Boston Bruins 2020-21 Depth Chart: Right Wing

The Bruins will need new players and possibly a rookie to step in to help pick up the slack at the beginning of the season at right wing.

The Boston Bruins’ first depth chart that will be tested in Thursday’s opening game at New Jersey is at right wing. With missing leading scorer, David Pastrnak is not something that will be easily replaced, it will take an effort of multiple players to hold the fort down until Pasta comes back.

David Pastrnak

At 24 years old, Pasta has quickly become one of the more gifted goal scorers in the NHL. Last season he had 48 goals and he shared the Maurice Rocket Richard Award with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. In each of the last three years, Pastrnak has increased this goal total. He will be out until at least mid-February recovering from hip surgery in September. Filling the shoes of last season’s leading goal-scorer will be tough for the Bruins to do. Here’s hoping that they can hold the fort down until he returns.

Ondrej Kase

Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks last February, Kase had a frustrating beginning to his Bruins career. He played in six regular-season games before the season pause and then struggled through the protocols in place to get back on the ice over the summer. Once he got on the ice, he tallied four assists in the postseason. In four seasons with the Ducks, he had 43 goals and 53 assists in 198 regular-season games. With a new season getting underway, Kase has a chance at a fresh start and hopefully, the Bruins see the production they hoped they were getting at the trade deadline.

Craig Smith

The biggest free-agent splash by general manager Don Sweeney, Smith could provide the middle-six with much-needed goal scoring after inking a three-year deal for $9.3 million. In five of his nine seasons with the Nashville Predators, Smith was a 20-goal scorer. He was on pace for a sixth season in 2019-20 when the season was paused with 12 games left in March and he was sitting on 18 goals. At 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, he is not afraid to crash the net or be a net-front presence and he adds an additional power play presence to the second unit.

Chris Wagner

The Bruins signed Wagner to a three-year extension in November of 2019 with an annual cap hit of $1.35 million. The 29-year-old 6-foot-0 and 198-pounder is a thumper in the bottom-six, as evidence of his 192 hits in 2019-20. In 67 games last season, he saw a drop in his point production with six goals and four assists.

Jack Studnicka

A natural center, Studnicka has a real legitimate shot to make the team out of training camp as a right wing. With Pastrnak down for the first month, Studnicka, Kase, and Smith will compete for time on the first line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Over the summer, he got a shot in five playoff games and despite not registering a point, the 21-year-old showed he belonged.

Karson Kuhlman

Sweeney brought back Kuhlman on a two-year, two-way deal with a $1.45 million contract. Last season Kuhlman scored six goals in 25 games while spending time as a healthy scratch. This could the last shot for Kuhlman to prove himself to the coaching staff and front office.

Zach Senyshyn

Another player that Sweeney brought back on a two-way deal, this one for one-year with a cap hit of $700,000. Like Kuhlman, he could be seeing his last shot to impress the Bruins to have a future in the organization. Last season he played in four games and the 23-year-old had one assist.

With Pastrnak beginning the season recovering from surgery, the trio of Smith, Kase, and Studnicka will have to help pick up the pieces of missing one of the league’s top goal scorers.