2009-10 Boston Bruins preview: Q & A from the Examiners

(Photo: AP/Lisa Poole)

Last week, NHL Examiner, Chris Morgan, thought of a way to showcase the NHL community here at Examiner, by asking each NHL contributor six questions regarding their respective teams. It's titled, "2009/2010 NHL preview".

Thus far, Examiners from teams such as the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, and LA Kings have all submitted their six answers.

Throughout this past week, a few important happenings occurred with the Bruins team and organization.

David Krejci, who was targeted for a mid-November/December return, now has his eyes set on October, and is even shooting for the Oct. 1 season opener. His first return to the ice since hip surgery was this past Monday.

Also, coming off knee surgery, Marco Sturm was on the ice as well with No.46 on Monday.

And finally; Claude Julien is expected to announce his contract extension during a press conference today at 10am.

Now, back to the 2009-10 Boston Bruins preview. This will also be posted on Chris Morgan's page at some point this weekend, but I also wanted post it here. These six questions were asked on Wednesday, Aug. 26, so like I mentioned above, a few more things have happened in the interim.

C.M. 1. How do you feel about your team's offseason?

I think the Bruins did a good job this offseason, especially with the signing of Derek Morris, the re-signing of Matt Hunwick, and the one-year extension to Mark Recchi.

The Bruins really improved their blue-line with Morris; a solid puck-rushing defenseman that Peter Chiarelli was looking for. Re-signing a Stanley Cup winning veteran in Recchi was my favorite move in the offseason though. He instantly clicked with Bergeron and Kobasew on the third line, so that chemistry can only improve this upcoming season.

Hunwick fills their defensive core as a solid 5/6.

C.M 2. What is your team's biggest strength?

There are a few, but one of the biggest strengths, I believe, is their goaltending in Tim Thomas. It looks like Tuukka Rask will serve as his back-up, and they also added some depth with the signing of Dany Sabourin. Thomas, like last year, is the catalyst to the Bruins success.

Chemistry is another big one for me. Peter Chiarelli really didn't shake up the locker room too much this offseason—keeping their core players. Of course the Bruins will certainly miss PJ Axelsson and Aaron Ward, and Kessel's future is still uncertain, but we'll see most of the 2008-09 squad back in black.

And without question, the 6'9" Captain, Zdeno Chara. I'm not sure there's enough room here to explain what he brings to this teams' success other than just saying, everything.

C.M. 3. What is your team's biggest weakness?

I don't even have to think about this one, two things instantly come to mind: Injuries, and playing a full 60-minutes every game.

Injuries plagued the B's all season long last year. Marco Sturm played just 19 games before hitting the season-ending IR list. Andrew Ference missed 35 regular season games due to injuries (Hunwick filled-in nicely), and missed all but three of the post-season games. Patrice Bergeron had another concussion-scare and played in only 65 games in 2008-09; and the list goes on.

Watching the Bruins 2008-09 116-point season was great, but like all things, could have been better. There were just too many games where the B's seemed to have taken their foot off the gas pedal, and coasted for 10-20 minutes of a game. In order to repeat their performance of last year, they absolutely have to play a full 60-minutes, every game, every time.

4. C.M. Who is the most important player for your team this season?

If I have to narrow it down from "the whole team" to just one would be almost impossible. I'll give you four.

1 & 2. Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara. Both of these players must continue their dominant play for this 2009-10 season. Neither player concerns me whatsoever, but they need to be, again, the best positional players at their respective positions.

3. David Krejci: Sidelined for the first few weeks of this upcoming season, the Bruins first need Krejci to return to full-health. After that, he needs to pick up where he left off last year.

The Bruins are probably going to give Vladimir Sobotka the nod with the 3rd/4th line centering duties until Krejci returns. Sobotka had 44 points in 44 games with the AHL Providence bruins last season, and also played in 25 games up in Boston. He managed only five points and a minus-10. He may be a good NHL player someday, but he's no Krejci by any stretch of the imaginations.

4. Marco Sturm: The holdout with Phil Kessel is now at two months. His future here in Boston is anyone's guess at this point. Whether he signs with the Bruins or not, Kessel, like Krejci, will miss a number of the first few weeks of the 2009-10 season recovering from offseason surgery. That's where Sturm comes in.

If the Bruins are going to be without Kessel and his 30+ goals this season, Marco Sturm needs to be at 100-percent (knee), and compete at that same level. People have had 30-goal-expectations from Sturm for quite some time now, and this year is the best year for him to do so.

C.M. 5. Which player do you think will surprise us this season?

Milan Lucic. I think he'll see a lot of time on the first line with Marc Savard, at least until Krejci returns. Obviously well known for his willingness to drop the gloves and pound on opposing players; we'll not only see the glass shattering hits and from the 20-year-old, but a more confident and well-rounded NHL player.

Trying out for Team Canada this offseason must have Lucic's confidence through the roof entering this NHL season. I've been doing a "2009-10 Boston Bruins preview" here on Examiner, and have Lucic pinned on the top-line. I think the way he opens up the ice for his teammates, should create a lot of scoring opportunities to No.17.

People who just wait for him to fight somebody or lay a player out with a check are not seeing his true potential. His offensive play is often over-looked with his type of physical play. Lucic has drastically improved his two-way play from his rookie season in 2007-08 until now. His time on ice average is up, his points are up, and he has been seeing more and more time on the power play. The question is when, not if, we'll see his name on the All Star roster.

C.M. 6. What is your prediction for your team's 2009-2010 season?

We'll see how all of these players look, especially the injured, when they return to training camp in a few weeks. If they come back healthy and remain healthy, and play a full 60-minute game in all 82 games, expectations of another Stanley Cup run in 2009-10 are certainly there.

For the rest of the NHL previews, be sure to check out the NHL Examiner, Chris Morgan.