Boston Bruins: Training camp likely to start without contract hold-outs

It’s seeming increasingly likely that training camp starts for the Boston Bruins tomorrow without restricted free agents, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy.

Even with Zach Werenski giving in and accepting an offer from the Columbus Blue Jackets, it still seems unlikely that the Boston Bruins will be able to ink deals in time for Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy to be out there for the first day of training camp tomorrow.

The Boston Bruins have obviously thought about this and inked Alex Petrovic to a professional try-out contract earlier in the summer. Meanwhile, Adam McQuaid has been seen at informal training sessions, albeit not as a player with any sort of contract, just a history with the team and living in the area.

To start camp without players is never going to have been a preferred option for anyone associated with the Boston Bruins, nor the players themselves or indeed, their agents. If anything, it makes the players look selfish and could damage their reputation in the locker-room, as well as with the fan base.

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You’d have to be hoping that the Bruins have ramped up negotiations and are now doing everything they possibly can to ensure both guys are able to attend at least part of training camp. At least neither is publicly threatening to play out the season with the Zurich Lions in Switzerland!

As well as seeing where it all lands with Carlo and McAvoy, we shall no doubt shortly find out how banged up the squad is; the expectation being that both John Moore and Kevan Miller will start the year on injured reserve, whilst Zdeno Chara may possibly miss a game or two and David Backes is a question mark in general.

Training camp is a great time of year though; one, hockey’s back, but two, we get a chance to see some of Boston’s future hopefuls playing alongside current ones. This is that chance to assess whether Anders Bjork or Trent Frederic can make the jump, whether Urho Vaakanainen is ready to step up and whether Peter Cehlarik can finally make it stick.

Karson Kuhlman and Connor Clifton had success with the Boston Bruins last year after making the step up, maybe one of these guys comes out and shines at camp and earns themselves a spot on the opening night roster in a months’ time.

No doubt we’ll soon have an inkling of whether the trio of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are going to be reunited or whether there’s an alternative way that the Boston Bruins coaching staff wish to shape the forward lines.

Right now, it’s like Christmas – soon we get to find out what the new season will look like for the Boston Bruins. Training camp means we’re less than a month away from real regular-season hockey!