There are going to be some familiar faces ascending at Warrior Ice Arena for the start of training camp this month for the Boston Bruins. There will also be some faces missing after Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, Connor Clifton left in free agency and Taylor Hall was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. To offset those losses, general manager (GM) Don Sweeney brought in some new players in free agency to what he hopes lessens the blow of the loss of some big names.
Related: Boston Bruins: Predicting Jake DeBrusk’s Next Contract
Just how second-year coach Jim Montgomery goes about filling out his lineup will depend on how training camp goes. Boston would like to get some youth into the 2023-24 lineup, but with veterans coming in free agency, it’s hard to see how that can happen. It’s not impossible. As camp begins on Sept. 20, here is this writer’s prediction as to what the lineup will look like on Opening Night against the Blackhawks at the TD Garden on Oct. 11.
Predicting the Bruins 12 Forwards
For the first time in a very long time, there will be no Bergeron or Krejci to lead the Bruins’ top two lines at center. How those two spots go about getting filled will be one of the big topics of training camp. Let’s look at how the lineup could shake out.
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Brad Marchand | Pavel Zacha | David Pastrnak |
| James van Reimsdyk | Charlie Coyle | Jake DeBrusk |
| Jesper Boqvist | Morgan Geekie | Trent Frederic |
| Milan Lucic | Patrick Brown | Jakub Lauko |
Montgomery recently spoke about Zacha and Coyle playing in the top six at center and he appears to think that both can make the transition without any trouble.
“I think (Zacha’s ceiling) is significantly higher. Not only is he physically prepared, more importantly I believe he’s ready for this mentally for the kind of minutes, the responsibility of having to be played in all situations — which he did really well last year — but they’re going to be more important minutes. But I just think he’s mentally ready. He believes that he can do it. That’s the biggest step for a player. I have a lot of confidence that our top two lines will be very good because I believe Charlie Coyle knows he can do the job and will do the job and Pavel Zacha does too.”
Jim Montgomery (from ‘Jim Montgomery still bullish on the Bruins,’ Boston Herald, Aug. 27, 2023)
If that ends up being the case, there is no reason to move Pastrnak off a line with Zacha with the way they played last season together. Pastrnak scored 61 goals and Zacha had career-highs in goals, assists, and points. Yes, a lot of those numbers came with Krejci at center, but Zacha did slide into the middle when he was out injured and made the seamless transition. Adding Marchand on the left wing gives the Black and Gold a solid top line.
The second line of van Riemsdyk on the left wing with Coyle at center and DeBrusk on the right is an interesting line and has the potential to be a line that produces offensively. DeBrusk has spent the last year and a half on his off-wing on the right and van Riemsdyk is looking to rebound this season. The big question with this line is can Coyle handle the second-line spot better than he did in 2021-22 before he was moved back down to the third line?
Speaking of the third line, this is a new-look third line with just one player back from last season in Frederic. Geekie is a wild card this for the Bruins, signing a two-year deal and Boston is hoping to get a breakout season from the former Seattle Kraken forward, similar to Zacha last season. Boqvist has the potential to be an under-the-radar signing after the New Jersey Devils let him walk.
The fourth-line is a place where Montgomery can get creative and there are going to be multiple players battling for a spot. Lucic is back and going to add grit and toughness, while Brown is essentially going to replace Tomas Nosek, and Lauko is facing a big season and looking to cement his spot in the lineup full-time. Montgomery could go with prospects here, but the thinking is that Georgii Merkulov, John Beecher, and Fabian Lysell are going to begin the season with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Predicting Bruins 6 Defensemen
This is not very difficult and there is very little doubt as to who breaks camp on the blue line.
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Matt Grzelcyk | Charlie McAvoy |
| Brandon Carlo | Hampus Lindholm |
| Derek Forbort | Kevin Shattenkirk |
The only drama here is whether or not an injury occurs before the season-opener or Jakub Zboril or Mason Lohrei have such a good camp that they bump someone out. It’s unlikely they bump someone out, but Zboril and Lohrei are two to keep an eye on. You have to wonder what the future holds for Zboril, the 13th overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft, and it seems like this is a now-or-never opportunity with Lohrei knocking on the door as soon as next season.
In reality, there is so much mixing and matching that can be done, it doesn’t matter where any of these six are placed in the lineup.
Predicting Bruins 2 Goaltenders
Okay, so if the defense was easy, then this is even easier.
| Bruins Goaltenders |
| Linus Ullmark |
| Jeremy Swayman |
The only question this offseason was whether or not Sweeney would end up moving one of his two goalies to acquire a need like a top-six center. He held onto both and even went to arbitration with Swayman for a new contract. After the season they had last season, it’s not surprising that they held onto both and it’s likely that the Bruins will be banking on their defense and goaltending, especially early in the season until they figure out things offensively.
Training camp is certainly going to have plenty of storylines this season and roster spots are up for grabs with veterans and prospects. In the end, the Bruins will end up going with veterans for the Centennial Season at the start, then as things play out, it will be interesting to see if they change their course in the middle of the season.
