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Boston Bruins: Patrice Bergeron and Marchand lead Stanley Cup charge

By Dave Stevenson

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins celebrates a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins celebrates a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Despite a less than stellar summer, the Boston Bruins still have what it takes to contend for the Stanley Cup thanks to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

The Boston Bruins entered last season with a lot of questions. Most of them got answered thanks to a surprisingly impressive young core of forwards. However, the Bruins eventually fell in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As usual, Boston was led by Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Zdeno Chara. That’s nothing new, as this trio has led them for quite some time. But for the first time in a while, the Bruins had a strong supporting cast behind them.

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Rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy was overlooked thanks to a strong freshman class, but still finished fifth in the Calder Trophy race. David Pastrnak built on his strong 2016-17 season to put up 80 points in 82 games.

Defenseman Torey Krug set a career-high with 14 goals, 45 assists, and 59 points. Rookie forwards Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk combined for 90 points (47 points and 43 points respectively). Ryan Donato built on a strong Winter Olympics to put up nine points in 12 games.

The Bruins didn’t have the huge offseason everyone expected them to have. They were in the running for star center John Tavares, but he eventually chose the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins enter the 2018-19 season with very high hopes. Can they build on their outstanding 2017-18 season?

Offseason Review

Additions: D John Moore, F Joakim Nordstrom, G Jaroslav Halak, F Sean Kuraly (re-signed), F Chris Wagner
Departures: F Rick Nash, F Riley Nash, G Anton Khudobin, D Nick Holden. F Tim Schaller, F Brian Gionta, F Austin Czarnik

Moore should help fill out the Bruins defensive pairings. He’ll likely be on either the second pairing with Krug or the third pairing with youngster Matt Grzelcyk. Giving Moore a five-year deal is a bit questionable, but his $2.75 million cap hit is reasonable.

Nordstrom and Wagner should provide forward depth, but don’t expect either to see significant minutes. Kuraly did a solid job on the Bruins fourth line and will likely reprise this role in 2018-19. Halak’s job will be to replace Khudobin as Tuukka Rask‘s backup.

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