The Boston Bruins are preparing for a hockey season without Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for the first time in nearly two decades — and veteran center Charlie Coyle is ready for the challenge.

“They're world-class players and we're going to miss them,” Coyle said on a recent appearance on WEEI's The Gresh & Fauria Show.

“We all wish they could play. But those are job opportunities right now, right? That gets me fired up, it only gets our team fired up. It's a team effort. I like our team. If we need to claw our way a little more this year, so be it. That's going to help us in the long run come playoff time.”

The Bruins will certainly feel the losses of Bergeron and Krejci, especially down the middle; it will be up to Coyle to effectively step into a top-six center role in 2023-24 if the team hopes to have success.

The 31-year-old expects a completely different season both on and off the ice without their two longtime leaders.

“We want to solidify that culture that those guys brought,” Coyle continued. “That's why our organization – our team – is good, because of that culture. So when those guys are gone, how do we emulate that? You can't replace those guys individually, but we can all put our hand in and make sure we pull the rope a little more.”

Coyle has spent the past five seasons with the Bruins, scoring 16 goals and 45 points in 82 games last year, while averaging almost 17 minutes of ice time per game. That is sure to increase as he steps into an expanded role in 2023-24.

It will be a completely new-look team in Massachusetts after the departures of Bergeron and Krejci, and a huge hole to fill. Bergeron is a six-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's top defensive forward, and he amassed 1,040 points in 1,294 career regular season contests.

David Krejci played 16 seasons in Beantown and enjoyed his ninth career 50-point campaign in 2022-23.

“It was fun, every day we came to the rink we had such a blast. It felt like we barely lost. It was a very special team,” Charlie Coyle said about the historic 2022-23 Bruins' season.

“Of course, our end goal, we didn't meet that. We've gotta use that as fuel to fire us, and I think we are.”