3 Bruins With The Most To Prove In 2023-24

Last year's Presidents' Trophy winners had a tough go in the playoffs and were bounced early. With little cap space to work with, many of their players also left. They look like a much different team and there will be pressure on certain players to step up and play in spots they haven't yet and others to repeat the strong performances they had.

Linus Ullmark

Linus Ullmark will have a very tough time following up his Vezina Trophy campaign as everything went right for the Boston Bruins last season. It's not often goalies get 40-plus wins or a save percentage as high as .938, so he has a lot of work to do. Many might not expect the same numbers, but if they drop off too much, he will get some criticism, even though two of the best two-way centermen in the game aren't on the team anymore.

Charlie Coyle

Charlie Coyle will be one of the players tasked with a bigger role than he's used to as he will move up to the second line center position. He was strong and comfortable on the third line and got favourable matchups. Although he will have a little better wingers, he will also have harder matchups and big shoes to fill. He's paid like someone who should be playing in the top-six, so it is his time to finally prove it. The Bruins need a big season from him to make up for lost production.

Morgan Geekie

The Bruins went out and got Morgan Geekie to likely slot in on the third line center position after things were shuffled around a lot. He was in a fourth line role last season with the Seattle Kraken and their depth was very good, helping his production. He will have to step up even more and improve upon that production as the Bruins think he could be a solid young piece to help them stop the bleeding.