Line Combos: Your Opening Night Roster

[BruinDust]

What I would do (not to be confused with what Cassidy would do).

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak

Debrusk - Krejci - Heinen

Donato - Backes - Bjork

Celarik - Kuraly - Wagner

Extra: Nordstrom

PK forward - 63, 37, Debrusk, Heinen, Kuraly, Wagner

Waived/assigned to Providence - Acciari

Chara - Carlo

Moore - McAvoy

Krug - Miller

The idea with swapping Carlo and McAvoy to start is three-fold. One, reduce the minutes on Big Z in the early going by balancing out the pairings and giving more minutes to the 2nd pair. Two, give Carlo a familiar and stable partner when coming back from his injury. And three, give the new guy (Moore) essentially the best possible partner to get acclimated to his new team.

Later in the season I would possibly go back to the more likely pairings Z-McAvoy, Krug/Moore - Carlo, Krug/Moore - Miller

Extras: Gryz and McQuaid

Rask - 55-57 starts

Halak - 25-27 starts

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Danton Heinen - xxxxxxxx-David Backes
xxxxxxx-Kuraly-Wagner


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

Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak

Those X's don't get filled by proven vets or better prospects than they have in the system they are struggling for a playoff spot. Hopefully Sweeney does something before training camp to improve this team. I like the Halak and Wagner signings but a lot more needs to be done. Sadly I think either Bjork or Donato will be given the second line RW spot because they have no other options, Nordstrom will probably be 4th line LW but he isn't my choice to have on the team in any roll and there is no third line center any where to be found. Draft and develop is nice but you need to fill some of these rolls with proven NHL talent not hope. I like the D and that and the top line should at least make them competitive for a playoff spot depending on how much better Florida is.

With basically the same team that got 112 points last year, save a couple of bottom 6 JAGs, and they'll be struggling for a playoff spot? I don't see it.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

My brain is all over the place so I am sorry and I feel like a really big moron

Haha, It’s no big deal at all. Actually had me curious if he was used there in DC.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

With basically the same team that got 112 points last year, save a couple of bottom 6 JAGs, and they'll be struggling for a playoff spot? I don't see it.

Consider the source..... Glass shattered all over the place, kind of guy.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Thinking Backes up the middle is a lost cause.

As much as I defended him in his first season, I am starting to think Backes on the roster is a lost cause.

For a team which is coached on quick pace and transition, Backes is a pretty heavy anchor. He has never been a fast player, but I am hoping the sluggishness I saw last season was more a result of his health issues rather than age. Forget weight training for him in the offseason...the guy should just be doing wind sprints all day, every day.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

First season in a long, long time where I'm really worried about the center position.

 

[veganbruin]

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
Debrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak
Heinen-Donato-Backes
Wagner-Kuraly-Acciari

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Gryz-Miller
Moore unless he beats out Gryz or Miller(Moore can play the right side as well)

Rask

Maybe swap Bjork down to the 3rd and Donato up with with Bergy.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

What I would do (not to be confused with what Cassidy would do).

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak

Debrusk - Krejci - Heinen

Donato - Backes - Bjork

Celarik - Kuraly - Wagner

Extra: Nordstrom

PK forward - 63, 37, Debrusk, Heinen, Kuraly, Wagner

Waived/assigned to Providence - Acciari

Chara - Carlo

Moore - McAvoy

Krug - Miller

The idea with swapping Carlo and McAvoy to start is three-fold. One, reduce the minutes on Big Z in the early going by balancing out the pairings and giving more minutes to the 2nd pair. Two, give Carlo a familiar and stable partner when coming back from his injury. And three, give the new guy (Moore) essentially the best possible partner to get acclimated to his new team.

Later in the season I would possibly go back to the more likely pairings Z-McAvoy, Krug/Moore - Carlo, Krug/Moore - Miller

Extras: Gryz and McQuaid

Rask - 55-57 starts

Halak - 25-27 starts

I like the idea of putting Heinen on line 2 but that 3rd line might be scary defensively , it’s worth a try in the preaseaon and early regular season though . I don’t know enough about Moore to speculate how he would do playing with Charlie but like the idea of putting Carlo with Chara .

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

As much as I defended him in his first season, I am starting to think Backes on the roster is a lost cause.

