The 2022-23 season has been a historic one for the Boston Bruins in many different ways. They set the NHL record for wins in a regular season with 65 and points with 135. All of this was done with some impressive individual performances throughout their lineup from the goaltending out.
At the beginning of the season, I made five bold player predictions for the season, and with the regular season officially done and the playoffs beginning Monday night (April 17) at the TD Garden against the Florida Panthers, it is time to look back and see how the preseason predictions fared.
Jake DeBrusk Scores 30-Plus Goals
One of the players that have benefitted from the coaching greatly has been Jake DeBrusk. After finishing the 2021-22 season on a hot streak in ther regular season after being moved to the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, he continued to thrive and had a good preseason. It was not out of the question that he could score 30 goals this season, playing with a lot of pressure off of his shoulders.
The 14th overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft came close, very close and if not for an injury in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park aaginst the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 2-1 win where he scored both goals injured, he would have more than likely scored 30 goals. As it was, in 63 games, he scored 26 goals, one shy of his career-high of 27 he achieved in 2018-19. He has one more year remaining on a two-year contract extension he signed in March of 2022 before the trade deadline with an average annual value (AAV) of $4 million. That’s looking like a good deal now.
Craig Smith Scores 25-Plus Goals
Well, it’s safe to say that this one did not work out too well. After signing a three-year contract in October of 2020 after nine seasons with the Nashville Predators, he failed to reach the expectation of being a 20-goal scorer in Boston, something he accomplished five times with the Predators. It just never worked out with the Black and Gold.
General manager (GM) Don Sweeney traded the upcoming unrestricted free agent (UFA) to the Washington Capitals in a three-team deal in February for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway. The trade has been very beneficial to the Bruins as Orlov has been a nice addition on defense and Hathaway brings a lot of sandpaper toughness to the bottom six. Smith wasn’t returning to Boston next season, so moving him and getting assets for the playoffs was the right move by Sweeney.
Pavel Zacha Sets Career Highs in Goals, Assists & Points
Pavel Zacha has been someone that has been on Sweeney’s radar for the last couple of trade deadlines. He was unable to acquire him from the New Jersey Devils, but last July, he got his guy when he sent Erik Haula to the Devils for Zacha in a straight-up trade.
Finding a new home has done wonders for the sixth overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft. He set a career-high in goals in 21, which he reached against the Devils on April 8, with assists with 36 and points with 57. Eight of his 57 points have come on the power play, including three goals. In January, he agreed to a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $4.75 million. He eventually will be a top-six center in coach Jim Montgomery’s lineup.
David Krejci Has 80-Plus Points
As expected, David Krejci made the seamless transition back to the NHL after spending last season playing in his home country of Czechia, but he was limited to 70 games because of injuries at the beginning of the season and at th end of the season. In between, he was still productive with 16 goals and 40 assists.
His biggest impact was felt centering the second line between Zacha and Pastrnak. He was a big reason why Zacha was able to get career highs in points and Pastrnak scored 60 goals for the first time in his career. His addition also filled the big hole in the lineup from last season, the second-line center position.
Hampus Lindholm Has Over 30 Assists
When Charlie McAvoy was out to begin the season recovering from offseason surgery, there was a lot of pressure on Hampus Lindholm to fill the void of the Bruins’ top defenseman and boy did he. He was by far their best blueliner through the first two months of the season before McAvoy returned and he just continued to get better and better as the season went along.
His previous career-high in assists was 27 in the 2014-15 season, his second with the Anaheim Ducks. He went well past that number this season with 43 in 79 games and he also had 10 goals. More impressive than his high assist numbers was his plus/minus of plus-49, which led the NHL, which has ahead of teammate Matt Grzelcyk’s plus-46 and Brandon Carlo’s plus-44.
The 2022-23 season was one that Bruins fans will remember for a long time. It’s something that anyone may never see again. Two out of five predictions correct is not great, but considering the season they had, they had a lot of other people step up that they didn’t expect to. There was certainly a lot to like about the season, but all of it will be forgotten if the Bruins bow out early in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
