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.
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.
Bruins not expected to make an addition on the wing. They're going to move Zacha back to LW (likely with Lindholm at center and Pastrnak at right wing), and they're gonna try to let players such as Lysell and Merkulov grab and hold onto full-time spots.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) July 1, 2024
Lindholm has shown in the past that he can be a true number-one center. His best season came during the 2021-22 season, where he was a point-per-game player. Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk flanked him, and together, the trio became one of the most dynamic lines in the league. Together, they scored the most goals of any line combination (72), and averaged 4.48 goals for per 60 minutes. It’s tremendously impressive. However, since then, Lindholm has seen a dip in his production. Now, he will have a chance to get his production back on track playing alongside Pastrnak.
The Bruins are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. For example, in a one-for-one trade with the New Jersey Devils, the Bruins got younger and took a chance on Pavel Zacha. Zacha had the luxury of playing with fellow countrymen Pastrnak and David Krejci. The results were a career year in 2022-23 and then another one in 2023-24. Playing with Pastrnak has its perks, and it could benefit Lindholm.
Lindholm is a good playmaker, as nearly half of his assists this season were primary assists. He excels in the faceoff circle, which is a major improvement for the Bruins. He should be placed in key situations and, overall, would give the team a boost from a puck possession perspective. Pastrnak is coming off a second straight 100+ point season and scored 47 goals. Zacha moving over from the center position to the wing is something that suits him better but also gives the Bruins options for the other lines. The Bruins have a new look top line, but the second line is also one to keep an eye on.
All eyes are going to be on training camp this season. As the Bruins watched Jake DeBrusk skate into Vancouver and sign a long-term deal with the Canucks, there is a vacant spot on the second line. Sweeney has already said he will give a young player that spot. Those players will likely be Fabian Lysell and Geogii Merkulov.
Lysell has continued to develop with the Providence Bruins. The 2022-23 season saw him tally 14 goals and 37 points. This season, he was able to take his game to the next level. He scored one more goal but added to his point total (50), seeing a substantial increase in his game. After getting called out by his coach in December, he went on to turn things around. It is going to be an important camp for Lysell, who will look to show the Bruins he is ready to take the next step. Lysell is a dynamic offensive presence, using his speed and skill to create chances. But he is not alone in fighting for this spot.
Merkulov is coming off back-to-back good seasons for the Providence Bruins. In 2022-23, he finished with 24 goals and 55 points. He elevated his play up a notch and scored 30 goals and 65 points, so seeing an uptick in production is great. Also, he got a small taste of the NHL with four games. Adding a dynamic offensive threat is a huge benefit for Marchand and Coyle.
Both Coyle and Marchand spent time together during the 2023-24 season. It was the first time in a long time Marchand would play with someone not named Patrice Bergeron. Despite getting out-chanced and dominated in puck possession time, the duo had a positive goal differential. Adding a premiere scorer could go a long way to further success. Marchand and Coyle showed they could produce. Coyle had a career year (25 goals, 60 points), and Marchand had a strong 67-point season. Also, they are defensive-minded players who are strong at both ends of the ice. Given their ability to excel in the high-danger areas and go into puck battles, having a scorer to get extra open ice is a big bonus for those two. The Bruins are entering a season wondering where the extra layer of scoring will come from. Having someone step up to the forefront is going to be huge for the club.
We have entered a league where most centers these days can also be wingers. That’s evident with this trio, as all three can play both positions. This is a line that also has a bit of everything. Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic are strong forecheckers and battle hard along the boards. Matthew Poitras is the more skilled and dynamic forward of the trio. In fact, this line spent time together and often made strong plays when doing so.
Trent Frederic has Boston’s first goal of the new season.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 12, 2023
Matthew Poitras picks up his first NHL point.
1-1 game. pic.twitter.com/TKUHT8JlxI
This line spent 39 minutes together, which is not a lot, but in that span, they were effective. When on the ice together, puck possession was a 50/50 split. They did a good job of generating scoring chances and scored right at their expected rate as a line. But it is a line that complements one another and gives the Bruins a well-rounded third line.
Geekie is coming off a career season of 17 goals and 39 points. Frederic did the same and flashed how lethal his shot could be. He’s become more than the fourth-line bruiser that former head coach Bruce Cassidy had him play. Poitras was a strong and emerging presence, poised to bounce back in the second season as he returns from injury. The fourth line remains the more complex, as there are a slew of options.
Sweeney has always managed to find impactful depth. Going into the 2024-25 season, the Bruins will have a plethora of options for the fourth line. This also does not include the players who could be pushing for a roster spot, such as Trevor Kuntar. This line has yet to play a game together, but each player brings something that could complement the line.
