6 Ways an NHL Lockout Would Affect the Boston Bruins in 2012-13

There are many ways that a shortened or cancelled 2012-13 NHL season would affect the Boston Bruins, a team that has a strong chance to win their seventh Stanley Cup next June.

From a player perspective, there are several guys whose progression in the NHL would stalled if there wasn't a full season.

Let's look at six ways a lockout could affect individual players, and the Bruins as a team.

Tyler Seguin Is Ready for Important 3rd Season

Bruins forward Tyler Seguin continued to display his spectacular offensive abilities last year by scoring 29 goals and adding 38 assists for 67 points.

Not having a season at all could prevent the Bruins from seeing their best young star blossom into one of the league's elite offensive players.

This will be Seguin's third full season as an NHL player, and it's the year that Bruins fans can expect the young forward to reach superstar status. However, that won't happen if there isn't a full season.

Dougie Hamilton Back to Juniors?

If there is a lockout, the Bruins might have no choice but to send top defenseman prospect Dougie Hamilton back to junior hockey. 

Hamilton needs to begin his NHL career this year for his skills at both ends to improve, but this process could be halted with a lockout.

It's hard to imagine Hamilton improving much if he stays in junior hockey for another season, especially after scoring a career-high 70 points in a career-low 50 games played. However, it would be better for him to play in the OHL, than to not play at all during a lockout.

Tuukka Rask's Take over of the No. 1 Goalie Role Is Delayed

One of the most interesting story lines that will unfold this season in Boston is how will Tuukka Rask handle the starting job.

Even though there's no rush to see him play since Rask is only 25 years old, whether he will shine as the No. 1 goaltender is a question the Bruins probably want answered sooner rather than later.

One positive impact of a shortened season is it would give him more time to strengthen his body following the abdomen injury he suffered in March.

After serving as a backup for the majority of the last two seasons, Rask is probably excited about getting started as soon as possible.

A Shortened Season Schedule Could Affect Bruins' Travel in New Year

Of the 36 games the Bruins will play before New Year's Day, 22 of them are at home, which is more than half the amount of home games (41) for the entire season. In the final 46 games, the Bruins will play just 19 at home.

Boston is not a bad team away from TD Garden, and did have more road wins (25) than home wins (24) last year.

If there is a shortened season, expect the NHL to change the schedule so each team has a fair amount of home and away games. The NBA made changes to its normal 82-game schedule last year when the season began almost two months late due to a lockout.

An altered schedule could result in the Bruins having a more favorable schedule regarding the number of home games in the second half. Right now, they have just one homestand longer than three games from January through the end of the regular season. However, a condensed schedule for a shortened season may change that.

It's impossible to know what an adjusted schedule would look like, but it's possible that it could result in the Bruins traveling less during the second half of the year than they would under the current 82-game schedule.

Stanley Cup Season Gone?

During the last lockout in 2005, the Bruins were not one of the upper-echelon teams in the league. In the NHL's first season back after an entire year was lost, Boston was among the worst teams in the league.

Trading captain Joe Thornton helped the Bruins finish with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference during the 2005-06 season. As a result, they held the fifth pick in the 2006 draft. Boston used the pick to draft forward Phil Kessel.

This time around, the Bruins are in a much better situation. The team has an enviable mix of talented veterans and young players who are already stars.

Fans have waited a long time for a Stanley Cup contender, so having a year filled with so much promise ruined by a lockout would be a disaster.

What Will the Salary Cap Look Like?

The owners are looking for a reduced salary cap (via Darren Dreger of TSN) in their latest CBA proposal, which would be bad for the Bruins because they remain the closest team to the current cap of $70.2 million, according to Capgeek.

If the Bruins have to meet a cap that's less than $60 million, they might have to make some roster moves. Tim Thomas' $5 million cap hit could be traded, and Marc Savard's $4 million cap hit could be put on LTIR. However, if the Bruins are still over the new cap after these moves, some other tough decisions might have to be made.

Many have speculated that an amnesty buyout clause could be part of the new CBA to help teams who need cap relief, but unfortunately for the Bruins, they don't have anyone that's worthy of being amnestied. There's no point in amnestying Savard if his deal can be put on long-term injury reserve.

Zdeno Chara is the only player on the roster with a long-term contract and a relatively high cap hit, but he's obviously going nowhere.

The salary cap figure for next season and beyond is still unknown, but the Bruins could have difficult decisions to make if the cap goes down a significant amount.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins Columnist at Bleacher Report. He was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final in Boston, and has covered the Bruins since the 2010-11 season. Follow him on Twitter.

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