The 2019-20 season for the Boston Bruins was perhaps more disjointed than any other NHL team. At the pause, they were the only club to hit the 100-point threshold, and looked as likely as any team to be hoisting the Stanley Cup.
But that same level of dominance didn't carry over into the Toronto bubble, as they were ousted in the conference semifinals by the eventual Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. This offseason, they said goodbye to franchise icon Zdeno Chara and power-play quarterback Torey Krug, leaving massive holes in their blue-line group.
What will we get for the 2020-21 campaign? Here's everything you need to know about the Bruins prior to opening night.
The big question: Has the championship window closed on this veteran group?
When the Bruins were eliminated by the Lightning in the 2020 playoffs, there was something wistful -- albeit realistic -- about the way the players spoke, realizing an aging core and tight salary cap may have caught up to a team that has been to the Stanley Cup Final three times since 2011.
"It just kind of hit me after the game that the core group, a few of us, we have one or two, three years left [on our contracts]," David Krejci said in September. "With the pandemic going on, you never know what's going to happen."
There are some young standouts like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, but the B's will be without Pastrnak for about the first month of the season as he finishes his recovery from offseason hip surgery.
Did realignment hurt or help?
For the first time in franchise history, the Bruins will not face the Montreal Canadiens in the regular season.Though the new division has some pesky teams (looking at you, Caps, Pens, Rangers, Islanders, Flyers), Boston makes out better with typical Atlantic Division powers Tampa Bay and Toronto playing elsewhere.
Offseason comings and goings, and the cap situation
The Bruins have $2,982,686 in projected cap space, per Cap Friendly. Key additions include middle six winger Craig Smith and depth center Greg McKegg. Key losses include Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara and Joakim Nordstrom, a depth forward who shined on the penalty kill.
Bold prediction
Charlie McAvoy will be a Norris Trophy finalist. The tutelage of Chara aided McAvoy in his first three seasons, but now it's time for the 23-year-old to shine in his own right. Don't be surprised to see the all-situations right-shooting defenseman play upward of 25 minutes per game.
Breakout candidate: Jake DeBrusk
The 2015 first-round pick has been a streaky scorer throughout his career, but he's due to pick up more offensive production in 2020-21. Unfortunately, a shortened season will keep him from hitting his first 30-goal campaign.
Biggest strength: The first line
Are they getting older? Yes. Are we worried about their ability to stay healthy? Yes. But when fully functioning, it's hard to find a more dynamic, well-rounded -- and dangerous -- trio in the league than Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
Biggest weakness: Left side of the defense
With Krug off to St. Louis and Chara in Washington, the Bruins' left defense corps is quite thin. Behind Matt Grzelcyk, the Bruins expect Jeremy Lauzon, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril to compete for playing time. But that group is quite inexperienced, combining for only 48 games in 2019-20.
Bruins in NHL Rank
No. 10: David Pastrnak, RW
No. 20: Brad Marchand, LW
No. 26: Patrice Bergeron, C
No. 32: Tuukka Rask, G
No. 76: Charlie McAvoy, D
Prospect perspective
Pipeline ranking: 30
Prospects in the top 100: No. 58 Jack Studnicka (C/W)
Fantasy facts to know
Based on the latest plans for the season, David Pastrnak would miss about a month of the campaign -- but that shouldn't dissuade your investment in one of the NHL's top lines.
The Bruins have a group of secondary wingers who are intriguing while Pastrnak is out, but also after he returns. Some combination of Ondrej Kase, Craig Smith, Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie are likely to flirt with fantasy relevance this season. Kase has arguably the most upside.
Torey Krug tied for fifth in the NHL last season in power-play ice time per game. That's a sizable fantasy-value vacuum for Charlie McAvoy to fill. -- Sean Allen