Bruins Midseason Report Card: Claude Julien, Peter Chiarelli Providing Strong Leadership Atop Club

There are more than just players involved in building a championship team. The men who put together the roster and then guide it through the season and playoffs play a mighty big role as well.

The Bruins have been fortunate with the current occupants of those two positions, with coach Claude Julien and general manager Peter Chiarelli playing integral parts in Boston’s championship quest last season.

There’s no doubting the success they had then. That shiny silver trophy they hoisted is proof enough of that. But how have they fared so far in trying to keep the Bruins atop the hockey world?

The midseason report card concludes with an evaluation of the two men primarily responsible for putting together and leading this team in its quest for a repeat championship.

Claude Julien

Julien finally silenced the critics that dogged him for so much of his tenure in Boston with last year’s championship and his masterful handling of the club en route to that title. Some naysayers reared their heads again when the Bruins got off to a 3-7-0 start in October, but those criticisms had little merit either. Julien guided the club out of that Cup hangover malaise and back to the top of the standings with a remarkable 25-4-1 run from the start of November until mid-January. The Bruins stumbled a bit heading into the break with a 3-3-1 mark over its final seven games, but still have a tight hold on the Northeast Division lead with a four-point edge and five games in hand on second-place Ottawa.

Boston (31-14-2, 64 points) is just two points behind the Rangers for the Eastern Conference lead and is tied for the fourth-highest point total in the league. Boston has excelled in all facets of the game, leading the NHL in scoring (3.53 goals a game), ranking fourth in teams GAA (2.15), first in goals differential (plus-69, with Detroit a distant second at plus-43) and their one of just three teams in the top 10 in both penalty killing (7th, 85.1 percent) and power play (10th, 18.7 percent). Julien has gotten tough when needed, calling out players to get them going and disciplining others when warranted, while also showing a knack for when to ease back on the reins when the schedule required a rest.

Midseason Grade: A

Peter Chiarelli

Chiarelli didn’t have to be too active this offseason, wisely choosing to keep his championship roster as intact as possible. He lost three significant pieces in Mark Recchi (retirement), Michael Ryder (signed with Dallas) and Tomas Kaberle (signed with Carolina), while adding Joe Corvo and Benoit Pouliot. Corvo has struggled at times, but with one-year left on a contract with a $2.25-million cap hit he’s still a far superior option to Kaberle, whose three-year, $12.75-million deal has already been unloaded on Montreal, with Kaberle managing just 1-21-22 totals in 49 games and the Habs dead last in the NHL on the power play at 12.6 percent. Ryder has been effective for the Stars (17-15-32, plus-6), but his two-year deal at $3.5 million a season would be tough to manage next year with so many other contracts coming up, and Pouliot has proved a decent replacement (8-9-17, plus-18) at good value (one year, $1.1 million).

Chiarelli has also been proactive in re-signing other key players. It took until late in the summer, but he got a deal done with restricted free agent Brad Marchand, and also inked Adam McQuaid, Rich Peverley and David Krejci to extensions before they could reach free agency next summer. There’s still more work to be done with Tuukka Rask, Chris Kelly, Pouliot, Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille, Shawn Thornton, Johnny Boychuk and Corvo all up after this year, but Chiarelli has locked up most of the essential parts for at least one more season. A midseason grade is difficult to assign a general manager, as Chiarelli’s biggest in-season moves will come over the next month leading up to the Feb. 27 trade deadline. Chiarelli has always been active before the deadline and this year should be no different with the Bruins possessing plenty of cap space for this season and seeking some veteran help for depth both on the blue line and up front. Don’t expect any major moves to disrupt the chemistry the team already has in place, but Chiarelli will likely tinker a bit with some complementary parts. How those moves work out will be determined in the coming months, but for now there’s not much to complain about with the work Chiarelli has done so far.

Midseason Grade: A-

Saturday: Grading the Bruins goalies in the midseason report card.

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