Boston Bruins: Handing Out 2020-21 Awards

Now that the dust has settled on the 2020-21 National Hockey League season for the Boston Bruins, it’s time to look back on the 56-game regular season with some awards for the Black and Gold.

This season was certainly filled with some ups and downs, as Boston began the season 10-1-2, despite missing the co-winner of the Maurice Rocket Richard Award from the 2019-20 season in David Pastrnak, who was recovering from offseason surgery.

The strong start was also surprising considering that the defense looked different with Torey Krug leaving in free agency for the St. Louis Blues and former captain Zdeno Chara also bolted in free agency, down to the Nations Capital to the Washington Capitals.

The Bruins went younger on defense, struggled with injuries all over the ice to key players, battled through two COVID-19 breaks in their schedule in February by their opponents, then survived a shutdown of their own in mid-March for a week. Despite all that and some very inconsistent play from some players they were expecting more from, they were able to get into the East Division playoffs, before being bounced in the second round by the New York Islanders.

With all that said, let’s take a look back at the 2020-21 Boston Bruins by handing out some awards for the Black and Gold.

Hart Memorial Trophy: Brad Marchand

Is there seriously any question as to who should win this award? Brad Marchand led the Bruins in scoring in several departments, but just as important, it was his work on the penalty kill that helped Boston finish second in the regular season to the Vegas Golden Knights on the PK.

Marchand finished 29 goals, good for sixth in the league and his 40 assists tied him for ninth in the NHL. He finished with 69 points and was third in the league behind Edmonton Oilers teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Marchand had five game-winning goals, three shorthanded goals, and had four power play goals, and 14 power play assists. He did it just about all facets of the game for the Bruins.

McDavid will most likely be the NHL’s winner for the award after collecting an insane 105 points this season. Marchand was not a finalist for the Trophy, but it will be interesting to see where he falls when the final voting is announced during the Stanley Cup Final.

Regardless, when the Black and Gold needed a goal, a timely penalty kill, or just an energy shift, No. 63 seemed to provide it.

Vezina Trophy: Tuukka Rask

Ok, I agree, this wasn’t the smoothest of seasons for Tuukka Rask, but when push came to shove when he was playing, he left it all on the ice for the Bruins.

Following the playoff elimination at the hands of the Islanders, Rask revealed that he played the end of the season and playoffs on a torn hip labrum. It will require surgery this offseason and could keep him sidelined until January or February of 2022 if he re-signs with Boston of course.

In 24 games this season, Rask went 15-5-2 with a 2.28 goals-against average (GAA) and finished with a .913 save percentage (SV%) with two shutouts. Rask missed most of the month of March with an injury, but when he returned for the final month of the regular season, he played some of his best hockey of the season.

He won seven of last eight games, which included his two shutouts of the season against the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. While the beginning of the season was a bit of a struggle, the end was strong when his teammates needed it.

At 34 years old, what does Rask do this summer? Re-sign or retire? It’s going to be interesting.

Norris Trophy: Charlie McAvoy

When Krug and Chara left in free agency, there was no question as to who the Bruins coaching staff and front office was going to look at as the new leader of the defense, and Charlie McAvoy proved to be more ready for the challenge in the regular season.

In 51 games this season, McAvoy had five goals and 25 assists and finished with plus/minus of plus-22. Impressive for a 23-year-old. The former Boston University product also reached a career-high with 24 minutes a night of time-on-ice.

He had career-highs in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 58.2 and Fenwick-for percentage (FF%) at 59.2.

McAvoy’s best pairing this season was when Cassidy moved Matt Grzelcyk beside him, but McAvoy is clearly ready to just to begin to hit his stride as a top defenseman in the NHL. Last season, he finished 10th in voting for the Norris Trophy. This season’s award is another one that will be handed out during the Stanley Cup Final, but rest assured, expect McAvoy to be higher than 10th in the voting.

Calder Memorial Trophy: Jeremy Swayman

Who was the Bruins’ best rookie this season? Well, our winner didn’t even make the roster out of training camp, but made a name for himself early in the season with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), before bursting onto the second in Boston.

When Rask went down in March with an injury and when backup Jaroslav Halak followed shortly after with a COVID-19 shutdown, the Bruins turned to rookies Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar to hold down the fort until one of the veterans were able to get back on the ice.

Hold down the fort is exactly what Swayman did.

The former University of Maine standout went 7-3 with a very impressive 1.73 GAA and a .945 SV%. He had his first two career shutouts and allowed just 15 goals on 271 shots. He shut out the Islanders and New York Rangers, and he won all four of his starts at the TD Garden. He was a big reason why the Bruins were able to secure a playoff spot down the stretch with some key performances.

It’s no secret that there are a lot of questions surrounding the Bruins goaltending situation this summer, but the future looks bright with Swayman in the net, assuming he beats out Vladar. Is he ready to carry the load of an NHL season yet? Probably not, but there’s a lot of like about the potential of the future in the Bruins’ net.