Kalman: Four Positional Battles To Watch As Bruins Open Training Camp
BOSTON (CBS) -- Although no one would draw a resemblance between the Bruins' roster and Swiss cheese, there are holes that need to be filled after the team reports for the start of training camp Thursday.
When on-ice sessions commence Friday, and it looks like they'll start without unsigned restricted free agent defenseman Torey Krug and forward Reilly Smith, there will be more job openings than there were the past three or four seasons combined during the preseason.
Considering their proximity to the salary-cap ceiling, the Bruins aren't likely to receive NHL-caliber talent in any upcoming trade that would involve or make room for Krug and Smith. So apparently we're going to find out the hard way if the draft – often referred to by general manager Peter Chiarelli as the lifeblood of the organization – is going to keep the Bruins alive in the Stanley Cup chase.
Here's a thumbnail sketch of some of the upcoming position battles:
1. Right wing to play with Milan Lucic and David Krejci.
This is the biggest hole the Bruins have to fill, and without Smith the pickings are even slimmer. One has to think that first-round pick David Pastrnak, who has shown a high level of speed and skill in his brief workouts with the Bruins and in the team's rookie tournament, will get a chance to show his stuff in this spot early in training camp and the exhibition schedule. But the only player with a legitimate claim to this spot based on experience and talent is Loui Eriksson. If healthy, Eriksson should be given a long audition in this role, especially since Pastrnak more than likely needs more seasoning overseas.
Alexander Khokhlachev has been somewhat overlooked beneath the Pastrnak hype, but one can't forget that the 21-year-old Russian had 21 goals and 57 points in 65 games with Providence of the American Hockey League last season. His experience and nose for the net might make him a better fit than at least Pastrnak.
Prediction: Eriksson starts the season in this spot.
2. Second, third- and fourth-line right wings
With the exception of Carl Soderberg pretty well set as the No. 3 center, you could really take about nine or 10 forwards' numbers, put them in a cup, shake the cup and roll out the bottom two line combinations. There are so many different ways coach Claude Julien could go here.
If Smith doesn't get into the fold before games start, Matt Fraser and Jordan Caron seem to be the best fits for his spot on the line with left winger Brad Marchand and center Patrice Bergeron. That would thin the herd a little bit in the competition to be in the bottom six.
For this article's purposes, let's say Chris Kelly is healthy and ready to pick up where he left off as Soderberg's left winger. The leading candidates to play the right side would be Justin Florek, Caron and Fraser.
If you're keeping left winger Daniel Paille with center Gregory Campbell, then your best options for a right winger would be Florek, Matt Lindblad and Craig Cunningham.
Of course, Ryan Spooner could shove his way into the mix as the fourth-line center and tryout invitees Simon Gagne and Ville Leino might make a push to give the Bruins some experience on the their fourth line.
Prediction: Smith comes back in time to skate on Bergeron's line, Kelly is traded, Soderberg centers Paille and Fraser, and Spooner centers a fourth line with Campbell on the wing and Florek on the right side.
3. Bottom pair D
Barring a trade, your top four is some combination of Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg and Dougie Hamilton. Normally the third pair would be Krug and Adam McQuaid. But Krug's unsigned and McQuaid might've lost his claim to the job because of Kevan Miller's emergence last season. Although McQuaid only makes a little more than $1.5 million, the Bruins can get the same contribution from Miller at half the price. As for the left side of the third pair, the Bruins can survive Krug's absence when they have "Krug Lite" in David Warsofsky. At least for a short time, Warsofsky should be able to build off his experiences from last season and fill in. If the NHL proves too grueling for Warsofsky, then the Bruins can make the necessary adjustments. I'm not sure where Matt Bartkowski fits in, but he has shown he can handle the seventh defenseman role and he might just have to cool his heels waiting for an injury or trade.
Prediction: With McQuaid traded and Krug signed, the Bruins go with the Krug-Miller pairing. But, as always, they mix up their pairs over the course of the game.
4. Backup G
This isn't really a competition, but the Bruins could really benefit if Malcolm Subban at least pushes Niklas Svedberg a bit. Subban might make nice trade bait down the line. Or the Bruins could continue their process of letting their backup goaltender leave and going with a cheaper option if Subban takes the next step in his development. The Bruins might also need Subban if there's an injury because the pro-level goaltending only goes as deep as him on the chart.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
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