston has any hope to make the playoffs. In what is going to be a sprint compared to the normal 82 game season, the key question is how fast can this group of defensemen adapt to their new found roles?
All stats were found on NHL.com and eliteprospects.com.
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