In exactly two weeks, the Boston Bruins will kick off their Centennial season against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Although the Bruins had several offseason departures this summer, they still have high expectations for the 2023-24 campaign. However, if they hope to succeed, they will need certain players to step up big time. As a result, let’s go over three Bruins with the biggest expectations heading into the new season.
Pavel Zacha
As Bruin fans know quite well, the club’s center depth was decimated this offseason due to the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. The Bruins’ limited cap space made it impossible for them to add a top-six center via free agency. Meanwhile, their lack of draft picks and weak prospect pool made it too difficult to bring in a center through the trade market. As a result, Pavel Zacha is expected to be one of the club’s top two centers on opening night.
Zacha, 26, is coming off a career-best season in 2022-23, posting new career highs in goals (21), assists (36), and points (57). It was a year to remember for the 2015 fifth-overall pick, but the Bruins are now expecting more from him with his move to the middle. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery also told the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy earlier this offseason that he believes Zacha’s ceiling is “significantly higher” even after his breakout season (from ‘Jim Montgomery still bullish on the Bruins,’ Boston Herald, 8/27/2023).
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Expecting Zacha to make as big of an impact as Bergeron and Krejci is a tall ask. However, with Zacha set to be a top-six center in Boston’s lineup, he is now expected to emerge as a core member and top point producer for the team. Let’s see if he can do just that.
David Pastrnak
David Pastrnak is entering the first season of his monstrous eight-year, $90 million contract. That alone is a significant reason why the 2014 first-round pick is coming into the new season with immense expectations. However, it also goes far beyond that.
Pastrnak, 27, has emerged as the Bruins top star and after losing so many key forwards this summer, they need him to continue to be among the NHL’s top goal scorers and point producers. This past season was truly special for him, as he posted new career highs in goals (61), assists (52), and points (113). If he can produce similar numbers to these in 2023-24, the Bruins will be in good shape.
Pastrnak is also one of the club’s alternate captains for the new season and is expected to be one of their top leaders because of it. Earlier this offseason, general manager (GM) Don Sweeney expressed confidence that Pastrnak would be a good replacement for players like Bergeron and Krejci in that department. Thus, it is clear that team responsibilities are increasing for the superstar. It will be intriguing to see how he responds to it.
Brad Marchand
With Bergeron hanging up the skates, the Bruins named his longtime partner in crime Brad Marchand as their new captain. It was not the most surprising of developments to see, as Marchand has spent the entirety of his 14-year and 947-game career as a Bruin. During that time, he emerged as a core player and had been an alternate captain for many seasons. Yet, now that he is sporting the C, his responsibilities, both on and off the ice, have increased significantly.
Replacing Bergeron as captain is not going to be an easy task, but Marchand’s goal for the season will be to prove that can. After spending his career learning from excellent leaders like Bergeron and Zdeno Chara, he certainly has the potential to do just that.
With that, the Bruins are also expecting that Marchand will still produce at an elite level. He is one of their most important offensive weapons heading into the new season, especially with the losses of Bergeron, Krejci, Taylor Hall, and Tyler Bertuzzi. In 73 games last season, the Halifax native posted 21 goals and 67 points.
Alas, it will be intriguing to see how well the Bruins perform during the 2023-24 season. If Zacha shows that he is a legitimate top-six center, Pastrnak stays just as dominant as last season, and Marchand thrives as captain, the Bruins could shock a lot of naysayers yet again.
