Grading the Bruins at the All-Star Break
Season success is being carried by just a handful of players
As the Boston Bruins hit the All-Star Break, they are sitting on top of the standings in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. After the roster turnover from last season following the stunning first-round elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers, it’s surprising to see them in their current position 49 games into the 2023-24 season.
David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman will be heading to Toronto for All-Star Weekend while the rest of their teammates will be enjoying some well-earned time off. As Boston rests in their 10-day break, it is time to hand out some grades at the All-Star Break for Boston.
Note: we will be handing out grades with a letter only, not + or -.
Grade A: David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle.
Once again, Pastrnak is the Bruins' goal-scoring leader and is up to 33 at the break. He’ll have to go on a heater to match his total of 61 last season, but unless there’s an injury, it would be surprising to see him not finish the season with 50-plus goals. Swayman and Ullmark are once again carrying the load between the pipes and McAvoy has once again been their best defenseman. Marchand has made the transition to captain after Patrice Bergeron retired and is still producing offensively, while Coyle has slowly taken over as the Black and Gold’s top center. I still think they need to add a pivot at the trade deadline.
Grade B: James van Riemsdyk, Trent Frederic, Pavel Zacha, Brandon Carlo, Mason Lohrei, Danton Heinen.
Trent Frederic got a new deal over the summer and one of the biggest questions entering the season was whether or not he could come close to having another career season. As of now, he is. One year after setting career highs in goals (17), assists (14), and points (31), he is on pace for new career highs, and he already has it in assists with 15. It’s only a matter of time before he passes his goal and point total from last season. Zacha’s numbers are not as good as you would expect, but he has done a lot of the little things in all situations and at the faceoff dot where he’s won 53.5% of his draws so far. JVR has been better than expected, to say the least. Lohrei is NHL-ready and the case can be made that he deserves to be in the lineup over Matt Grzelcyk.
Grade C: Morgan Geekie, Jake DeBrusk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Matthew Poitras, Hampus Lindholm, Jakub Lauko, Derek Forbort, John Beecher, Parker Wortherspoon.
This group was the toughest to grade as some could have been up a grade, but all of them have had their ups and downs this season. Beecher showed at the beginning of the season that he’s a bottom-six NHL forward and was a very good penalty killer for Jim Montgomery. You hope that his confidence doesn’t take a hit with Lohrei by being sent down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). DeBrusk has been very good lately, but he went through a stretch where he struggled and you had to pay close attention to make sure he was in the lineup on some nights, which isn’t good in a contract season. Lindholm is still a top-four defenseman, but he has had his struggles. Geekie has filled in all around the lineup and Lauko has been a nice spark plug on the wing. Injuries are playing a role for Forbort, which is too bad because when he’s in the lineup, he’s been good. Again, some of these players could be up a grade and may very well end up there at the end of the season.
Grade D: Matt Grzelcyk, Oskar Steen, Jesper Boqvist.
The one name that sticks out here is Grzelcyk and honestly, this hasn’t been a great year for the Boston native. There are times he’s been a liability on the ice and the Bruins have to have concerns the closer the playoffs get after he was a scratch multiple times last season against Florida. Nothing against Steen or Boqvist as they are who they are, but Beecher deserves a spot in the lineup over them.
Incomplete: Milan Lucic.
With just a five-point lead over the Panthers at the break, the Bruins could finish either first or second in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference when the dust settles on the regular season in April. Time will tell, but Boston would be wise to take advantage of the seven-game homestand out of the break to bank as many points as possible.