Boston Bruins could defer to the veteran
Replacing youthful exuberance with veteran leadership and play-off nous is never a bad option. Hence why John Moore, who is set to return from injury per CBS Sports, could well be the best bet alongside Zdeno Chara.
John Moore, despite actually being younger than Steven Kampfer, arguably brings a lot more to the table in terms of veteran experience. We’re talking a player with a record of over 500 NHL games and 42 playoff games, to boot.
He played 62 games with the Boston Bruins this season and maintained an even plus/minus score; partnering Carlo, McAvoy and Krug most regularly, showing a level of versatility with whichever partner he lines up alongside.
More from Bruins News
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins bringing back familiar forward on tryout contract
- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
The biggest question marks, if he were to be paired with Chara though, are whether he’s fully fit upon his return from an upper body injury that kept him out of the Bruins’ Game 6 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. That, and could the pairing hold up to the speed that someone like Andrei Svechnikov brings?
Chara has already shown frailties when faced with the Toronto Maple Leafs young speedsters and Moore isn’t exactly known for being amazingly fast – the pairing would be relying on strong defensive instincts to shut down plays early before zone entries happen, realistically.
Moore is more than comfortable stepping up to bigger minutes; his playoff average this season has been a meagre 13:08 in the Maple Leafs series, but he was given an 18:46 average in the regular season and showed he was comfortable with 20:01 the previous year with the New Jersey Devils.
Given McAvoy has averaging 25 minutes a night, you’d surely have some faith in John Moore to pick up a significant chunk of that ice time.
Perhaps there’s a few too many question marks to give him the nod, especially as we don’t really know what his injury was, but Cassidy wouldn’t shock me if he does opt to use him.