4 questions about the new Bruins season with The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa

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The thermometer might near 70 and leaves are only just turning yellow, but keep your head on a swivel: it’s ice hockey season again.

The Boston Bruins begin their 2023-24 season tonight at TD Garden against the Chicago Blackhawks. And there’s one question on fans’ minds: How does the team bounce back — can they? — from the shell-shocking end to their record-breaking season last spring, after losing not one but two of their beloved veteran leaders?

For those of you (like me) who have barely broken into the flannel much less yellow and black sweaters, WBUR’s Deborah Becker caught up with longtime Bruins reporter Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic for a preview of the Bruins as they enter a year of “generational change.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí both retired this offseason. Who will the team rely on to take the lead?

Fluto Shinzawa: It’s going to be Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle. Those are two centers that are going to be taking the bulk of the shifts that Patrice and David leave behind.

They’ll be critical players, but they’re really going to be leaning on their star players. And they do have a pretty good handful of chain-pullers, if you will. David Pastrňák [scored] 61 goals last year. And they also have some other star players — Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm. And in net, you have the best tandem in the league last year in Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

Do you think they’ll change strategy at all?

FS: It’s going to be a lot of change.

One thing that’s good for them in terms of a constant is the coach. Jim Montgomery was a new coach last year, taking over for Bruce Cassidy. This year, he’s in his second season. The players that are coming back are very familiar with what he wants to do in terms of strategy.

That said, he is going to introduce some tweaks. He wants to play faster. He wants them to play more physically in front of the nets at both ends. And then he wants the defensemen — especially in the offensive zone — to hold the puck a little bit more and create a little bit more anxiety for opponents when they’re defending the Bruins.

Brad Marchand, the new team captain, holds the record as the most suspended player in league history. How do you think he’ll rise to the new role?

FS: Yeah, those things don’t really add up, right? Captain, leader, responsible person… and then eight suspensions. This is a player who has licked the face of an opponent — granted, that was a few years ago. [Editor’s note: He actually did it twice; the NHL had to order him to stop.] 

He’s a very different personality than Patrice. If you look at the way that Bergeron carried himself for a long time here, he was just the ultimate professional — very intuitive in terms of reading his teammates, his coaches, knowing what they needed in terms of an ‘attaboy,’ a little pick me up, perhaps a kick in the butt.

Um, Brad, he’s wired a little bit differently. But nobody works harder than Brad, including Patrice and Zdeno Chara, the previous captains. So, that will be the way that Brad leads… He’s going to be right in the face of opponents, and his teammates will have no choice but to fall right in line behind Brad. So, he’s a little bit different, but very well deserving.

How do you predict this season will go?

FS: Assuming good health, I think they can win at least one playoff round — which is one more than they did last year.

P.S.— The Bruins will also have a literal new look on the ice this year. To celebrate their centennial season, the team is updating their uniforms and their iconic “B” crest. Check out the photos here (or watch this video if you enjoy listening to some dramatic violin).