Boston Bruins: 3 players that most need an injury-free campaign
It’s safe to say in the past few seasons, the Boston Bruins haven’t exactly had the best injury luck. Heading into this season, they’ll be a few guys they hope can avoid the injury curse.
Granted, such poor luck with injuries has led to the breakthroughs of guys like Connor Clifton and Matt Grzelyck, but honestly I think the Boston Bruins fan base would prefer that they have a full-strength roster fit and healthy every night.
It’s certainly preferable to a newcomer joining up with a team that has found it’s groove and potentially upsetting the chemistry.
With only the St. Louis Blues experiencing an off-season as short as the Boston Bruins, recovery will have been hurried for all of the injured players that needed work following an unsuccessful Game 7.
Modern sports science certainly means that guys should be entering the season with a clean bill of health, but you must remember that the Boston Bruins have one of the higher average ages, at least among the core group, and thus niggles are likely there and have likely been there a long time by this point.
Players no longer quite have to play through the pain, so to speak; some do, ask Zdeno Chara! But they still are expected to suit up on occasions whereby an extra day or two might have a more positive effect.
Such is the competition in the modern-day NHL that dropping two points due to sitting a guy versus playing that same guy at ninety percent, could ultimately be the difference between making the playoffs and not.
There’s a few players in particular this season that will be hoping to stay healthy for the full campaign, each for slightly different reasons.
Honorable Mentions
Anders Bjork
Although Anders Bjork ultimately missed out on a Boston Bruins roster spot, there will be definite interest around his ability to not be downed with another shoulder injury this season.
Should he suffer another injury blow, especially a shoulder one, it could spell the end of his chances of making the Boston Bruins roster long-term. His showing in training camp and pre-season suggests he’s ready, but it’s going to be heavily reliant upon a healthy year with the Providence Bruins first.
Zdeno Chara
This could well be the Boston Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara’s last go around the league. To lose any of what might be his final year to injury would be a real downer.
Given his showing in the Stanley Cup Final, playing through a broken jaw among other injuries, it’s safe to say his warrior spirit won’t let him sit out for long even if he does suffer any injury setbacks.
Charlie Coyle
Charlie Coyle, in his first few campaigns as a member of the Minnesota Wild was ever-present, managing a truly impressive consecutive games tally. However, after going down with a broken leg in the 2017-18 campaign, there has since been lingering doubts about his health.
Whilst there’s no reason to expect any sort of recurrence of lower-body injuries, there is always that modicum of doubt.
For the Boston Bruins, losing Charlie Coyle for any extended period would massively change the shape of their roster. He’s a lock both as third-line center and likely in a power-play role with a high likelihood of a real break-out campaign.
The Boston Bruins will be hoping there are no issues here for the Massachusetts native.
Torey Krug
It’s safe to say that Torey Krug will want to remain injury-free this year, especially given his pending unrestricted free agent status should the Boston Bruins not manage to make a deal during the campaign.
Given in the past year or so, he’s twice gone down with different ankle injuries to the same leg, you have to question whether he does have a slight weak spot. Obviously the medical science team will have seen this and I’m sure he’s been working on it, but there’s always that tiny iota of doubt as a fan, so surely Krug himself feels it.
Think about this awful scenario; if Torey Krug were to go down injured on opening night and miss half the campaign, it’d be devastating for the Boston Bruins. For the player, it could well be the difference of at least $1 million per season on a new deal.
Torey Krug is projecting to be asking for nearly $8 million per season; to do so and be in with any chance of actually collecting such a pay check, he’s going to need to bring his breed of offensive production for a full 82-game season.
A fourth consecutive year above the fifty-point mark would certainly work in his favour. Last year, he managed to do so despite missing 18 games, perhaps sixty points should actually be the target in the 2019-20 season.
Whatever happens though, it’s going to be vital for the defenseman to remain fit and healthy in his contract year. Anything less is going to directly impact upon his wallet.
David Krejci
This might well be a moot point, given Monday saw David Krejci skating in a non-contact practice jersey. With the season opener just days away, we’re already questioning if he’s fit in time.
Ignoring that though, it’s vital for the Boston Bruins to retain David Krejci in the top-six. There isn’t really another option at center that could step up to second-line duties and fulfil them as well as Krejci does.
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Not only that, given he has the most expensive contract on the entire Boston Bruins roster, you want to get your money’s worth out of him. Every day that David Krejci is injured is a day you’ve missing out on more salary cap space. Of course, that ignores any sort of long-term injury which could indeed be written off against the cap.
Either way though, Krejci plays a key role ensuring the second line runs smoothly, not least of all putting up a ton of points. Given how much of the team’s points come from the top line, it’s vital that at least the second line is able to offer a strong secondary scoring punch – Krejci is a key part of that for the Boston Bruins.
Last year, he only missed the one game, the season before it was eighteen missed games. None missed in 2016-17, ten missed the year before. If the trend continues, you’d count on him missing a few games.
Whether that tally starts on Thursday night or not is another question.
Charlie McAvoy
In signing a bridge deal, Charlie McAvoy took a bit of a gamble, whilst it could prove incredibly wise for the Boston Bruins.
There is absolutely no doubting that Charlie McAvoy is a number-one defenseman if not now, very soon. However, what he hasn’t yet managed is a full quota of 82 regular season games in the National Hockey League.
Heck, he hasn’t yet topped 65 in a season, let alone 82. For the Boston Bruins, it is possibly part of their reasoning for giving a bridge contract, that and the obvious salary cap implications should he have signed a long-term deal this summer.
If you’re Charlie McAvoy, you want to prove to your team that they’ve made the right decision and that you’re worth considerably more when that new contract is available down the track. Not only that, the team want you to stay fit and healthy because at just 21 years old, you’re already a key player on the Boston Bruins blue-line.
Zdeno Chara isn’t going to be around forever and realistically is probably fourth, if not slightly lower in terms of the team’s defensive depth. Whilst the Boston Bruins aren’t about to run thier captain out on a third pairing, they are going to rely upon Charlie McAvoy to ensure that Chara’s deficiencies are covered for.
Charlie McAvoy needs a full season at one hundred percent health to show us all exactly what he is and exactly what he can be. If he managed 28 points in 54 games last year, you’d hope that across say 80 games, he can top the 40-point mark at the very least.
Next. Can David Backes find redemption on new-look third line?. dark
Much like the other guys on the list, the Boston Bruins will absolutely want him to ensure he stays in peak condition for a full season.