Pathway to the Playoffs: Boston Bruins

Coach
Bruce Cassidy

Notable Additions
Nick Foligno (Columbus/Toronto), Linus Ullmark (Buffalo)

Notable Subtractions
Nick Ritchie (Toronto), Ondrej Kase (Toronto), David Krejci (Czech Extraliga), Tuukka Rask (Unsigned) & Jaroslav Halak (Vancouver)

Notable Free Agents 2022
Charlie McAvoy (RFA), Patrice Bergeron (UFA), Curtis Lazar (UFA) and Jake DeBrusk (UFA)

Pathway to the Playoffs
"Is this the year the Bruins finally fall off?"

This seems to be the question that gets asked every year in Boston and the answer to this point has always been no. Last offseason the Bruins lost their former Captain Zdeno Chara and they didn't miss a step as they not only made the playoffs, but knocked off the Washington Capitals before being defeated in the second round by the New York Islanders. This offseason the Bruins lost David Krejci after 15 seasons with the team as he returned to the Czech Republic to play closer to home, and this will likely be a difficult loss to overcome. How will the Bruins react to losing their longtime second line center?

The other big question in Boston is goaltending and after signing Linus Ullmark to a 4 year $20,000,000 contract the Bruins have to be concerned by his preseason performance.

With Tuukka Rask still an unrestricted free agent and out with injury until at least January you really need to wonder what the Bruins will be doing in goal, especially if Jeremy Swayman keeps outperforming their big free agent acquisition. The acquisition of veteran forward Nick Foligno is also likely to continue to make the Bruins a very tough team to play against.

With the Atlantic Division continuing to be very deep the Bruins will need to find their way early to make sure they don't fall too far behind the pack, but their veteran experience and players like the ageless Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand they'll likely be in the thick of things right to the very end. Also don't be surprised if you see David Pastrnak return to his pre-COVID form as he is likely to challenge for the Rocket Richard this season, my guess he finishes the season with 48 goals.

Prediction
Instigator's Perspective - 4th in the Atlantic (2nd Wild Card)
Hockey GM Advice - 5th in the Atlantic