Going into training camp this month, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Boston Bruins and some of their players. One of those players is newly acquired defenseman Will Borgen, who was acquired on July 1 from the New York Rangers.
Just where Borgen fits in Marco Sturm's lineup remains to be seen in terms of a partner. However, one area where Borgen looks like he'll make a big difference is on special teams, to take some of the load off star defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Marco Sturm hints at how Will Borgen being used in 2026-27
McAvoy plays in all situations for Sturm, and he logs a lot of ice time a night. Now, even though the league is moving to an 84-game schedule this season, games are going to be more spread out than last season in the compacted slate because of the Olympics.
According to Sturm, Borgen will take a bit of a workload off McAvoy's plate this season, killing penalties.
“We felt it was a lot on McAvoy,” said Sturm. “He did a lot, almost too much. He probably loved it, but I think (fewer PK minutes) will help us overall, because we feel there’s still room in McAvoy’s game. But he needs the energy for it and we were asking a lot in the past. He did great with it, but hopefully this can help a little bit.”
Given how much time the Black and Gold spent in the penalty box last season, it is something that will probably continue this season. That could create more time on the ice for McAvoy, which would really put more of a load on his shoulders. The Bruins have some defensemen who can fill the void, but McAvoy's extra time on the ice that isn't even strength is best spent on the power play.
Borgen will get a test early and often this upcoming season when McAvoy serves his six-game suspension to begin the season for his slash on Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson at the end of last spring's first-round playoff series. He had an in-person hearing for the slash, but didn't end up appealing any of the suspension.
It will be interesting to see what the defensive pairings in the first six games end up looking like without McAvoy. We should get an idea during the preseason games that are played late this month before the opener against the Rangers at TD Garden. If Borgen can take some valuable minutes on the penalty kill and give McAvoy more of a breather, then it'll be big for Sturm and the Bruins.
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