Took a few days to digest that there will be no more Bruin hockey till October . That sucks but it is the way of things . So time to assess the line up and performance over the course of this year and into the playoffs. The format will be a grade out of 10. Based on expectations and how the season plus playoff went for each player .
Goalies : Tuukka Rask 7.5 ( Rask fought through a torn Labrum) had moments of his Vezina self but it was clear the injury hampered him , especially as the playoffs went on . Jaro Halak - 6 : Halak had real consistency issues and then got Covid which derailed his year . Jeremy Swayman - 8 : The rookie goalie surprised everyone with his excellent play. Small sample size but he looked promising. Dan Vlader - 6 : Another rookie called into duty because of injury and Covid . He looked decent but is too busy in the crease .
Overall Rank : 6.8 Assessment - In general the goaltending was solid but not as good as it has been hampered by Rask injury .
Forwards : David Pastrnak 8.5 - His season started well and then inconsistency set in and he struggled to find his scoring touch but as the season ended and playoffs started , he was Pasta again . Patrice Bergeron 8.5 - Bergy had another great season and was solid throughout playoffs. Brad Marchand 9.5 - Brad once again had a great campaign and his consistency and compete level helped carry this team . David Krecji 7- Krecji started the season slow but once he had real wingers to play with , really picked up. Craig Smith 6.5 - Smith had a decent campaign regular season and playoffs but in the Islanders series was hampered by a groin injury . Taylor Hall 6.5 : Hall was the big trade get and although he started out really well . his playoff play trailed off and he struggled against the Islanders . Charlie Coyle - 4 - Coyle's season was one of inconsistency and a failure to find any real offense. Nothing changed in the playoffs . Jake DeBrusk - 4 : Much like Coyle , his was a season of failed potential and lack of consistency and playoffs where no different either. Nick Richie- 5.5 : Richie had a surprising regular season but really fell off in the playoffs . Sean Kuraly 4 - Kuralys season was a dud . He struggled in pretty much every aspect of the game . Chris Wagner - 4 : Much like Kuraly , Wagner was never able to find his game . Curtis Lazar 5 - Lazar had a small sample size being a late to the line up with the trade with Buffalo but did help get the 4th line to find some traction. Karson Kuhlman - 5 : Kulhman is a spare part and provides energy but has zero scoring touch.
Overall Rank : 6 Assessment - Bottom line once again , this team offensively is led by one line and without them , this team would be a lottery team . Krecji is solid and it looked promising entering the playoffs but that 2nd line tailed off too sharply and it killed the Bruins against the Islanders . Add that with the utter bust that the bottom 6 was , an early exit really wasn't surprising
Defense : Charlie McAvoy 9 : This is McAvoy's D now with Big Z gone and he completely met expectations. Solid season and playoff . Matt Grzelcyk 7 : Matt had a solid year , hampered by injury . Playoffs were a bit rough especially the last 2 games. Brandon Carlo 7.5 : Carlo had another injury filled season but had a solid run while in the line up. His absence in the last 3 games against the Islanders was really felt. Mike Reilly 6 : Reilly was a trade acquisition and a solid get. But some of his playoff play against the Islanders was less than solid. Conner Clifton 6 : Conner is solid when he plays within himself and his abilities but was exposed a few times in the playoffs . Kevan Miller 7 : Miller was very effective while in the line up and added toughness and solid penalty kill skills . Losing him for the full Islanders series hurt the Bruins. Jeremy Lauzon 6 : Lauzon was steady in the regular season but his hand injury impacted him in the playoffs. Jarred Tinordi 6 : As a 7th D , Tinordi offered basic solid play and was a decent pick up for the Bruins
Overall Rank : 6.8 Assessment - The D when it was healthy and all slotted in properly , was quite solid but the injuries to Miller and Carlo in the playoffs exposed the drop off and the islanders took full advantage .
Coaching : 8 Cassidy is a very solid coach , who gets the game and understands it . But he struggled to make adjustments against the Islanders and it hurt . I also think he has over relied on certain players and failed to find ways get certain players going. To use one example , DeBrusk . He had a rough year . However Cassidy continued to play him mostly on his off wing on the right which he struggles with. Many players around the league struggle when moved to a position they are not used to . Plus in my eyes , DeBrusk become his whipping boy and he allowed other players like Coyle especially to barely be called out. It was clear he was outcoached by Trotz against the Islanders . But having said that , the Bruins are still in good hands with Bruce behind the bench .
GM : 6 Sweeney gets a 6 only because of the Hall trade . That probably helped the Bruins make the playoffs. However beyond that , I'm no fan and his resource management in my opinion has been weak. The core is close to being dismantled and could be this year if Krecji and Rask are gone with Z and Krug last year . He has failed to draft well outside of McAvoy and Carlo , has had more misses with trades and free agent signings then impact players . The disaster of the 2015 draft is haunting this team now and unless DeBrusk can find his game again , it looms like a albatross. Krecji has played for years without proper wingers and with the Hall trade it looked promising but it fell off the cliff in the 2nd round . The Bruins rank near the bottom of the league in the prospect pool and unless a few diamonds in the rough emerge, the Bruins could be in for a massive drop off once Brad and Bergy begin to decline . If I was in charge , he would be released and I would look for a new set of eyes to begin a retool . The team is still capable of pushing for one more cup with Brad and Bergy , but I do not think Sweeney is the man that can bring that home.
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