The Athletic - Boston Fluto: Bruins’ updated depth chart, and what they still need to do

[Fenway]

Depth signings of Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom give Bruce Cassidy options to fill the spots that Riley Nash and Tim Schaller previously occupied. But the Bruins still have issues and questions to sort out, largely in how they use their new personnel, and their glut of defensemen.

Shinzawa: Bruins' updated depth chart, and what they still...

Pending no additional movement, the signings leave the Bruins’ depth chart as such:

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-open
Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen-open-David Backes
Joakim Nordstrom-Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari
Chris Wagner

DEFENSE
Zdeno Chara-Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug-Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk-John Moore
Kevan Miller-Adam McQuaid

GOALIES
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak

POWER PLAY
PP1: Krug, Bergeron, Pastrnak, Marchand, Donato
PP2: McAvoy, Grzelcyk, Krejci, DeBrusk, Backes

PENALTY KILL
PK1: Wagner, Nordstrom, Chara, Carlo
PK2: Bergeron, Marchand, Chara, Moore
PK3: Kuraly, Acciari, Moore, McAvoy

Click to read more...

 

[danpantz]

Safe to say you can insert Donato and Bjork in there to fill out the lineup holes currently.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I'd think that, right now, Nordstrom is the 13th forward.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Yea, I'm not paying or putting a credit card in to read a Fluto article.

 

[LSCII]

Thank God he gets to write really in depth stories now that he's not being held back by his former employer...

This guy sucks. Like really bad. Total hack.

 

[Rubber Biscuit]

I would like to see them make one (relatively) big add. Whether it's a LHD upgrade, a top 6 RW or a center who can play on line 3 this year and eventually in the top 6.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

1. 1. Rask
2. Dvorak
3. Nelson
4. Bennet
5. Athanasiou

If I am Sweeney, thats my target list of players I would go after in a trade that shouldn't cost the moon, but could realistically fill that 3C hole.

 

[McGarnagle]

What kind of lunatic takes Pastrnak off the top line and breaks up the best line in the NHL?

 

[PlayMakers]

I'd think that, right now, Nordstrom is the 13th forward.

I don't know. Nordstrom shoots left. Wagner and Acciari shoot right. Kuraly is clearly the center. IMO, unless you're going to ask someone to play their off-side, he's your only option.

 

[PlayMakers]

Some discrepancies...

Fluto has two LH'd defensemen on the 3rd pair while Kevan Miller, who is probably better than both of them, is a healthy scratch. If we're being honest, Kevan Miller was better than Carlo for most of last season. Not that I'm saying he should bump Carlo down, Carlo has more upside, just saying I don't think he goes from being your 4th best D to press box.

Also, Fluto has Wagner as a healthy scratch but on the first PK unit. Can't be both, and the guy he'd likely replace, Acciari is also in the PK mix.

 

[Dr Hook]

Some discrepancies...

Fluto has two LH'd defensemen on the 3rd pair while Kevan Miller, who is probably better than both of them, is a healthy scratch. If we're being honest, Kevan Miller was better than Carlo for most of last season. Not that I'm saying he should bump Carlo down, Carlo has more upside, just saying I don't think he goes from being your 4th best D to press box.

Also, Fluto has Wagner as a healthy scratch but on the first PK unit. Can't be both, and the guy he'd likely replace, Acciari is also in the PK mix.

And John Moore is primarily a left D, is he not? Fluto . . .

 

[KrejciMVP]

Montreal media fans and Boston media fans very similar to me. Overhyping their talent and teams. 1 cup in 65 years combined

 

[BruinDust]

I don't know. Nordstrom shoots left. Wagner and Acciari shoot right. Kuraly is clearly the center. IMO, unless you're going to ask someone to play their off-side, he's your only option.

If your strictly talking the 4th as a competition between 4 guys (Nordstrom, Kuraly, Acciari, and Wagner) to me Acciari will end up the odd man out as the 13th F.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I don't know. Nordstrom shoots left. Wagner and Acciari shoot right. Kuraly is clearly the center. IMO, unless you're going to ask someone to play their off-side, he's your only option.

Is Kuraly the clear center? Wagner's faceoff numbers are better than Kuraly's career/season wise. Kuraly is also capable of playing LW, and his speed there would be effective. Maybe Acciari is the 13th forward. They have options.

