By Gayle Troiani | Follow me on Twitter @LadyBruinsFan
The NHL deadline for teams to submit their opening day rosters has come and gone, and the Boston Bruins enter the 2022-2023 season with little to no surprises except maybe the inclusion of recently waived Nick Foligno and Mike Reilly.
Boston announced a roster complied of 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies: Patrice Bergeron, Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Foligno, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, A.J. Greer, Matt Grzelcyk, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Jakub Lauko, Hampus Lindholm, Tomas Nosek, David Pastrnak, Reilly, Craig Smith, Jack Studnicka, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, Pavel Zacha, Jakub Zboril. In addition, Matt Filipe, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy are listed as injured/non-roster players.
Before General Manager Don Sweeney submitted the roster, the Bruins placed McAvoy on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) since he is not expected to return to the line-up until December 1. Likewise, Marchand was also placed on LTIR with an expected return date of November 29. Therefore, it appears the move of putting Reilly and Foligno on waivers was to allow the team the time to move McAvoy and Marchand before the roster deadline.
Based on reports by The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa from the Bruins’ practice at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, the projected lines for tonight’s opening tilt versus the Washington Capitals should showcase the newly coined Czech line of Zacha, Krejci, Pastrnak followed by Hall, Bergeron, and Debrusk.
That is a pretty formidable, scoring-capable top six. If the chemistry is there for those forwards, it will be hard for opposing teams to defend. Hall moving up to the Bergeron line compliments the speed of DeBrusk and adds scoring depth. DeBrusk has the opportunity to turn around the first-half-of-the-season slump jinx that has plagued him over the past couple of years. If DeBrusk can stay consistent, the winger should reach a career-high in goals passing his previous 27.
The bottom six looks to have Greer joining Coyle and Smith on the third line, which should give that line physicality and speed. In the fans’ eyes, Greer was a welcome addition to the club when he showed he was willing to make the big hits and drop the gloves protecting his linemates. Greer also potted two goals making fans feel like he could be a Milan Lucic-like player.
The fourth line should be Foligno, Nosek, and Lauko. Foligno had a tremendous final preseason game. If his play continues on that path, he will either silence his critics or give him stock allowing Sweeney to find a trade partner when Marchand is ready to be activated off LTIR.
The defense pairs of Lindholm-Carlo, Reilly-Clifton, and Forbort-Zoboril should give the black-and-gold depth during the McAvoy-less defense to start the season. With the Bruins reportedly signing Anton Stralman to a one-year deal, it allows coach Jim Montgomery to move more seasoned players into leadership roles while McAvoy rehabs and gives the Bruins’ blue line a calming presence. However, if Clifton’s regular season woes continue, he could find himself as the healthy scratch.
One of the truly unknowns at this time is which goaltender will get the nod for the first game – Ullmark or Swayman, but with any luck, we’ll be seeing our first post-game goalie hug of the season.
Regardless of how Montgomery lines them up at puck drop, fans will look to see if it’s the same-old, same-old when it comes to moving players mid-game if the adjustments are necessary. We are less than 12 hours away from puck drop and the hunt for the most coveted trophy in all sports – the Stanley Cup.
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