After a record-setting 2022-23 regular season setting an NHL record for wins (65) and points (135), the Boston Bruins suffered one of the more historic playoff defeats at the hands of the Florida Panthers. It ended up being a summer of change for the Black and Gold with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, while Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, and some other players left in free agency.
With all the changes from players going out and new ones coming in, just how this season goes is going to be interesting to watch play out. There are a lot of things that are going to have to go right for Jim Montgomery’s crew if they are going to have any success. Here are five best-case scenarios for the Bruins in 2023-24.
Bruins Get Strong Goaltending Again
First of all, expecting Linus Ullmark to come even close to repeating what he did last season on his way to running away with the Vezina Trophy is unrealistic. However, if Boston can get the 2021-22 version of the former Buffalo Sabres goalie, then they will take that. Last season, Ullmark went 40-6-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average (GAA) and a .938 save percentage (SV%) after going 26-10-2 in 2021-22 with a 2.45 GAA and .917 SV%.
Jeremy Swayman has had a good preseason, despite the results, he has looked strong and appears ready for the regular season. The former University of Maine standout went 24-6-4 last season with a 2.27 GAA and .920 SV%. They combined to win the Jennings Trophy as well, but this season, the Bruins are going to need their two goalies to stay healthy and be good again this season.
Bruins Get Another Strong Season From Jake DeBrusk
Since being moved to the first line with Bergeron and Brad Marchand in February of 2022, Jake DeBrusk has been one of the more consistent forwards in terms of production. He finished the 2021-22 season with 25 goals, with most of that occurring after the move to the first line, then he had 27 goals last season and that was after missing a month and a half with a knee injury.
Now with no Bergeron, the 14th overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft is not going to have to do it with a new center. Sooner or later, DeBrusk is going to set a new career-high in goals, which is currently 27, and this would be the perfect season for him to do it.
Bruins Get Some Impact From Some Young Players
It has been five months since general manager (GM) Don Sweeney said following their Bruins postseason elimination at the hands of the Panthers that the front office and Montgomery were hoping to add youth into this season’s lineup. Some free-agent additions over the offseason are going to make that difficult, but the Bruins have some options. Matthew Poitras and John Beecher have earned the opportunity to start the season in Boston and stay.
Jakub Lauko as a fourth-line wing is another youngster expected to see a lot of this season and defenseman Mason Lohrei is a wild card. The former Ohio State defenseman played well enough to make the roster out of camp, but even if he starts with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), he will see some time in the NHL this season. Left-shot defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort are in the final year of their contracts and Lohrei is not ott far away from playing full-time in Boston.
Bruins Avoid Major Injuries to Key Players
This goes without saying. Obviously, all teams in the NHL would like to avoid major injuries to key players, however, the Bruins had depth last season, but this season as we have found out in training camp, not so much. Last season when DeBrusk and Swayman went down with injuries, the Bruins were able to fill those holes and not miss a beat because of depth, but that’s not the case this season. Montgomery had options on his roster to fill DeBrusk’s role in the top six and Ullmark carried the load for Swayman in goal with Keith Kinkaid getting one start.
Related: Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down: Poitras, Beecher, Shattenkirk, Brown & More
There are no predicting injuries in the NHL, but if a key player at forward, on defense, or in goal goes down, the options within are limited. An injury might open the door for some of the top prospects in Providence, but after that, any significant loss will be felt. Out of the best-case scenarios for the Black and Gold this season, this is likely the most important one. Health.
Bruins Make the Stanley Cup Playoffs
This is not going to be a lot easier than you may think. First off, the Bruins roster lost several key pieces from last season with Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, and Connor Clifton to name a few. Clifton went to Atlantic Division rival Buffalo Sabres, trade deadline accusations Tyler Bertuzzi (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Dmitry Orlov (Carolina Hurricanes) went to Eastern Conference favorites entering the season.
Not only did all the teams in the division get better, but also the conference. The Panthers are coming off a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings got better along with the Sabres and all three teams are looking to knock down the postseason door. Sweeney and the Bruins are looking at a big 2024 offseason with a lot of cap space to build a roster to contend again quickly, but they can take a step in the right direction if they can find their way into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. It’s going to be tough and they will need a lot of things to go right, but who saw last season’s historic season coming? Anything is possible.
The schedule to begin the season for the Bruins is one that can set them up to begin the season on a good note, which would go a long way toward reaching the fifth best-case scenario. Boston is a different-looking team than last season and some of these best-case scenarios would go a long way into the 2023-24 season being a good one for the Black and Gold.
