NHL Preview 2019-20: Boston Bruins

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney).

GM: Don Sweeney (since 2015). 8.5/10
Coach: Bruce Cassidy (since 2017). 8/10

2018-19 record: 49-24-9 107 points (2nd in Atlantic Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference).
Playoffs: Lost Stanley Cup Final in seven games to Blues.

Departures: Marcus Johansson (RW), Noel Acciari (F), Lee Stempniak (RW), Jordan Szwarz (C), Gemel Smith (LW), Zane MacIntyre (G).

Arrivals: Brett Ritchie (RW), Par Lindholm (LW), Brendan Gaunce (LW), Maxime Lagacé (G).

Top forwards: David Pastrnak (75-85 points, might crack the 40-goal mark), Brad Marchand (70-85 points, 35 goals), Patrice Bergeron (55-70 points, amazing face-off numbers), David Krejci (60-65 points), Charlie Coyle (30-40 points), Jake DeBrusk (35-40 points), Danton Heinen (20-30 points), David Backes (20-35 points).

Must-improve forward: David Backes. He's 35 years old, with two more years left on his deal paying him $6M per. His points totals since 2013-14: 57, 58, 45, 38, 33, 20. Notice a trend? He's a prime candidate for a buyout next summer.

Top defensemen: Torey Krug (45-60 points), Charlie McAvoy (45-50 points), Brandon Carlo (20-35 points), Matt Grzelcyk (20-35 points), Zdeno Chara (15-20 points), John Moore (15-20 points).

Goalies: Tuuka Rask (92/100), Jaroslav Halak (92/100).

Top prospects: Connor Clifton (24, D), Urho Vaakanainen (20, 18th overall pick in 2017, D), Axel Andersson (19, D), Zachary Senyshyn (22, 15th overall pick in 2015, RW), Jakob Sboril (22, 13th overall pick in 2015, D), Jakub Lauko (19, C/LW).

Analysis:
Head coach Cassidy keeps getting improved results with a roster full of should-be-aging veterans, and instead just reinvigorates it with the right amount of youth at the right moment in the ideal spot.

Rask and Halak are the best goaltending tandem in the league. The former was a Conn Smythe favourite and the latter was the better of the two in 2018-19. Considering the amount of teams that do not even have a true #1 goalie, this is an embarrassment of riches.

I have the Bruins falling from second-place to fourth in their division, only because of the rise of the Florida Panthers and the "win-now" Toronto Maple Leafs, who will not be able to afford a defense next year what with nearly half their cap space eaten up by just three forwards. Those teams might have a better regular season than the Bs, as Boston would do well to rest some of their veterans for up to 10 games up-front (Bergeron, Krejci) and maybe 15-20 games in Chara's case.

With the goaltending they have, they should not expect to lose all of the games they sit their aging stars out of, but they will lose a few.

Prediction: 4th in the Atlantic Division, 11th overall.

NHL Preview 2018-19: Boston Bruins

GM: Don Sweeney (since 2015). 6/10
Coach: Bruce Cassidy (since 2017). 7.5/10

2017-18 record: 50-20-12, 112 points, 4th overall, 2nd in the Atlantic. Eliminated in second round.

Departures: Anton Khudobin (G), Riley Nash (C), Nick Holden (D), Tim Schaller (C), Kenny Agostino (RW), Austin Czarnik (C).

Arrivals: Jaroslav Halak (G), Joakim Nordstrom (LW), John Moore (D), Chris Wagner (C).

Top forwards: David Pastrnak (65-80 points), Brad Marchand (60-75 points, 35 goals), Patrice Bergeron (55-65 points, amazing face-off numbers), David Krejci (55-65 points), Ryan Spooner (30-40 points), Frank Vatrano (20-30 points).

Must-improve forward: David Backes. Again. 33 points last year. 38 the year before that. 45 the year before that. 58 the year before that. That's a pretty constant regression. Like Milan Lucic in Edmonton, he's starting to look like a extremely expensive fourth-line grinder.

Top defensemen: Torey Krug (40-50 points), Charlie McAvoy (35-40 points), Zdeno Chara (20-30 points), Brandon Carlo (20-35 points), Kevan Miller (15-22 points).

Goalies: Tuuka Rask (90/100), Halak (88/100).

Top rookies: Ryan Donato (22, C), Urho Vaakanainen (19, 18th overall pick in 2017, D), Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (22, C), Zachary Senyshyn (21, 15th overall pick in 2015, RW), Jakob Sboril (21, 13th overall pick in 2015, D).

Analysis:
I was hard on head coach Cassidy last year. The truth of the matter is he led his team to a fourth-place finish when they should be rebuilding, what with all the veterans they have. He also helped Marchand focus on playing hockey for 97% of the time he's on the ice, making him a lethal offensive force when paired with Pastrnak and Bergeron. He'll still fly off the handle a few times, but he seems like less of a diver/faker nowadays, at least.

McAvoy, Krug, Chara and Carlo make a decent top-4 on the back end, but look for Chara to regress more and more as his 40s take hold; take a look at Jagr, who seemed timeless and immortal on the Panthers' first line then with just one summer of not training at full capacity (he was spending more time looking for a job than preparing for it) went on to become a healthy scratch in Calgary - that's what awaits #33 eventually. Soon. And injuries will also start piling up on his 41-year-old body, each one harder to come back from. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already a gigantic jumble of arthritis and pain.

Rask is still an elite goaltender. As I said last year, he just needed help. He gets that with Halak, a 1A goalie who could be in the crease for as many as 41 games, leaving Rask rested for the playoffs. And ready to take over if Rask keeps failing in the Spring.

Offensively for the Bruins, the biggest question mark is Krejci. Will he again miss nearly half a season of play? Can he get back to the 60-70-point mark? At 32, he should still be in what's left of his prime, but he fell to 44 points in 64 games last year and only hit the 20-goal mark once in the last six years. If he can't put up at least 45-50 assists to compensate, he's a waste of $7.25M on the second line.

Boston still desperately needs to add depth both on their third and fourth lines and in their bottom-pairings to make a dent in the playoff picture. A lot of teams have what it takes to make the playoffs close to a Wild Card spot, but only a few powerhouses have rosters that, on paper, project to go deep. The Bruins lack what the Bolts, Preds, Caps, Jackets and Jets have - a line-up that doesn't have five-to-ten minutes per game where the other team just has free reign on the ice because the guys playing are a deep cut below the opposition's in terms of raw talent.

Prediction: 3rd in the Atlantic Division.

How To Troll Bostonians

Like Daniel Brière and Brendan Gallagher before him, Montréal Canadiens sharp-shooter Max Pacioretty was asked to create a burger that would bear his name for the season.

Except he went and presented it to Boston Bruins fans, the Habs' natural and longest-standing rivals: