Dear Claude: Here's how you should line up the Bruins

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For the first time in a long while, it's actually interesting filling out the Bruins lineup. 

Here's what I would do if I were Claude Julien (meaning: expect something totally different today when the Bruins hit the ice for their first on-ice workout at training camp):

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

Beleskey-Krejci-Hayes

Eriksson-Spooner-Connolly

Kelly-Talbot-Rinadlo

--- 

Chara-Trotman

Seidenberg-Kevan Miller

Krug-McQuaid

Feels to me like the top 12 forwards are pretty well established, except the line combinations could go anywhere.

David Krejci figures to get Matt Beleskey on his left, but the right side is wide open. Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak played well together last year, and Spooner will certainly get the first crack as the third-line center this year -- but I'd give Pastrnak to Patrice Bergeron, not Spooner. If Pastrnak is your best young player, then I'd have him play with the best on-ice mentor on the team. Whoever doesn't end up with Krejci, goes to Spooner. Loui Eriksson could really play on any line on either wing.

If Chris Kelly, Max Talbot or Zac Rinaldo get anything more than fourth-line minutes then the B's are in trouble.

The biggest question mark up front to me is Brett Connolly. Teams just don't give up on 23-year-old guys who they drafted sixth overall unless something's wrong. The Lightning must have had their reasons. If he doesn't make it, your guess is as good as mine who the next man up is.

On defense, the wild cards are former first-round pick Joe Morrow, who came over in the Tyler Seguin trade, and Colin Miller, a standout at the AHL level who came over in the Milan Lucic deal.

There were numerous veteran defensemen available in free agency and the trade market this offseason -- and the B's passed on every one. Obviously, they believe someone in their system has the chance to emerge into a Top 4 blue liner, and they didn't want a veteran taking away that opportunity. 

So now the focus turns to Trotman, Kevan Miller, Colin Miller and/or Morrow. If one  (or more) of those guys don't emerge, then the B's are sunk. Or they will have to make a pretty major midseason deal for a defenseman. 

Bottom line: Claude Julien is going to have to do a ton of experimenting and a bunch of mixing and matching in the next few months. That has not exactly been a strength of his in the past. He's used to filling out his line combinations and defensive pairings in September and more or less rolling them out on a nightly basis until the end of the playoffs. There may be no coach in the NHL who changes less than Julien, although last season was certainly a different story. Circumstances necessitated Julien mix things up -- and he did.

Either way, Julien has more choices to make this fall than at any point since his early days in Boston in 2007 and 2008. 

The pressure is on for him to make the right calls. And he better make them sooner, because he may not be around to make them later.

E-mail Felger at mfelger@comcastsportsnet.com. Listen to Felger and Mazz daily on 98.5 FM. The simulcast runs daily on Comcast SportsNet.

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