5 Boston Bruins to Blame For Embarrassing Start to 2024-25 Season

Through the first 10 games of the 2024-25 season, things have not gone as planned for the Boston Bruins. They are 4-5-1, there already have been multiple times where it appears that they have hit rock bottom, but just when you think that they have hit rock bottom, they seem to find another way to hit it again. It started with a frustrating overtime loss at the Utah Hockey Club, followed by a 4-0 loss at the hands of the then-winless Nashville Predators.

Things didn’t get much better when they returned home with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars was followed by an overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs where they allowed the tying goal with 1:17 left in regulation before a Brad Marchand goal in overtime win the game. Tuesday night at the TD Garden, they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that entered the game at 2-6-1 and heading toward the Draft Lottery. 

The way the Bruins are playing, you could make the case that they could be joining Philadelphia in the Draft Lottery, but there is still a lot of hockey left in the season. There is no doubt that there have been some members of the Black and Gold who have struggled to begin the season and these five players can be blamed for a bad start to the season.

Charlie Coyle

Last season when Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired in the summer of 2023, Charlie Coyle had a very good 2023-24 season at center GM Don Sweeney didn’t address that area. He played well in the top six for Jim Montgomery. We can’t say the same throughout the first 10 games of this season.

The Massachusetts native has just one goal with an eye-opening plus/minus of minus-8 and averaging 17:15 a night in time on ice. Even worse is his face-off percentage, which is 40.6%, something that can’t happen. He must turn things around quickly for the Bruins.

Pavel Zacha

Like Coyle, Pavel Zacha played very well last season, but this season, he hasn’t looked like the same player he was in 2023-24. After Sweeney signed Elias Lindholm in free agency, Zacha was moved to left wing on the first line with his new teammate and David Pastrnak. In 10 games, Zacha has one goal and three points in 19:15 a night, but like everyone else on the team, he hasn’t generated many high-danger chances and the Black and Gold need more from him. A lot more.

Trent Frederic

The last couple of seasons, Trent Frederic has been a key piece in the middle-six for Boston, but this season, in a contract season, he got just one goal and three points like Zacha. He has been moved around the lineup in an effort to get going, but it hasn’t worked out for him yet.

He struggled under former coach Bruce Cassidy, but when Sweeney fired him, Frederic played well in Montgomery’s system, but this year it’s been tough. When your big-name players are not producing, you need players like Frederic, who has shown flashes the last two seasons, to step up and produce.

Morgan Geekie

Like Frederic, Morgan Geekie is in a contract year and he has been an early-season disappointment. Coming off of a career year with 17 goals and 22 assists, he has just one assist this season. Like just about all the other forwards, he’s been moved around the lineup without having success.

In nine games as he was a healthy scratch against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct.16, he averaged 12:40 a night with a minus-5. Right now the Bruins are getting the Seattle Kraken version of Geekie and not last season’s.

Nikita Zadorov

The second biggest free-agent signing this offseason behind Elias Lindholm was his former teammate with the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, Nikita Zadorov. He provides much-needed toughness on the backend that the Bruins have been missing, but he’s had one major area where he’s struggled and it’s cost the Black and Gold on multiple occasions.

Zadorov has three assists and is averaging 18:52 a night through 10 games. However, he has been penalty-prone early in the season, which has put the opposing teams on power plays. He has made some big plays in all three zones, but parading to the penalty box does cause unnecessary wear and tear on the penalty kill unit.