“At the end of the day we took that direction”, said Julien. It wasn’t just because of experience, you know. “And along with Claude and his awesome team I feel they could partner with one on lessening the process toward the defending side”, Neely incorporated. He came to the Bruins last season in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche and posted three assists in 18 games as Boston faltered down the stretch. “I don’t that group in there is a soft group”. The Jets are led up front by the line of Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, and Blake Wheeler and while those guys aren’t likely to finish in the top 10 in league scoring they are a pretty formidable line and will outwork you on the ice and that seems to be the mantra of this Winnipeg team and city.
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The Bruins totaled 96 points past year – the most ever for a team that missed the playoffs – and weren’t eliminated until the final day of the regular season. I’ve got to get used to again the puck and drills and movement. The young Bruins defense behind Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, who is out for the next several weeks after back surgery, was going to be tested even with Chara in the lineup. That means more responsibility for Adam McQuaid and Torey Krug.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask played a career-high 70 games last season – 12 more than ever before. However, with Chara’s play seemingly regressing with age and the absence of an identity thanks to the departure of Lucic I think the Bruins will have a tough season despite Patrice Bergeron remaining one of the game’s best.
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Julien said he would like to keep it below 65, and perhaps as low as 58 if a dependable backup can be developed from a foursome that includes 2012 first-round draft pick Malcolm Subban and former Detroit and Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson.