Beecher excels on faceoffs, which is a huge bonus for the Bruins. During the 2023-24 season, he finished second on the Bruins with a 54.6 Faceoff win percentage. He was the perfect fourth-line depth piece. Beecher plays with great speed and has the skill to make for a useful fourth line. Beecher also brings that physical punch to the lineup, as he finished with 112 hits. But he is not the only tough customer.
Kastelic joins the group as part of the return for goaltender Linus Ullmark. He is not going to blow you away with points, as he had ten points in 63 games. He is another physical body that is unafraid to stick up for his teammates. The Bruins added extra grit to the bottom of the lineup but got nastier to play against. Safe to say, Sweeney took a page out of the Florida Panthers playbook. Also, Kastelic is another faceoff specialist, finishing with a 54.4% success rate during the 2023-24 season.
Max Jones is another tremendous addition to the Bruins’s depth. He has shown he can be that extra layer of depth and chip in offensively. He had 15 points during the 2023-24 season, but he finished seventh among all Ducks skaters with nine expected goals. Jones plays with good speed and is a physical forward. Also, he finished with 17 takeaways, so he is responsible defensively. This fourth line is well-rounded and will be extremely tough to play against. That’s also not counting Justin Brazeau, who showed tremendous upside with the Bruins. Overall, this team has depth and is much better than last season.
This Bruins lineup is much different from last season. The team is much deeper, and each line is well-rounded. There are question marks regarding who will slot in on the second line, but there’s no question about a shortage of depth on the roster. Sweeney did a good job adding value in Lindholm, allowing other players to slot down to provide quality depth. It will be interesting to see how everything goes after training camp.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have practically given Easton Cowan a 0% chance of making the opening night roster next season. Even with Mitch Marner gone, the additions up front have the forward corps completely jammed. Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli, Nic Roy, and Michael Pezzetta are the new guys. Steven Lorentz will be back, and so will Scott Laughton. Even Nick Robertson should be back, barring a trade. They’ve given Cowan no shot of making the team. He won’t play on the fourth line, and he won’t instantly be in the top-six. He’ll start the year in the AHL and could get a shot when an injury happens, but even that isn’t a guarantee. For these reasons, now is the time for the Leafs to trade their No.1 prospect. Peak value Cowan was actually seen as a reach at the draft, but he’s proven the scouting team right so far. Cowan has been dominant in the OHL and is easily the Leafs’ top prospect, as he has been for two years. He’s one of the only Leafs forward prospects with actual pedigree. His absolute peak value has likely already been reached. He would’ve been worth more last summer, coming off a 96-point campaign in his D+1. But he’s still worth a lot, especially after a dominant playoffs in 2024–25. Cowan is too good for the OHL and would’ve benefited from playing in the AHL last season. No one knows how his rookie season as a pro will go. Cowan could be overmatched against grown men and take years to develop. But that won’t help the Leafs in any way, not during their Stanley Cup window with Auston Matthews under contract. Their only goal should be success now. The chances of Cowan raising his value are super low. Unless he sets the AHL on fire, other teams aren’t going to covet him more than they do now. The most likely scenario is that he looks fine on the Marlies and looks overmatched if he gets called up. Other teams won’t like that! The Leafs don’t have a roster spot for him and can’t afford for his value to drop. The time to trade him is now. A clear need Toronto would be fine to let Cowan take as long as he needs to develop if they didn’t have such a glaring hole on the roster: a top-six winger. Maybe Cowan can be that one day, maybe not. But he can’t be that this year, and unfortunately, the Leafs don’t have time to let him grow. They need someone to play in the top-six, and Cowan is the easiest way, by far, to make that happen. There are players out there. Jason Robertson, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Jordan Kyrou, just to name a few. Cowan can’t fetch one of these guys by himself—not many prospects in the whole league could—but he can be a headliner. Brad Treliving hasn’t taken a big swing yet as the Leafs’ General Manager, but if he wants to (and he should), Cowan is the guy to move. The Pittsburgh Penguins make the most sense. They have Rust and Rakell and are the only team in the league in a full-blown rebuild. Kyle Dubas might have some hard feelings for Toronto, but Brendan Shanahan is gone. If he and Treliving want to cook up a trade together, there’s plenty of reason it could happen. A big risk There’s no doubt trading Cowan is risky. There’s a chance he’s a top-six contributor making under $1M in just a couple of years, and it would suck for Toronto to miss out on that. However, if the right trade presents itself, for one of the players listed earlier, Treliving must pull the trigger. Toronto isn’t in the business of development right now; they’re in the business of winning. Who knows how much longer their window will be open, but they have to take every chance they can to improve their NHL roster. Cowan is a great prospect, and they’ve held on to him for a reason. But with such a clear path to improvement, one that Cowan can help with, Toronto should take every opportunity to improve. That means moving on from Cowan.
