The Boston Bruins were a true wild card entering this season. The team had a notable fire sale at last year's trade deadline after falling out of playoff position. Entering this season, there was a hope that the Bruins could shock the hockey world and contend for a playoff spot in the tough Atlantic Division.
At first, the Bruins looked good, starting the year with a 3-0 record, coming as a huge surprise. But since then, Boston has fallen back down to Earth, as they lost seven of their next eight games. Sure, they did put up an admirable fight against the Florida Panthers during that stretch, but they also lost 7-2 to the Ottawa Senators. It hasn't been great.
When looking at the roster, there may need to be changes made to try and salvage the year. Here are three players who shouldn't be on the roster by November.
Sean Kuraly
Considering the Bruins got rid of most of their top players who were on expiring contracts, the Bruins needed to fill out their forward depth chart. So, it only made sense for the team to bring back a former player in Sean Kuraly.
Kuraly began his career with the Bruins in 2016 and spent five seasons with the team. He went on to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency in 2021. He had a career-year during the 2021-22 season, where he put up a career high 14 goals and 30 points. Last year in Columbus, Kuraly recorded six goals and 11 assists in 82 games.
Thus far in his return to the Bruins, he has one goal and two assists in a team-high 11 games played. Kuraly also has a team-high +2 plus/minus ratio.
Those numbers aren't bad for a bottom six forward this early in the season. The thing is, at this stage, the Bruins should be playing some of their prospects more to see what they can bring. Names like Matthew Poitras, Georgia Merkulov, and Fabian Lysell make sense as potential call-ups from Providence.
Michael Callahan
The defense for the Bruins has become a problem. Look no further than the team giving up seven goals to the Brady Tkachuk-less Senators. Mason Lohrei is in head coach Marco Sturm's doghouse, who called him out for allowing two goals against Panthers. Hampus Lindholm and Jordan Harris are both on the injured reserve. In response to Harris ending up on the IR, the Bruins recalled Michael Callahan from Providence.
Callahan is currently playing in his second official season with the Bruins. He was called up last year, where he recorded just one goal in 17 games played. Callahan also had a plus/minus ratio of -5.
This season, Callahan hasn't registered a point through three games, but does have a -2 plus/minus ratio. As mentioned with Kuraly, the Bruins should be considering prospects. Frederic Brunet makes sense as a call-up for Boston, since he is on an upward trajectory.
Viktor Arvidsson
Now we get to the Bruins' top six forwards. It's become evident that Boston does have trade bait in the likes of Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt, the latter of whom was a healthy scratch recently. But given that the trade deadline is months away, it doesn't feel wise to make a trade right away.
There is one top forward that stands out as disappointing, and that's Viktor Arvidsson. This summer, the team acquired Arvidsson in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers. The fit made sense, as he spent time on the Los Angeles Kings with Sturm.
Yes, Arvidsson is recently on a two game goals-scored streak against the Colorado Avalanche and Senators. But before that, Arvidsson had just three assists in nine games. Not exactly productive from a top six forward.
Let's hope that Arvidsson can continue his recent scoring streak, because thus far, it hasn't been a great start in Boston for him.