I'm going to pick this apart a little bit....Meaning, I'm going to just hit on the points you made, so if you see parts missing, it's just because I didn't feel the need to respond to them.
Quoting: krakowitz
I think the biggest boost the Bruins are going to get this season is from Charlie McAvoy. I legitimately see him as being Boston's #1 defenseman next season, he's that good.
Chara is still the team's number one. I think McAvoy won't overtake him for that role this upcoming season, but will help a lot. We're very excited for him. Most Bruins fan see him as a #1 down the road. The Bruins top 4, in general, should be solid. Chara, Krug, McAvoy, and Carlo. Their 3rd pairing actually won't be bad either. At the end of the day, McQuaid and Kevan Miller are solid bottom pairing guys. The young rookies we have will now put them in positions they belong in. I think the Bruins defense as a unit will be solid.
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The problem I have with their lineup is offense. Outside of Marchand and Pasta, where are the goals going to come from?
Too many people sleep on David Krejci. This is a guy last season who was coming off hip surgery. He was invisible the first 10 or so games, and still went out and tied a career high for goals with 23. His assists were down, but if you look at the revolving door of LWers he had this past year, it makes sense. Schaller, Vatrano, Cehlarik, Spooner....None that really produced consistently. Also, Bergeron was injured to start the year and that affected his game big time. This is a guy who scored 32 goals just a year ago. Is Bergeron a superstar when it comes to being offensive? No, but he's certainly good enough to be mentioned.
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JFK could have some decent contributions if he plays, Vatrano could take a step forward, but I don't see where they can score enough to make it back into the postseason. Bergeron's offensive upside isn't tremendous, Backes is on a decline, Spooner hasn't been consistent, and the rest of the bottom six doesn't look like a group that can score enough.
JFK may end up in Providence to start, which wouldn't be bad. I honestly don't see him being a huge point contributor, if he does make the team. Personally I think Anders Bjork and Jake Debrusk have more of a chance of making the team and being productive. Vatrano, i don't know what to make of him right now. He had a big-time 'honey moon' factor when he first came up. Now it's time to see if he can take that next step. He can score...That's evident. He has some good speed. Everything else about his game, right now, have question marks. On Backes, he may be on a decline, or he may have had issues adjusting to a new system. We'll see this year. I think the Bruins would be better off having him as the 3rd line center, to create more depth in the bottom 6. Spooner isn't consistent but still is good for 40+ points. The bottom 6 will be interesting.....It's really just the 3rd line. The 4th line is actually pretty solid.
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I think they get into the playoffs if McAvoy turns in one of the best rookie performances by a defenseman in recent memory, and then Tuukka has to have a Vezina-caliber season. If that doesn't happen, I think the Bruins miss the playoffs. They'll be on the bubble, but I don't see them overtaking teams like Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa, or even Montreal. I know most people on this forum are Bruins' fans, so the viewpoints will be pretty optimistic, but where do you guys see the B's ending up this season?
You're putting a lot of weight into two players when it's a team game. Bruins have good players. They'll be on the bubble just like the teams you mentioned. Why are those teams all sure things but Boston is a question mark? What did Montreal do to get better? What did Ottawa do to get better? It's too early to ask about this, in my opinion. Who knows really....