With the trade for Ryan McMahon now complete, it would seem New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has fulfilled one of his three priorities. He can now cross third base off the list, which leaves the rotation and bullpen as his remaining priorities. However, according to one Yankees writer, Cashman might not be done with the infield. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported this after the McMahon trade: “The Yankees may not be done adding to their infield. A team source said the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed hitter who could play the infield.” Kirschner adds that the Yankees have had interest in Willi Castro and Amed Rosario. But the question now is, how would another player fit in the Yankees’ infield? Needless to say, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. aren’t going anywhere, and McMahon is just getting there. That leaves the low-hanging fruit. Anthony Volpe has been at the center of controversy all this season. His 13 errors, many of which had come at make-or-break moments, amount to the second-highest total in the game. In addition, his bat has not been able to compensate, hitting .214/.286/.407 with 14 home runs. There was always a lot to like about Volpe. He won a Gold Glove in his rookie year, his power has always been promising and his speed is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, his glove has become a liability and his speed has also produced very few results. Volpe has swiped just 10 bags in 17 attempts. His power is the one thing that still has some upside, but it hasn’t been enough to justify a spot in the lineup. Both Castro and Rosario have been far more productive at the plate this season than Volpe. Kirschner doesn’t clarify how serious the Yankees are in their pursuit of another infielder, but that most likely isn’t available information. Having just turned 24, Volpe could still become the type of player that was expected from him as a top prospect. However, his recent performance has weighed heavily on his team’s efforts and it may be buying him a ticket out of the Bronx — or at least a spot on the bench.
Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz already had an impressive start to his career. Kurtz entered Friday having posted a .288/.360/.622 batting line in 265 plate appearances, hitting 19 homers and 17 doubles. Despite making his major league debut on April 23, Kurtz has been the A's most valuable player, leading the team with 2.6 bWAR. He appeared to be on the cusp of becoming the superstar the A's needed to sell the team to the residents of Las Vegas. That performance set the stage for what may have been the most impressive game for any rookie in major league history. Kurtz became the 20th player in MLB history to have a four-home run game and the first rookie to achieve that feat. Kurtz's performance also put the 2025 season into baseball history. Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a four-home run game on April 26, making this the third time that there have been two four-homer games in a season. That had happened in 2002 (outfielders Mike Cameron and Shawn Green) and 2017 (utility man Scooter Gennett and left fielder J.D. Martinez). Kurtz did not stop with those four homers. He was 6-6 in the A's 15-3 victory over the Astros, with a double and eight runs batted in. The favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, Kurtz put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive season with his barrage on Friday.
The Boston Red Sox appear to have no interest in trading outfielder Jarren Duran, at least not in the near future. Trade rumors have swirled around Duran for most of the season, especially after designated hitter Rafael Devers was traded to the Giants. However, Sean McAdam from MassLive reported that the Red Sox may wait until the offseason before moving on from the former All-Star. The decision to wait on Duran is not due to a lack of offers. McAdam also reported that the Padres made a significant offer for Duran involving pitcher Dylan Cease, catching prospect Ethan Salas and another unnamed prospect. That offer was quickly rejected. The Padres have long coveted Duran. McAdam had previously reported that the Padres have been "relentless" in their pursuit of the Red Sox outfielder. The reported trade offer including Salas, the Padres second-best prospect and the 21st-best prospect in baseball per MLB.com, illustrates how serious they are about acquiring Duran. Likewise, the Red Sox's refusal to entertain such an offer, even as a starting point for negotiations, speaks volumes about their interest in moving Duran. The Padres' offer would help solve several problems for the Red Sox in both the present and future. Moving Duran would help clear up the logjam in the outfield, while Cease and Salas would respectively improve the back of their rotation and provide a possible cornerstone behind the plate going forward. Duran is a valuable trade chip as he is under team control through 2028. He has also taken a step back in production from his stellar showing in 2024, posting a respectable .254/.321/.428 batting line in 459 plate appearances entering Friday, with nine homers and 25 doubles while stealing 16 bases. That production would be an upgrade for several teams looking to improve their outfield going forward. The question is whether or not the Red Sox will be realistic in their asking price for Duran. Considering how quickly the Padres' offer was reportedly rejected, that may not be the case.