Boston Bruins: Can Max Talbot Reboot The Fourth Line
The Boston Bruins will be looking to some veterans to help put together a solid bottom-six set of forwards this season. One of those players that the Bruins hope will bring not only a veteran presence but some scoring to the Bruins bench is Maxime Talbot. Talbot came on board last season at the trade deadline, and played eighteen games for the Bruins last season. He put up three assists for the Black and Gold playing on the fourth line.
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Talbot knows there have been changes to the Boston Bruins during the offseason. The addition of several players has certainly opened up the field for a very interesting training camp next month. While he agrees there have been changes, he doesn’t believe the Bruins are in a rebuild.
“I heard some words which I hated this summer — ‘reconstruction’ — and you know, this just [ticked] me off because we still have the core. We have a very strong core,” said Talbot to Boston Bruins.com as they visited the veteran forward in enemy territory: Montreal, Quebec. “We have great players, and for us, I think we can only use that as motivation. It’s going to be a great season, and the Cup is up for grabs.”
While the 31-year old forward may call Montreal his home turf, he’s very excited to play for a team that has been Montreal’s rival for nearly a century.
“Being a hockey player, you need to be passionate about your sport, about the team you play for, and that’s certainly something I am,” he said. “I’ve only been a Bruin for 18 games, but it is so exciting to wear that ‘B’ in front of the sweater. You need guys to want to wear that jersey, and to want to win with that jersey on, and that’s something that shows on the ice. Every time you step on the ice, you’re proud of the team you represent, and you’re proud of the city you represent, and the fans, so that’s the mentality that every guy should have, and will have, during camp.”
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Max Talbot has a rough road ahead of him. He will need to find some solid chemistry with Chris Kelly (most likely to center the fourth line), and he’ll need to get the Bruins fourth line out of the shadows. Any fourth line combination will be competing against the ghosts of Merlot past, and they’ll have to bring energy, scoring, and character to the Bruins bench.
If anyone can salvage the fourth line, Talbot can do it. He’s an energetic and quirky person in the locker room (He’s literally equal parts Patrice Bergeron and Shawn Thornton). He’s got a solid skill set, and he knows the role he’ll be walking into this season. He’s got a simple work ethic, and it should help the Bruins recover from last seasons’ disappointing end.
“For me, my game and my leadership is simple: it’s just [to] be myself because every day, I get to the rink and I’m so excited. I think it translates on the ice. We’re lucky to play hockey, to do what we do, so that’s my mentality: Every day, I’ve touched the ice, and I’m happy doing it, and hopefully, it translates and it shows the guys that, ‘OK, let’s go to work. Let’s have fun, but go to work.’”