Riley Nash is not coming back through that door again. The Bruins entered the season without any sort of clear-cut third-line centre after losing the versatile Nash to the Columbus Blue Jackets on a 3-year deal worth $8.25 million which they could not afford.
The most intriguing story of the preseason was the open competition among the prospects that are auditioning to take the open slot. Will Jacob Forsbacka Karlsson will take on the next step on his trajectory or will Trent Frederic force Don Sweeney? Or will young Jack Studnicka show a lot of skill to pass on? In the end, the Bruins management has agreed that the answer to these questions was a No. This left the recently re0signed Sean Kuraly as the only default person left to take on the job.
Through the first two games of the season, Kuraly’s third lines had conceded 27 shots attempts while attempting only 12. They had given up fourteen scoring chances while obtaining just two. Bruce Cassidy had gone through enough and then decided to shuffle of the deck, making a Kuraly return back to his familiar spot on the 4th line. The other man who took over the third line centre role was David Backes.
It looks like the ancient history now, but when Backes signed his five-year deal worth $30 million, he had the impression that he will play either on the right wing along with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or where he has landed up now, in the third centring line. It is certainly to say that the Backes has made it to a position in the top 6. Agreed that he is a little slow but come-on, he is 35-years-old and is not the same player he was once. However, shifting from the third-line winger to the third line centre is not asking Backes to make a comeback to the top-line like how he was in his prime days is not the solution.
