Overview
The Boston Bruins return most of their roster that won the President’s Trophy last season. One of the contenders for the Stanley Cup, they fell to Montreal in the second round. Heading into the new season, they are currently over the salary cap and will need to part ways with an NHL-caliber player (most likely a forward) before the season begins. The big reason why they are over the cap is due to being on the hook for Marc Savard’s contract after he had to unexpectedly retire due to concussion-related problems. That aside, they head into the season as favorites in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Offense
The Bruins had to part ways with Jarome Iginla, one of their biggest departures due to the salary cap. No one new was brought in to replace his 30 goals, but Boston will look to utilizing one of their fresh prospects to fill the roster space. Those young guys include Jordan Caron, Ryan Spooner, and Alex Khokhlachev. One or more of them should make the roster coming out of training camp to help fill the void left by Iginla.
They have one of the deepest forward groups in the league, even solidified by David Krejci’s contract extension for six more years beginning next season. He had 69 points in the regular season last year, and could fare even better this season considering how poor he performed in the playoffs. He’s expected to be paired with Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson.
The second line is expected to be one of the best in the league between Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Reilly Smith. Last season, they each recorded 50+ points and should also lead the league again in plus-minus.
They had the third-best power play efficiency in the league last year, and could contend for the best power play unit again with Krejci, Lucic, and Eriksson heading the first line.
Defense
The blue line is expected to be among the best in the league. They are anchored by team captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. Seidenberg is expected to be fully healthy this season after suffering a knee injury that kept him out of most of last season. Other players you should keep an eye on include Johnny Boychuk, Torey Krug, and Dougie Hamilton. Krug scored 40 points last season, the same number as Chara. While those numbers were inflated due to Seidenburg’s absence, he’s still capable of contributing to the offensive effort on defense.
Goaltending
The starting position is locked in favor of 2014 Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask. He’s expected to get a large portion of starts over rookie Niklas Svedberg. One of the other departures from the team was Chad Johnson, who signed with New York Islanders. Rask is a solid bet to draft early in your fantasy league, as he should lead the league in wins. Should an injury happen to Rask or Svedberg, look for their top prospect Malcom Subban to see a few games of action.
Expectations
Boston fans will tell you their expectation is to get to the Stanley Cup final again. And with the amount of talent they have it’s difficult to argue against that. They are right up against the salary cap, so look for them to trade a player who isn’t performing well near the trade deadline. They are the easy pick to win the division, and the conference final.
