Boston Bruins 2022-23 season preview with Bergeron and Krejci
The Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney weren't overly busy this summer but did bring back some familiar faces in Bergeron and Krejci on one-year contracts, and very team-friendly at that.
Possibly the only upgrade the team made (besides Krejci at number two centre) is acquiring forward Zacha from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Haula. Can the 25-year-old live up to the hype surrounding him when he was drafted sixth overall back in 2015?
Acquisitions: David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Zacha, Keith Kinkaid, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Carrick.
Departures: Erik Haula, Curtis Lazar, Josh Brown, Troy Grosenick, Cameron Hughes, Anton Blidh.
Boston did lose a couple of depth pieces upfront in Haula and Lazar, as well as defenseman Brown, among others, but no one is irreplaceable.
2022-23 Lineup Projection (Start of the season):
Pavel Zacha - Patrice Bergeron - Jake Debrusk
Taylor Hall - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Marc McLaughlin
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly - Jakub Zboril
Derek Forbort - Connor Clifton
INJURED: Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Grzelcyk.
The big question going into the season is if the Bruins can still make a mark on the league and weather the storm without key players Marchand, McAvoy and Grzelcyk, who are out for at least a couple of months.
Another question mark is Pasta's future and whether it is with the Boston Bruins or not.
Are the Bruins still a playoff team?
| POLL | ||
Will the 2022-23 Boston Bruins make the playoffs? And if so, in what position? | ||
| Yes, as a Wild Card team | 15 | 36.6 % |
| Yes, can still place top-3 in division | 12 | 29.3 % |
| No, barely missing | 9 | 22 % |
| No, won't come back from slow start | 5 | 12.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
