2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Boston Bruins
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
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In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
David Pastrnak
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 76.3 | 41.0 | 42.7 | 83.7 | 13.2 | 30.4 | 15.4 | 29.2 | 306.3 | 13.4% | 18.7 | 6.5 | 18.8 | 60.6 |
Pastrnak registered his second-career 40-plus goal season and topped 30 goals for the fifth time in six years. Since 2017, only Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have scored more goals than Pastrnak. Admittedly, his assist totals take a backseat to his goal-scoring, but he’s one of only a handful of players with a realistic shot at a 40-40 season each year.
Brad Marchand
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 59.7 | 27.4 | 43.2 | 70.6 | 15.5 | 65.8 | 5.3 | 22.3 | 181.0 | 15.1% | 19.2 | 13.5 | 15.7 | 62.8 |
The 2021-22 season was the first time since 2017 that Marchand didn’t score at a 100-plus point pace. Missing 12 games, he ended up finishing 33rd with 80 points (32G / 48A). In addition, it was the first time that the “Perfection Line” was broken up for an extended period, but the return of David Krejci should allow Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak to be reunited. Marchand is expected to be out until late November after undergoing arthroscopy and labral repair on both hips in May. As a result, Marchand will drop steeply in fantasy drafts but could still get to 70-plus points if he appears in roughly 60 games.
Patrice Bergeron
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.7 | 29.1 | 37.1 | 66.2 | 23.0 | 30.6 | 10.7 | 24.1 | 274.1 | 10.6% | 18.3 | 1006.1 | 47.6 | 70.4 |
Bergeron considered retirement this offseason but returned to the Bruins on an outrageously cheap one-year, $2.5M deal. Bergeron is coming off one of the most dominant defensive seasons in NHL history, winning his fifth Selke Trophy. Even in his mid-30s, Bergeron has averaged 35 goals and 39 assists (74 points) per 82-games over the last three seasons. Playing on one of the best lines in the NHL, Bergeron should be able to maintain that pace at age 37, but don’t expect him to play all 82 games. He’s missed 12.8 percent of the games over the last four seasons.
Taylor Hall
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 79.3 | 20.1 | 37.5 | 57.5 | 9.5 | 37.5 | 5.9 | 15.7 | 209.6 | 9.6% | 16.6 | 16.3 | 30.2 | 52.1 |
In 97 games with the Bruins, Hall has 28 goals and 47 assists (75 points). Hall only played 10.9 percent of his 5v5 ice time with Patrice Bergeron last season. He spent 80.2 percent of his time with Erik Haula and Charlie Coyle, but now he gets David Krejci back; the duo had outstanding success in a brief run during 2021. Hall played at a 72-point pace (41G / 31A) during that 16-game stretch. It’s difficult to buy into that small sample size, but it gives Hall plenty of sleeper potential entering 2022-23.
David Krejci
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.9 | 13.1 | 41.1 | 54.3 | 15.1 | 16.8 | 3.4 | 17.2 | 108.7 | 12.1% | 16.6 | 444.4 | 35.6 | 40.6 |
Krejci returned to the Czech Republic for one season, leading Olomouc HC with 46 points (20G / 26A) in 51 games. His numbers in 2020 and 2021 weren’t great, but he’s surrounded by highly talented wingers and could still get to 40-plus assists and 55 points if all goes well. However, with a lack of goal-scoring upside, Krejci is best left as a bottom-of-your-roster option.
Charlie McAvoy
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 59.3 | 6.8 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 18.3 | 45.9 | 2.8 | 14.0 | 116.5 | 5.8% | 24.3 | 0.0 | 100.1 | 105.0 |
McAvoy destroyed his previous career highs with ten goals and 46 assists (56 points) in 78 games in 2021-22. The breakout coincided with a massive jump in PP usage (3:07 PP TOI/gm) as he picked up 21 power-play points, topping his PP totals from his first four years combined. With no one on the roster to challenge him for the PP1 usage, McAvoy makes for a strong No.1 fantasy defenseman once he returns from injury. McAvoy underwent shoulder surgery in June and is expected to be sidelined until early December.
Craig Smith
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.5 | 17.9 | 20.9 | 38.9 | 10.9 | 29.7 | 2.3 | 5.5 | 194.7 | 9.2% | 14.4 | 8.3 | 23.5 | 92.3 |
Smith is a consistent, if not spectacular, producer with 25-25 upside. Getting David Krejci back could help Smith’s numbers in 2022-23. His xGF/60 goes from 2.61 without Krejci to 2.86 with him. It remains to be seen where Smith lands on the depth chart, so he doesn’t have enough upside to be drafted but makes for a strong streaming option.
