Boston Bruins Roundtable: Projected Lines For 2015-16 Season

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General manager Don Sweeney has made a whirlwind of moves just two months on the job. With plenty of questions surrounding this newly assembled forward group, coach Claude Julien will spend the remainder of his summer mapping out line pairings.

Here at Causeway Crowd, our staff has mapped out our own projected lines.

Andrew Thompson’s Projected Lines:

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Brett Connolly

Loui Eriksson – David Krejci – David Pastrnak

Matt Beleskey – Ryan Spooner – Jimmy Hayes

Max Talbot – Chris Kelly – Zac Rinaldo

Extras: Alexander Khokhlachev, Joonas Kemppainen

The forward lines are pending the possible moves of Kelly and Eriksson. The current rumor is that one or both are being shopped around. I can understand Kelly, as $3 million for a fourth line center is just a bad idea. If the Bruins move Kelly, then I would insert Alexander Khokhlachev in as the fourth line center. If the Bruins choose to move Eriksson, then I’d move up Beleskey to the Krejci line. I’d keep Talbot on the fourth line and call up Brian Ferlin from Providence and give him a shot on the third line.

If neither trade moves forward, it would be a coin flip between Khokhlachev and Joonas Kemppainen as the 13th forward.

Andrew’s projected defensive pairs for the Bruins:

Zdeno Chara – Colin Miller

Dennis Seidenberg – Kevan Miller

Torey Krug – Adam McQuaid

Having covered a fair amount of AHL games last season, Colin Miller could end up being the top four defenseman the Bruins were looking for. He plays solid two-way hockey (like Dougie Hamilton there is a little work needed on the defensive side on the job), and can fill as a fourth forward on special teams. If Seidenberg is healthy (and I mean HEALTHY), then it makes sense to pair him with Kevan Miller. Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid will fill out the bottom pair nicely (especially if McQuaid can avoid injuries).