Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha Season Reviews: Boston Bruins Still Need to Add at Center

Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha Season Reviews: Boston Bruins Still Need to Add at Center

solid Seasons from Charlie Coyle and Pavo zaka won’t stop the Boston Bruins from looking to upgrade at the center position this off season your locked on Bruins your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] what is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the locked on Boston Bruins podcast I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a Daily Show where we discuss all things spoked be today is Monday June 3 and I want to thank you so much for making lock on Bruins part of your daily routine free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $ five bet visit fanduel.com lockon to get started and before we get started today a quick reminder you can find the podcast on social media at locked NHL Bruins and you can find me my hockey thoughts dad jokes ATC McLaren all right today we are continuing our look at some core players for the Bruins how they fared this past season and what the Outlook is moving forward we’ve talked about uh Dave aposto Brad Marshon Charlie McAvoy as well as uh the goal tending tandem of lenus alar and Jeremy Swingman those are arguably your core players moving forward with allar as a bit of a question mark because it’s quite Poss possible he could get traded this off season I would argue that Charlie Coyle and pava zaka aren’t necessarily part of the core but they’re certainly uh guys that are integral to the success of this team especially this past season as they moved from Patrice berson and David crei down the middle to a new frontier led by these two centers but there’s room for improvement and there’s certainly room for upgrading and adding a core player at this position before we touch on that let’s look at what Charlie Coyle and Pavo zaka were able to do this past season and for Charlie Coyle it was one of if not the best season of his career he played in a full 82 games for the Boston Bruins recorded a career-high 25 goals for more than than what he accomplished nine years ago with the Minnesota Wild uh his 35 assists were three short of his career high set in 201617 as a member of the wild 60 total points which was four clear of his previous career high so a fantastic season for uh Cole he did only have I say only 147 shots on goal second highest of his career he did have a 177% shooting percentage uh which perhaps a bit inflated but hey we’ll take it 25 goals 35 assists 60 points for Charley Coyle this season and uh we’ll discuss this again when we looked at Pavo zaka but when you compare his production to say that of Patrice berson a season ago uh he had berser on that is 27 goals 31 assists for 58 points Charlie Coyle with uh more points than Patrice berson was able to record last season uh he did have more ice time than Peron on average played more games but still when you look at filling that hole Charlie Coyle did that uh for sure now you wonder whether or not he can continue with that production seeing as he is 32 years old not exactly entering the prime years of his career but when you look at the fact that he was able to train for the first time last summer fully for the first time in six years then you see that perhaps you could have a few seasons of sustained production here uh he said he wasn’t able to really run or jump in offseason training over the past five six years this was in an article written on nhl.com by amaly Benjamin on April 26th and that ability to train was Paramount was key to his success now he didn’t really reveal what he had been dealing with but last offseason he said what changed for him was for the last six years he had issues last summer was the first where he could do everything jump run he hadn’t done that in five or six years uh which is pretty incredible because he had been pretty good for the Bruins over that time but career season this past year 60 points and really stabilized the top six in a surprisingly strong season for the Bruins in which they finished second in the Atlant division a lot of people wrote this team off when it was announced that Patrice bueron and David CI would not be returning would Cole and zaka be able to handle the load uh as one and two centers for a team that was looking to at least remain in playoff contention um the Bruins performance coach Kevin Neil said in that Al Benjamin article last offseason again really was the first one certainly in Charlie’s time with the Bruins that he entered the offseason 100% healthy without any significant ailments that they had to work around so he was able to train push and again it certainly paid off with a career year now in the playoffs his production dropped a bit uh he had one goal four assists for Five Points in 13 games uh not really the production that they were looking for from one of their top centers to succeed in the playoffs you need production down the middle you look at the two teams in the finals barov lundell uh and then you have McDavid dry cido obviously on the Edmonton side of things now Cole was doing a lot of heavy lifting defensively trying to contain the Toronto Maple Leaf’s top guys Florida’s top guys um he did end with a plus five if you’re into that kind of stat oh sorry he was an even zero five points uh he had 20 shots his shooting percentage dropped from 17 in the regular season to five in the postseason um did the Bruins lose because of Charlie Coyle’s lack of production no but that secondary scoring certainly would have helped and if they had gotten some production from Coy and zaka those tight games could have gone a different way which will lead us into uh the end of today’s show where we’ll talk about some potential upgrades but big picture Charlie Coyle put in a fantastic season for the Boston Bruins and a lot of that was due to the fact that he could train fully last season yes the production dipped in the playoffs but again he was doing a lot of Hefty heavy lifting defensively what about pav zaka well we will discuss his performance as a member of the Boston