Bruins Head Coach Reveals How They Will Move On From Bergeron and Krejci
The Boston Bruins are experiencing a ton of roster turnover this offseason. The biggest changes are the loss of their top two centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Head coach Jim Montgomery reveals how the new look Bruins may lineup.
Zacha #1 Center?
According to the interview with Montgomery, the early plan is to have Pavel Zacha transition to center where he will play alongside David Pastrnak and newly acquired James Van Riemsdyk. This will be Zacha's first opportunity at center with the Bruins. Van Riemsdyk will mostly be used as a trigger man to finish off opportunities created by Pastrnak and Zacha.
Second Line Sees Some Familiar Faces
The Bruins' second line to start the season will consist of Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Jake DeBrusk. This trio did spend parts of last season together. Including a few playoff games when Patrice Bergeron went out with an injury. This combo outshot their opponents 74 to 57 in 60 total minutes played together.
Bottom Six A Work In Progress
Montgomery admits that the rest of the forward group is currently a work in progress. The decision may come down to chemistry once camp starts says the Bruins bench boss:
"Everything else is going to be a work in progress," he said. "The great thing is there's lots of opportunity for the players that are returning, the A.J. Greers, the (Jakub) Laukos, obviously (Trent) Frederic. We think he's going to be a big part of the third line. But who plays with who? I try not to get fixated on that, even though I might have ideas. I like to see it play out in camp and have the opportunity to see chemistry with each other."
With this now known it'll likely be the case that the preseason will be a testing zone for line combinations. Montgomery also goes on to say that they like Trent Frederic on the wing to start the season. With this being the case Morgan Geekie becomes a strong contender to play on the third line.
Beyond that other new players such as Milan Lucic, Jesper Boqvist, Patrick Brown and Alex Chiasson would fill in the gaps in the bottom six.
As Seen On - Audacy - Montgomery reveals his early plans for Bruins line combinations
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Will Pavel Zacha succeed as a top-six center? | ||
| Yes | 7 | 36.8 % |
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