Bruins’ Forward Lines After Initial Free Agency Moves
The dog days of the summer are upon us. With the NHL Draft, free agency frenzy, and development camps already under wraps, it’s onto summer vacations. October is not that far away, and it’s never too early to take a look at what potential lineups look like.
General Manager Don Sweeney spent money this offseason, bringing in center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Other depth moves were made, but that leads us to what lineups can look like.
There is a very strong case to be made that the Bruins are a better team right now than they were to begin the 2023-24 season. They are deeper on both ends of the ice and still have the goaltending to remain a strength. Based on the constructed roster, we can dive into what the projected lineups could look like come opening night. The forward group is deeper and should give the Bruins a great competitive edge.
Line 1: Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak
Number one centers do not grow on trees nor come around often. Two more prominent names for centers signed with their respective teams before the 2023-24 regular season ended. Elias Pettersson signed a massive contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks, while Sebastian Aho stayed put with the Carolina Hurricanes.
That’s not to say the Bruins would target those players, but both have become true number-one centers for their respective teams. That left the Bruins to pivot and add Lindholm. The Bruins got their number-one center and got better as well. Sweeney has already gone on to say where Lindholm will likely play.
