At the halfway point of the 2024-25 season, the Boston Bruins were in playoff position after a tumultuous beginning that saw their head coach fired and many players producing below what was expected. Some would say that the Bruins weathered the storm, while others question if there is enough talent to make the postseason. Let’s look at midseason grades for the Bruins, who reached the 41-game midseason mark with a 20-17-4 record.
Forwards
David Pastrnak – B-
The goal-scoring winger has had his struggles this season as he recovered from an offseason injury, and teams have focused on closing down his space game after game. The power play has also been a detriment as it lingers near the bottom of the NHL. Through 15 games, Pastrnak registered 15 goals and 25 assists, which is still roughly a point per game. Lately, Pastrnak has been better and more productive, but the Bruins need more of him if making the playoffs is the goal.
Brad Marchand – B
Marchand was also recovering from multiple offseason surgeries, which affected his preseason training. After a slow start, the captain has played well and totaled 15 goals and 17 assists at the halfway point. However, the left wing is a minus player for the season and hasn’t been a minus since his rookie season of 2009-10.
Pavel Zacha – C+
Zacha has shown flashes of being the player the Bruins hoped he would be after a career year last season. In his two full seasons with Boston, Zacha has registered 57 and 59 points respectively. This season, Zacha’s production has been down with just nine goals and 11 assists in the first 41 games. Recently, the 2015 first-round draft pick has been moved to first-line center with Pastrnak on his wing. There is some chemistry between the two Czech players, which will need to continue.
Elias Lindholm – C
Lindholm was acquired to be the top-line center and Patrice Bergeron clone with Pastrnak on his wing. So far, that has been a failure, and Lindholm is closer to the 40-point player he was recently rather than the 80-point player he was in Calgary. Defensively, the 30-year-old has been as advertised, but offensively, Lindholm has not been the right center to play top-six minutes, with just seven goals and 13 assists at the midway point of the season.
Charlie Coyle – C-
Coyle had a career year with 60 points as a 31-year-old. Expecting that type of production again was probably wishful thinking. Coyle started slowly, and but does have ten goals. The issue with the center is that he has only registered four assists in the first 41 games. That is just not enough playmaking from that position.
Morgan Geekie – B
Geekie started slowly after a very productive year as a bottom-six forward in his first season with the Bruins. However, Geekie has responded to being elevated to the first line and had nine goals and eight assists through the first half with much of his production coming of late. The “B” grade might be a little high, but Geekie has been thrust into a top-six role and has performed adequately.
Trent Frederic – D
Frederic has been a disappointment in a contract year for Boston. After two very solid seasons, the physical forward has hit a wall. After almost going a whole month with zero points, Frederic finally scored a goal against Toronto on Saturday. The 2016 first-round draft pick has six goals on the season but has only scored four games. Frederic’s name will certainly draw attention as we near the March 7 trade deadline.
Justin Brazeau – B+
Brazeau was a pleasant surprise last postseason and has carried that momentum into the 2024-25 season. The big forward has been a presence in front of the net and on the second power-play unit and registered nine goals and eight assists in the first half. Brazeau is currently tied for third on the Bruins with ten goals and is an unrestricted free agent this summer unless the Bruins extend his contract.
Mark Kastelic – B+
The rugged forward has been the best part of the Linus Ullmark return to date. After a blistering start offensively, Kastelic has seen his point production level out, but he has brought a physical style that has been an anchor on the fourth line. Kastelic’s first-half start has earned him a three-year contract with Boston.
Related Post: Boston Bruins Commit to Mark Kastelic, But Who is Next?
Cole Koepke – B
Koepke had six goals and five assists in the first half after a hot start to the year. That production stalled out for a bit before the forward scored twice in the last five games. Overall, Koepke has been a solid pickup and has had good chemistry with Kastelic.