For a team which is coached on quick pace and transition, Backes is a pretty heavy anchor. He has never been a fast player, but I am hoping the sluggishness I saw last season was more a result of his health issues rather than age. Forget weight training for him in the offseason...the guy should just be doing wind sprints all day, every day.

Yeah , he needs to get quicker but at this point will it happen ? He is probably suited more for 4th line duty now .

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Yeah , he needs to get quicker but at this point will it happen ? He is probably suited more for 4th line duty now .

I think that the odds point to "no".

That being said, I was saying the same thing about Zdeno Chara two years ago. Don't think I've ever been more wrong about something since joining this board in 2008.

 

[HuskyBruinPride]

Most interesting thing will be to see who takes over as 3C. I think Backes is probably the frontrunner for the spot but he seems to prefer the wing so I don't expect him to stay there all year if he is slotted in that position for opening night. Donato has played center before but management has said they see him as a winger at the NHL level so not sure if they'll try him there or slot him alongside Krejci and DeBrusk, where I think he'd be a good fit. A think Frederic could be a dark horse to make the opening night roster, he seems like a fairly mature player for his age and might make the cut with our need for some depth at C. I guess Nordstrom probably has the inside track but I still wouldn't be shocked to see one of Frederic or JFK making the cut.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Danton Heinen - xxxxxxxx-David Backes
xxxxxxx-Kuraly-Wagner


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

Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak

Those X's don't get filled by proven vets or better prospects than they have in the system they are struggling for a playoff spot. Hopefully Sweeney does something before training camp to improve this team. I like the Halak and Wagner signings but a lot more needs to be done. Sadly I think either Bjork or Donato will be given the second line RW spot because they have no other options, Nordstrom will probably be 4th line LW but he isn't my choice to have on the team in any roll and there is no third line center any where to be found. Draft and develop is nice but you need to fill some of these rolls with proven NHL talent not hope. I like the D and that and the top line should at least make them competitive for a playoff spot depending on how much better Florida is.

Did I just imagine last season? Logically, how can you predict this team struggling for a playoff spot?

I do think that there's still a lot of question marks as to how far they can go against top talent once they make the playoffs.

"Filling roles with NHL talent" is actually a risk nowadays. It is a HARD cap era. And the prices of proven NHL talent, even in the bottom 6, are only rising. Given the progress this team made with young talent, and guys on ELC's last season, I don't see any reason to veer away from that plan again this season.

I guess what I'm saying is - I'd prefer not to go back to filling the bottom 6 with Max Talbot/Chris Kelly/Jay Pandolfo type players. From what I can see, this organization is doing a nice job drafting talented and hungry players the last four to five years. I am all for slotting those kind of guys in on the bottom 6. One - because I think the on-ice results will be good and two - because it's an economical option.

 

[TSBruins13]

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak
Debrusk - Krejci - Bjork
Heinen - Frederic - Backes
Wagner - Kuraly - Donato

Chara - Mac
Krug - Carlo
Moore - Miller

 

[McGarnagle]

Marchand-Bergy-Pasta is the perfect first line
Debrusk-Krejci-Heinen is going to be a very good second line
Wagner-Kuraly-Acciari gets me super excited as a 4th line

The third line though is just a deadzone. We have 4 or 5 guys who could probably slide in there, but I think it's going to be more of an aggregation of the 3 most talented guys left than a line with any chemistry. Donato should get a spot in the lineup. Backes should get a spot in the lineup. Donato and Backes together though? That sounds...awful. And Bjork is the best player left, but I don't see what he does for Donato/Backes. Cehlarik could add a scoring touch from the wing, but who knows. Maybe eventually JFK comes and solidifies the center position there.

Maybe we just have to throw different combos together on the third line until something works. Even if we have to move Debrusk down there to balance it out.

I will die on the hill of keeping the top line together. People who advocate splitting them up for 'balance', I just can't even.

 

[Blowfish]

Marchand-Bergeron-Cehlarik/Bjork
Debrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak
Heinen-Donato-Bjork/Bakos/Cehlarik
Wagner-Kuraly-Nordstrom/Acciari

Moore-McAvoy
Chara-Carlo
Gryz-Miller

Moved out Krug and Backes. Gryz/Zboril others make Krug a valuable trade asset. Backes isn't the same so ship him off to Arizona or Carolina .

I'm still pretty confident Cehlarik makes opening night on top 2 lines. Think it's time we give Krejci a Pasta or Marchand.

