Boston Bruins: Analyzing and grading the 2019-20 season of Matt Grzelcyk
By Matt Hawkins
How did Boston Bruins’ defenseman Matt Grzelcyk do in 2019-20?
The Boston Bruins drafted defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in the third round (85th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Since then you could argue he’s been a steal from that draft class.
2019-20 was Grzelcyk’s best. In 68 games, he registered career-bests in every major offensive category, scoring four goals and 17 assists for 21 points. He was able to do this while playing over a minute less per game than he did in 2018-19.
Grzelcyk was also responsible for manning the point on the B’s second powerplay unit. Of Grizz’s 21 points, seven (one goal, six assists) came on the powerplay.
Grizz also had a very good plus/minus (+/-) and expected plus/minus (E+/-) in 2019-20 with a +15 +/- and +7.7 E+/-. This is great to see for the budding offensive-minded blueliner as his +/- last year was just a +9 and his E+/- was a -2.3.
This can be explained by the fact that Grzelcyk’s expected goals against (xGA) significantly improved from 2018-19 to 2019-20. He was able to bring it from 45.2 down to just a 34.8 while playing two more games.
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Additionally, Grzelcyk cut down his penalty minutes significantly. After having 68 penalty minutes in 66 games in 2018-19, he had just 34 penalty minutes in 68 games in 2019-20.
In the playoffs, Grizz struggled like most of the Boston team. In 12 games, he recorded just one assist and had a +/- of -5.
Matt Grzelcyk’s grade for his 2019-20 season with the Boston Bruins.
Grizz significantly improved from 2018-19 to 2019-20. He was able to play better defense while also recording career-best offensive stats.
Furthermore, he was able to cut down on the number of penalties he took, cutting his penalty minutes nearly in half. This is huge as Grizz is a big offensive weapon at even strength and on the powerplay. He has the ability to drive and control play, and if he’s in the box, he can’t do this.
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With Grizz posting career-bests on offense and drastically improving defensively but having a lackluster postseason, I think the grade of an A- is appropriate.