Cassidy makes some season assessments
Coach weighs in on futures of Bergeron, DeBrusk, Studnicka
When it comes to Patrice Bergeron, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is like the rest of us. He is in a holding pattern until the captain and future Hall of Famer makes his decision on whether he wants to continue playing or not.
But despite some signs that Bergeron could be leaning toward retirement, Cassidy is holding out hope that his No. 1 centerman will return. If he doesn’t, he hopes Bergeron’s legacy will keep the B’s will help keep the B’s afloat after he’s gone.
“We’re all hoping he comes back and I’m going to be an optimist on this one,” said Cassidy in his end-ofseason presser on Tuesday. “If not, we’ve seen it. We’ve lost a few guys from our core and we’ve had to forge ahead. I think he’s done a good job of building the next layer of leadership for us. I will say that, if that’s the case. (Brad Marchand) I’ll put in Bergy’s category because they’re similar ages. But the (David) Pastrnaks, the (Brandon) Carlos, the (Charlie) McAvoys. I’ve seen a lot of growth in their leadership skills and how they conduct themselves. And that’s a credit to Patrice. And I’ll put Brad there, because he’s learned from him as well, and more recently from (Zdeno Chara and David Krejci) as well.”
There would seem to be little question on whether Bergeron could continue playing at a high level, at least for one more season. On Tuesday, he was named one of the three finalists for the Selke Award given to the best defensive forward in the league. It his 11th nomination, and a win would mark a record fifth award.
But how well he could play in another NHL season is something Cassidy surmises Bergeron is grappling with.
“That, to me, is one factor that always comes into it. Where are you on the ice and do you feel like your legacy is getting diminished if you stay too long? I didn’t go through this, so I’m just guessing what those players (think about) and some of them I’ve talked to. Where is your fit with the team?” said Cassidy. “And then there’s the part away from hockey, what’s most important to you and how do you balance that. So there’s always a bunch of things. But his level of play? He’s still a No. 1 centerman in this league. We saw it this year. Up for the Selke, and in my estimation, he should win it. No disrespect to any of the other nominees (Florida’s Sasha Barkov and Calgary’s Elias Lindholm), but he’s had another great year and we’ll see how that turns out.”
Last year, a handful of voters did not have him on their ballot of five, inexplicable though it may seem, so a win is hardly a slam dunk. But many analyticstypes believe he should be a runaway winner.
“I would say there’s a lot of new categories, the nerds have come up with some new ones, and he keeps excelling in all of them,” joked Cassidy. “He’s a great defensive player, eye test or stats test.”
Cassidy lauds DeBrusk
Jake DeBrusk had a roller coaster year. He went from being a healthy scratch, to having his trade request become public to eventually getting bumped up to the top line with Bergeron and Marchand. He wound up finishing with 25 goals. He’s butted heads with Cassidy over the years and didn’t exactly say he had taken back his trade request when he spoke with reporters on Monday. But Cassidy could not have been more complimentary toward DeBrusk.
“I thought big picture, we all came together and had a real positive finish for Jake — the player, the teammates, the organization, the staff. But he’s the player and he does the most work and I congratulated him on it,” said Cassidy. “It was a great finish. A new contract (two years at $4 million per season). We didn’t get too specific on where it goes from here because that’s between him and his representative and (GM Don Sweeney). But again, I thought he did as much for that line as they did with him. … I was proud of the way he played and he should be, too. Where it goes from here, again, would be speculation on my part.”
With the way he finished, and the reasonable number he’s locked into for two more years, could make him a desirable trade target for some teams.
Can Studnicka step up?
If Bergeron should retire, the B’s will have a big hole to fill. They don’t really have a true No. 1 center candidate in-house, but there had been hopes that Jack Studnicka would figure somewhere in the B’s middle. He took a step back this year. After a good camp, he was returned to Providence, where it took him a while to get going. He wound up with decent totals — 1025-35 in 41 games in Providence — but he managed just three assists in 15 NHL games this year. In 37 career NHL games, he has just 1-6-7 totals. Not great for a player that is supposed to provide offensive production.
“I thought he had a good training camp, but training camp you have to be careful. You’re playing against different makeups of teams. It’s not the true NHL, but it’s as close as you’re going to get at that time of year to evaluate a player,” said Cassidy. “He did a good job, but we had some other ideas about how our lineup would look. Then when it’s your turn, come up and take advantage of it. That’s the part, and I’m not down there, I’m not sure if he used that time wisely. Because once he got up, we didn’t get the offensive production we want.
“Some of that is on the situation (not getting consistent playing time), but sometimes that’s the hand you’re dealt for your opportunity. Jack had a really good first year in Providence. What really worked against Jack is the COVID year. You’re not playing much. The American league is shut down. His opportunity to grow at those prime years when he’s 22, 23 were taken away from him because of circumstance. Now he’s not starting over, but it’s almost like he’s lost momentum.”
After Studnicka produced 23-26-49 totals in his rookie pro season in Providence in 2019-20, the AHL playoffs were wiped out by the pandemic.
Then he played a grand total of 31 games between Boston and Providence in 2020-21. That’s a good chunk of development time gone. With his narrow frame, he could need more time to develop. The B’s certainly don’t want to give up on the next Carter Verhaege, who spent four full years in the minors — the first two split between the AHL and ECHL. In the first round, the Florida Panther trailed only Connor McDavid in playoff scoring.
Opportunity could be there for Studnicka, who will be an RFA this summer. Whether he’s capable of grabbing it has yet to be determined.
“If Bergy is going to retire, is Jack one of those guys who can help us in one of the spots?” said Cassidy. “We’re not going to say Jack’s going in as your No. 1 center, but can he go in and other guys move up? That will be a conversation we’ll have to have and people who saw him more this