Bruins late summer team report
After starting the summer off with a bang, acquiring wingers Martin St Louis and Todd Bertuzzi, the offices in Boston went stone quiet. All staff went away on 3-week vacations but have now returned well rested and raring to go. There is speculation that Stephane Quintal has been acquired for a couple of draft picks to fight for the 6-7-defenseman roll?
The team has held unofficial summer scrimmages, and the lines were as follows:
Red Jerseys:
Joe Thornton was cantering Todd Bertuzzi and Keith Tkachuk in a new look line. Last season Joe had great chemistry with Recchi and Murray, but the coaches wanted to change things up a bit. This line is huge, has great hand skill and could be a force during the regular season. Adding to the mix was defensemen Sergi Gonchar and Phillipe Boucher. Could this be the 1st line to start the season?
Green Jerseys:
Michael Handzus followed up a strong season with a great offseason-conditioning program. He was lined up with Thornton's wingers from the previous season, Glen Murray and Mark Recchi. “They have excellent chemistry, Glen and Mark, I just hope I can work with them half as well as Joe did” Handzus stated. The defence pairing was Bryan Berard and Hall Gill.
Black Jerseys:
This line was an interesting combination. Martin St Louis at first seemed to be out of place with Todd Marchant and Jason Blake, but as soon as the trio took the ice everybody in the arena saw what Coach King was thinking about. Speed, speed and more speed. This grouping, seemingly a checking line was buzzing around creating chances, making the opposition reluctant to step on the ice. All three have great speed, but adding in the skills of St Louis really brought out the best in Marchant and Blake. This could be a line to watch out for. On the back end Willie Mitchell and Igor Ulanov added an element of size and strength.
Yellow Jerseys:
Kirk Maltby lined up with Trevor Letowski and Shane Corson to bring together a veteran line with some great intensity and good defensive instincts. It is well know that GM Dan Fillion is trying to find away to get Matlby’s intensity and defensive play onto the 3rd line, but for now these guys played well for a hands challenged line. Stephane Quintal got his 1st look at the Bruins line-up, paired with Trevor Daley.
There were some interesting battles in net, with Kipper, Burke and McLennan battling it out. Sean Burke came to camp in great shape and looks like he wants to take Kippers job.
Will this be the line-up that the Bruins start the season with? Well, most doubt it as the team is now starting to get more involved in trade talks. Since their early playoff exit, GM Dan Fillion has been on the prowl for a playmaking center for the 2nd line, but so far has not been able to get a deal done despite being close on numerous occasions. He has stated that he is comfortable going into the season with this group, and having almost 5 million in cap room could be a luxury later in the season.