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3 Bruins Who Deserve the 2022-23 7th Player Award

Pavel Zacha Boston Bruins

It’s safe to say that the Boston Bruins have been the biggest surprise in the NHL this season. Expected to struggle at the beginning of the season missing three key players, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Brad Marchand, recovering from offseason surgeries and there were questions as to how they would be able to stay within an Eastern Conference playoff berth until they were fully healthy.

They survived the tough stretch to the beginning of the season and are on pace to capture home-ice advantage throughout their stay in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a league-high 113 points. They have been one of the top teams in the league this season because of several players that have stepped up and gone above and beyond their expectations. As the season winds down, it’s almost time to hand out the NESN 7th Player Award, handed out to the player that has gone above and beyond expectations this season. Here are three candidates to take home the award in April.

Pavel Zacha

There were not many changes to the Bruins roster last summer from the one that skated off the ice after losing Game 7 of the first-round series to the Carolina Hurricanes last May. General manager (GM) Don Sweeney made one move on the opening day of free agency and it wasn’t through a signing, but a trade when he acquired Pavel Zacha from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Erik Haula (from ‘Devils trade Pavel Zacha to Bruins for Erik Haula, The Athletic, July 13, 2022). What a deal this has turned out to be.

Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

Zacha has been a player that has been on Sweeney’s radar at previous trade deadlines, but he was finally able to land him last July. Zacha has been a tremendous addition to the Bruins lineup, slotting in perfectly on the second line next to David Krejci and David Pastrnak. In 70 games this season, the sixth overall pick of the 2015 Entry Draft has already set a career-high in goals (18), assists (30), and points (48), and he has a plus/minus of plus-25.

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Zacha provides first-year coach Jim Montgomery with a lot of flexibility to be able to slide into the middle at center and he has been a key contributor to the second power-play unit. He has been a huge addition to the Black and Gold this season and in the future in the top-six.

Trent Frederic

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