It’s that time of year again. Yes, that’s right.
It is midterm grade time for the Boston Bruins and class is in session with Professor Haggs handing out the report cards. The good news is that there won’t be a need for much grading on a scale given where the Bruins sit headed into February.
Coming off their bye week, the B’s are 31-9-9 headed into this weekend’s NHL All-Star festivities and have basically led wire-to-wire in the Atlantic Division again this season. So don’t expect D’s and F’s on this report card for a Black and Gold group that’s been strictly honor roll and dean’s list for the last couple of seasons.
Here are the grades for the Bruins at the traditional midway point of the NHL regular season:
David Pastrnak: On pace for 55 goals and 120 points, and he leads all NHL players with 248 shots on net. He’s also averaging almost 20 minutes of ice time a game as a forward. Jim Montgomery rides No. 88 quite a bit and he does that with good reason as Pasta stands once again as one of the shoo-in Hart Trophy candidates this season. Sure, there are some turnovers that come along in his game, but that’s going to happen when a creative player has the puck on his stick as much as he does. Grade: A.
Brad Marchand: Marchand and Pastrnak both had 11 goals in the month of January while pacing the Bruins to a higher offensive level, and Marchand is on pace for 40 goals and 79 points this season. It would be the first 40-goal season in his NHL career and just the second 30-goal season in the last five years for the 35-year-old left winger. He has also picked some big moments to score his goals and has done a great job leading this group in his first season as captain. Grade: A+.
NHL Most Points By Teammates Since 2015-16:
— Eric Friesen 🏒 (@EricJFriesen) February 1, 2024
1. Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl - 1,709
2. Brad Marchand & David Pastrnak - 1,343
3. Nikita Kucherov & Steven Stamkos - 1,336
4. Nathan MacKinnon & Mikko Rantanen - 1,321
5. Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin - 1,266 pic.twitter.com/S9WSY1e3tU
Charlie Coyle: On pace for career-high shattering numbers of 30 goals and 70 points, Coyle has taken almost 900 faceoffs to lead the Bruins and is a guy that plays in every high-leverage situation as the No. 1 center for the B’s. And he’s been a steadying leader inside the room. He’s the single biggest reason this hockey club has still managed to thrive with Bergeron and Krejci gone. Now he simply needs to maintain it in the second half. Grade: A+.
Charlie McAvoy: The Bruins defenseman had a rough month of November, and it was reflected in a big dip in the team’s play around Thanksgiving. But he’s been excellent since then and finished January as a plus-17 while bouncing back from a tough stretch that followed his suspension early in the year. The 12 goals and 55 points along with a plus-22 he’s pacing for would be excellent season-ending numbers while averaging close to 25 minutes of ice time per game. Grade: A-.
James van Riemsdyk: He’s only on pace for 13 goals, but the 52 points is solid production and he’s been very good in terms of a net-front presence and a veteran forward who knows what to do with the puck offensively. He’s also managed to stay healthy, which has been excellent too. JVR is a much better passer than I had realized at his other stops around the NHL and has been outstanding value for the $1 million contract that he signed. A few more goals in the second half of the season would make him the perfect bargain free-agent signing. Grade: B.
Pavel Zacha: Pavel Zacha has been solid, but he has not been quite as able to step into the void as Coyle has done so masterfully this season. Zacha is on pace for 17 goals and 50 points and he’s been moved off center at times in favor of other options. He hasn’t been bad by any means, but the feeling here is there’s another level that Zacha can get to in the second half of the year. Grade: B-.
Trent Frederic: On pace for 20-plus goals and 50 points, Frederic has gained the trust of the coaching staff and is driving NHL lines with his play for the first time in his NHL career. That’s seen him get more looks at the center position as well. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Frederic is producing, playing a physical brand of hockey and looking like a player that’s going to be a bigger factor in the playoffs. He’ll need to maintain his level of play, obviously, but it feels like he’s taken the next step. Grade: A-.
KIDS: This is what effort looks like.
— Topher Scott (@HockeyThinkTank) January 16, 2024
Trent Frederic down 6v5 blocks the shot off the lost faceoff - creates the turnover - and then check out the effort to win the race for the goal. There's a reason Boston LOVES this kid, and this is why. pic.twitter.com/Kwo0m5SPhc
Jake DeBrusk: After a dreadful first few months where nothing was going in, DeBrusk finds himself on pace for 20 goals and 42 points with the strong possibility he’ll go higher with a more productive second half. He’s been excellent since the holiday break and seems to have finally put the contract stuff in the back of his mind. He’s also become an effective penalty killer. There are still flaws to his game, obviously, but his offense is a key to Boston winning games these days. Just look at their record when he gets a point or scores a goal. Grade: C+.
