The Boston Bruins have shuffled many players on David Krejci’s right wing, and yet, none have stuck.
David Backes and Karson Kuhlman got most of the reps on the second line alongside Krejci and Jake DeBrusk in the postseason, but finding a permanent solution for the position is high on Cam Neely’s priority list this offseason.
In his address to the media Tuesday, Neely mapped out what kind of player the B’s may be targeting to fill the void in the top six.
“Yeah, I mean … I think you know David Krejci can still drive a line, he’s such a great playmaker, he can still drive a line,” Neely told reporters, via WEEI’s Matt Kalman. “You just need to find the right player to play with a guy like David. You know he needs someone with a little bit more speed on the wing.”
On top of speed, Neely went on to say that the 33-year-old center needs someone who can shoot the puck, rather than be a “pass-first” player.
“David likes to hang on to the puck and kind of slow the pace down a little bit, so it’s really finding a right guy, and David wants to distribute the puck,” Neely said. “So you need to have someone that’s willing to shoot the puck. And for some reason, nowadays, there’s more pass-first guys then there are shooters, which it’s hard for me to understand because I was a shooter. All of my assist were rebounds.”
The Bruins seem to have found the answer on Krejci’s left side with DeBrusk, but the right wing remains a question mark.
Whether the solution comes internally or externally, shoring up their top six, which struggled mightily 5-on-5 in the Stanley Cup Final, remains one of the more intriguing things on the docket for the Bruins this offseason.
