Where would the Bruins have been without David Pastrnak this season?
Going into the 2024-25 season, there were questions as to where the Boston Bruins were going to get a lot of their offense from. One name that you knew was going to provide it was superstar David Pastrnak. Boy, he didn’t disappoint.
It was not an easy season for the Bruins' leading scorer, who saw some big changes at the trade deadline that saw long-time teammate Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Brandon Carlo shipped out. It was a needed retool, and it should be beneficial in the long run for the Black and Gold. Let’s take a look back and grade Pastrnak’s season.
David Pastrnak’s performance
There is not much to say here. Where would the Bruins have been without Pastrnak this season? For sure, they would have been buried in the basement of the Eastern Conference, but they might have been visiting the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks in terms of the basement of the overall standings. I'm not kidding.
In the worst season as a team in Pastrnak's tenure with the Black and Gold, he still managed to put up 43 goals, dish out 63 assists for 106 points. He never quit down the stretch of the season when it would have been easy to. He finished the season with a 10-game point streak that included nine goals and 13 assists. He did that on a team that was faltering big time at the end of March. If that doesn't say a lot about him, I don't know what does.
He was not a finalist for the Hart Trophy, which is not a surprise, but he should have been in the conversation. The season his team had was why he isn't there, but he certainly kept them from having a much worse season, something not many people thought was possible.
David Pastrnak moving forward
Again, there is not much to say here as Pastrnak is going to be the Bruins' best player for a long time. The time is now for the organization to replace the “A” on his shirt with a “C” and name him the next captain of the Boston Bruins. The only other option would be Charlie McAvoy, but nothing against the former Boston University defenseman as Pastrnak has become the team’s leader over the final six weeks of the season after the trade deadline.
Pastrnak’s interactions with the media post games and his leading on the ic,e being the voice of reason with the officials, did not go lost on many people. The time is now for the front office to do the right thing and name him the captain.
David Pastrnak: A+