Morgan Geekie: The 25-year-old is on pace for career highs in goals (13) and points (38) and has shown an ability to excel in a top-6 role in addition to playing in a more workmanlike bottom-6 role. His size, strength and second-and-third effort to make offensive plays happen could become an even bigger factor in the postseason. He was another good under-the-radar free agent signing by the Bruins. Grade: B.
Hampus Lindholm: It was not a great first half for Hampus Lindholm, but he seems to be finding his game at the right time of year. He did have one rough third period in a home loss right before the NHL All-Star break but has 10 assists and a plus-14 in 14 games during the month of January. And the overall numbers look more in line with his career in Anaheim, if not last season’s breakout campaign in Boston. It feels like the uptick in play from players up front has allowed Lindholm to become more of the player we saw last season on the back end. Grade: C.
Danton Heinen: First, let’s say this: Heinen is absolutely a better and more noticeable player than he was when he was in Boston previously. I don’t know what it says about Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy that Heinen has almost as many shots on net as them while consistently filling a bottom-6 role, but it says a lot of good things about the versatile forward. Another great value addition by Bruins management. Grade: B+.
Matt Poitras: The 19-year-old exceeded all expectations when he made the NHL team at the beginning of the year with Boston really in need of somebody to step up at the center position. Certainly, he’s put himself on the NHL map at this point and confirmed his status as one of the best prospects in hockey while playing for Team Canada at the World Junior tournament. It feels like things have caught up with him as the action has become more intense in the second half of the year. Perhaps, then, he isn’t going to be much of a factor down the stretch. But that’s okay. Poitras has already made a big step forward as a playmaking center with tons of skill and creativity, who may just have to keep working at the skating game to get things to the next level. Grade: B.
Kevin Shattenkirk: It took the veteran defenseman a little time to get acquainted with a new system in Boston, but he has been solid as a third pair puck mover that can play up at times of need. The eight goals and 22 points are good production from the back end even if some of the defensive shortcomings (minus-4) in his game are unavoidable as well. For the money, he’s been an excellent addition and gives the Bruins an experienced option to run the point on the power play as well. Grade: C+.
Brandon Carlo: One of the NHL league leaders with a plus-23 on the season, Carlo has been able to kick in offensively while being his usual strong self on the PK and as a shutdown guy ready to kill off plays in the D-zone. And he’s added a little more nasty to his game since coming back from injury, which is a needed ingredient on a team that requires more of that when the temperature goes up in the playoffs. Grade: A-.
Johnny Beecher: He had five goals, was good on faceoffs and had been a regular on the penalty kill, but he was sent down to Providence a few weeks ago because he simply wasn’t enough of a factor in NHL games. The 27 shots on net in 39 games along with the minus-6 rating tell the story of a talented player that might still have some developing to do within his game. The Bruins need more of everything from him when he gets back up from Providence. Grade: C+.
Matt Grzelcyk: He was once a top-4 defenseman and an ace puck mover that was a fixture in Boston’s lineup. Now he’s become a player who bounces around a bit and is logging just 17:44 of ice time per game. The numbers aren’t bad for Gryz, but it feels like he hasn’t played as consistently well as he did in the past. Perhaps injuries are a factor. A little more turnover-prone and a little less able to come up with significant plays for the B’s. It feels like we are watching his final days in Boston, and that’s too bad for such a good player and person. Grade: C-.
Jakub Lauko: He finally got on the board with a few goals and the energy has been there enough of the time. Now it’s about building himself up into being more of a contributor and perhaps building some penalty kill work among other things into his repertoire. He could be fun to watch in the playoffs if he can really begin to stir things up in the right way. And there is more offense in there than he’s shown this season. Grade: B.
