Sturm

During an offseason full of free-agent signings and trades all around the league, including in Boston, it was easy to overlook one addition the Bruins will be making without swinging a deal.

Winger Marco Sturm will be back to pursue his elusive target of 30 goals again this season after knee surgery cut short his season after just 19 games. Sturm has been skating full-stride without any limitations for a couple weeks and today went through some light drills at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass.

He’s obviously looking forward to the arrival of more of his teammates after skating with just Shawn Thornton, Tuukka Rask and Kevin Regan today.

“It’s not a lot of fun out there, especially with Thornty,” said the German winger with a smirk and a nod at his good friend.

Offseason tidbit: Sturm split his offseason between Boston and Germany as usual. While he didn’t attend Germany’s Olympic orientation camp for insurance reasons, he said he plans to play for his homeland in Vancouver in February.

Position battle: Sturm will have all of training camp to shake off the rust of not playing in a game since last December and barring any setbacks will be ensconced on one of the Bruins’ top two lines. Whether he renews his chemistry with center Patrice Bergeron or tries his luck with Marc Savard will be the biggest thing determined. Sturm will also compete with Mark Recchi for time on the first power-play unit.

Projection: The combination of turning 31 next week and the effects of the knee surgery could cause Sturm to lose a half a step or so. If he’s unable to turn on the burners as high as he once could, he’ll have to get his nose a little dirtier in order to provide the Bruins with his required amount of goals. Twenty-five goals should be a target minimum for the speedster.