But one big question the club has to answer is deciding upon a replacement for Mark Recchi on the second line.
Recchi, who retired after winning his third Cup in a storied 22-year career, helped turn the Bruins' second line into one of the league's most effective two-way units in the second half of last season and throughout the playoffs after he joined forces with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
The Bruins need to maintain that line's effective to keep opposing teams from focusing too much attention on stopping the top unit of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. Fortunately for the Bruins, they have plenty of options available to fill that role.
This preseason is sure to see a number of different combinations explored to find the right fit, but the search could be over after just one look. Friday night at the Garden, Rich Peverley got the nod to skate with Bergeron and Marchand, and produced immediately with a goal and two assists in a 6-3 win. Bergeron added a goal and two assists of his own and Marchand chipped in a goal and an assist as the line contributed to four of Boston's six goals.
"Obviously with Bergy and Marsh, there's some chemistry there," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I think Peverley brought some speed to that line and I think they'll enjoy that. That’s not to disrespect what Rex did for us last year, because he brought some other things and gave that line some grit. He just gives the element of maybe a little bit more speed and obviously he felt pretty comfortable with those guys. It was something that we wanted to have a look at and it gives us an option there for sure and an option that we didn't mind."
Julien isn't necessarily calling off the search, however. He still wants to see how some of the other options look in that spot. Tyler Seguin offers a similar speed element that could turn that line into an offensive force, though he doesn't possess the defensive presence that Peverley does. Veteran Chris Kelly, newcomer Benoit Pouliot and youngster Jordan Caron are possibilities as well, but they all will be hard-pressed to match the chemistry Peverley displayed on that line.
"We can look at different things," Julien said. "It will depend on the games and who's in and who's out. There's no doubt we'll have a look at our options. We've seen Tyler at center. It doesn't mean he's going to play there, maybe [he'll be a] winger, and he's another guy that can add some speed. But we'll try to balance things out once we know who those guys are that are going to fill in those spots are."
Peverley himself knows the battle for that plum assignment is far from over, and expects to have to continue to battle to lock down a permanent spot alongside Bergeron and Marchand.
"I think we all know there's competition there for that spot," Peverley said. "Obviously they play well together and I think nothing's set in stone. Going forward here it could be anybody."
Peverley left no doubt that he'd love to be the guy in that role when the regular season begins though.
"Bergy makes great plays and so does Marshy, so I just try to read off of them and try to use my speed," Peverley said. "They're great players, so you want to keep continuing to get chances."
Bergeron doesn't have any objections to that scenario, noting that Peverley spent some time with that line last year after coming over from Atlanta at the trade deadline.
"Yeah, it's nice I mean obviously we're not starting from scratch, we played some games [together] last year," Bergeron said. "He's got that speed and he's so smart with the puck. That makes plays easy. You know what, we really read each other very well. We didn't talk much on the ice. We were just executing and just reacting and playing with instincts, and when you do that it makes the job easy for everyone on the ice."
Peverley fit in seamlessly, but also adds a different dimension to the line with his speed.
"Rex was very smart and he knew exactly where to go," Marchand said. "He liked to be in front of the net though and we knew that so we just kind of do our thing in the corner and bring it to the net and Rex was there. Pev is always very creative. He's quick and smart with the puck, so it just adds another look to our line. Three quick guys out there and good with the puck, so making some pretty good plays."
The Bruins would be wise to continue to explore all their options, particularly with a long look at whether Seguin is ready to move into a top-six role on a line with Bergeron on Marchand. But Boston can also breathe a little easier now.
Recchi isn't someone any team can ever replace, but the Bruins do now know they can still have something pretty special on that line with Peverley taking over that spot.
