2012 Projections: Boston

The Bruins are the defending Cup champs this season, but they were no screaming hell for the fantasy buffs last season, unless you're talking about the playoff pool.  No, the blue collar bunch were a great combination of physical play, timely scoring and masterful goaltending, to which the physical play and goaltending were really what stood out the most.

The blueprint of the Cup winning team was used once again in forming the latest version of the Bruins team that we're expecting to see come October, plenty of role players in all the right spots, mixed together with just enough skill to get the team by on the scoresheet.  It was a formula that worked and whatever the team lost in the off-season, they were able to replace, so they theoretically should be poised to do it all over again.

Does this mean that they will be a better team to pick from for the hockey pool?  Probably not, but they will have their fair share of players taken, just not quite as high as some other teams.

Forwards		Defense		Goalies
Patrice Bergeron	75	Zdeno Chara	40	Tim Thomas	80
David Krejci	70	Joe Corvo	35	Tuukka Rask	20
Milan Lucic	65	Dennis Seidenberg	30
Nathan Horton	55	Johnny Boychuk	20
Tyler Seguin	50	Andrew Ference	15
Rich Peverley	40	Adam McQuaid	10
Benoit Pouliot	35
Gregory Campbell	30
Chris Kelly	25
Shawn Thornton	20
Dan Paille	10
Marc Savard	0
Jordan Caron	20	Steven Kampfer	15

Pool Worthy Forwards (Inside the top 160, 40 points)
After winning the Cup in the Spring, I think there will be two players on this year's Bruins team that will have a great rise in confidence and thus, a very good rise in production.  The first being Patrice Bergeron, who's two-way game was tremendous in the playoffs, but it will all translate into confidence, where his numbers should boot him right up to the top of their table for the year.

The second will be sophomore Tyler Seguin, who learned the value of being in a hard working group and I think he'll excel, rather than slump, in his second year in the NHL.  Seguin may have been used sparingly through the playoffs, as the coaching staff preferred experience in the line-up, until injuries occurred, but when he was on the ice, he didn't look out of place.

I think it is also fair to think that David Krejci should have a better year in 2012 as well, since he slumped a bit in 2010 and only brought some of his numbers back up in 2011.  This should be a good season for him as well.

Pool Worthy Defensemen (Inside the top 80, 25 points)
The Bruins' defense should be fairly solid again in the 2012 season, led by the Norris Trophy candidate, Zdeno Chara, who should be poised to climb right back in the saddle and help his team defend the championship.  I think there could be a small dip in his numbers largely because of the Stanley Cup hangover and the long season that led to it.

The acquisition of Joe Corvo looks to be a good addition on paper for the Bruins, who were not going to re-sign Tomas Kaberle after the Cup run.  Corvo provides a little bit more of a shot from the point, but they do give up a bit in the puck moving department, but really, it's a good trade off.  The Bruins need another quality shot from the point.

Pool Worthy Goalies (Inside the top 40, 25 points)
How much confidence does Tim Thomas have going into the 2012 season?  Probably a lot.  With that sort of confidence and notoriety, all the teams in the East will be looking at him as enemy number one, the guy that they will have to beat to measure their season against.  I think that much work may cost Thomas some points in the year, but not a great deal of points, especially since his skill set is still so high.  He'll be good, but he'll be worked on.

Pool Worthy Rookies
The Bruins depth in veterans is very good this year, which will make it tough for rookies to crack the roster full-time, especially with some youth already in the mix.  At the moment, there is a hole (see unsigned players), which may see a player like Jordan Caron jump in, but I don't expect that hole to be around when camp or the season opens.

Unsigned Players
One of the playoff heroes from the Spring is still left unsigned, as Brad Marchand, a restricted free agent, is still waiting on his new deal for the coming season.  Marchand was a key player in the Cup run, plus he did pot 21 goals in the regular season, so he might have a case to hold out for what he wants, but how long will the Bruins wait to deal with him?  It does sound like a money issue at the end of the day.

Key Injuries
Things are not quite looking up for Marc Savard, as the last word on his potential for the 2012 season is rather cloudy, still dealing with concussion symptoms.  With the concussion problems that Savard has had in recent memory, I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole, fantasy-wise.  That's just terrible risk management and not worth the gamble.