Bruins here in 20232 24 coming up as the podcast continues if you’re looking to level up your ride this summer there’s no better place than eBay Motors they have everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered 122 million parts for your ride You’ll Always Find exactly what you’re looking for and with the eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit every time or your money back with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber and not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to turn your car into an MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions do apply and the eBay guaranteed fit is available only to us customers thank you so much once again for making locked on Bruins part of of your daily routine free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube and while you’re on YouTube check out locked on sports today all the latest news opinions and Analysis from all over the locked on Universe free on YouTube and the Amazon Fire TV channels app let’s turn our attention now to Pavo zaka uh who along with Charlie Coyle was called upon to fill some pretty big skates largely rocking a top six center role with the Bruins um in the absence of berson and CI guys who had locked down those positions for over a decade and extremely well at that this season Pavo zaka uh only appeared in 78 games he matched his goal total from last season which was a career-high 20 won he also had two more assists than last season in four fewer games so he ended up with 21 goals 38 assists for 59 points a career high for him he also averaged the highest ice time of his career 18 minutes and six seconds 57 seconds than what he averaged in 20120 2021 as a member of the New Jersey Devils he also tied a career high in shots uh 148 which he managed in 70 games a few years ago at the Devils um he also had a 54.8 success rate in the faceoff Circle which was the best Mark of his career I forgot to mention uh Charlie Coy’s Faceoff proficiency uh this season he had a Faceoff win record of 51.6 which was the third best Mark of his career in the postseason his Faceoff record was 48% so that was a big reason why the Bruins struggled as well if you’re losing faceoffs you’re losing Puck possession and struggling right from the beginning of those shifts and trying to chase uh Chase things as well speaking of the postseason Pavo Zak playing in his third career playoffs uh he finally managed to record his first career goal and it was a huge one uh in game uh six against the Florida Panthers unfortunately it came in an eventual losing effort but very well timed there he also had uh five assists for six total points now again some more ghoul production from zaka and coil would have gone a long way um in in the postseason uh when it comes to his faceof Marque he was also on the other end of things 47.4% let’s make no mistake Pavo zaka has been a huge addition to the Boston Bruins he was traded straight up for Eric Howa which again still is a real credit to Don Sweeney and his creativity so much talk about Boston’s decision making at the 2015 entry draft they ended up with the sixth overall pick from that draft in zaka however there’s some questions about whether he is best suited uh down the middle and as the series against the Panthers progressed he found himself on on the wing with Morgan geek bumped up to Center position you had uh well I guess in game uh heading into game six he was playing on the third line with Justin brazzo and Danton Heinen so outside of the top six there were also times where he was playing uh on the wing with geeky and poster knock which begs the question as to whether or not he’s able to handle the load um when it comes to playing top six center for the Bruins in the biggest moments um the Bruins again they were playing a formidable team in the Florida Panthers there’s no question that they deserve to be in the Stanley Cup Final a very strong defensive team so the center pair of Coyle and zaka doing some heavy lifting defensively to try to stop the opposition but also flumix when it comes to uh trying to get creative uh offensively because the Panthers are a very formidable defensive team at five on five uh when it comes to shot attempt differential no center for the Bruins was above the 50% Mark uh no bruan was above the 50% Mark when it came to shot totals goal differential uh zaka was on the ice for eight goals four six against Coy was even four and four so things leveled off a bit there uh when it comes to expected goals bokvist was the best center for the Bruins uh in that regard in the playoffs followed by Trent Frederick Pavo zaka Morgan geeki John pacher and Charlie Coyle so all this to say Coyle and AK had fantastic seasons for the Boston Bruins it was meant to be a bridge year both of these guys produced more offensively than berson and Cree a year ago now of course those guys were in the final years of their careers uh older certainly than Coyle and zaka perhaps a bit less in the tank than those guys at this point in their careers but still the fact that the Bruins were able to uh replicate and exceed their production in those spots is a testament to how good those guys were this year and in what was supposed to be a transition year there was no significant drop off in terms of production and regular season success obviously they weren’t going to match the uh history making season of last year but still hanging in the top two teams in the Atlantic all season long was due in large part to Coyle and zaka having said that is the room for improvement of course uh could they add this position definitely you again you had geeky playing Topline Center as good as he was for the Bruins um that’s probably not what you want when you’re taking on the Florida Panthers in the playoffs um so will the Bruins be looking to upgrade at Center this offseason we’ll discuss that here as the podcast continues it’s winner take all time in the nabba and the NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own we’re gonna have the Dallas Mavericks against the Boston Celtics in the NBA the Florida Panthers versus the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL