One week following their stunning first-round exit to the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston Bruins general manager (GM) Don Sweeney said during his exit media availability that changes were coming to the Black and Gold for the 2023-24 season. Some big-name pieces were not going to return, whether it was through a trade, free agency, or retirement, which would open the door for some of the younger players in their prospect pool to get a chance to make the roster.
Looking for what could be described as a “youth movement” in the bottom six this upcoming season, Sweeney began the exit of players by trading Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno’s free agent rights to the Chicago Blackhawks. Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, and Connor Clifton also left in free agency, creating holes on defense and in the bottom six. Swee ney made it clear at that the front office and coach Jim Montgomery were going to bank on some younger players to make noise in training cam and find their way onto the roster.
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“Ideally, I wouldn’t be sitting here. I’ll be perfectly honest with you. And I think everybody knows that,” said Sweeney. “And I take a lot of ownership in the fact that we’re sitting here. So, we have a really good group of young players that are committed to this organization in some key positions for our organization. We have to grow and foster some younger players that will play some roles. So, we feel good about if you look at guys who can go and play a top-six role right now. I think we have to fill the bottom part of our roster.”
That was in May. Now fast forward into July and 10 days after free agency began, it appears that those roster spots that the “younger players” were going to fight for will become fewer after the Bruins’ free agency signings.
Bruins Add Veterans to Potentially Fill Open Roster Spots
When free agency began, Sweeney went out and signed four veterans and a young forward to fill gaps on his roster. Former Bruin Milan Lucic was brought back as a fourth-line physical, tough-nosed presence in the lineup that they missed last season. James van Riemsdyk was brought in as a middle-six forward, while Morgan Geekie and Patrick Brown were bottom-six additions. On defense, Kevin Shattenkirk was added to take Clifton’s spot on the third pairing.
There are still questions surrounding whether or not Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci return and if one or both do, that changes things in terms of lineup shuffling. If neither returns, then it’s easy to see why Sweeney signed who he did. Those signings were made to keep the Bruins a competitive team and also keep them as a playoff team. Does that happen this season? Maybe, maybe not, but whether or not their top two centers return, it’s going to be hard to envision much youth making the lineup to begin the season.
Lucic was brought back to play nightly, van Riemsdyk was brought in to play in the middle six, Geekie is at least a third-line center or middle-six depending on who plays, and Brown is the prefect cheap fourth-line center. Shattenkirk was brought in play the third defensive pairing, most likely with Derek Forbort, assuming he isn’t moved in a trade or bought out. Trent Frederic will be back once his restricted free agent (RFA) contract is sorted out, which leaves potentially limited roster spots.
Here is a breakdown of players currently under contract,
Forwards: Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk, Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle, van Riemsdyk, Geekie, Brown, Lucic, A.J. Greer, and Jakub Lauko.
That’s 11 forwards before Frederic’s contract is finished and Bergeron’s and Krejci’s futures are answered.
Defense: Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk, Forbort, Shattenkirk, Ian Mitchell and Jakub Zboril.
Unless there is a trade, that is your defensemen with eight under contract, five of which were there last season. Ian Mitchell, acquired from the Blackhawks with Alec Regula, is also going to be in the mix after agreeing to a pre-arbitration contract Monday with the Bruins.
Goaltenders: Linus Ullmark, Brandon Bussi, Kyle Keyser
Three goalies are under contract for next season and it will jump to four when Swayman’s new contract is worked out.
Of course, trades are still possible and more than likely, especially if Bergeron and Krejci don’t return. It’s hard to imagine that the Bruins would start the season with Zacha, Coyle, Geekie, and either Frederic or Brown down the middle, but stranger things have happened.
Bruins Young Players Facing Early Long Odds Ahead of Camp
If the Bruins are going to insert some youth into the lineup, it’s going to be hard to do so. There are going to be some interesting choices available to Montgomery and his staff, but currently there just isn’t much room. Boston is not blessed with one of the better prospect pools, mainly because Sweeney has been using draft capital in trades, which has limited his first-round picks (from ‘Boston Bruins are No. 30 in 2023 NHL prospect pool rankings,’ The Athletic, Jan. 11, 2023).
Of the prospects that might have a chance, Lauko is the one most likely to make the roster. After that, it is going to be hard to see anyone else as things are currently constructed to crack the lineup. Some of the other prospects that could crack the lineup are either too small, not ready, or deep down on the depth chart.
Some of the young centers making the roster will have a lot depending on Bergeron and Krejci’s decisions, while it’s going to be difficult for a winger to find themselves in the mix. On defense, Mason Lohrei is the best option to crack the lineup, but with a log jam in front of him of veterans, he might be a year away from being in Boston full-time.
Bruins Youth Movement in Trouble After Free Agency
A big part of the thinking behind going to a youth movement for the Bruins is because of the cap situation they are in with very little cap space to put together a roster. The younger players carry team-friendly cap hits for a season the Black and Gold are facing, while all of the free-agent signings were deals that were cheap to veterans.
That does not close the door on any type of youth movement that Sweeny, Montgomery, and the front office were planning for, but it puts up multiple roadblocks for sure. Trades are still possible to clear out cap space and bodies, but with each passing day into the summer, that seems less likely. There is no doubt a transition year is on the horizon for 2023-24 in Boston, but just how much youth, if any at all, is injected into the lineup remains to be seen.
It’s not out of the question that the Bruins go from a potential youth movement to actually getting older.
