Boston Bruins Final Year of Matt Irwin
By Jay Peterson
With most players locked up and free agency winding down, it is time to look at the members of the Boston Bruins who are in the last year of their respective contracts. In this article, we will determine what Matt Irwin needs to do in his final year and whether or not he will return to the black and gold.
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Let me first make the bold statement that if Matt Irwin was a right-handed shot, or was more than comfortable with playing on the right side of the ice, GM Don Sweeney would not be looking as hard for extra help on defense. When looking at Matt Irwin’s numbers in the past two seasons, he has managed to put up 19 points in both years (all stats found on nhl.com). Also, these 19 points came from a defenseman that played only 62 games in the 2013-14 season and only 53 games in the most recent 2014-15 season.
Hypothetically, if Matt Irwin had played all 82 games, he would have been on pace to have had a 29 point season in 2014-15. That is only ten points less than what Torey Krug did last year and thirteen points less than what Dougie Hamilton put up. It’s not fair to say that the skills of Matt Irwin match those of Dougie Hamilton or Toey Krug, because they don’t. However, the offensive numbers that Matt Irwin is capable of putting up cannot go unnoticed.
Nov 8, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Irwin (52) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American
Center. The Sharks defeated the Stars 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Unfortunately, Matt Irwin is a left-handed defenseman, a trait that is already held by Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and Torey Krug, three Bruins that aren’t likely to be moved or scratched from the team. Having said that, all Bruins fans will admit to seeing Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg playing together at some point in the last few years. Obviously pairing two players with the same stick hand isn’t the end of the world.
I feel that, this season, both Chara and Seidenberg will be spending time on the ice with Matt Irwin. Seidenberg will be the even strength partner of Irwin, since Seidenberg has had experience with playing with another left-handed defenseman. Playing over 70 minutes of power play time for San Jose last year (third among San Jose defenseman), Matt Irwin will most likely see time on the second power play unit, alongside Chara, who has been known to move to the right side of the ice for slap shot purposes and has also been put in front of the net for screening and deflecting shots. So, the job of Matt Irwin will simply be to man the left side of the point at all times while Zdeno does what Zdeno does.
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With upcoming, right handed, offensive defensemen (Colin Miller, Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow) very close to being full-time NHLers, it seems that Matt Irwin’s position on the team is a temporary one that will soon be filled by a younger player with more potential. However, anything can happen in a year and Matt Irwin is in a great position to succeed. As said before, if Matt Irwin can put together a full season at around 80 games, with lots of time on the power play with Chara, he has the opportunity and ability to put up points close to what Torey Krug is expected to put up. Whether or not that keeps him in Boston remains unseen, but this kind of performance would no doubt put him in a position for a well deserved raise, wherever he ends up.
If you missed the other “Final Year of…” articles, check them out here by clicking on the player’s name.
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