Would Marco Sturm please stop the madness? I get that coaches sometimes have favorites, and Sturm probably feels he owes Jonathan Aspirot some extra grace, since he plucked him out of the AHL after coaching against him for years and turned him into a full-time NHLer last year. However, as time goes on, we see why Aspirot was a career AHLer, and why the Boston Bruins should never be playing him over Frederic Brunet or Connor Clifton.
Aspirot played on the first pair with Charlie McAvoy last season out of necessity, as the defense was thin and no matter who they rolled out there, the production wasn't pretty. Aspirot became a steady presence for McAvoy, but the team's superstar needed someone with more pedigree to play alongside him, and the pair got caved in during the playoffs.
Whether that playoff run destroyed Aspirot's confidence or not is irrelevant; he can't play minutes for this Bruins team any longer. Every time he is on the ice, it feels like you are holding your breath waiting for his next mistake, and Monday night that one came when he lost his check in the defensive zone during a good man-on-man rotation and allowed Trevor Connely to bank the tying goal in off Jeremy Swayman's back.
It feels ridiculous to say, but after years of Mason Lohrei bringing down his partners in the defensive zone, Aspirot is now doing that to him. Lohrei has been spectacular this season, both in creating offense and making sound defensive plays we haven't really seen from him in his career. He was at his best when Brunet was his partner, and the rookie needs to come back in.
Marco Sturm's loyalty to Jonathan Aspirot is hurting the Bruins
One bad turnover against the Carolina Hurricanes has put Brunet in the press box for the last three games. While I don't like to question Sturm's decisions, as I feel he has been a great leader for the Bruins over the last two years, there have been a lot more established defenders than Brunet who make mistakes against that Hurricanes team, and pinning that one on him and holding it for three games is a bit much.
Brunet is faster, smarter, and more skilled than Aspirot. We've barely seen him pinch at the wrong moments, which Aspirot does multiple times per night, and he is often in the right place in the defensive zone, while Aspirot often finds himself out of position more than you'd like to see.
Aspirot should be the team's eighth defenseman, and really, he should be in Providence. Playing him above both Brunet and Clifton at this point makes no sense.
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