and you can win by jumping on with FanDuel right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $ five bet that’s 50 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more all you have to do is visit fanduel.com loock on and make every playoff shot count so for game one of the uh NBA Finals you can bet on the over under put five bucks down there if you win you get $150 to put on bets on the FanDuel app FanDuel is America’s number one Sportsbook visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count all right general manager Don Sweeney has said the Bruins will be aggressive in free agency and you can be sure that the center position will be an area that will be explored for improvement there are certainly a lot of players available in free agency we’ve heard for months now about Boston’s uh interest in uh Elias Lindholm who may or may not re up with the Vancouver Canucks uh we’ve heard Rumblings of the Bruins being interested in Chandler Stevenson with the Vegas golden knights he had a 51-point Season 75 games last season uh other players available as unrestricted free agents include Shawn Monahan he’s coming off a 59o season with uh Winnipeg only 29 years old still uh Max DOI will be a unrestricted free agent uh you have Alexander wber who went to the Conference Finals with the um New York Rangers Jack rosovich um who else is an unrestricted freen you have stepen Stam Co who hasn’t played as much down the middle uh recently but still a guy that would be a valuable addition to be sure the Bruins will have some options now if you look at the Players none of them really jump off the page as guys who are significant upgrades over coil and zaka the leading free agent center in terms of points is Monahan who had 59 points that’s right around what zaka and um Coyle were able to achieve um he had the best point per game average as well 0.71 Stevenson uh 0.68 DOI 0.59 lindol 0.59 as well what you’re really looking at however is possibly next off season when there will be some bigger fish available including LeAndre iido uh that’s a guy that you want to Target uh Brock Nelson will be a free agent John Taris um who else those are the big guys Sam Bennett will be a free agent if you’re wanted to go that way uh there will be some players available and Leon dry cadle certainly is the big fish now I kind of joked on the Twitter account for locked on Bruins yesterday that um I was rooting for the Oilers in part so that Leon dry slido feels fulfilled with his time in Edmonton and may want to uh or may be more comfortable moving on in agency next summer um there are Rumblings that he’s interested in playing for the Bruins they a poock has entertained the idea as well publicly what a Duo that would be dry cidal and poock um the Bruins have some cap space this year cap expected to go up and they uh let’s see who else they have coming off the books uh next season that might even make some more caps space for them to work with uh you have well Brad Marsha will be a free agent after next season will he make as much as he is at this point 6.125 uh probably not so that could be some money freed up uh TR TR Frederick will be a UFA you’re probably gonna want to keep him around uh Justin brazzo will be a UFA after next season but they will have some money to work lenus allmark if he sticks around will be coming off the books so the question is do you go all in this offseason and commit big money to a guy like Lind Holm who maybe yeah he’s he’d be a good fit at both ends of the ice but he’s really that much of an upgrade over coil and zaka and do you want to pay him like eight n million do I don’t know maybe they invest that money elsewhere um or they yeah sit on that space make some shorter term investments and then free up some real cap space next summer to chase after um dry Sidle or perhaps they invested not at the center position this summer and look to a player like uh Jake gensel or a Winger like Sam Reinhardt who had 57 goals this season for the uh for the Panthers uh in terms of overall production your best available ufas are Reinhardt Stam Co gensel maraso Matt duain perhaps you want to look at uh these are some guys you don’t want to break the bank though because you might have an opportunity to add big next summer overall the Bruins should be happy with what Coyle and zaka were able to bring to the table Morgan geeki stepped in and played well John beer made major strides and should be a main stay in the lineup Trent Frederick can play center at times and of course you have uh young Matt ptra who will be coming off a season ending shoulder surgery a year older hopefully a bit bigger and a guy who could really make some noise in his second season as a pro we’ll see if they keep yesper bfist who is a restricted free agent uh but the Bruins semi deep at Center but the level of production they’re able to get is limited at this moment which means Don Sweeney will be looking to upgrade could do it this offseason but really could do it next year if they’re willing and able to pursue LeAndre iido that’s today’s look at Charlie Coyle and Pavo zaka will’ll continue some season reviews uh and bring you all the latest on the black and gold here on the locked on Boston Bruins podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thank you for joining me here today happy Monday have a great week please do take care of yourselves and each other and we’ll talk to you again here tomorrow on lockdown Boston Bruins [Music]

Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha had massive skates to fill following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, and they went out and posted career highs in the regular season. Production dipped in the playoffs, though, as did success in the faceoff circle. With cap space at the ready, Don Sweeney will certainly be looking to add at the center position.

Locked on Boston Bruins host looks at Coyle and Zacha in the regular season vs. playoffs and discusses free agent options like Elias Lindholm, Steven Stamkos, Sean Monahan, and the big fish Leon Draisaitl who could become available next summer.

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