How Charlie Coyle, Bruins plan on stepping up after Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci’s retirement

Bruins

“No one’s gonna be a Bergeron, but we can all put our hand in and make sure we pull the rope a little more.”

The pain from April’s shocking first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs hasn’t lessened for Charlie Coyle.

The 31-year-old center doesn’t expect it to subside any time soon.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get over that, honestly,” Coyle said during an appearance on WEEI’s “Gresh and Fauria” show during Tuesday’s WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon. “It’s just, how quickly can you put it behind you, learn from it and move on. Use it as motivation. It never goes away. How do you use that, change it to fuel to fire you up, right? That’s how it goes.”

Coyle will need all of the motivation he can get in what stands to be a pivotal season for the Weymouth native.

With both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci hanging up their skates this summer, the 2023-24 Bruins have a glaring hole at the top of their forward corps with both top-six center spots vacant.

As expected, Coyle is expected to earn a bump up in Boston’s lineup to open the season, with Bruins coach Jim Montgomery telling the Boston Herald that he plans to slot Coyle next to Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk once training camp commences next month.

Fellow center Pavel Zacha is also in line for more minutes and responsibilities as Krejci’s replacement on the second line, with the Czech forward expected to skate alongside David Pastrnak and James van Riemsdyk, based on Montgomery’s comments.

Coyle acknowledged that the Bruins don’t have the personnel to completely replace both Bergeron and Krejci’s talents and presence, at least on an individual basis.

But if Coyle and several other Bruins forwards can take incremental steps in their larger roles in 2023-24, the veteran centerman believes that the Bruins still have the means to complement what should already be a very stout defensive unit and goaltending tandem between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

“They’re world-class players. And we’re gonna miss them,” Coyle said of Bergeron and Krejci. “We all wish they could play, they’ve done so much for this city. … [But] those are job opportunities right now, right? So that gets me fired up and gets our team fired up too. … We want to solidify that culture that those guys brought and that’s why our organization, our team, is good.

“It’s because of that culture, how we treat everyone, the standard that’s set, the work ethic, all those little things is what those guys brought. So when those guys are gone, how do we emulate it, right? So we have a lot of guys step up, kind of put their hand in and make sure everyone’s pulling a little bit. Because you can’t replace those guys individually, you can’t replace Bergy and Krejci.”

Even though Coyle has largely excelled as a puck-possessing center on Boston’s third line during his five years with the Bruins, his viability as a top-six center is a bit of a question mark.

When Coyle is on his game, he can eat up the clock and drain opposing skaters by playing keep away with the puck. Even though he’s only surpassed the 50-point threshold once in his NHL career, he made major strides in 2022-23 as Boston’s go-to shutdown center, freeing up more O-zone starts for Bergeron and Krejci. 

So long as he continues to excel in the D-zone, Coyle could be a useful asset on a revamped two-way top line for Boston, with his offensive capabilities lifted next to proven wingers such as Marchand and DeBrusk.

He served admirably as Boston’s first-line center during the first few games of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Panthers, although it’s a tougher ask for him to replicate that production over the span of 82 games.