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Boston Bruins 2013 season report cards: Forwards
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During the past two days, the Bruins Daily staff will be posting their individual grades for the Boston Bruins 2013 season. Yesterday, we took a look at the Bruins’ defensemen and goaltenders; today we grade the Bruins group of forwards.
Patrice Bergeron:
Regular season: 42GP 10G-22A-32Pts Plus-24
Playoffs: 22GP 9G-6A-15Pts Plus-2
Many of you know what Patrice Bergeron played through in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He is a warrior, a team player and a teammate that does anything for the betterment of the team (clearly). Bergeron is the heart and soul of this Boston Bruins team. His overall game is next to none in the National Hockey League. In 42 games in the regular season, Bergeron finished with 10 goals and 22 assists with a team leading plus-24. Typically when he is on the ice, great things happen.
During the Stanley Cup run, Bergeron was tied with teammate David Krejci for the team lead in goals with nine. He is an indispensable player who will be signing a contract extension with the Black and Gold very soon. Bergeron’s character speaks volumes of what this team is all about. He is the definition of consistency in terms of his production.
Grade: A (CC)
Gregory Campbell:
Regular season: 48GP 4G-9A-13Pts Plus-2
Playoffs: 15GP 3G-4A-7Pts Plus-7
If Gregory Campbell could wear the Army Ranger Jacket until he retires, I would allow it. This man took a blistering shot from Evgeni Malkin that broke his leg, but instead of staying down, he somehow rose to his feet and finished killing off a penalty. That is the type of player Campbell is. He is a warrior, a grinder and seems to be rattled by nothing. He may not score 15 goals per season, but what he does on the fourth line for the Boston Bruins helps make this team the deepest in the league.
Campbell could easily be a third or even second-line center on another team, but he accepts his job under Claude Julien.Campbell finished the year with four goals and nine assists in 48 games played for the Black and Gold while netting three goals and four assists in 15 games in the playoffs. He was a force in the New York Rangers series and what he did versus the Pittsburgh Penguins will go down as one of the most heroic plays in Boston sports history. Gregory Campbell, I will personally give you a stick tap for your efforts.
Grade: A- CC (Chris Chirichiello)
Kaspars Daugavins:
Regular season: 6GP 0G-1A-1Pt Minus-1
Playoffs: 6GP 0G-0A-0Pts Minus-1
Who knows how different things would have been if Daugavins was able to bury that open net goal in overtime of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Instead Daugavins was shown the dog house when he was benched by head coach Claude Julien just prior to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Daugavins was acquired by the Bruins after being placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators and really never made a splash in Boston.
Daugavins who is set to become a restricted free agent on July 5 was not tendered a qualifying offer which should indicate how the Bruins feel about Daugavins moving forward. Daugavins made it known on breakup day that he was upset with his benching in the Final, saying he “wishes the Bruins trusted him.” You shouldn’t expect Daugavins to be back in Black and Gold next season.
Grade: D- (AT)
Nathan Horton:
Regular season: 43GP 13G-9A-22Pts Plus-1
Playoffs: 22GP 7G-12A-19Pts Plus-19
After spending the last three seasons with the Boston Bruins after six straight with the Florida Panthers, Nathan Horton will don new laundry for the upcoming 2013-2014 season. A fan favorite instantly upon his arrival, Horton excelled in his three seasons on Causeway Street, but a rash of injuries(concussions, shoulder) over his final two years resulted in the amicable right-wing watching from the press box or trainers table.
Jaromir Jagr:
Regular season: 11GP 2G-7A-9Pts Plus-3
Playoffs: 22GP 0G-10A-10Pts Minus-1
After losing out on the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes at the NHL’s trade deadline, Peter Chiarelli swooped in and plucked future Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr, from the Dallas Stars. Bruins fans were never fortunate enough to see the traditional Jagr salute at the TD Garden but Jagr adjusted to Julien’s defensive structured
Chris Kelly:
Regular season: 34GP 3G-6A-9Pts Minus-8
Playoffs: 22GP 2G-1A-3Pts Minus-7
Coming off a season where he scored a career high 20 times, Kelly had one of his worst seasons of his National Hockey League career. Kelly managed just three goals in a season where he missed 14 games with a broken tibia. Kelly’s season didn’t get any better once the playoffs hit as Kelly only managed to score twice in the playoffs, albeit both of those goals came in the Stanley Cup Final.
As usual though, Kelly was excellent on the penalty kill and at the faceoff circle. Kelly won 57.9 % of his faceoffs in the regular season and 55.6 % of his playoff faceoffs. Many people expected the Bruins to use one of their buyouts on Kelly, but General Manager Peter Chiarelli has come out and said he will not be using any of his buyouts. If Kelly wants to remain a Bruin in the future he needs to pick up the offense again.