I have a hard time judging Bjork...I can't recall anything special other than being shifty fast.

Rask

 

[BruinDust]

I like the idea of putting Heinen on line 2 but that 3rd line might be scary defensively , it’s worth a try in the preaseaon and early regular season though . I don’t know enough about Moore to speculate how he would do playing with Charlie but like the idea of putting Carlo with Chara .

Then use the 3rd line correctly. You have 3 other lines that can all carry their weight in all 200 ft. of the ice.

Is swapping say Bjork and Heinen really that much of an upgrade defensively on the 3rd line?

Cassidy doesn't want to do it clearly but is a line with a former Selke nominated center in Backes really that much a liability in their own end? The key now is controlling the zone down low and into the slot. I'm not as concerned when the two rookies are on the wing where they don't have nearly as much responsibility in their own zone.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

With 58 days until the season begins, what does your 2018-2019 Opening Night roster look like?

I had a hard time with this.

My roster

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ryan Donato
Danton Heinen - David Backes - Anders Bjork
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - Noel Acciari
Joakim Nordstrom

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

Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak

*Olivier Galipeau is a defenseman and I clearly fubared that one so I apologize.

im going to predict that the team is spreading out its offense... im going to predict backes doesn't end up at center. im going to predict they give moore a spot in lineup after giving him a 5 year contract

pastrnak/krejci/debrusk
Bjork/Bergeron/marchand
backes/Heinen/donato
wagner/kuraly/Nordstrom
accari

McAvoy/moore
carlo/chara
miller/krug
McQuaid/grezlyk

 

[Fenian24]

Did I just imagine last season? Logically, how can you predict this team struggling for a playoff spot?

I do think that there's still a lot of question marks as to how far they can go against top talent once they make the playoffs.

"Filling roles with NHL talent" is actually a risk nowadays. It is a HARD cap era. And the prices of proven NHL talent, even in the bottom 6, are only rising. Given the progress this team made with young talent, and guys on ELC's last season, I don't see any reason to veer away from that plan again this season.

I guess what I'm saying is - I'd prefer not to go back to filling the bottom 6 with Max Talbot/Chris Kelly/Jay Pandolfo type players. From what I can see, this organization is doing a nice job drafting talented and hungry players the last four to five years. I am all for slotting those kind of guys in on the bottom 6. One - because I think the on-ice results will be good and two - because it's an economical option.

Florida was a very good team down the stretch last year, Toronto has improved and has excellent center depth and goaltending, Tampa is a very good team. Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus, New Jersey and Philadelphia are all good to very good and may take both wild card spots from that division. The Bruins have several key holes and have to hope none of the rookies regress in their second year as well as hoping prospects can take a top 6 spot, 3rd line center and a depth roll while helping to provide additional scoring outside of the top line. Nash helped to bring Krejci and DeBrusks games up a notch after his arrival and there is no Nash this year, the is no Riley Nash who, regardless of previous history, was a key player last year. Right now to me there are too many holes in the lineup that Sweeney is counting on rookies to fill with the same success as last years crop, that is a huge gamble if you are looking to contend, if you are looking to continue a rebuild then it's fine but is anybody going to be happy if they lose 7 more games and don't make the playoffs and some of the over hyped prospects fail?

I know there are posters here who only care about having young players or giving young players more of an opportunity to make the team over winning games but I am concerned about winning, not having the best U21 team.

Next year McAvoy, DeBrusk and Heinen will be due contracts and they may have a cap crunch, this year was the time to add some soon to be UFA's at the cost of some of the prospects so you can make a real run THIS season, doing nothing of consequence in the off season and having no second line RW or third line center isn't the way to ensure a deep playoff run.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Florida was a very good team down the stretch last year, Toronto has improved and has excellent center depth and goaltending, Tampa is a very good team. Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus, New Jersey and Philadelphia are all good to very good and may take both wild card spots from that division. The Bruins have several key holes and have to hope none of the rookies regress in their second year as well as hoping prospects can take a top 6 spot, 3rd line center and a depth roll while helping to provide additional scoring outside of the top line. Nash helped to bring Krejci and DeBrusks games up a notch after his arrival and there is no Nash this year, the is no Riley Nash who, regardless of previous history, was a key player last year. Right now to me there are too many holes in the lineup that Sweeney is counting on rookies to fill with the same success as last years crop, that is a huge gamble if you are looking to contend, if you are looking to continue a rebuild then it's fine but is anybody going to be happy if they lose 7 more games and don't make the playoffs and some of the over hyped prospects fail?

