BOSTON — The story seems to be the same every year for the Boston Bruins: Who is going to play on David Krejci’s right side?
More or less since the departure of Nathan Horton, the B’s longtime second-line center has had a revolving door of wingers come through on the right. Things have stabilized on the left with the emergence of Jake DeBrusk, but even last year, in a season that was pretty successful, it seemed like with each passing game yet another guy was getting a shot on the line.
And with the Bruins limited in cap space this summer, that very well could be the case again this season.
Anders Bjork could join the second line (though he’s a left shot), while Karson Kuhlman is another option. The David Backes experiment there hasn’t worked out great, while plenty of youngsters also will get the chance to compete for that role.
So, does Krejci even care who joins him and DeBrusk?
“Not really,” Krejci said Wednesday in Brighton after the first captains’ practice. “Whoever is going to go on my right side I know that they work as hard as any of us here and they’ll be ready to go. So I’ll try to help them out, I’m sure they’ll try to help me out as well and hopefully, we create chemistry and stick on the same line together for a while.”
Krejci saying he hopes whoever it is they “stick on the same line together for a while” is notable. While it can be a positive at times, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has a hair-trigger when it comes to swapping lines, even during games. Because of that, plenty of times Krejci found himself with one right wing during the first period, then another in the second.
To the 33-year-old’s credit though, he’s responded mostly well, putting up a 20-53-73 line last season, which tied a career-high in points. For his sake, he deserves a stable winger, and one has to think that only will help him continue to elevate his game.
