Boston Bruins: 12 Reasons Bruins Fans Could Be Worried in 2012

New England sports fans can’t help it. No matter how covert or illogical it might be, especially in days like these for the Boston Bruins, there is bound to be a perennial degree of disquiet.

Sure, the defending champions have long tossed the effects of their post-title hangover into the pile of Zamboni snow at their Ristuccia Arena practice facility. But the fact rigidly remains that the Stanley Cup is theirs to lose this year.

And after this season, repeat championship or not, a multitude of outside disturbances could muddle up the near-perfect arrangement the Bruins have in the heat of the 2011-12 campaign.

The following array of on-ice competition, under-the-radar organizational follies and off-ice issues is bound to keep a Bruins buff’s pessimistic plasma in plentiful stock throughout 2012.

1. Chris Kelly’s Contract

Barring three months of frostbite, the third-line center’s first full season in Boston promises to be more than a mere career year. Still two games before the halfway mark of the schedule, Kelly is already two goals and 15 points away from matching previous highs from his Ottawa days.

And yet, somehow, his future with the Bruins beyond this season is still not secure.

The more Kelly enhances his portfolio and the closer he gets to hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent this July, the more apprehensive Boston fans are apt to get.

2. Tuukka Rask’s Contract

Although he has recently expressed interest in staying with the organization, there is no guarantee the Bruins’ nominal backup will sign a contract extension before becoming a restricted free agent July 1.

As it stands now, Boston has the best possible goaltending insurance policy working in its favor. But what happens if Rask pursues a guaranteed No. 1 slot elsewhere and Tim Thomas’ health and/or game crumbles without warning?

While the odds might be in favor of a new deal between Rask and the Bruins, trying to assure the fans ahead of time is more challenging than, well, penetrating either Boston backstop on the ice.

3. The Fourth Line’s Future

Keeping with the contract motif, the entire troika of Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton is nearing the end of their contracts.

Unless an unconditional, collective commitment to Boston prevails, general manager Peter Chiarelli will be working against the odds in an effort to bring all three of his fourth-liners back for 2012-13.

4. Harsher Homestretch

Their first 39 outings have been sprinkled over 96 days for a ratio of one game for every 2.46 days. But starting with Thursday’s visit from the Canadiens, the Bruins will have eight games over the next 13 days.

That will be followed by a seven-day gap wrapped around the All-Star break, then the remaining 35 contests over a span of 68 days to close the regular season, equaling a ratio of one game every 1.94 days.

Granted, it would not be a surprise if the Bruins can sustain their pace and finish at or near the top of the Eastern Conference and the NHL overall standings. But with games in hand on each of their 29 competitors, they will be the most prone to mild, fatigue-induced slippage in the standings.

5. Maturity and Cleanliness

In light of Brad Marchand’s recent five-game suspension and two recently reviewed hits by Milan Lucic, it is on the Bruins’ elder players and coaching staff to direct their more rough-and-tumble youths to that delicate balance between effective toughness and over-the-line cheapness.

With their depth, the Bruins can certainly press on for one more week without Marchand and might even emerge stronger when he returns. But when games become more important for themselves and their opponents, they need to take care to ensure they do not lose any of their regulars, let alone a top-six power forward, for lengthy stretches.

6. King Henrik

The two certified titans of the Eastern Conference, the Bruins and New York Rangers, will finally crack open their four-game season series on Saturday, Jan. 21, at TD Garden. Barring any unforeseen changes in the landscape, this matchup is the most logical pick for this year’s conference final.

And while Boston does clearly have the upper hand over New York in some areas, particularly offensive depth, otherworldly goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is still a Bruins nemesis.

If enough bounces were to go his way, and especially if residual wear-and-tear from last season and this season caught up to the Bruins in late May, he is more than capable of stealing a best-of-seven series.

7-10. Western Powers

Consider this a four-in-one worry item with a quartet of legitimate threats from the Western Conference.

If the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup Finals again, would their fans want to see them possibly relinquish their title at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks or Joe Thornton’s San Jose Sharks?

Would Boston buffs want to see their team, on the heels of back-to-back runs into June, cross paths with a comparatively fresh-legged Chicago or Detroit team?

All of those possibilities exist. The Bruins do have the requisite supplies to play with and surmount any of those four certified contenders, but that residual fatigue could hinder their cause in this particular year.

In addition, last Saturday showed what can happen when one too many invitations are written to the Vancouver power-play brigade, which is more likely to occur when a team is physically and mentally drained.

11. A Barren Farm

For weeks now, Boston has boasted the NHL’s most productive strike force, yet their primary farm team in Providence continuously sits at the very bottom of the AHL’s offensive leaderboard.

At the halfway mark of their season, all but bound to end in a third consecutive Calder Cup playoff no-go, the majority of the P-Bruins’ regulars have no more than two goals to their credit. The two worst offenders are Kirk MacDonald, who has connected once on 68 shots on goal, and Jamie Arniel, who led the team with 23 strikes last season, but this year has scored two goals on 86 shots.

First-year head coach Bruce Cassidy, who moved up from assistant status to replace Rob Murray last summer, will likely be dismissed along with current assistant Kevin Dean. Afterwards, a fresh new staff can be expected to foster the development of touted prospects Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner, who will be eligible to enter the AHL full time this autumn.

That, in turn, means there is hope for Boston, after a couple of false starts, to finally start having a resourceful AHL affiliate next season. But that’s assuming there is a next season, which brings us to the last worrisome item of 2012…

12. The CBA

Was the NHLPA’s recent refusal to ratify the realignment proposal a precursor to another protracted stalemate and ensuing work stoppage?

Hockey fans sure hope not, but Bruins fans should be even more concerned about this specter than the average puckhead.

This isn’t like 2004, when the students of Mike Sullivan were continuous first-round flameouts and New England sports fans had a curse-reversing baseball team and an ostensibly dynastic football team to stymie their interest in hockey.

The Bruins are now an established contender, and riding a comfortably consistent stream of popularity that was unthinkable until at least two years after the 2004-05 season that never was.

Even if it is for half a season or less, neither the team nor their most unconditionally devout fans want to risk losing that momentum. But a lockout would invite just that.