( Photo Credit: NHL.com )

By: Mike Sullivan | Follow me on Twitter @_MikeSullivan

The bad news keeps getting worse for the Boston Bruins. On Friday afternoon, it was announced that defensemen Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Mike Reilly underwent offseason surgery. This is the last thing fans would want to hear for a team already struggling with a potential Patrice Bergeron retirement and a Marchand-less beginning of the season.

Charlie McAvoy underwent a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization surgery and is expected to be sidelined for six months. For those keeping track, that’s a return to the lineup in December.

Matt Grzelcyk underwent a right shoulder open stabilization surgery which sidelines him for five months. For Grzelcyk, he’s expected to be back in November.

Mike Reilly is dealing with a three-month rehab after undergoing surgery to repair his right ankle tendon repair and the removal of bone fragments. He’s expected to be back in September.

For a team that was often criticized as lacking defensive depth, they cannot afford to lose critical defensemen for lengthy periods of time. Missing their number one defenseman or, as Jack Edwards likes to say, “our bonafide stallion “for 2+ months is going to test the resiliency and depth of this club early on in the season. Thankfully, Hampus Lindholm is going to be able to anchor the top defensive line in Mcavoy’s absence, barring any future injuries.

Matt Grzelcyk, whose name has certainly been thrown around in trade rumors, will unlikely be a part of any trade the Bruins were potentially looking into. This news certainly throws a wrench into whatever plans Don Sweeney and crew may have had.

The trust Bruins fans had for Mike Reilly certainly started to grow as the playoffs were in full swing. He played well in the Carolina series, playing sound defense while also throwing some nifty passes around; Bruins faithful began to enjoy his game. Missing his presence in the lineup is definitely not as severe as McAvoy and Grzelyck but impactful nonetheless.

This opens the door for some Bruin youth to step forward and not look back. One name, in particular, I’m keeping an eye on is Jakub Zboril. The 13th overall pick in that god-awful 2015 draft has a chance to cement himself into the lineup.

Jakub’s only played a total of 54 NHL games and hasn’t really gotten an opportunity to showcase his stuff at the NHL level. In the 2021-2022 season, Zboril played in 10 games producing three assists and a positive +/- of +1. Out of all Boston’s depth pieces, he should be the first to slot in. Zboril has been very successful at the AHL level; the hope is that translates to his NHL game.

( Photo Credit: HockeyDB.com )

So, to begin the season, barring any signings or trades, we’re looking at a top 6 defense of Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, Derek Forbort, Connor Clifton, Jakub Zboril, and Josh Brown.