Although it doesn’t seem like much time has passed since the season ended, the 2013-14 season is upon us and our beloved Bruins are back on the ice tonight. With that said, now seems like as good a time as ever to pose some questions that we can revisit later in the season.

1. Can the New Guys Step Up to the Table?

Jarome Iginla looked solid during the preseason, but whether or not he can he fill Nathan Horton’s clutch shoes for the entire season remains to be seen. With Horton’s injury history and Iginla’s reputation as an iron man, I’m thinking that the Bruins will be happy they aren’t the ones forking over $5+ mill per year to Horton for the next 7 years.

I’d be lying if I said I know a ton about Loui Eriksson, but I love what I’ve seen from him so far. We all know that he has a reputation as a solid two-way guy who has decent offensive skills, but what else is he? It will be interesting to see how his offensive skill set fits with this team, because I think he has the ability to be a perennial 30+ goal guy with the talent that will be surrounding him here in Boston. That overtime game winning goal he scored the other night was pure filth, and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more of that as the season unfolds. Obviously Tyler Seguin has the ability to become an otherworldly talent, but Eriksson is clearly the better, and more complete, player right now.

2. Who is Torey Krug?

By now everyone knows the Torey Krug story: hardworking, overachieving, undersized, and undrafted. Krug arrived on the scene like he was fired out of a cannon during last years Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers, but he still only has 5 regular season games under his belt so it will be interesting to see if he can maintain that magic for an entire 82 game season plus the playoffs. It looks like he has picked up right where he left off, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

3. Stanley Cup Hangover?

I’ve been pretending that the Stanley Cup never happened so this one is hard for me to address, but it’s worth noting that the last 4 Stanley Cup losers have all failed to match the success they had in their previous season. Will the Bruins be the outlier? Zdeno Chara said that this is the best team that they’ve had since he got here, so I’m hoping that these guys will be able to overcome the stink that comes from losing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

4. Is this Really the Most Talented Team in Chara’s Tenure?

I just mentioned that Chara said this is the most talented roster that the Bruins have assembled since he arrived in Boston. Granted, he said this in front of a large crowd of fans during yesterdays “takeoff party,” so I’ll take it with a grain of salt. Is he right though? If I’m being honest, I have to mention that I let out an audible gasp when he said it, and I don’t think I was the only one. With that said, I thought about it overnight, and I have to say that this team will be a legitimate force if Iginla and Eriksson live up to my lofty expectations.

5. Will Tuukka Rask and Patrice Bergeron Live Up to their Monster Contracts?

Not much to say on this one. I think Bergeron will be the same guy we’ve seen here over the past 11 years. I’m a little bit more worried about Rask, but that’s not to say that I expect him to rest on his laurels now that he’s been paid. It’s just that goaltender seems to be such an unpredictable position. In the end, I think both players will be unfazed by their new paychecks.