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The 2014-15 season was a year of hits and misses for the Black and Gold.
In spite of a 96-point season, the Bruins saw their seven-year postseason streak come to an end, realized that their core may be aging faster than they originally anticipated, and ultimately saw their general manager take the fall for the club’s shortcomings. In the month of May, we’ll take a look at the season of every player on the B’s and their future with the club heading on into 2015-16.
The series continues with third-line forward, tunes and smiles himself,
Chris Kelly.
The Basics
Player: Chris Kelly
Age: 34
2014-15 Stats: Seven goals, 28 points, plus-6 rating in 80 games played.
Contract: $3,000,000 cap-hit through 2015-16 season.
How he got here: Acquired via trade with Ottawa Senators in Feb. 2011.
Overview
Boston forward Chris Kelly has been a target of often unwarranted criticism since signing a four-year, $12 million deal to remain with the club back in July 2012. That contract, on the heels of the only 20-goal season of Kelly’s NHL career, was dubbed an overpayment in both dollars and years for what Kelly brought to the table, and the no-trade clause it came with was the real kicker. I’ve admittedly disagreed with this notion time and time again, as I’ve never found Kelly’s contract to be truly terrible in any particular way (maybe it’s a year too long, but you could say that about almost every contract).
At the same time, though, the numbers that have followed that deal have given those folks some ammo. Since signing that deal, the Toronto, Ont. native has recorded just 19 goals and 55 points in 171 games over three seasons (he’s missed 42 games over the first three years of the extension, too). And he scored just two goals and notched a single assist in his lone 22-game playoff run with that contract. Kelly missed the end of the 2014 season and all 12 of top-seed Boston’s postseason games with a back ailment, as well. That injury ultimately prevented the Bruins from using one of their two compliance buyouts on Kelly, too, not that they would have if he was healthy anyways, from what I understood.
So, yeah, there’s been some criticism of No. 23. But in a year of busts and disappointments, I don’t think there’s any possible non-biased way you can look back at Kelly’s 2014-15 season with unforced frustration or harsh criticism. From start to finish, up and down the lineup, Kelly was a do-it-all talent for the Black and Gold. Like he’s always been (when, y’know, healthy).
A fixture on the B’s third line with
Loui Eriksson and
Carl Soderberg, Kelly brought an aggressive forechecking presence that allowed the greater-skilled Eriksson and Soderberg combination work their magic in the primetime scoring areas of the attacking end, gave the line some needed bite, and often served as the defensive zone face off option for the line.
His 80 games were the second-most in his B’s tenure, and the most since 2011-12’s highly success 20-goal, 39-point season as the club’s third-line pivot for the full 82.
The Good
Kelly’s year began with a #WayBackWednesday of sorts, with Kelly scoring his first game-winning goal since Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals in Boston’s opening night victory against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Another area where Kelly impressed? His ability to really prevent teams from sustaining a heavy attack against. Kelly’s CA60, 49.22, finished the year as the second best among Bruin forwards. Only, as you could guess,
Patrice Bergeron had a better figure there (47.17). Kelly’s shot suppression figures were also something to take comfort in as well. His two-way game remains a strength, no doubt.
The Bad
Aside from scoring goals like a fourth-liner, which honestly may be Kelly’s future with the club, the 34-year-old Kelly was another veteran presence that struggled to get anything -- and I mean anything -- going when the team needed it the most. Most notably, Kelly rode an 18-game streak without a point before recording an assist in Boston’s final game of the regular season. For a guy that was so dependable all season long, that proved to be a major killer for the Black and Gold. That hurt.
The Future
Kelly is under contract for one more season in the Hub, and by all means should remain with the club. Kelly’s no-trade does include an eight-team trade list, and while the club
could explore dumping his $3 million cap-hit in an effort to free up some money for Dougie Hamilton or a last-second bid to hang on to Soderberg, the expected loss of Gregory Campbell seems to line Kelly up as the Bruins’ second faceoff ace behind Bergeron, and will certainly give him a larger role in the defensive zone. Without a known commodity in the pipeline, that’d be a tough sell for a B’s club that can’t run Bergeron into the ground with a billion defensive zone starts and hours of PK time next season.
Previous Bruins Year in Reviews
Gregory Campbell
Brett Connolly
Milan Lucic
Reilly Smith
Danny Paille
Loui Eriksson
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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