In a perfect scenario, Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t have to split up the partnership of Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk on Boston’s top D pair.
Be it the chemistry both blueliners forged after years spent together at Warrior Ice Arena or at T. Anthony’s on Comm Ave — or how their natural puck-moving talents complement one another — McAvoy and Grzelcyk are a 5v5 buzzsaw when they’re patrolling the blue line on the same shift.
And that’s not hyperbole. Grzelcyk-McAvoy have absolutely diced up opponents during 5v5 action — and not just during the extended reps they received during the 2020-21 campaign.
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Grzelcyk-McAvoy pairing has logged 808:16 of 5v5 ice time. And during that sizable stretch of ice time, the Bruins have held commanding leads in …
Shots on goal: 501-303
High-danger scoring chances: 170-104
Goals scored: 42-26
Sheesh.
Turns out keeping the Bergeron Line with a Grzelcyk-McAvoy pairing leads to some pretty promising shifts:
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 20, 2021
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So, given that extended track record of tilting ice in Boston’s favor when they’re out on the ice together, what might preclude Bruce Cassidy from keeping the Grzelcyk-McAvoy grouping intact?
Well, for as lethal as that tandem might be, Grzelcyk earning the call up to the top pair has regularly triggered a devastating domino effect further down on the depth chart.
After some solid returns last season over a small sample size, Boston’s second D pair of Mike Reilly and Brandon Carlo hasn’t met Cassidy’s expectations — with the B’s outscored, 2-1, over their 64:48 of 5v5 ice time.
The results on the third D pair, meanwhile, are downright poor when Derek Forbort has been logging shifts with Connor Clifton. In just 33:30 of 5v5 ice time, the Forbort-Clifton duo has been out on the ice for five goals against — with that 7.32 goals against per 60 minutes rate ranking as the second-worst among all NHL D pairs so far this season (min. 30 minutes together).
So, sure — as dominant as Grzelcyk-McAvoy are, Cassidy and the Bruins are not in the position to just regularly roll those two out there at the expense of the rest of a D corps currently laboring with a slew of weak links.
So, what’s the solution — at least in the short term?
Plenty of minutes for Grzelcyk, it seems. Just not a whole lot with the same set partner, night in and night out.
We’ve combed over both the strengths and flaws in Grzelcyk’s game countless times on this site. But beyond his puck-moving prowess and transition capabilities, Grzelcyk’s versatility is also making things considerably easier for Cassidy and his staff when it comes to putting out fires across the lineup.
For as much as repetition and carving out set roles are preached by players as key components when it comes to settling into a groove, Grzelcyk has developed a knack for catering his abilities to whatever role or combination Cassidy charts out for him over the course of a game.
Of course, most players would prefer not to be riding the depth-chart carousel and instead have the peace of mind to know where their name is going to be penciled into the lineup on a regular basis.
But Cassidy hasn’t found many qualms from Grzelcyk in that regard.
“They'd probably want that set, defined - 'Hey, I'm with this guy — that's my spot' and there are players like that and you try to work them into their comfort zone as well,” Cassidy said of moving players around the lineup. “(Grzelcyk’s) just not one of them — it's nice to have a guy like that, that's been in the league and understands no matter what, he's probably playing 18 to 20 (minutes).
“When he gets above that, it's a long night for him over the course of 82 games — so whether he's on the third pair or first pair, he's gonna get his power-play minutes, some penalty kill, offensive zone situations — that doesn't change. So he's still getting his minutes.”
Boston arguably has one of the top D pairs in the game when Grzelcyk-McAvoy are deployed, but that doesn’t necessarily do the B’s any good if both the second and third D pairs are getting hemmed in and scored against in the process.
As such, Grzelcyk has been utilized as more of a Swiss Army Knife across Boston’s blue line — earning shifts with McAvoy when the situation arises for a timely goal, but also stabilizing both Carlo and Clifton when bumped further down in the lineup.
The results have been encouraging on the third pairing, where a Grzelcyk-Clifton grouping has not given up a goal in their brief 13:40 of 5v5 ice time together — with Boston holding a 14-4 edge in shots on goal during that stretch.
Grzelcyk’s reps with Carlo aren’t as flashy (Boston outscored, 2-0), but they’ve also had some bad puck luck along the way — with the duo posting an expected goals against rate of just 0.77 during their 31:28 of ice time together.
As of right now, it looks as though Grzelcyk will earn a few more looks with Carlo on that second pairing, much as he did to start Saturday’s game against the Panthers. But that doesn’t mean he won’t earn a solid chunk of minutes with McAvoy with the situation calls for it, as he also skated on the top pair for 3:51 of 5v5 ice time on Saturday.
"I think Carlo likes playing with him. I think most guys that are bigger-body guys (like) a partner that can put out some fires with his feet, hockey sense and his hands," Cassidy said of Grzelcyk. "They had a good partnership couple of years ago so I think that's one we got to look at. We tried Reilly — obviously, we can go back and forth.
“But we as a staff appreciate when Grizz can do that and not miss a beat — just make the pair better by doing what you do. So far it's worked out. He complements Charlie. Obviously, Charlie makes the pair better, too, and Brandon does his fair share of defensive work when he's with Grizz. But that's Grizz. We knew that. He can certainly complement lots of different types of players.”
Grzelcyk’s baseline numbers this season (0 points through seven games) may not wow the masses, but his impact has been evident via the eye test (where his breakout talents are still leaned upon heavily) and the underlying metrics.
(Whichever way you slice it, the Bruins' 5v5 offense surges — and opponents' shot rates tank — whenever Grzelcyk is on the ice.)
And even though versatility is a trait that’s a bit tougher to assess via tangible stats, Cassidy and the Bruins have seen firsthand how a player with an amorphous role like Grzelcyk can help this reworked D corps navigate through some choppy waters.
“I think he's got a good temperament and demeanor,” Cassidy said. “He's not a guy that's knocking on your door the day he's moved off or something, either. He's a Bruin, right?
"He's team-first, so I think those two things — his hockey IQ and his professionalism of just playing his own game no matter who he's with. ... He's not trying to change anything just because he's playing with a different partner."
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick and HockeyViz.