Charlie Coyle, by most measures, seems to perform better for the Boston Bruins when he’s playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This isn’t a new thing either; last year Charlie Coyle shone as the Boston Bruins went within one game of lifting the cup. For whatever reason, the Massachusetts native brings it best when it matters most.
Last year, he had a team-leading 9 playoff goals and has started off on the right foot already this year. Add a further 7 assists and he was a very useful source of secondary scoring.
Now when we look at value, Charlie Coyle signed a relatively expensive deal that starts at the end of this campaign and thus needs to live up to it, even if he has to make do with his ice-time typically being as a third-line center.
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Right about now, his cap hit is right in the sweet spot of what you want to pay your third line, namely $3.2 million this season. As of next year, that price takes a reasonable jump to $5.25 million per season.
In the current first round series with the Hurricanes, Coyle is neither dominating the play, nor giving up too much at even-strength. Through two games his Corsi For sits at 50%, while his Fenwick of 53.66% indicates we’re at the right end of the ice when he’s out there.
With that said, when you dig a little deeper it actually appears that Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has little trust in his third line, with Charlie Coyle seeing 93.75% of his even-strength starts in the offensive zone.
Right now, the eye-test suggests he’s doing a little better than his general stat lines; he has an even-strength goal too, 3:10 penalty-kill and 4:34 powerplay time – that shouldn’t be overlooked especially as we’ve only played two games so far.
Safe to say that although he’s used differently at even-strength, Cassidy sees good value in utilising Coyle on his special teams.
As an all-rounder that you want on your team come play-off time, Charlie Coyle absolutely excels. His regular season return of just 37 points from 70 games seems a little low even at just $3.2 million a year, but if he performs now, that will surely all be forgotten.
Perhaps the only concern is whether he can up his scoring game next season given he’ll be costing an additional $2.05 million each year for the next six!
Right now, his playoff value is clear and the Boston Bruins are genuinely lucky to have him. Whether the love for him continues is a big question moving forward though.
Statistics courtesy of Frozen Pool.