Boston Bruins 2022-23 season preview

Possibly the only upgrade the team made (besides Krejci at number two centre) is acquiring forward Zacha from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Haula. Can the 25-year-old live up to the hype surrounding him when he was drafted sixth overall back in 2015?

Acquisitions: David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Zacha, Keith Kinkaid, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Carrick.

Departures: Erik Haula, Curtis Lazar, Josh Brown, Troy Grosenick, Cameron Hughes, Anton Blidh.

Boston did lose a couple of depth pieces upfront in Haula and Lazar, as well as defenseman Brown, among others, but no one is irreplaceable.

With the news that Marc McLaughlin, Fabian Lysell and John Beecher were all sent down to the AHL Thursday, it's more and more likely the roster will look something like this to begin the season.

Below are the players still on the NHL roster:

Pavel Zacha - Patrice Bergeron - Jake Debrusk
Taylor Hall - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Chris Wagner
Jack Studnicka - Jakub Lauko

Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly - Anton Stralman
Derek Forbort - Jakub Zboril
Connor Clifton

INJURED: Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Grzelcyk.

The big question going into the season is if the Bruins can still make a mark on the league and weather the storm without key players Marchand, McAvoy and Grzelcyk, who are out for at least a couple of months.

Another question mark is Pasta's future and whether it is with the Boston Bruins or not.

Are the Bruins still a playoff team?