John Beecher – C-
Beecher’s speed and faceoff ability have value in the NHL, but those two things might be keeping him there. There isn’t much offense coming from the 2019 first-round pick, and the 23-year-old might be on borrowed time with the Bruins. Beecher hasn’t scored a goal since scoring in back-to-back games on October 14 and 16.
Incomplete – Matt Poitras, Oliver Wahlstrom, Tyler Johnson, Riley Tufte, Max Jones, Marc McLaughlin, Georgii Merkulov, Fabian Lysell, Jeffrey Viel, Patrick Brown
Defensemen:
Charlie McAvoy – C
The Bruins’ top defenseman has not played to his ability at times over the last couple of seasons. Whether he is trying to do too much or not having a consistent, adequate partner on the blue line, McAvoy’s performance has been noticeably inconsistent. The 2016 first-rounder had five goals and 13 assists through the first 41 games after registering 56, 52, and 47 points over the last three seasons.
Brandon Carlo – C-
Carlo has been another disappointment from the veteran group. The typically steady defenseman has had rocky stretches this season. Carlo has 50 giveaways, which is already a career-high, and the penalty killing for Boston is just 25th in the league, and Carlo plays a big part in their success. Losing Hampus Lindholm to injury has not helped Carlo’s cause either.
Mason Lohrei – D
The young phenom has had a difficult sophomore season in the NHL. Offensively, the soon-to-be 24-year-old has shown glimpses of the threat he was in the postseason. However, there are too many defensive breakdowns, and his tall frame gets pushed around too much in battles. The 16 points that Lohrei has collected this season are decent, but his offensive upside is overshadowed by his defensive liabilities. Again, losing Lindholm has trickled down to putting more on Lohrei.
Andrew Peeke – B
Peeke has been a good addition to the Bruins since he was acquired last season. At bottom-pair right defense, Peeke is solid and does not do too much to put himself in danger. You won’t get much offensively from Peeke but that was the book on him when he was added to the roster. At the end of the day, Peeke is the least of Boston’s problems.
Nikita Zadorov – D
Here is the good news: Nikita Zadorov is only ten points from his career high. The bad news is that Zadorov is tied for second with his teammate Kastelic with 76 penalty minutes and hasn’t been the physical, intimidating force he needs to be to justify making $5 million per season. Oof….
Hampus Lindholm – A-
Giving Lindholm an A-minus because he played as well as any Bruin when the team was floundering and the coach was exiting stage left. In 17 games, Lindholm had 17 points while playing 21 minutes per game. More importantly, he was a solid contributor both offensively and defensively, and since his departure, the defense has struggled. Lindholm skated on Tuesday and can not come back soon enough.
Parker Wotherspoon – C
Wotherspoon has played 20 games and has been called upon with Lindholm out to play mainly on the third pair and, more recently, with McAvoy. Wotherspoon has been fine and even picked up his first assist on New Year’s Eve.
Jordan Oesterle – B-
Oesterle is 32 years old and has NHL experience, and it shows. The defenseman paired well with McAvoy and has three assists in 16 games this season. Oesterle actually saved the Bruins some by being a consistent player when they needed him.
Goaltenders:
Jeremy Swayman – D
The $8.25 million goalie has salvaged a passing grade over the last half dozen games or so. For much of the season, Swayman has been among the bottom of the league in many goaltending statistics, and has not stolen games for Boston as in the past, and is making far fewer momentum-changing saves. Swayman needs to be much better.
Joonas Korpisalo – C+
Korpisalo has been fine for the most part. He is the backup goaltending, and the Bruins have typically gotten what was expected of Korpisalo. Swayman’s poor play has put more of an emphasis on Korpisalo which is probably not fair. However, $3 million is still a good amount of money for a backup.
The Bruins began the second half with a disappointing overtime loss to the New York Islanders at home. With a challenging stretch of games coming up, many players will need to step up their production if the Bruins want a postseason spot.
Season 4. Episode 16. Gutsy Loss – Bruins Benders Podcast
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