It's been a month since the NHL free agency rush opened and closed with some big moves. As far as the Boston Bruins are concerned, it was another off-season of change for the Black and Gold with some key players going out, while they hope what will be key players for the future coming in.
Now that the roster is pretty much in place for third-year head coach Jim Montgomery, what will the lines look like on Opening Night against the Florida Panthers in South Florida? Let's try and predict a way-too-early forward lineup post-free agency.
Predicting Boston Bruins way-too-early 2024-25 forward lineup
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Pavel Zacha | Elias Lindholm | David Pastrnak |
Brad Marchand | Charlie Coyle | Fabian Lysell |
Trent Frederic | Matthew Poitras | Morgan Geekie |
Max Jones | John Beecher | Justin Brazeau |
OK, so there is a lot to break down here. Elias Lindholm was signed to be the top center for the Black and Gold and that addition along with Matthew Poitras coming back should make it easier for Pavel Zacha to move to the wing. David Pastrnak could benefit the most from the addition of Lindholm on the top line.
Things get interesting with the second line with Charlie Coyle between Brad Marchand and Fabian Lysell. Coyle has been a good player for the Bruins, but the jury is still out on whether or not he could be a No. 2 center as he seems to play a lot better as the third pivot with Trent Frederic. This season certainly feels like a now-or-never opportunity for prospect Fabian Lysell to crack the lineup in Boston.
It would be huge for Montgomery if Poitras cab come in and prove that he's healthy and ready for his second season in the NHL. What would be even bigger is if he was able to come in and eventually work his way up to the second line and switch with Coyle. Trent Frederic has shown signs of breaking out scoring-wise the last couple of seasons and Morgan Geekie was a pleasant surprise last season coming over from the Seattle Kraken and is poised to have another good year with the Bruins.
John Beecher has been very good at the face-off dot for the Bruins and other than an injury, he should be the No. 4 center, at least, as his speed causes problems for opponents and he is also a very good and reliable penalty-killer. Max Jones is an interesting signing in free agency, but he plays a physical game that Bruins fans will like. Speaking of a heavy game, Justin Brazeau burst onto the scene late last season and is a perfect fourth-line forward for Boston.
Entering training camp in September, right now the only question facing the Bruins is who replaces Jake DeBrusk in the top-six and Lysell and Georgii Merkulov will get the opportunity to battle for that spot, while Mark Kastelic, acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Linus Ullmark trade, will also be in the mix for a bottom-six spot. Training camp and the preseason games should be fun.