Bruins 2015-16 Report Cards: Forwards
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins went from being ranked 22nd in the NHL in goals per game in 2014-15 to fifth (2.88) this season. Obviously the forwards did their job – or at least a faction of them did.
The Bruins suffered from a lack of balance up front and you couldn't criticize their 2.78 goals allowed per game without blaming the forwards for not helping out more.
Although the Bruins didn't make the playoffs, they got career years from a couple of their forwards and showed off some young talent that could be helpful in the future.
Here are the 2015-16 report cards for the Bruins forwards:
Patrice Bergeron
Grade: A
Bergeron led the Bruins with 68 points and was second with 32 goals, the second time in three seasons he reached 30 goals. Yet he still managed to be dominant at the defensive end and earned another Selke Trophy nomination.
Brad Marchand
Grade: A -
Any questions about Marchand being a near-elite star in the NHL were answered by his career-high 37 goals. He continued to be a defensive force with four more shorthanded goals. Still it's difficult not to think how different the season might've ended had Marchand not earned a three-game suspension leading up to the Winter Classic. The Bruins earned two of six points in those three games.
Loui Eriksson
Grade: A
The only argument you can make against Eriksson's season is that he played so well it made the Bruins too gun-shy to trade him at the deadline. The time leading up to and after the trade deadline was the only stretch of subpar hockey for Eriksson, who proved the doubters wrong with 30 goals and 63 points. Now he gets to cash in his chips for a bonanza as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
David Krejci
Grade: A
At 0.88 points per game, Krejci had his most productive season since 2008-09. He averaged a career-best 20:18 of ice time and had a positive Corsi For. And he did it all on a hip that required surgery once the season ended. Those are pretty impressive accomplishments, even if we now don't know how well Krejci will play post-surgery.
Lee Stempniak
Grade: B -
In the midst of a career-best season with New Jersey, Stempniak was imported at the trade deadline to stabilize the Bruins' lineup and make the offense more dangerous. He made an instant impact and then, like most of Boston's secondary forwards, fizzled down the stretch run.
Ryan Spooner
Grade: B
You could almost give Spooner separate grades for the time he spent as a second-line center when Krejci was injured and for the time he was the third-line center. Spooner couldn't take advantage of those third-line matchups down the stretch and he had one even-strength goal after Feb. 4. Faceoffs continued to be a bugaboo. But he had 49 points in 80 games either emerged as part of the Bruins' core of a valuable trade chip.
Matt Beleskey
Grade: B -
You couldn't ask much more from the power forward except a little more finish. Fifteen goals and 37 points, though, are reasonable production from a guy who's meant to be a secondary scorer and physical presence. He rarely took a night off from trying to shake things up with his body.
Jimmy Hayes
Grade: D
Expectations are always sky-high for hometown guys that come to the Bruins. For a short while it looked like Hayes would handle the pressure, but he wilted down the stretch. He was even earned time in the press box. Still he finished with 15 goals even though he lacked any semblance of consistency and failed to utilize his large body to at least be a threat.
David Pastrnak
Grade: B
Despite the foot injury that cost him 21 games and the Bruins' decision to move him around from Boston to Providence and to the World Junior Championship, Pastrnak continued to learn from his mistakes and show flashes of what should a productive NHL career. He finished with 15 goals and 26 points in 51 games.
Brett Connolly
Grade: F
At this point you still have to grade Connolly as a high draft pick that hasn't meant expectations, especially since the Bruins paid Tampa Bay two second-round picks for him. Unless there's a drastic change, soon Connolly is going to be graded as a bottom-six grinder and might carve out a fine career in that role. He had time on Bergeron's line and power-play time and still scored just nine goals in 71 games.
Frank Vatrano
Grade: B
For a first-year pro, he weathered the midseason doldrums and provided energy and an offensive threat for the Bruins during their ill-fated drive to make the playoffs. Like Pastrnak, Vatrano showed a willingness to learn and play well at both ends of the rink, which will pay off in the future.
Landon Ferraro
Grade: D
He served a purpose as a penalty-killer and surprise offensive contributor when he was first claimed on waivers. He was a non-factor for most of the second half of the season.
Max Talbot
Grade: D
Talbot looked overmatched during most of the time he spent in Boston. Why he was the choice to center the third line in some must-win games at the end of the season was never explained.
Joonas Kemppainen
Grade: F
Kemppainen made the move from Finland to North America look like a change in planets. He never figured out how to effectively play a bottom-six role in the NHL.
Tyler Randell
Grade: B
When the Bruins are again a playoff team, they'll probably stop dressing players with Randell's skill set. Nonetheless, they needed him to score six goals in 27 games this season in one of the most unexplainable shooting-percentage wonders ever (he attempted 18 shots).
Zac Rinaldo
Grade: F
Former general manager Peter Chiarelli never lived down the Zach Hamill draft pick. Current GM Don Sweeney will probably never live down giving up a third-round pick for a player whose only skill was forechecking but couldn't avoid crossing the line and earning a lengthy suspension before he was demoted to the AHL and suspended again.
Incomplete: Chris Kelly, Seth Griffith, Noel Acciari, Alex Khokhlachev
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
