If Chara's legendary run as Boston's captain were to come to an end this offseason, Grzelcyk would become the Bruins' longest tenured left-shot defenseman. The Boston University product, entering his fourth full season in Black & Gold, has been a staple on the Bruins' third pairing in recent years, but - regardless of who accompanies him on the left side moving forward - is poised to find himself in a top-four role alongside either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo when the 2020-21 season begins.
"I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen…I want to be able to handle more minutes and handle more responsibility," said Grzelcyk, who averaged 18:04 of ice time in 2019-20, which ranked eighth on the Bruins roster. "I think each year I've gotten better and improved my overall game to not only want to initiate more offensively but also to accept more defensive responsibility in the defensive end by using my smarts, using my skating ability to my advantage, just trying to break pucks out so that we can get going the other way."
Perhaps the most notable promotion Grzelcyk could be set to earn is on the power play, where the Bruins' top unit is in need of a new quarterback with Krug out of the picture. Krug has been among the NHL's best in that role for half a decade, though Grzelcyk - normally manning the point with Charlie McAvoy on the second unit - has filled in admirably at times in the past, with his lefthand shot helping coach Bruce Cassidy leave much of the power play's structure intact.
"Obviously, a big challenge," said Grzelcyk, who notched seven (goal, six assists) of his 21 points on the man advantage last season. "The power play is something that we rely on for a lot of our offense in order to have success throughout the season. The first unit is quite stacked with offensive talent. I think, obviously, Torey is a really special player. It's not always easy having to go into that position.
"I think when I've gone in in years past, I was more focused on wanting to be more of a facilitator and get the pucks into those guys' hands. I think I do have a lot of [room for] improvement in that area and I think that comes with confidence and wanting to take that next step as a player.
"That is something I'm focused on and I think that I can watch more video to know, not only the plays they run, but seeing kind of where the open ice is from a different perspective. I think that hopefully I can apply that to my game and add that going forward."
While Grzelcyk is often compared to Krug because of their similar stature - they both stand at 5-foot-9 - he knows that there remains plenty of room for growth in his offensive game, pointing to his shot strength and ability to walk the blue line and create space as areas of focus this offseason.
"I think it's no secret that we want to - and the defense as a whole - add offensively to our games," said Grzelcyk, who posted career highs in goals (4), assists (17), and points (21) in 2019-20, well shy of Krug's 49 points in 61 games. "And that's something that I take pride in and I want to come back with maybe a new mindset of wanting to initiate more on the offensive side of the puck.
"If you want to take that next step as a team, we're going to need to rely on our D to keep pushing pucks up north and wanting to play offensively. Obviously, there is a little bit of opportunity, but it's up to me to come back a better player and want to take advantage of that."
And that's exactly why Grzelcyk has been hard at work in the gym for over a month with a transition to the ice likely coming soon. With more responsibility - and admittedly some added pressure, he wants to make sure he is living up to his new deal in any way he can.
"I'm very blessed…I want to make sure I do everything in my power to help the team going forward and accept more responsibility and demand more of myself and feel that I'm not only living up to it but exceeding expectations," said Grzelcyk. "They've had the trust in me to want to sign me to a longer-term contract. That is something that I'm focused more on, is improving my overall game and wanting to come back each year a better player and be able to look myself in the mirror each year and know at the end that no matter what, I gave it everything I had…that's something I'm focused on every day."
