It's starting to look like the lasting memory that Boston Bruins fans will have of Charlie Coyle is the haul that Don Sweeney received for him in the trade at the 2025 deadline. In what looked like a minor deal for a player who gave the Bruins some great years, Boston received breakout prospect Will Zellers, who could impact the organization for years to come.
Coyle's most recent milestone with the Columbus Blue Jackets has Bruins fans remembering the Massachusetts native once again, as his 1000th game comes after playing nearly half of those in a Boston uniform.
Thank you Charlie Coyle. One of the main reasons the Bruins were as competitive as they were in the last half decade. A total workhorse who filled a variety of roles and carried a team last year out of nowhere.
— Mike From Woburn (@MikeFromWoburn) March 7, 2025
Wishing him the best of luck in Colorado. pic.twitter.com/vk4AHEtSpe
The Bruins aren't the team with which Coyle played the most games, as he played 479 with the Minnesota Wild and 452 with the Bruins. However, it was a productive seven seasons for the forward from Weymouth, during which he totaled 230 points.
The highlight of Coyle's Bruins career happened in the same year that Boston acquired him at the trade deadline. His hometown team needed some forward depth heading into the 2019 postseason, and the acquisition of Coyle proved to be their most savvy. After a slow start to his tenure in the regular season, the center turned it on in the postseason, recording 16 points in 21 games and coming just one win short of winning a Stanley Cup for his city.
Coyle had some more great moments for Boston, including dressing in every game over a three-season stretch from 2021 until the Bruins traded him last Winter. It's hard to understate his impact during the 2023-24 season, when he was thrust into the first-line center role after Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci's retirement, and recorded 60 points in 82 games, far and away his career high.
Charlie Coyle scores the shorthanded breakaway against Juuse Saros.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 3, 2024
1-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/1vmxzuX75Q
Coyle's tenure was an interesting one. Don Sweeney acquired him to be their third-line center, but most of his time in Boston saw him punching above his weight class and playing big minutes. It led to some thinking he underachieved, but you have to give him appreciation for always being there and stepping up when the team needed him most.