Boston Bruins stock up, stock down
No team in NHL history has ever won more games or accrued more points in a single season than the 2022-23 Boston Bruins.
But that did the Bruins no favors when the playoffs started.
After holding a 3-1 series lead, Boston was bounced in the first round by the Florida Panthers, who went on to appear in the Stanley Cup Final.
Here are the Bruins whose stock is rising – and falling:
Stock Up
Linus Ullmark, goaltender: Backstopping the historic Bruins team, Linus Ullmark posted a 40-6-1 record in net and career-bests in save percentage (.938) and goals against average (1.89). Those marks were good enough to secure Ullmark his first Vezina Trophy, first-team All-Star appearance and William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals given up by a tandem (shared with Jeremy Swayman).
Ullmark’s play fell off in the postseason, which partly led to the Bruins’ elimination according to him, but his regular season should give hope to Boston fans for the future. According to CapFriendly, Ullmark still has two years left on his contract at $5M AAV, which is a good deal for a Vezina-winner.
Jim Montgomery, head coach: It’s not easy to replace a very successful coach but Jim Montgomery did about as well as can be expected. Bruce Cassidy was relieved of his duties as Bruins head coach after the 2022 playoffs and the franchise turned to Montgomery, who led the team to the best regular season in franchise history and picked up the Jack Adams Award for the league’s best coach.
His usage of Ullmark and Swayman helped the Bruins give up the fewest goals in the league and Boston paced the league in penalty kill percentage, clearing the second-place Carolina Hurricanes by nearly three percent.
Going into his second season, Montgomery’s squad will have a huge target on their back but 2022-23 indicates that Boston may have made the right choice behind the bench.
Stock Down
Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, centers: The Bruins have not fielded a roster without Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci on it since the 2002-03 season and it’s possible that ends in 2023-24. Both centers are 37 years old and mulling over retirement.
In Bruins history, Bergeron is third all-time in goals, fourth in assists and third in total points; Krejci is fifth in assists and ninth in points. This season, both were in the top five in points on the team and Bergeron held the captaincy as he has since early 2021.
Losing both this offseason would create a huge hole down the middle of Boston’s forward corps going forward.
Records: The Bruins are the most recent victims of the Presidents' Trophy curse. No team that finished with the NHL’s best regular season record has gone on the win the Stanley Cup since the Chicago Blackhawks did it in 2013.
Boston also joined the 1906 Chicago Cubs, 2001 Seattle Mariners, 2007 New England Patriots and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors as teams that hold their respective league’s record for most regular season wins but did not win the championship in the same season they set the record.
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