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Boston Bruins: Have they improved enough to still be a legitimate contender?

By Cameron Burgess

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JUNE 09: The Boston Bruins celebrate their 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center on June 09, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JUNE 09: The Boston Bruins celebrate their 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center on June 09, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA - JUNE 12: The giant Bs flag makes its way around the arena. During Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals featuring the Boston Bruins against the St. Louis Blues on June 12, 2019 at TD Garden in Boston, MA. (Photo by Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 12: The giant Bs flag makes its way around the arena. During Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals featuring the Boston Bruins against the St. Louis Blues on June 12, 2019 at TD Garden in Boston, MA. (Photo by Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Boston Bruins are coming off a season in which they finished with 107 points and rode a hot streak all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

With most of the lineup returning again this season, are this year’s Boston Bruins a serious threat to go on another deep playoff run?

It’s safe to say that last season didn’t end the way that many had hoped. Getting so close to the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup but coming out on the losing side of things is disappointing, but the Boston Bruins certainly seem to be capable of getting back there once again.

Of course, the playoffs are always full of surprises, and we’ve seen that sometimes a long playoff run can hurt a team the following season. With many of the core players on this team now another year older, have the Boston Bruins missed their window to compete or do they still have a real shot at getting back to the Stanley Cup Final?

As I mentioned, many of the core players are now a little bit older. Patrice Bergeron is 34, David Krejci is 33, Tuukka Rask is 32, and Brad Marchand is 31. And of course, Zdeno Chara is now 42 years old.

There is an argument to be made that Bergeron has only gotten better with age, and a lot of that has to do with Marchand and fellow linemate David Pastrnak. The trio has been one of the best lines in the NHL over the past few seasons, but there is the fear that age will catch up sooner rather than later.

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