I know there are posters here who only care about having young players or giving young players more of an opportunity to make the team over winning games but I am concerned about winning, not having the best U21 team.

Next year McAvoy, DeBrusk and Heinen will be due contracts and they may have a cap crunch, this year was the time to add some soon to be UFA's at the cost of some of the prospects so you can make a real run THIS season, doing nothing of consequence in the off season and having no second line RW or third line center isn't the way to ensure a deep playoff run.

Good points and thanks for the in-depth response. Florida did go on a nice run, but I find it hard to believe they are going to overtake the Bruins. On top of that, I highly doubt NJD AND Columbus (or whoever else in that division) can nab the wild card spots from us if it comes down to that. They play in a tougher division and points should be harder to come by. Granted, it's easier than it used to be since teams play outside their division far more often.

You would basically need a situation like this past year again, where the top 3 in the Atlantic were way ahead of the next closest teams. If Florida does jump ahead of the Bruins, is it really going to be by that much?? Statistically, the idea of the Bruins not making the playoffs seems unlikely, unless they REALLY regress.

 

[Fenian24]

Good points and thanks for the in-depth response. Florida did not go on a nice run, but I find it hard to believe they are going to overtake the Bruins. On top of that, I highly doubt NJD AND Columbus (or whoever else in that division) can nab the wild card spots from us if it comes down to that. They play in a tougher division and points should be harder to come by. Granted, it's easier than it used to be since teams play outside their division far more often.

You would basically need a situation like this past year again, where the top 3 in the Atlantic were way ahead of the next closest teams. If Florida does jump ahead of the Bruins, is it really going to be by that much?? Statistically, the idea of the Bruins not making the playoffs seems unlikely, unless they REALLY regress.

Just drives me a bit crazier than usual that they are potentially very close to being a legitimate contender and instead of making the moves that could solidify that Sweeney is content to let things play out with prospects. Relying too much on young players, especially ones who have never played an NHL game before, is more in line with a team retooling than competing.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Just drives me a bit crazier than usual that they are potentially very close to being a legitimate contender and instead of making the moves that could solidify that Sweeney is content to let things play out with prospects. Relying too much on young players, especially ones who have never played an NHL game before, is more in line with a team retooling than competing.

It's the same philosophy he's been touting since he arrived and things have progressed quite nicely, at least since Cassidy took over.

He veered away from it at the trade deadline...and look how that worked out.

 

[EON]

What I would do:

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak
Heinen-Donato-Backes
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner

Acciari/Cehlarik the extras, maybe JFK breaks in as #3C and pushes someone out.

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller
Moore

Waive McQuaid

Rask
Halak

I'd love to see the B's take a run at Stone if they could dump Backes. Marchand-Bergeron-Stone would be an insane top line to complement an improved 2nd line by moving Pastrnak down.

I'm guessing this team will be somewhere around the ~105-110 point mark barring a major setback. They'll be in a fight with Tampa and Toronto for the top 3 all season, Florida could make a push to break in as well.

 

[DrJustice]

Marchand-Bergeron-Heinen
DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak
Donato-JFK-Backes
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Moore-Miller

Rask
Halak

 

[Sevendust]

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak

You just dont break up the best line in hockey. There must be other ways to spread up scoring and ...

DeBrusk - Krejci - Donato

... this is my way to do this. Jake is all hustle, Krejci the playmaker and Ryan the finisher with the sniping ability as he showed last season.

Heinen - Kuraly - Backes

Think those three can be responsible in the defensive way and are able to contribute with some goals.

Bjork - Nordstrom - Wagner

Kind of an experiment. All three are great skaters and I think there is potential to gel.


Chara - Carlo

Read something about pushing Carlo's offensive game by moving him away from Krug and force him to be more involved in the offensive zone. Like this way of thinking.

Moore -McAvoy

Both are great skaters and have a great all around game. Think they could complete each other well

Krug - Miller

Had great chemistry in the past. Also moves Krug away from playing the better lines of the opponent.

Acciari, McQuaid, Grczelyk as scratches with Matt being played a lot of games


Goaltenders are obvious

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I agree with Ali's lineup from top to bottom.