As a two-time All-Star and four-time 30+ goal scorer, it must be a little odd for Simon Gagne to scratch and claw for a roster spot. Still, it sounds like he has a shot to stick with the Boston Bruins after sitting on the sidelines during the 2013-14 season.
Head coach Claude Julien definitely didn’t guarantee that the 34-year-old will survive cuts long enough to make the 2014-15 roster, yet his comments to NHL.com’s Matt Kalman seem fairly positive.
Julien says he hasn't come to a conclusion about Gagne. But the coach used the word "intrigued" a couple times. He's my 13th F if not yours.
— Matt Kalman (@MattKalman) October 4, 2014
Gagne: "Now I feel energized. I feel really good physically and mentally too."
— Matt Kalman (@MattKalman) October 4, 2014
CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty passes along Gagne’s impressions on where he might stack up:
Simon Gagne said in his mind it's 4 guys going for the 2 final forward spots. Judging by what I've seen its Gagne, Fraser, Robins & Caron
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 4, 2014
With Jordan Caron just recently placed on waivers, Gagne’s chances get even better:
BOS puts Jordan Caron on waivers.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 4, 2014
Transitioning from a player fighting to keep his career alive to one who wants to get it kick-started, the Bruins might take an interesting approach with 2014 first-rounder David Pastrnak:
Claude Julien indicating @AHLBruins might be Pastrnak possibility as a European player. Would burn yr of his ELC a la Krug/Smith #BruinsTalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 4, 2014
As overseas player, Pastrnak has always been eligible for @AHLBruins. Courtesy to send him back to Sweden. Would burn year of ELC if in A.
— Matt Kalman (@MattKalman) October 4, 2014
As Haggerty points out, while this isn’t that common a practice (many teams might balk at burning an entry-level year), the Bruins likely value the advantages of taking a hands-on approach to his development and giving the Czech-born player a chance to become accustomed to the North American game.
One other especially interesting Bruins note: it sounds like Malcolm Subban could get some NHL reps if either Tuukka Rask or Niklas Svedberg get banged up, as Kalman reports.
“Absolutely,” Julien said about his confidence Subban could handle that in a pinch. “I think what he showed yesterday and I said that before, he’s probably one of the quickest goaltenders I’ve ever seen go side to side. He’s got that quickness and good reflex. So certainly he’s a guy that I feel confidence watching him play that if he was called up we wouldn’t have any issues with that.”