The end of an era in Boston came to a reality Tuesday morning (July 25). After 19 seasons, captain Patrice Bergeron officially announced his retirement after playing his whole career with the Boston Bruins. The decision comes as a surprise to some, but it’s hard to believe that it caught general manager (GM) Don Sweeney off guard as he more than likely knew for some time that this day was coming sooner rather than later.
Now that the decision has been made, it’s very unlikely that David Krejci returns and follows his longtime teammate into retirement as well. Time will tell, but looking ahead to the 2023-24 season, the outlook is grim in regards to the center position and the roster as a whole. Here are three Bruins that will need to avoid a regression after their captain decided to officially hang up the skates.
Pavel Zacha
Last summer, Sweeney traded for forward Pavel Zacha from the New Jersey Devils for Erik Haula and was hoping that a change of scenery would do the sixth overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft some good. As it turned out, it was exactly what was needed and the Bruins’ low-risk, high-reward move paid off.
Zacha settled in on the second-line left wing next to Krejci and David Pastrnak and had a career season. He set career highs with 21 goals, 36 assists, and 57 points while playing in all 82 games. He became a key member of the second power-play unit, scoring three goals and collecting eight points. Zacha also played a key role in the help the penalty kill hold the top ranking for most of the season. He moved to center late in the season and in part of the playoff series against Florida when Krejci went down with an injury. Tyler Bertuzzi, Zacha, and Pastrnak became the Black and Gold’s most consistent line in the seven-game series.
Boston is going to need Zacha to come close to matching his numbers from last season or having a better season. Right now, he’s going to slide into the middle in the top six and even the top spot and take on more of a workload. He was 45.3% on faceoffs last season, which was a drop off from his 50.1% with New Jersey in 2021-22, and his time on ice last season was 16:03, which will go up. Sweeney and the front office did not waste too much time locking him up with a four-year, $19 million contract in January. The Bruins are going to need him to have a good season with more responsibility.
Charlie Coyle
Over the last couple of seasons, Charlie Coyle has found a home and thrived on the third line in the lineup. Now with Bergeron gone and Krejci’s decision still up in the air, Coyle is going to need to step up his game at center and move into the top six. Bergeron and Krejci were banged up in the playoffs and like Zacha, he moved up in the lineup and played well.
After scoring 16 goals and recording 29 assists in all 82 regular season games, Coyle had a goal and an assist against the Panthers, but he was strong at the faceoff dot, winning 56.4% of his draws while averaging 17:20 a night. He won 62.4% of his faceoffs 5-on-5 in the postseason and that went up to 62.7% when the score was close. Is that sustainable for a whole season against other top-six centers? That remains to be seen, but the Black and Gold are going to need the 31 years olds best season since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline in 2019.
Coyle is entering the fourth season on his current six-year, $31.5 million contract that carries an average annual value (AAV) of $5.25 million. That’s a lot of money tied up into a player that has been primarily a third-line center, but now he’s going to be asked to play above that after struggling through the first half of the 2021-22 season as the second-line center before former coach Bruce Cassidy moved him to the third line and slid Haula up behind Bergeron.
Brad Marchand
The top choice to replace Bergeron as captain is Brad Marchand and he played last season recovering from offseason double hip surgery. He didn’t make his season debut until two weeks into the season and it took him some time to get his feet under him. The regular season ended up being a struggle as he went through some lengthy scoring droughts, as well as point droughts. Now with his longtime linemate gone, Boston is going to need him to have a better season offensively and assume the top leadership role.
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Playing in three more regular season games than he did in 2021-22, Marchand still saw a dip in his production. His goals fell off to 21 last season with 46 assists and 67 points, his lowest since the 2015-16 season. He still registered 29 power-play points and was one of the top penalty killers, but it was his first season since 2009-10 where he failed to score a shorthanded goal. It remains to be seen if Sweeney makes a move to add a top-six center before the season starts, but if it ends up being Zacha or Coyle, Marchand’s leadership and his play on the ice will need to take a step up if they are going to be successful enough to find their way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Zacha, Marchand & Coyle Can’t Regress in 2023-24
Unless a trade is made to bring in a top-six center, it’s going to be Zacha and Coyle in the top six. Of course, Krejci’s decision is still pending, but assuming he leaves as well, it’s a tough look at the centers currently under contract. A trade for Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames or Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets could still happen, but regardless, Zacha, Coyle, and Marchand are three Bruins’ that are going to need to avoid a regression in 2023-24 and become key parts of a team that will certainly have its ups and downs through 82 games.