Charlie Coyle
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 80.3 | 13.7 | 22.0 | 35.7 | -0.9 | 26.7 | 1.7 | 5.9 | 124.9 | 10.9% | 15.9 | 442.3 | 35.6 | 80.2 |
Coyle played a career-high 17:24 TOI/gm in 2021-22, but the return of David Krejci should see him back closer to 16:30 TOI/gm. As a third-line centre, Coyle doesn’t hold enough value to be drafted.
Pavel Zacha
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.6 | 15.3 | 22.0 | 37.3 | 8.3 | 18.7 | 4.5 | 9.3 | 134.3 | 11.4% | 15.4 | 252.8 | 17.9 | 71.0 |
Zacha was traded from New Jersey to Boston this offseason, and he’ll likely be stuck in the bottom-6 behind Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall. Zacha has never reached 20 goals or 25 assists in six seasons, so he’s nothing more than a streaming option.
Jake DeBrusk
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.1 | 19.3 | 16.1 | 35.5 | 4.1 | 12.2 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 170.3 | 11.4% | 15 | 9.8 | 25.7 | 57.0 |
DeBrusk is a difficult player to project because he could play anywhere from the first to the third line, as we saw from him in 2021-22. He’s been a streaky producer throughout his career, making him difficult to roster for an entire season, but he can be a great streaming option if he’s playing in the Bruins’ top-6.
Goalies
Jeremy Swayman
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 43.0 | 25.1 | 13.2 | 5.3 | 0.915 | 2.48 | 3.6 |
Trying to figure out how the Bruins will assign starts to Swayman and Linus Ullmark is impossible. A season ago, they both started 39 games, and Ullmark started the first two games of the playoffs. Eventually, they turned things over to Swayman, who performed much better. As a result, logic would suggest that he enters 2022-23 with the inside track to becoming their No.1 and potentially earning a few extra starts. In addition, the Bruins had the lowest Expected Goals Against in the NHL last season and should be among the best in that category this season. That makes both Swayman and Ullmark reliable fantasy starters, but they limit the other’s overall upside. It seems unlikely that Swayman will start enough games to make him a true No.1 fantasy option, but his splits could be among the league’s best, making him a high-end No.2 option.
Linus Ullmark
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 39.0 | 20.8 | 14.0 | 4.8 | 0.913 | 2.55 | 2.0 |
Even though Ullmark struggled in the postseason, he was very good for the Bruins during the regular season. He had a higher winning percentage (66.7%) than Swayman (59.0%), and their splits were nearly identical. He’ll undoubtedly be a factor this season, and even if he ends up with slightly fewer starts than Swayman, he could be equally valuable and should cost far less on draft day.
Remaining Bruins Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Hampus Lindholm | D | 72.0 | 4.9 | 21.5 | 26.4 | 11.3 | 47.6 | 1.1 | 6.4 | 136.2 | 3.6% | 22.4 | 0.0 | 90.9 | 63.5 |
| Matt Grzelcyk | D | 62.1 | 4.5 | 17.8 | 22.3 | 13.7 | 26.7 | 0.8 | 6.4 | 108.4 | 4.2% | 19.2 | 0.0 | 67.7 | 41.3 |
| Tomas Nosek | C | 73.0 | 6.7 | 12.7 | 19.4 | -1.1 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 91.4 | 7.3% | 12.8 | 328.0 | 33.7 | 86.8 |
| Nick Foligno | LW | 73.0 | 5.3 | 12.8 | 18.1 | -2.9 | 48.3 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 95.0 | 5.5% | 12.2 | 69.7 | 35.4 | 155.9 |
| Brandon Carlo | D | 77.3 | 5.7 | 10.2 | 15.9 | 4.7 | 32.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 123.7 | 4.6% | 19.7 | 0.0 | 99.1 | 133.4 |
| Trent Frederic | LW | 62.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 15.1 | 3.0 | 53.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 90.5 | 8.3% | 11.6 | 42.5 | 23.0 | 111.1 |
| Derek Forbort | D | 77.7 | 3.1 | 10.2 | 13.3 | 1.3 | 40.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 70.2 | 4.5% | 17.6 | 0.0 | 110.3 | 115.0 |
| Connor Clifton | D | 65.1 | 2.1 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 3.7 | 37.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 74.3 | 2.8% | 16 | 0.0 | 68.3 | 154.4 |