Reality might have finally caught up to the Boston Bruins and they may be heading towards a rebuild. Really thought this was going to happen after the retirements of Bergeron and Krejci. They rebounded and had one of the best seasons ever, and then departed with Brad Marchand and Linus Ullmark.
Viktor Arvidsson, Andrew Peeke, and Jonas Korpisalo have moved on and JJ Peterka has arrived to be tested by his fellow countryman coach Marco Sturm. The Bruins still lack offensive punch to compete, but may be the most overpaid defense in the Atlantic.
Their offense worries me more than anything on this team. Pasternak looks to be their only reliable resource. Can Geekie really keep this consistency up another year and can JJ Peterka rebound?
Boston’s defense and goaltending are upper echelon, with maybe a strong top eight, maybe ten, plus Swayman and DiPietro. They are going to limit goal scoring for sure.
This is a middle of the road team that can make postseason or win the lottery. Their offense needs more.
JJ Peterka — Elias Lindholm — David Pasternak
Pavel Zacha — Casey Mittlestadt — Morgan Geekie
Tanner Jeannot — James Hagens — Fraser Mitten
Mikey Eyssimont — Marat Khusnutdinov — Mark Kastelic
Sean Kuraly
Hampus Lindholm — Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadarov — Will Borgen
Mason Lohrei — Henri Jokiharju
Connor Clifton, Jonathan Aspirot
Jermey Swayman
Michael DiPetro