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Beleskey welcomes pressure in Boston

Matt Beleskey

Matt Beleskey

AP

With all the changes in Boston, many will expect free agent acquisition Matt Beleskey to immediately become a go-to guy for the Bruins.

From what he told NHL.com, the gritty scorer wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yeah, I’d like to take a lot of responsibility for helping this team,” Beleskey said. “Coming in and making a difference, that’s what I want to do. They went out and gave me a great contract, and I was very grateful for that, and I’m going to work hard and do my best to repay them for that.”

The 27-year-old said “I’ve always thought of myself as a 20-goal scorer” when asked about his breakout 22-goal campaign from 2014-15.

While that total was by far his best run of production so far in the NHL (every season with the Anaheinm Ducks), he only managed to play in 65 regular season games.

If he can manage a full season as he debuts with the Bruins - not a guarantee, as he’s never played in more than 70 games - then perhaps he can dodge some of the bumps in the road that often come with changing teams.

Also: he could line up with David Krejci, a talented player who also happens to have something to prove in the opposite way (Krejci’s 2014-15 was as disastrous as Beleskey’s was triumphant).

Perhaps Beleskey knows the deal in Boston. If he works hard and produces, he’ll likely be a fan favorite; if not ... well, he’ll likely hear it from fans.