 

[Sheppy]

Would take Wagner over Accairi, easily. Quite possibly Nordstrom, too.

 

[PlayMakers]

And John Moore is primarily a left D, is he not? Fluto . . .

Yes, he is.

If your strictly talking the 4th as a competition between 4 guys (Nordstrom, Kuraly, Acciari, and Wagner) to me Acciari will end up the odd man out as the 13th F.

I agree.

Is Kuraly the clear center? Wagner's faceoff numbers are better than Kuraly's career/season wise. Kuraly is also capable of playing LW, and his speed there would be effective. Maybe Acciari is the 13th forward. They have options.

Fair point. Kuraly has played mostly C here so I'm not sure if they'll move him over, but having another guy who can play center and win draws gives them some flexibility.

 

[Gee Wally]

After free agency flurry, what’s next for the Bruins? - The Boston Globe

The Bruins have a solid mix, but general manager Don Sweeney, as evidenced by his runs at Ilya Kovalchuk and John Tavares, is not totally content with his roster. Though hockey people retreat to summer vacation spots after the July 1 whirlwind, talks can and do continue.

“Whether that is training camp or the first part of the season, everybody is going to kind of look for surpluses or areas that other people have strength that you don’t,” Sweeney said. “Whether or not that actually happens, you just never know. Obviously, we had a lot of chatter going into the draft, and there were very few [deals] in and around the draft. Free agency, generally, is a frantic period of time that everybody is in on, and you just don’t know where the balls are going to land.”

If Sweeney is willing to deal a young and talented forward like Jake DeBrusk and/or the more expensive of his two 5-9 defensemen (Torey Krug), the return could boost the forward unit in a way the free agent market could not.

Perhaps they could be packaged along with another asset or a draft pick, which Sweeney may be reticent to deal after losing his 2018 first-rounder in the Rick Nash trade (Ottawa wound up using the pick at No. 26; remember the name Jacob Bernard-Docker).
Sweeney may be swayed if he begins thinking about Columbus’s Artemi Panarin or Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds next to David Krejci.

For different reasons, both have been in trade rumors of late. Before the draft last month, Sportsnet in Canada reported Panarin was not interested in talking about an extension with the Blue Jackets, who could lose him in 2019. Panarin, with a year left at $6 million, is one of the league’s most dynamic and consistent offensive players. In his first three seasons in the NHL, the left wing has 233 points in 243 games, having missed a total of three games in that time. He carried Columbus in this recent postseason, with a 2-5—7 line in their six-game loss to Washington.

 

[SPV]

I'd be very happy with getting Simmonds out of Philly; obviously depending on the price. Having Debrusk, Krejci, and Simmonds as a second line gives us a little more jam and another good scoring threat.

 

[Krupp]

I'd love Simmonds as well, but I fear the cost it would take to get him.

Something tells me it doesn't end with just a guy like Krug and maybe a prospect.

 

[Krupp]

Double post

 

[sleepyh]

I'm still wondering who the 3C is going to be..

 

[LouJersey]

Montreal media fans and Boston media fans very similar to me. Overhyping their talent and teams. 1 cup in 65 years combined

Agreed, how could anyone be a fan of theirs and take time to post on a message board.

 

[PlayMakers]

I'm still wondering who the 3C is going to be..

I think they're going to let Frederic, JFK and Studnicka compete for it.

 

[PlayMakers]

What about...

Marsh - Bergeron - Pasta
Heinen - Krejci - Backes
DeBrusk - Frederic - Donato
Nordstrom - Kuraly - Wagner
X: Acciari, Bjork

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - Carlo
Moore - Miller
X: Gryz - McQuaid

Rask / Halak

 

[PlinySR]

I'd love Simmonds as well, but I fear the cost it would take to get him.

Something tells me it doesn't end with just a guy like Krug and maybe a prospect.

I don't know if I would even trade Krug for Simmons straight up considering what Wayne's ask will be for his next contract.
Especially when he'll be over 30 when he signs it.
Krug's a valuable piece on this team, and to be honest until McAvoy proves he can be as effective on the powerplay as Krug you risk messing up the only part of this team that for sure works if you move him.