Bruins get bigger, nastier on defense with addition of Zadorov

BOSTON -- The obvious answer was offense. A center, to be precise.

When the Boston Bruins went into free agency this past offseason, it was clear that they needed help in the middle, to relieve the pressure on Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle, to in some way replicate the center depth they had lost with the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci after the 2022-23 season.

They did that, signing Elias Lindholm to a seven-year contract with an annual average value of $7.75 million on July 1.

But the Bruins did something else that day, adding veteran defenseman Nikita Zadorov on a six-year deal with a $5 million AAV, making their group of defensemen bigger and nastier, making it harder to play against and more punishing to engage with.

Or, at least, that was the plan.

The Bruins struggled defensively out of the gate, allowing six goals in their opener against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and four more against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, but they responded Saturday in a 2-1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings. They will further attempt to return to their identity Monday when they host the Panthers at TD Garden (1 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NESN, TVAS) in game that's sure to bring plenty of motivation.

But the bones, they insist, are there. This is a heavy defense, a defense that can move, a defense that can be the backbone of a Stanley Cup-contending team.

"I think it's awesome," defenseman Brandon Carlo said. "I'm really excited. It's crazy to be at this point now where our group has kind of transitioned a little bit away from the Zdeno Chara era a little bit. Now it's our time to start creating our own little legacy."

Not that the 6-foot-9 Chara, who left the Bruins after the 2019-20 season and retired in 2022, would feel out of place on this defense.

Charlie McAvoy is now the smallest regular defensemen the Bruins have, at 6-1, with seventh defenseman Parker Wotherspoon also 6-1. From there, the defenseman rise rapidly, with Andrew Peeke (6-3), Hampus Lindholm (6-4), Carlo (6-5), Mason Lohrei (6-5) and Zadorov (6-6).

"The size, it wasn't the target, just turn around and say, let's go be one of the bigger groups back there," general manager Don Sweeney said. "It's a byproduct of looking for a player that'll fill a hole for us."

But even if size wasn't the goal, it's still notable. It's not the only commonality, though.

"Obviously a lot of size," McAvoy said. "I think one of the things that might be underrated -- I know we talk about it here -- is the skating ability by all the defensemen. We're long, but we're also mobile."

That, he said, would allow the defensemen to both end plays quickly on the back end and transition well to offense.

"We've got a lot of guys that can and want to skate with the puck," McAvoy said. "So, on paper, it looks like an incredible makeup for a D-corps."

Defense has long been crucial for the Bruins, a team built on stout defending and excellent goaltending. It's truly part of the team's identity.

That is being doubled down on this season, especially now that goalie Jeremy Swayman has been locked up for the next eight seasons.

"I think it's a big component of our group," Carlo said. "I feel like as we go as defensemen, if we're locked in, dialed from puck drop, the rest of the group kind of flows along with it. So, it is a responsibility because if we're not ready to go, I feel like the group kind of fluctuates off of that as well. It is definitely a big core of our identity right now.”

The Bruins finished tied for fifth with the Vancouver Canucks last season, at 2.70 goals-against per game. This season, in the first three games, the defense has been shakier, but they are expected to iron out the kinks, to find their stride, to become the defense that the Bruins hoped for when they amped up their size this offseason.

It's a model that is a proven winner in the NHL -- just take a look at the defense that the Vegas Golden Knights trotted out in their Stanley Cup-winning lineup in 2022-23 -- and a model that they believe can bolster an offense that isn't going to break any records.

The key to it all might just be Zadorov, who is in his 12th NHL season, having played 641 games for the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks prior to signing with Boston as an unrestricted free agent.

"You bring in a guy who does a little bit of everything," McAvoy said. "He seems like a Swiss Army knife. He's big, he's mean, but he's also mobile. He's got a little bit of offense to his game, which might be a lot of offense, honestly."

The biggest and meanest of the Bruins defensemen has inspired more than a few superlatives in the dressing room, and even some tongue-firmly-in-cheek insults.

"Hate him," forward Brad Marchand said. "He's amazing. He's just an absolute animal. He can do it all. He has offensive abilities, he's big, he's mean, he doesn't care."

One of the more underrated aspects that Zadorov brings to the Bruins is his interest in and ability to be vocal, to rally the team between periods, to talk on the bench, with Marchand saying he's constantly "yapping" and keeping it light on the bench.

It's something that Carlo admitted the Bruins have been searching for, with the loss of Bergeron and players like forward Nick Foligno, who was traded to the Blackhawks in 2022.

"He will have a big impact in that way, I think," Carlo said. "It'll be good to bring that up a little bit more, just the vocal in between periods, maybe getting on guys a little bit more. He doesn't seem afraid to do that, by any means."

There is a hope, too, that the Bruins can squeeze more offense out of their defensemen, out of Lindholm and Zadorov, especially, in an attempt to bolster an offense that doesn't necessarily have some of the scoring chops of others in the division.

So far, so good on that front.

Through the first three games, the Bruins have gotten three points out of McAvoy (two goals, one assist) and two assists each from Zadorov and Carlo.

With Swayman having signed his contract Oct. 6 and getting into game action, with the defense getting more repetition as a unit and the season heading into full swing, the Bruins are confident in their super-sized defense, in its ability to stand tall against any of the offenses the NHL has to offer.

And if they can add a little intimidation into the mix, including with their newest addition, so much the better.

"One hundred percent," Elias Lindholm said. "We have guys that also like to play hard. I think we can be even harder to play against. But that makes a team, when they see they're going to play the Bruins, they know it's going to be a hard night. And that's the biggest compliment you can get as a team, I think."