PROVIDENCE, RI – Thursday marked the opening of camp for many teams around the NHL. The new year marks new opportunities for players to show what they have and maybe be a surprise for the opening night roster. The Boston Bruins showed up with one thing on their mind, to prove to their fans and upper management that they can compete for a cup with what they currently have. Like any team the Bruins will have many stories that will play out over the course of the season.
1. Who will back up Tuukka Rask?
Tuukka Rask – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Last season saw Tuukka Rask play 70 games for the Boston Bruins, and look completely warn out at the end of the season. The Bruins struggled to find a serviceable backup for Rask, Niklas Svedberg struggled early and often forcing Rask into games that he should have been off. The Bruins have high hopes for rookie goalie Malcolm Subban, but there are a lot of concerns following a very disappointing debut last season against the St. Louis Blues.
They also have Jeremy Smith a former second pick of the Nashville Predators, but Smith has never started a game in the NHL. Smith does have more professional experience than Subban, and could be a more reliable option for the Bruins over the long term.
Finally they have Jonas Gustavsson on a professional tryout, Gustavsson is the only one who has real NHL game experience. Out of the three Gustavsson is the most likely backup for Rask, but his recent injury history raises questions about how healthy he will be for the Bruins.
2. How long will Claude Julien be the Head coach?
Last season raised some serious doubt about the security of Claude Julien’s job, there have been little rumors for years about differences between Julien and the front office.
Now that Cam Neely seems to be running the show, how long will we see Julien. One of the biggest knocks on Julien is that he doesn’t trust the young players, time and time again we see older veterans get ice time in critical points in the game.
But Julien seems to be the guy for now and with a lot of new young faces it’ll be a tough transition. If the Bruins start poorly that could be the final straw for Julien. Only time will tell if Julien will be the head coach for the future.
3. Who will be the Bruins defensive pairs heading into this season?
The Bruins defense has been a consistent back bone for them over many seasons, but after the departure of Johnny Boychuk last season the defense was in limbo. Along with injuries that sidelined Chara and Mcquaid for most of the season, the Bruins had to rely heavily on their young talent. With rookies Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman, and Colin White entering the fold the defense is about to get a major face lift.
The young kids should be able to come in and make an immediate impact, but it will be hard to find fits for them among the established core.
With Dennis Seidenberg out for at least the start of training camp, Trotman and Morrow will have extended looks by the Bruins coaching staff. We will probably see all three of the young defensemen in some capacity this season.
When that time comes they will be looked upon to help the Bruins whichever way they can
4. What will the Bruins look like now that Cam Neely is in charge?
For years, there have been rumors about problems between Cam Neely and Claude Julien, many people looked to Peter Chiarelli as the mediator between the two. But with Chiarelli gone what will happen between Neely and Julien, Neely now seems to have more power then ever and has already flexed it by hiring Don Sweeney.
Julien already seems like he is in an up hill battle to keep his job and with Neely it seems likely that we could see a coaching change mid-season. Neely has started to take the team in a new direction, one which doesn’t seem to fit many of the regulars for the Bruins roster. One thing for sure this season will be an interesting one and Cam Neely’s finger prints will be all over it.
5. Is there anything left in the Bruins farm system?
Aside from David Pasternak who split time between the minors and the big club, who have the Bruins really produced? Peter Chiarelli was notorious for poor drafts, and never letting his players pan out. So do the Bruins have anything left of real value in the minors, the answer yes they still have some solid prospect that could easily make an impact.
Alexander Khokhachev is one of those top prospects, last season he led the baby Bruins in points with 43.
While the baby Bruins lack depth they can still feed very good players to the Bruins, and with the Bruins in cap jail they will need to bring those players up to make an immediate impact.
A lot of questions will be answered over the next couple of weeks, and when the roster starts to take form there will many more questions. This season will definitely be one to watch for the Bruins. Only time will tell what the Bruins will be this season, but it will definitely be an interesting ride along the way.
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