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‘Energized’ Gagne in hunt for roster spot; Bruins mull Pastrnak plans

Simon Gagne, Casey Wellman

Boston Bruins left wing Simon Gagne (12) battles with Washington Capitals center Casey Wellman (48) for the puck in the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game in Boston, Wednesday, Sept, 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

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.

CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty passes along Gagne’s impressions on where he might stack up:

With Jordan Caron just recently placed on waivers, Gagne’s chances get even better:

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:

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.”

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins