By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Not much went right for the Boston Bruins during the 2024-2025 season. Boston missed the postseason for the first time since 2015-2016 with a record of 33-39-10, ranking fifth worst in the league. But despite all the turmoil swirling through this Bruins year, David Pastrnak generated an incredible season.
Pastrnak was one of three Boston skaters, along with Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm, to suit up for all 82 games. With the Bruins not in their usual fight for playoff seeding, it would not have drawn much ire had the star winger taken a game or two off to nurse his body down the stretch. But Pastrnak chose the professional route and took the ice each night, regardless of outside circumstances.
Pastrnak finished his campaign with 106 points, as he buried 43 goals and collected 63 assists. He is the 24th player in the history of the National Hockey League to hit the century mark in points in three consecutive seasons. Other notable players who have reached this impressive plateau three years in a row include Nathan MacKinnon, Alex Ovechkin, and Nikita Kucherov. To nobody’s surprise, Wayne Gretzky is the all-time leader in consecutive 100-point seasons with 13.
As far as Bruins history is concerned, Pastrnak finds himself in elite company in multiple categories following his dominant campaign. The only Bruins skaters to accumulate more 100-point seasons are Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, who both accomplished the feat six times. By hitting the 40-goal mark for the fifth time, Pastrnak is now tied with Rick Middleton for the second most in franchise history. Esposito leads the way with seven 40-goal campaigns while dawning the Spoked-B.
Also, Pastrnak led the NHL in even strength points, accumulating an otherworldly 83. He was the lone player to put up at least 80 even strength points this season.
No skater in the league played a bigger role in their team’s offense. The Bruins scored 222 goals this year, and Pastrnak accumulated 106 points. That equates to Pastrnak scoring or assisting on a whopping 47.7 percent of Boston’s scores.
Pastrnak will most likely not take home The Hart as the NHL’s most valuable player, as only three players have won the award with their team failing to qualify for the postseason. (Leon Draisaitl also took home the award in 2020 with his Edmonton Oilers missing the playoffs, but that was the COVID year that included the play-in tournament. In a regular season, the Oilers would have almost certainly qualified.)
But Pastrnak carried the Bruins’ offense night in and night out. The opponent was able to focus mainly on shutting him down, as Boston did not have enough offensive firepower throughout their lineup to relieve that pressure.
But in a season where the Bruins front office moved on from Jim Montgomery as head coach and traded Captain Brad Marchand and other mainstays in the Boston locker room, Pastrnak continued to excel. He never had any of these problems interfere with his mindset or performance.
The Bruins will look for a new skater to dawn the “C” on their chest next season. Pastrnak put together a compelling argument to become the next Bruins captain, not only because of his play but also because of his attitude and commitment.
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