It has been an interesting season for the Boston Bruins. They’re currently first in the Atlantic Division and have the most points of any team in the NHL (97 with the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Rangers right behind them with 94). They’re not on the same historic pace as they were in 2022-23, but it has certainly been a good season for the team despite several hiccups and concerns lingering as the playoffs get closer and closer.
One of the big factors that has been fueling the Bruins’ success this season has been the career years a number of players are having. The team has received help from up and down the lineup. With 12 games still to go in the season, a number of guys have already surpassed previous career highs in either points, goals, or both. Others are likely to follow in the final stretch of the regular season.
It’s a testament to the guys on the roster this season who stepped up in light of the retirement of two of the Bruins’ top players, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci last season. With little cap space, the front office wasn’t able to bring in big names to replace them, relying on roster stalwarts and new guys brought in on cheap contracts to step up and do their part. The team is where it is today in part because of these guys.
Charlie Coyle
One cannot talk about the 2023-24 season without talking about Charlie Coyle . In only 69 games so far, he has already set a career-high in goals for a season with 23 and is only two points away from surpassing his career-high in total points (56). What makes it remarkable is that his previous career high in goals (21) came in the 2015-16 season and points (56) came in the 2016-17 season when he was still playing with the Minnesota Wild.
Charlie Coyle turned 32 this month but is surpassing marks he set for himself as a 24 and 25-year-old. He was one of the few players that stood out in my opinion in the disastrous 2023 Postseason and he carried that momentum into a career year in 2023-24. He’s on pace for 64 points in 82 games, meaning it’s pretty reasonable at this point to believe that he will surpass the 60-point mark for the first time in his career, which is a pretty significant threshold.
Coyle has been a huge contributor to the team’s success this season and it cannot be overstated enough. He will be someone the team will rely on to get out of the first round when the postseason starts.
Trent Frederic
After a career year last season, Trent Frederic has surpassed his previous high in points once again in 2023-24 and has matched his total in goals. The former first-round selection has always been a physical player in the NHL, gaining a reputation for his big hits and willingness to throw his 6-foot-3 frame around the ice.
But since the second half of last season, Frederic’s offensive skills have finally broken through. He finished 2022-23 with 17 goals and 31 points. For 2023-24, he has 17 goals and 37 points in 69 games and is on pace to reach 43 points, putting him over 40 points in a season for the first time in his career. Like Coyle, this is another big threshold for him to hit.
Frederic is a momentum swinger, and could be a big factor in the playoffs this season. He’s found his success playing primarily on the third line, and the third line can often be the difference maker between a team that makes a deep playoff run and one that gets bounced early. He’s shown to have great chemistry with Morgan Geekie, who currently centers the third line, and with Coyle.
Morgan Geekie
As mentioned above, Geekie is currently centering the third line and is playing better than I believe anyone expected when he was signed to a two-year deal at the start of free agency last summer. Like Frederic, he set career highs in 2022-23 while playing with the Seattle Kraken, and with several games to go, he’s already surpassed marks in all three categories (goals, assists, and points).
Last season, Geekie had nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 69 games. In 2023-24 so far, he has 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 64 games. He, like Frederic, should surpass the 40-point mark for the first time in his career. He’s doing all of this on a pretty bargain contract that only carries an average annual value (AAV) of $2 million.
Geekie has been the exact player the Bruins needed in order to succeed this season. He’s a guy on a cheap contract, who is playing well above what was expected of him, and the impact has been clear as day.
Bruins to Watch in the Final Stretch
Three additional names haven’t yet set career highs, but could in the final stretch of the regular season. They are Pavel Zacha, Brandon Carlo, and Jeremy Swayman.
Like several of the guys mentioned, Zacha came into 2023-24 off of a career year, his first one in Boston after being traded from the New Jersey Devils. Last season, he had 21 goals, 36 assists, and 57 points in 82 games. Right now, he is currently sitting at 17 goals, 30 assists, and 47 points in 66 games. With 12 games to go, it is possible that he could match or surpass any of those marks from 2022-23. Even if he doesn’t, this has still been a remarkable year for him as he’s adjusted to being the top center on the team in the wake of Bergeron’s retirement.
Offense has never been at the forefront of Carlo’s game. Still, he has four goals, 10 assists, and 14 points in 65 games so far. His career high in goals is six from the 2021-22 season and his career high in total points is 19 from the 2019-20 season. Again, with 12 games to go, it is possible he could surpass either of those marks. Overall, beyond the points, this has been a fantastic season for him. He’s averaging 20 minutes of ice time a night and has registered 115 blocks, only one off of his career-high 116 from last season.
There is an argument that could be made for Swayman to be a Vezina finalist this year. He and Linus Ullmark continue to be the best goaltending tandem in the NHL. He has 22 wins under his belt this season and should surpass his career-high 24, which was set last season. He has a .917 save percentage, not far off his career-best .914% from the 2021-22 season. When all is said and done, he should have some new career highs.
Honorable Mentions
While this hasn’t necessarily been a career year for James van Riemsdyk, it has certainly been a pretty remarkable bounce-back season. At 34 (turning 35 this May), there was never an expectation that he would hit the career highs from 10 years ago when he had 30 goals and 61 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But, after a fairly disappointing 2022-23 season with the Philadelphia Flyers that say only 11 goals and 29 points in 61 games, the fact that he has 38 points on the season is pretty remarkable. Paired with the fact he signed a one-year, $1 million deal, he has far exceeded expectations.
Also, an honorable mention should be given to Parker Wotherspoon, who has performed well in a limited role on defense. Prior to this season, he had only appeared in 12 NHL games for the New York Islanders and had one assist in that time. In 34 games with the Bruins this season, he has seven assists and has brought a great physicality to the game.
Career Years Propelling Bruins to Playoffs
For the second season in a row, the Bruins have exceeded expectations, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the great play of so many guys, not just the ones having career seasons. With 12 games to go, the focus is certainly turning to the playoffs and putting last year’s disappointment behind them.
With a quiet trade deadline, it will be guys like Coyle, Geekie, and Frederic, the ones having career years, that could be a difference maker when the playoffs come. The elite guys like David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy, will have most of the focus and attention, but these guys could be the ones that really help propel the team into a deep playoff run.
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