The Boston Bruins didn';t panic this summer when they had every reason to
panic. The Toronto Maple Leafs were one period worse than Boston in the
playoffs and added John Tavares. The Tampa Bay Lightning reached Game 7 of the
Eastern Conference Final, and return basically the same team while also
pursuing Erik Karlsson. Even the Florida Panthers, who finished a single point
out of the playoffs, added Mike Hoffman.

While everyone around them got better, one could argue the Bruins got worse.
They lost Riley Nash and Tim Schaller to free agency along with Rick Nash to
potential retirement. Anton Khudobin moved on as well, signing with the Dallas
Stars. General manager Don Sweeney did make a few moves, replacing Khudobin
with Jaro Halak and adding John Moore to his blueline along with Chris Wagner
and Joakim Nordstrom to the bottom-six. All in all, however, the Bruins didn';t
 make any big additions this summer.Danton Heinen, Boston Bruins, Dec. 2, 2017
(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)The club wants a bigger body in the top-six,
they admitted that much when they traded for Nash at the deadline. With Rick
now gone, Boston once again is without that player in their top-six. Sweeney
didn';t panic, he didn';t trade for Milan Lucic and his anchor contract, he
didn';t throw the bank at James van Riemsdyk like the Philadelphia Flyers did
either. He';s being patient, and sticking with the draft and develop model that
 has made the Bruins successful the last two seasons.The Department of Youth

The Bruins got major contributions up front last year from the likes of Jake
DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and David Pasternak, along with solid depth
contributions from players like Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari and later in the
season Ryan Donato. Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo emerged on defense for
Boston, while Matt Grzelcyk also pushed his way into full-time NHL territory.

There is another group of strong young players pushing up for Boston, too, led
by Anders Bjork. Bjork was supposed to be a big part of the team last season,
but suffered shoulder issues and only appeared in 30 games. Trent Frederic,
Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (JFK), Anton Blidh and Peter Cehlarik are all bubbling
 under at forward, while 2017 first-round pick Urho Vaakanainen along with
Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon lead the charge defensively in terms of
prospects. The Bruins system, for a lack of a better term, is loaded. They have
 young players pushing through at the AHL level, and many more on the way in
college and juniors.Boston Bruins center Ryan Donato (17) keeps the puck from
Columbus Blue Jackets center Nick Foligno (71) during a game between the Boston
 Bruins and the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 19, 2018. (Photo by Fred Kfoury
III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Bruins could conceivably replace their departed talent exclusively with
players from in the system. For example, is it crazy to think a healthy Bjork
could replace Rick Nash? I don';t think so. What about JFK taking the role of
Riley Nash? It';ll take some time to adjust to, but that';s JFK';s skill set. I
 think he';d fare just fine as a bottom-six center who is forced to play a
two-way role.Final Thoughts

The Bruins could have easily dealt Torey Krug for pennies on the dollar,
sending him away for a veteran forward that maybe doesn';t possess the same
kind of value. They could have signed a free agent deal that would have helped
in the short term, but hampered their ability to re-sign the kids and be
flexible in the long-term. Don Sweeney had options, but he chose to play it
safe and keep his powder dry.

In the end, that is probably the smart move for the Bruins. Odds are, Boston
will take a step back in the regular season this year. That said, they should
still be a playoff team and should still be a threat out east. Boston is still
a developing team, and sometimes people forget that. The Bruins are gambling on
 young talent, a move that probably keeps the competitive now and lays the
foundation for a potential Cup victory in short order.

With youth being served, here is what Boston';s lines would look like opening
night in Washington if Bruce Cassidy had me calling the shots.Brad Marchand -
Patrice Bergeron - David Pasternak

Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Andres Bjork

Ryan Donato - David Backes - Danton Heinen

Sean Kuraly - Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson - Chris Wagner

Joakim Nordstrom, Noel AcciariZdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy

Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo

John Moore - Adam McQuaid

Kevan MillerTuukka Rask

Jaroslav Halak

Thoughts?

The post Bruins Gambling On Young Talent appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHockeyWrite...
--- SBBSecho 3.05-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)