Miriam Asks:

“Speaking of Bruno, do you think he’ll be staying or is there a good chance that Berard will squeak in and send Bruno back to Bridgeport?”

That is a tough question, Miriam.

In my opinion, the Isles defense needs to do one of two things for them to be successful this season and both of them have to do with Gervais in some way or another.

One is let Campoli or Martinek play the power play and let the use the offensive skills they have and stick with them. Both of these guys are very talented offensively and because of injury or issues with playing time, never got the chance to really develop into the 30-point d-man the team needed to compliment Marc-Andre Bergeron and Tom Poti. I don’t know how you feel Miriam, but I was spoiled with guys like Kenny Jonsson, Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik for a few years and I like having a few talented offensive d-men available.

If they give these guys a shot, they can produce offensively and in that case, I’d say let’s keep Gervais on the big club because then you’d have a need for a solid defensive D-man and I think that’s the role Gervais can fill.

However, if they don’t feel comfortable with either one of them, I’d say they’d have to give Berard a shot, which would be option two. Gervais has a two-way contract and Berard is obviously making his case to join the team. If you ask me, Berard’s presence on the power play could be huge for this team, granted he also plays the defense he played a few years ago with the Rangers.

If he shows any glimpse of being a completely one-way player, then you have to throw Bruno in there. The kid’s too good of a skater and has too much promise to languish in the minors again this season.

With that being said, I can’t shake the possibility of seeing Berard come back strong and score 45 points and score a dozen goals. The Isles need offense from the blue line and if he’s healthy, Berard will have a solid season and will make Bergeron that much more dangerous.

We saw last year that Bergeron’s shot gets him into as much trouble as it helps the team, as several times he’s lost his footing a cost the team opportunities and given the opposition short handed chances. With Berard there, the defense will have to watch the both of them and will give Bergeron some more room to take his shot and more of a chance to get back on defense.

But I still haven’t answered your question yet.

Will I think Bruno will stay?

If Berard is healthy and playing the way he’s supposed to, then I don’t think so. However, at this point in camp Berard hasn’t established himself yet and Gervais was wearing the A a few games ago.

Not a good sign for Berard if you ask me.

And like I said, someone needs to step up and provide some offense or Bruno may find himself a leader in Bridgeport, waiting for a phone call.

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