With NHL rosters due to be finalized by 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Bruins are down to crunch time. The prospects have been sent down to Providence or shipped back to their respective junior teams, and the AHL depth players have already begun their preseason schedule with the P-Bruins.
So, what that in mind, here’s our suggestion for the final B's roster, with only a couple of decisions left to be made by general manager Don Sweeney and the rest of the front office. It’s expected the Bruins will carry 23 players: 13 forwards, 8 defensemen and a couple of goaltenders. According to www.generalfanager.com, this roster would give the Bruins a decent $1.9 million in cap space to start the season. That number would jump to $5.9 million if they opt to put Dennis Seidenberg on LTI (long-term injured reserve) to start the season. So here’s our projection for the final B’s roster:
Forwards (13): Matt Beleskey, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, Jimmy Hayes, Ryan Spooner, Brett Connolly, Chris Kelly, Joonas Kemppainen, Zac Rinaldo, Max Talbot.
The only player cut from the current would be Tyler Randell, who has the kind of training-camp performance that makes him a candidate for call-up if the Bruins decide they need more size, muscle and toughness this season. The fourth-line forwards would give the Bruins plenty of options with Kemppainen a really intriguing prospect for this season based on his size (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), face-off abilities and talent at killing penalties. Don’t think the Bruins don't need a center that big, given that Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Ryan Spooner aren’t exactly the biggest centers (from a sheer physical stature standpoint) in the NHL. I’d expect Talbot would be the healthy scratch from that group to start the season, but that he’d make the club based from an experience, leadership and grittiness perspective. He’s still got some game to give.
Defensemen (8): Zdeno Chara, Zach Trotman, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, Joe Morrow, Matt Irwin, Colin Miller.
The Seidenberg injury stripped away any tough decisions here, and the waiver situation pretty much guaranteed Morrow would make the team. The real question here comes with Colin Miller. Will he be in the top-6 to start the season in Boston based on a camp that showed off his skating ability, his crisp first pass and the booming shot that could become a real weapon on the power play? Or would he be better off in Providence playing in all situations to start the season until the Bruins need him up in Boston? I would hope that the B's already have him penciled in the top-6 based on what we’ve seen in camp, but there’s also genuine sentiment in the front office to get Trotman and Morrow a fair look. The decision to sign Irwin for short money looks like a very good one now that Seidenberg is out for the first few months of the season. Still, the defense corps is the team's clear weak spot. If Chara isn't recovered sufficiently to start the season, there are zero players who have ever averaged 20-plus minutes a night in the NHL during a full season. That’s a scary proposition.
Goaltender: (2) Tuukka Rask, Jeremy Smith.
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There wasn’t a lot separating Smith and Jonas Gustavsson in their training camp competition, and based on that Smith will probably get the call given his seniority in the organization. He had a standout season in the AHL last year, he’s 26 years old, and he deserves the NHL shot at this point in his career. The third period against Washington Friday night, in which Smith was pelted with quality Capitals scoring chances and nearly still protected the one-goal lead, might have cinched it for him. Also, if Smith was cut, cleared waivers and then reported back to Providence, the P-Bruins would have had three goalies whom the B's consider to be potentially part of their future (Smith, Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre), which is one too many for the amount of work they all need. It might have been a different story if Gustavsson had really stood on his head, showed good rebound control and completely dominated the competition. But he didn’t, and might now be on standby with the Bruins while the organization sees if Smith can be a quality backup. The bottom line is that Rask can’t appear in 23 of 24 games like he did in the second half of last year, and that means the B’s need to have a reliable second goalie.
Injured Reserve: Seth Griffith, Dennis Seidenberg.