Bruins Notebook: Brad Marchand bullish on team’s chances

Brad Marchand has been forced to say goodbye to a lot of teammates in his decade-plus with the Bruins.

In fact, only he and his longtime centerman Patrice Bergeron remain from the 2011 Stanley Cup champion team.

But the club has really been losing foundational pieces from good teams of the last decade in the last couple of years. Former captain Zdeno Chara signed in Washington last season while Torey Krug moved to St. Louis. The turnover going into this season has been even greater, with the departure of David Krejci, Tuukka Rask (he’s rehabbing after hip surgery and still without a contract), Jaroslav Halak and Sean Kuraly. Newcomers up front will be Nick Foligno, Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek, joined by defenseman Derek Forbort, while the goaltending will be handled by Linus Ullmark and rookie Jeremy Swayman, at least for the time being.

That is an unusual amount of change for an organization that’s been pretty stable over the last decade and half. But Marchand is bullish on his team’s chances, believing that pulling on the spoked B will bring out the best in the new players.

“This is a little bit different than where we’ve been in the past. We’ve always had guys turn over every year. It’s part of the business. Guys come and go. But as you see guys who’ve been part of our core group (leave), it is a bit of a different feeling. But there’s a lot of excitement around our team,” said Marchand after captain’s practice on Friday. “We’re very deep and we know we have a great opportunity this year. I think there’s a lot of excitement around the guys coming in and the opportunity they’re going to have. A lot of guys coming from organizations that are not as good as ours and don’t have the structure and the history and the want to win that we have in here.

“I think guys are excited to be here and be part of this group.”

Marchand expects there will be some trial and error before things can come together.

“It’ll take a little bit of time to build some chemistry,” said Marchand. “We have a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces and we’ll have different line combinations that we’re going to roll through. Same on D. Communication between the D and the goalie and stuff like that, it all plays a role and it’ll take some time to come together. Maybe it’ll happen really quick but it usually takes a little bit of a working out process to figure out where guys fit. But I definitely think we’ve improved. There’s no question we got deeper all the way through our lineup.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are excited to be a part of this group and I think that’s the thing. When you have guys that want to be here, want to win, want to take a shot and give it their all, a lot of character guys, you set yourself up for success and I think that’s where we’re at. To win the Cup, you need everything to go your way. I say that every year. You need all the breaks to go your way, you need the right calls, the right bounces, you’ve got to stay healthy, that’s the main thing. Hopefully things line up for us and we can get back in that position. But we’ve got a long season before the playoffs even begin.”

Hall wishes Krejci well

As the offseason this summer, there was some thought the futures of free agent linemates Taylor Hall and Krejci would somehow be intertwined. But Hall said while he would have liked more time with Krejci as his centerman, that was never the case.

“I had no idea what he was going to do and I didn’t really want to ask him about it or tell him what I was going to do,” said Hall, who signed a four-year deal while Krejci went back to the Czech Republic. “I wanted him to come back for the right reasons if that’s what he wanted to do. I think for him, he’s probably having a blast playing back home. I have no idea what it’s like to move away to a different continent at 16 or 17 and not really come back to play there. So I’m sure he’s having a blast. I don’t know if we’ll ever see him back here again. There’s a lot of speculation, but honestly I think everyone in our dressing room wishes him all the best.”

Hall had no inside information on who his new pivot was going to be — Charlie Coyle is expected to get first crack — but believes that second line can be successful no matter who’s in the middle.

“Honestly, it doesn’t change my preparation or focus for the year. My job is to come in and play as well as I can and whatever line I’m slotted in, hopefully I can drive that line like I have in the past, whoever the centerman is,” said Hall. “I imagine I’ll play with (Craig Smith) on the right side. I think that we can work with anyone. In signing here, I never had a guarantee that Krejci was going to be back. I just wanted to play for this team and help this team win a Stanley Cup. Whatever I have to do contribute to that is what I’ll do and I’m sure Smitty and whoever we’re playing with feels the same.”

Marchand excited for Olympic shot

Marchand was bitterly disappointed in 2018 when the NHL decided not to go to the Olympics in South Korea, but he should have a very good chance of being one of Canada’s left wings in Beijing now that the league is participating in the 2022 Games.

“For all the NHL players who gets to participate, it’s a tremendous opportunity and one that I think guys have earned,” said Marchand, who proved himself on the international stage at the 2016 World Cup. “This is obviously the best league in the world and that’s what the Olympics is, it’s about putting the best players on the ice together and seeing which country takes it all. I think it’s a great opportunity for all the NHL players that’ll be there. I would love and really honor that opportunity if it comes.”