Bruins defensemen battling for spots at China Games

SHENZHEN, China -- They all wondered. The eight NHL-caliber defensemen on the Boston Bruins roster heading into training camp knew not all of them could play every night. They knew there could be two watching from upstairs each game. They weren't sure how it would all shake out.

It became clearer Tuesday when the Bruins traded defenseman Adam McQuaid to the New York Rangers for defenseman Steven Kampfer, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2019 before Boston headed here for the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games.
"I didn't really know what was going to happen there," Charlie McAvoy said after practice Friday at Universiade Sports Center, where the Bruins will play the Calgary Flames in their preseason opener on Saturday (2:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN). "You knew you had eight D. You knew you had eight D who played every game last year.
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"Every single one of us feels like we should play every night and are all capable of doing that. But then you factor in the fact that we really haven't been able to stay very healthy the last two playoff runs. … So you didn't know if maybe we were going to try to ride it out, just in case."
Instead, the trade of McQuaid ensures that Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy will have a slightly easier time filling out his lineup card every night. That starts with the Boston's two preseason games against Calgary in China.
Though the Bruins left Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug back in Boston because of wear and tear on Chara and the broken ankle Krug sustained at the end of last season, they brought five of their seven NHL defensemen with them on the trip, where they can take a hard look at the only pressing battle.
While the right side appears sets with McAvoy, Kevan Miller and Brandon Carlo nearly locked into spots, there will be a bit of competition on the left.
Behind Chara and Krug are newly signed John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk. Moore, who signed a five-year contract with an annual average value of $2.75 million on July 1, and Grzelcyk are each in China. Moore lined up with McAvoy at practice on Friday and Grzelcyk skating with Miller.

Moore knows he's auditioning for a spot.
"That's been my M.O. every single training camp, to show up and earn it and put my best foot forward," said Moore, who added that he has played at times on his off side. "I don't feel like anything is owed to me. That's not the way this League works. There's an abundance of very talented defensemen here. So just like anyone else, it's an opportunity for me to show what I can do."
But there is one fewer defenseman.
"I think the uncomfortable part was [going to be] telling two players they couldn't play every night. It's always good to have depth, so there's good and bad," Cassidy said.
Depth was a particular concern for the Bruins for the past two Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2017, Carlo, Krug, McQuaid and Colin Miller were out with injuries during Boston's six-game defeat to the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference First Round. In 2018, the Bruins lost Carlo and Krug and were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the second round. So the Bruins front office keenly understands the need for quality reinforcements.
Still, the decision to trade McQuaid made sense. The log jam has eased a bit. So have the minds of some of the players.
"I'd say a little bit," Carlo said. "That was a big question for a lot of people coming into camp with the eight defensemen. Overall, I feel like you never know on any given night, any seven of those guys can play. So it'll be interesting still with that. But I think we have a strong core going forward."
McAvoy went even a step further.
"I think our D corps is going to be special," he said. "I really do."