The Bear and the Gang 2013-2014 Edition: A quick look at this year's B's with Player's to Watch and Predictions

When the Spoked-B glistens on the TD garden Ice Thursday night, Bruins fans will get their first glimpse at the new and improved Bruins.

Here is a few key additions and losses this season:

OUT: Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley, Anton Khudobin.

-Now, obviously the female portion of fans will miss Seguin, but ladies, the guy was not cutting it. Excessive partying and minimal production wasn't exactly what the Bruins brass were looking for with the number two pick in the draft. Sure he will probably be a 50 goal per year guy, but we want a team that wins Stanley Cups, not a selfish "superstar".

- Nathan Horton was thought to be a crushing loss. Hell, on NESN's 24/7 knockoff "Behind the B" even Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely were devastated when Horton jumped ship to the great hockey city that is...wait for it....Columbus, Ohio. As much as I want to bash the guy i won't. If you want to leave a Cup contender for a fringe team be my guest, because the Bruins not only replaced you with someone better, but they got a guy who is dying to get his name on Lord Stanley's Cup.

IN: Jarome Iginla, Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Chad Johnson.

Jarome Iginla is that upgrade on the 1st line right wing. A 36 year old who has been in the league since '96, Iginla is a tough, crafty veteran who is hungry for the one thing he is yet to accomplish: Raising the Cup. Bruins fans will quickly forget that Jarome chose Pittsburgh over Boston last year for a better shot at the Cup. Jarome is the type of player that this fan base absolutely loves. He will fight when needed(and usually win) and he can score when necessary (fans who saw preseason games already know this).

As I mentioned, Jarome Iginla will occupy the 1st line right wing position, so here are the rest of my projected lines and defensive pairs:

         Forwards: Lucic-Krejci-Iginla
                          Marchand-Bergeron-Eriksson
                          Soderberg/Caron-Kelly-Smith
                          Paille-Campbell-Thornton

         Defense:   Chara-Seidenberg
                          Boychuk-Hamilton
                          Mcquaid-Krug (Bartkowski will see plenty of action too).

         Goalies: Tuukka Rask and Chad Johnson

Players to Watch:
1. Tuukka Rask - After posting a solid 2.00 GAA and signing a deal for 8 years and 56 million dollars, all eyes will be on the guy between the pipes. It will be very interesting to see how many games Rask plays given that he doesn't have a formidable backup like he had in Anton Khudobin last season. Nonetheless, it should be exciting to watch how Tuukka follows up his outstanding season.

2. Chris Kelly - Most people would say Chris Kelly had a "down year" last season. 9 points in 34 games? Not exactly a year to remember. Look for Chris Kelly to have a turnaround year. Part of the reason he played so bad is because of his linemates Peverly and Seguin. They gave him no help. But this season he is centering a stronger and more comfortable Carl Soderberg and newcomer Reilly Smith. Look for this line to be very productive.

3. Loui Eriksson - Acquired from Dallas for aformentioned Tyler Seguin, Loui Eriksson is a guy who can put in around 30 goals and 70 total points. Unlike Seguin, Eriksson is a fantastic two-way hockey player. He is great at back-checking and can kill penalties, which is a major improvement over Tyler Seguin.

5 Bold Predictions for this Season:

1. Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski outplay Dougie Hamilton, leading the young muppet look-alike  to see plenty of action---from the ninth level press box.

2. David Krejci is the star of this season. For some reason, David Krejci is always mentioned in trade talk. Not this season. Krejci gets 47 goals and 33 assists for an 80 point season. Count on it.

3. Chara wins the Norris Trophy. People think Chara is human and that he is physically worn out. Last time I checked Z is still about 7 feet on skates and in freakishly good shape. Barring anything crazy, I see Chara winning the Norris.

4. And Rask wins the Vezina. Two "U's" Two "K's" and usually two points. If I was a betting man I would bet Rask walks away with the honor of best goaltender in 2013-2014.

5. The Bruins win the Cup. They have all the pieces to the puzzle: An outstanding goalie, solid defense and an offense that can produce. I don't see any weak links in this lineup. Barring major injuries, the Boston Bruins will defeat the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games to win Lord Stanley's Cup for the 2nd time in 4 years.

*Sidenote: Claude Julien bears a striking resemblance to my dad.