Bruins 2015-16 Report Cards: Goalies & Management
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- On the list of things to blame for the Bruins missing the playoffs this season for the second straight year, goaltending and coaching were low down. Nonetheless this season wasn't one to crow about for Tuukka Rask or Claude Julien.
General manager Don Sweeney had an up-and-down campaign and it's still not crystal clear what his plan is and how much of a mandate he has from ownership and president Cam Neely to execute the strategy.
Heading into next season we know Sweeney and Julien will definitely be in place at the start, and goaltender Tuukka Rask is a pretty sure bet to be between the pipes with a new backup looking on from the bench.
For now the Bruins have decided on stability rather than an overhaul in an effort to get back into the playoffs
Here are the 2015-16 report cards for the Bruins goaltenders, coach and general manager:
Tuukka Rask
Grade: B
For most of the season Rask was his elite best, especially considering the defensive garbage he had to deal with in front of him and the late-season scoring slump that left little room for error. The Bruins, however, needed him at the top of his game from the first game until the last, and his first couple of weeks and last couple of weeks did little to help a team in transition.
Jonas Gustavsson
Grade: B-
The Bruins found someone better that they could trust more than Niklas Svedberg and were able to reduce Rask's games played by six. Nonetheless, the days of Tim Thomas and Rask (or Anton Khudobin and Rask, or Chad Johnson and Rask) are way in the rearview now and the Bruins are paying the price for it. Gustavsson was only serviceable when the Bruins needed someone a little more reliable who could push Rask. He'll enjoy life back in the Swedish League next season (assuming he doesn't get a NHL job).
Claude Julien
Grade: B-
There's no doubt Julien's ice-time distribution and lineup choices left us scratching our heads at stretches. But let's face it, the guy didn't have the horses this season and did just as well as he could with an undertalented roster. He juggled his lines as often as he could while trying to find a winning combination with mostly lackluster performers on his lineup card. Down the stretch, you couldn't blame the guy for leaning on veterans over younger players in an effort to get into the playoffs based on the pressure that was probably coming down from on high. Over the course of the season he let the younger guys make mistakes and come back from them. Everyone associated with the Bruins agrees Julien hasn't lost the players' ears yet, but with a younger team the coach might need to be more vocal until players can grow into leadership roles or leaders are imported.
Don Sweeney
Grade: C
This is not a second guess, it's a first guess – the Bruins should have traded Loui Eriksson. It doesn't matter that with Eriksson the Bruins missed the playoffs. If they had made it, even if they had won the Atlantic Division, how far were they going to go? When you're in the Bruins' position, you can never have enough draft picks and prospects because you have to increase your odds that some will blossom. Instead the Bruins were buyers at the deadline and all they had at the end of the season was an extra couple weeks to assess the future of the organization. Most of Sweeney's work was meant to make the Bruins better in 2017 and beyond. So for now we'll assume that all these prospects he has are going to make him look smart in the future. Otherwise, it's been a rough start to the Sweeney era, without piling on and bringing up the Zac Rinaldo trade or even the Reilly Smith deal.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