Mason Lohrei: It’s obvious watching Lohrei that he’s got some offensive gifts with his skill set and creative mind, and he’s got the size to aid him in the NHL battles. But he also clearly has some things to work on in Providence, so the hope is that the B’s can stay healthy on the back end and let him develop a bit more at the AHL level before being forced to call on him again. Grade: C
Oskar Steen: One point and a minus-2 in 30 games with just 22 shots on net. Steen has been okay and certainly the fourth line hasn’t been a problem on the ice, but they also aren’t able to play well enough to adequately rest the top-9 nine guys. That was especially true when it was Lauko, Beecher and Steen where they really missed the expected presence of Milan Lucic in a big way. This is a place where the B’s could use an upgrade at the trade deadline. Grade: D.
Derek Forbort: Forbort has been in and out of the lineup with a lower-body issue but was a plus-12 averaging over 18 minutes of ice time while playing big roles on the penalty kill and as a heavy guy in the defensive zone. It was a concern to see him go out again just before the All-Star break after taking a month to allow things to heal up, and again this may be an area where the Bruins look to upgrade the deadline with another big, nasty defenseman. Grade: B-.
Parker Wotherspoon: Full credit to the 26-year-old defenseman for stepping up and carving out a spot for himself with the Bruins this season. Three assists, a plus-3 and 17:20 of ice time don’t tell the story of a hardnosed player that’s provided value to Boston, and truthfully would probably be picked up on waivers by somebody if the B’s tried to send him back down to the AHL. He will be valuable depth come playoff time once the attrition starts during the postseason, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a future for him in Boston as an affordable D-man. Grade: B.
Linus Ullmark: Ullmark has been very good this season. A 15-6-2 record with a 2.78 goals against average and .915 save percentage while the B’s goaltending has the undeniable No. 1 strength and backbone of the team. But he’s also been a tick below where he was last season in winning the Vezina Trophy while Jeremy Swayman has upped his game to a noticeable degree. And that was before getting hurt last month. Grade: B+.
Jeremy Swayman: A 16-3-7 record for Swayman while excelling in a number of big spots and going through a stretch where he played straight through for a couple of weeks while Ullmark was out with a lower-body injury. Swayman is another one of the biggest factors behind Boston’s great start. He has deserved his All-Star nod while sitting top-3 in the NHL in goals against average (2.30) and save percentage (.924). It feels like we are on the verge of Swayman seizing the Boston net for a much more substantial role this season and beyond. Grade: A.
Jim Montgomery: One could make a very valid argument that Montgomery deserves the Jack Adams more this season than he did when he won it last year. He was pushing this team hard earlier in the season to play a connected, better brand of hockey and that was happened in the last month. I still wonder if his tendency to ride his best players a little too much is going to be a problem come playoff-time, but you can’t argue with the crazy winning percentage since Monty has come to Boston. Or anywhere, really.
Jim Montgomery...
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) April 10, 2023
Coached the Boston Bruins to the most wins in an NHL season (63)
Coached the Dubuque Fighting Saints to the most points by a team in a USHL season (98)
Captained Maine to the most wins by a team in a single season in the NCAA (42)
The real question will be how he handles the playoffs this time around after it was not his shining moment last spring. Grade: A.
Don Sweeney: The Bruins faced a daunting task with Patrice Bergeron retiring as the leader, both on the ice and spiritually, and David Krejci moving on as well. Beyond that they were also hit with big-time salary cap complications that forced them to trade Taylor Hall for pennies on the dollar. Then Sweeney signed Kevin Shattenkirk and James van Riemsdyk to bargain deals, bought low on Morgan Geekie in free agency and brought in Danton Heinen on a tryout that’s worked out extremely well. The Milan Lucic reunion obviously did not work and that’s left a big hole on the fourth line, but the Bruins can’t really be blamed on that one. There’s still a big test to pass at the NHL trade deadline, but that’s an area where the B’s front office has excelled as of late. Grade. A-.
Cam Neely: The Centennial season and the way it’s been pulled off has been such a shining moment for the Boston Bruins organization and all the TD Garden/Delaware North folks. They’ve reached out and made everybody within the Bruins family feel like they are a part of it.
My time in Boston was short, but I truly loved playing for such a first class organization. My family and I enjoyed every second, and made so many great friends/memories in the city. Thank you @NHLBruins for this special gift! pic.twitter.com/qHbZnodisf
— John-Michael Liles (@hoosierjm26) January 22, 2024
It’s a credit to Cam, Charlie Jacobs and all the people that work on Causeway Street that everybody, big and small, that’s touched the B’s organization over the last 100 years has been honored in some kind of way. That is no easy task, but the Bruins have accomplished it all with class. Grade: A.
