In this latest edition of Boston Bruins News & Rumors, Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is generating trade interest around the league. In other news, the Bruins’ defense is once again considered among the NHL’s elite heading into the 2023-24 season. Lastly, Linus Ullmark has been named among the NHL’s top regression candidates for the upcoming campaign. Let’s discuss all of this in today’s (Sep. 29) Bruins News & Rumors column.
Teams Reportedly Interested in Grzelcyk
Per Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy, a Northeast-based NHL scout told him that Grzelcyk is once again garnering interest on the trade market. Here is what the scout had to say on the matter, as relayed by Murphy:
I don’t really know about Forbort, but I can tell you that teams are interested in Grzelcyk. Maybe Donny [Sweeney] should ring up Kyle [Davidson] again in Chicago? Grzelcyk is better than any left-shot D they have now, and they have cap space. He could be great on their power play.
Boston Hockey Now
Grzelcyk, 29, was frequently the subject of trade rumors during the offseason, and now it is carrying over to training camp. It is not too surprising to hear that some clubs are interested in adding Grzelcyk to their defensive groups. The Massachusetts native has become a key part of the Bruins’ top four over the year, notably forming excellent chemistry with Charlie McAvoy.
However, with Grzelcyk entering the final season of his contract and the Bruins having strong depth on the left side, it is understandable that teams are wondering about his availability. Mason Lohrei has also been impressive during the preseason and is making a case for an NHL spot. It will be interesting to see if anything comes from this trade interest in Grzelcyk before the start of the season, but there certainly would be some risk in parting ways with him.
Bruins Defense Ranked Among NHL’s Elite
In a recent article for The Athletic, Harman Dayal ranked every NHL team’s defense, separating them into tiers (from ‘Every NHL team’s defense ranked from best to worst: Hurricanes and Avalanche top the list,’ The Athletic, 9/28/2023). The Bruins were the final team listed by Dayal in the Elite tier, just behind the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Related: 3 Bruins With the Biggest Expectations in 2023-24
Seeing the Bruins’ defense be classified as elite is not too surprising. It is and has been one of the best parts of their roster for quite some time. With that, although they lost several notable forwards this season, their defensive group heading into 2023-24 is not too different. They still have two elite defensemen in McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, while Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo, Derek Forbort, and Kevin Shattenkirk make up a strong supporting cast.
The Bruins’ defense, along with their goaltending, have the potential to make up for their weakened forward group this season. It will be intriguing to see how much of an impact this “elite” defensive group makes for Boston in 2023-24.
Ullmark Listed Among NHL’s Top Regression Candidates
In another article for The Athletic, Dayal discussed the NHL’s top 10 regression candidates for the new season (from ‘Who are the NHL’s top 10 regression candidates for 2023-24?, The Athletic, 9/26/23) Ullmark, the NHL’s reigning Vezina Trophy winner, was named among them.
It is understandable that Dayal and others believe that Ullmark will take a step back this season. His 2022-23 regular season was simply spectacular and one of the best we have seen. In 49 games, he had a ridiculous 40-6-1 record, a 1.89 goals-against average (GAA), and a .938 save percentage (SV%). Expecting him to replicate that kind of dominance would be a tall ask, especially when noting that he has never had statistics near those levels in any other full season.
It will be interesting to see how well Ullmark performs in 2023-24 from here. However, even if his SV% and GAA end up being worse this campaign, he should still serve as a quality 1A/1B with Jeremy Swayman yet again.
