Top Takeaways From The Bruins' 2016-17 Season
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- After nearly 48 hours of venting and stewing over the frustrations of the Boston Bruins' playoff series loss to the Ottawa Senators, it's time to put the season in perspective.
Yes, the Bruins took too many bad penalties in the six-game series against the Senators, which finally caught up to them in the end. No, they did not get enough from their star players on offense. But those are just two of many big takeaways from the Bruins in the series and over the course of the 2016-17 season.
There was some good and some bad to take away from the past season, which was certainly much better than the previous two seasons that saw the Bruins collapse down the stretch and miss the playoffs. Those were mostly bad. Playoff games are good.
But despite some ups and downs - and the disappointment of losing a winnable playoff series against the Senators - the Bruins certainly took some steps in the right direction in 2016-17 and there were some positives to take away from the season.
Here are the six biggest takeaways from the past Bruins season as we look toward next year:
The future is indeed bright
The Bruins having a "bright future" almost became a cliche amid their glut of recent draft picks under GM Don Sweeney, but those selections are beginning to come to fruition at the NHL level. Chief among them is defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who in six short games showed that he not only belongs in the NHL but could become one of the best defensemen in the league in short order.
For McAvoy to show the kind of poise and skills that he did in the playoff series against the Senators, his first NHL experience, at just 19 years old was no doubt impressive. He will likely enter next season as one of the Bruins' top-four defenseman with the chance to earn top-pairing minutes. The Bruins desperately needed a blue liner they could turn to as the heir apparent to Zdeno Chara, and it appears that McAvoy is going to be that guy.
Elsewhere, the Bruins also gave 2015 second-round pick Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson a quick cameo at the NHL level. Sean Kuraly, whom the Bruins acquired as part of the Martin Jones trade to the Sharks, scored twice in Game 5 of the Senators series to keep the Bruins alive. Other recent high draft picks like Zach Senyshyn, Jeremy Lauzon, and Jake DeBrusk also appear ready to knock on the door of the NHL as soon as next season.
A bright future, indeed.
High-end forwards need to be better in playoffs
If the Bruins want to be a legitimate playoff contender in the coming years, they are going to need more out of their top-two scorers from the regular season. Brad Marchand emerged as an elite NHL scorer with 85 points in the regular season, but had an underwhelming series against the Senators. It's not like he isn't experienced in the playoffs, either. He's going to need to adjust to teams keying on him and find a way to produce better and more consistently as the team's top offensive option in the postseason.
Pastrnak, meanwhile, had a breakout regular season but often looked out of sorts in the playoffs. He did pot two goals in the series, but whiffed on many other scoring chances and frequently struggled to handle or protect the puck as effectively as he can.
However, Pastrnak is just 20 years old and is without question part of the Bruins' future. He has plenty of time to develop, and that includes his performance in the playoffs with opposing defenses focusing on him. Which brings us to another big takeaway ...
Pastrnak is the real deal
Pastrnak's playoff struggles showed that he still has a lot to learn and room to grow as an NHL player. But his regular season showed that the Bruins have a dynamic top-line winger that they can build around for the future.
Breaking out in a major way with 34 goals and 70 points in just 73 games, Pastrnak went on some ridiculous runs over the course of the season and at times flirted with the NHL goal-scoring lead. For a Bruins team in desperate need of high-end scoring, Pastrnak answered the bell.
Furthermore, Pastrnak also showed a physical streak at times, wasn't afraid to battle for pucks in the corners, and showed good chemistry with Marchand and Bergeron. He was far less physical in the playoffs, often shying away from contact, and it hurt his game in the end. But it was mostly a learning experience for a 20-year-old who will only get better.
But despite the breakout year from Pastrnak, the playoffs showed that ...
The Bruins need to improve their secondary scoring
The line of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Pastrnak was one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL when together. But the series against the Senators ostensibly proved that, offensively, the Bruins are essentially a one-line team.
David Krejci, who turns 31 on April 28, could be on the decline as a scorer. The same could be said for 32-year-old David Backes. Meanwhile, younger forwards like Frank Vatrano, Matt Beleskey, and Ryan Spooner simply haven't lived up to their expectations on offense.
The Bruins lack reliable offensive options beyond their top-three forwards, which necessitated moving Pastrnak down to the second line and trading for Drew Stafford at the deadline. With the expansion draft on the horizon and top prospects still potentially more than a year away, the Bruins will have a pressing need to add secondary scoring (especially at the wings) if they want to be more competitive in the playoffs over the next couple of years.
The defense is not a complete disaster
The Bruins entered last season with what felt like an absolute dumpster-fire on the back end, but that was assuming that Zdeno Chara (now 40 years old) could no longer play and that rookie Brandon Carlo wouldn't be able to contribute meaningful minutes.
While it was still far from an elite unit, the Bruins defense exceeded expectations in 2016-17 as Chara had a bounce-back year (especially on the defensive end) and Carlo emerged as a big, strong defensive defenseman with shutdown potential. Torey Krug had one of his best years offensively, while Adam McQuaid (77 games played) had his most durable season as a pro.
The defense's season came crashing down in the playoffs, as injuries to Krug, Carlo, and McQuaid ultimately caught up to them. But as a group, especially with the addition of McAvoy to the lineup, the Bruins defense appears to be in decent shape heading into next season - with more top prospects in the pipeline.
Naming Bruce Cassidy interim head coach was the right move - and should have happened sooner
Bruce Cassidy proved in 33 games that not only is he the right guy to coach the Bruins moving forward, but he should have been the guy from the start of the season.
The Bruins gave Claude Julien a third chance to coach the Bruins to a playoff berth in 2016-17, but at the time of his firing they were barely on the playoff bubble. It's not that Julien was a bad coach, it's just that it was time to bring a fresh voice into the locker room and give Julien a chance to succeed elsewhere. You might see something similar happen to Joel Quenneville (also a good, accomplished coach) with the Blackhawks, and it's already happened with Darryl Sutter (another good coach) with the Kings.
That's not to say that Cassidy has been perfect so far - he needs to get control of the Bruins' dumb penalties, like too many men and delay of game. They can also still lapse into something of a fire drill on defense. But the Bruins went 18-8-1 in 27 regular-season games under Cassidy (a 112-point pace), an unheard-of run for the Bruins in the last two-plus seasons of Julien's tenure.
They certainly played better down the stretch than they did in recent seasons, especially in net - but Cassidy was ostensibly the singular change that sparked the Bruins' run to the playoffs. And if it happened sooner, perhaps the Bruins ended up with home ice advantage or better.
Matt Dolloff is a writer/producer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