Grade: C- (AT)
David Krejci:
Regular season: 47GP 10G-23A-33Pts Plus-1
Playoffs: 22GP 9G-17A-26Pts Plus-13
Krejci had a phenomenal year for the Black and Gold from start to finish. He was inconsistent at times, but whenever the B’s needed a timely goal it seemed like Krejci was there especially in the post season.
He finished the regular season with 33 points in 47 goals while in the playoffs he elevated his game again compiling 26 points in 22 games.
His patience, skill and finishing ability is a great combination for the B’s. This top-line center is great in the face-off dot also. He will need to work on his chemistry with his TBD right-winger for the upcoming season, but Krejci should not have a problem with that.
Grade: A (CC)
Milan Lucic:
Regular season: 46GP 7G-20A-27Pts Plus-8
Playoffs: 22GP 7G-12A-19Pts Plus-12
Coming off an off-season where he became the highest-paid Bruins forward, Milan Lucic had a miserable regular season, but boy did he make up for it in the playoffs. Lucic scored just seven times while looking really slow at times. Then the playoffs came and the real Lucic came out.
Lucic equaled his goal input from the regular season in just 22 playoff games, but it was his all-around game in the playoffs that was impressive. Lucic was using his big body to win battles and set up his line-mates for some key goals. Lucic admitted that the high price tag on his game hurt him this season. If the Bruins can get a consistent Lucic in 2013-14 there will be no complaints from anyone.
Grade: B (AT)
Brad Marchand:
Regular season: 45GP 18G-18A-36Pts Plus-23
Playoffs: 22GP 4G-9A-13Pts Plus-4
It was another great year for Brad Marchand who led the team in points in the regular season with 18 goals and 18 assists. He sported a plus-23 in the process. His line (along with Bergeron and Seguin) during the regular season carried the Black and Gold at times during their win streaks. The chemistry they had together was flawless, but Claude Julien found a new home for Seguin once Jaromir Jagr came along and Seguin’s production began to plummet.
Marchand was fairly quiet in the opening round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but answered the bell ending up with four goals and nine assists including a game-winning goal against the New York Rangers. In three seasons with the Bruins, Marchand has tallied 67 goals and 66 assists with a plus-76. One can argue you always know what you will get out of the “Little Ball of Hate.”
Grade: A- (CC)
Daniel Paille:
Regular season: 46GP 10G-7A-17Pts Plus-3
Playoffs: 22GP 4G-5A-9Pts Plus-4
In his fourth season in Boston, The multifaceted Daniel Paille was called upon to fill several voids in the Bruins lineup due to injuries that crept up over the course of the season. Paille’s best season in Boston was his first in 2009-2010 which saw the speedy winger total 19 points in 74 games played. This season, easily Paille’s best, the former first-round draft pick tallied 17 points in 46 games played. If Paille could improve his hands and stick skills in the offseason, he’s more than capable of producing 20-25 goals a season.
Rich Peverley:
Regular season: 47GP 6G-12A-19Pts Minus-9
Playoffs: 21GP 2G-0A-2Pts Minus-9
Gone are the days of Rich Peverley excelling in Claude Julien’s system. There’s no hiding the fact that Peverley was easily the Bruins most disappointing player this season, who was given every opportunity to succeed this year. Julien matched Peverley with different line mates in a attempt to get the former Thrasher’s game moving in the right direction. To no avail, Peverley mustered up just 18 points in 47 games played, highlighted by a -9 rating.
Tyler Seguin:
Regular season: 48GP 16G-16A-32Pts Plus-23
Playoffs: 22GP 1G-7A-8Pts Minus-2
Seguin’s regular season wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad as the third year forward scored 16 times in the lockout shortened season. After dominating the Swiss National League during the lockout it took Seguin some time to re-adjust to the North America style of hockey and that seemed to rub some Bruins’ fans the wrong way.
As has been the case thus far in his career, Seguin was a no show for the Bruins in the playoffs with just one goal in 22 games. Trade rumors started to swirl over draft weekend that the Bruins were looking to trade their young forward. The Bruins hope that these rumors help motivate the 21-year old.
Grade: C+ (AT)
Shawn Thornton:
Regular season: 45GP 3G-4A-7Pts Plus-1
Playoffs: 22GP 0G-4A-4Pts Plus-3
The fourth line winger played in 45 games this season for the Black and Gold scoring three times.
His role on this team is to grind on the fourth line and engage in any extra-curricular activities to protect his teammates. One may remember him stepping up against John Scott and leaving the game with a concussion. That is the type of player he is. He will throw his body around no matter what. He is one of the hardest working players in this league.
The 35 year-old finished the playoffs with four assists, a plus-3 and 18 penalty minutes. This is what you will get from Thornton and you know you are always getting his greatest effort.
Grade: B- (CC)
