Patrice Bergeron must adjust to life without Brad Marchand

The challenges facing the Bruins in the first couple of months of the season are well-known. They are expected to be without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy until around Thanksgiving while Matt Grzelcyk will be sidelined to start the season as well.

Facing part of that challenge head on will be the team captain and longest tenured Bruin, Patrice Bergeron. Since the middle of the Stanley Cup season of 2010-11, Marchand has ridden shotgun on Bergeron’s left side, with tremendous results. They’ve had different right wings over the years, from MarkRecchi to Tyler Seguin to Reilly Smith to David Pastrnak to Jake DeBrusk, but the Bergeron-Marchand partnership has been a constant for over a decade.

Bergeron, speaking to reporters on the first day of captain’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday, acknowledged the test he’ll be facing.

“It is going to be an adjustment,” said Bergeron, who skated Monday and expects to be 100 percent by the start of camp after undergoing elbow surgery in the offseason. “The two of us, it’s become second nature at this point. We read and react from each other. We know where each other is going to be on the ice, pretty much at all time. It does make things easier. That being said, you’re playing with some great players, some players with a lot of talent with great vision and hockey sense. It’s for me to adjust, but also for us, whoever I’m playing with, to communicate and talk and find ways to make that transition as seamless as possible.”

Taking Marchand’s place, at least to start training camp next week, will be newcomer Pavel Zacha. Obtained in the offseason for Erik Haula, the 2015 sixth overall pick would seem to have higher offensive ceiling that what he had shown in New Jersey. A solid two-way player who can play both wing and center, Zacha had his highest point total last season with 15-21-36 in 70 games, though two years ago he had a career-high in goals with 17 in 50 games while shooting at a 16.5% clip.

“He’s a great player, a very smart player,” said Bergeron. “It’s something I knew even before he came in. He plays the game the right way. He’s always well-positioned. He’s got a great shot and, even from talking to him, he wants to (develop) a bit of a shoot-first mentality a little bit more than he’s had in the past. I’m excited to get to know him on and off the ice. He’s a young guy that has a lot of potential and can become a great player in this league.”

Zacha makes his offseason home in the Boston area and has been working out at Warrior for a while. He’s looking forward to the chance he could be getting in the first couple of months of the season possibly playing alongside a future Hall of Famer.

“I think I’ve been lucky enough to be here for a couple of weeks now so I’ve gotten some one-on-one talks. Just being around him and seeing his work ethic and his thinking around the game is great. It’s been a good couple of weeks here and I’m just excited about what’s going to happen going forward,” said Zacha. “Just seeing him and the motivation he has coming into the season and how hard he works over the summer to show again what kind of player he is…It’s something I haven’t seen much in my last couple of seasons, a player like with what he’s done and still having the motivation he has is impressive. I think it just pushes everyone around him to work a little bit harder. It’s something that good captains do.”

On paper at least, the Haula-for-Zacha deal looks like a good one for the B’s. Haula had done a good job when he was moved into the center spot between Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak, but he was not able to give the team much when he played wing and further down the lineup. That spot between Hall and Pastrnak will now go to the returning David Krejci.

The hope, if all goes well, is that the 6-foot-3 Zacha will be able get a career boost from playing with Bergeron and then seamlessly drop down to play with Charlie Coyle once Marchand is healthy, giving the B’s a more potent third line. A big focus for Zacha is to pull the trigger on more shots. Last season, he average just over two shots a game, connecting on 10.1%.of them.

“I think especially now, playing with him or playing around guys like that, (I’m) trying to shoot more pucks, trying to change the mindset, just watching little videos when I had the opportunity to do that,” said Zacha. “It’s something I was trying to focus on, especially on the video, just to get it in my mind that, when I’m playing with players like that, that I’m going to have more opportunities to be in a shooting situation, to shoot more pucks. That’s something he wants me to do, too, so I’ll focus on that even more going forward while I’m practicing and playing with him. I’m excited for that.”

Zacha urely bet on himself by signing just a one-year extension. It’s up to him if he cashes in, but he’s going to be put in a good position to do so.

 

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/gtYi34A