When the Devils traded Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins for Erik Haula, many New Jersey fans were happy to see him go.
It wasn’t even the fact they were happy to be acquiring Haula, it was more focused on Zacha not being part of the Devils anymore.
Zacha never quite hit his ceiling in New Jersey, notching a career-high 36 points during the 2021-22 season and never hitting the 20-goal mark left fans frustrated at his production.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was confident Zacha would be a much better play in Boston, and Zacha echoed those sentiments throughout training camp.
“Well, we certainly hope (he can improve offensively),” Sweeney said during an August press conference. “You play with better players, you know, and opportunity-wise, hopefully you can take advantage of that.”
To say Zacha took advantage of improved linemates — Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand etc. — would be a massive understatement. He became a staple on the second line and, once the team was fully healthy, became part of the “Czech Line” with Pastrnak and Krejci.
He amassed 21 goals and 36 assists this season — both career-highs — and now he’s preparing for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Maybe all he needed was a change of scenery. Whatever it was, Zacha thrived in his first regular season in Black and Gold.
The Bruins began the season without Brad Marchand, leaving a spot on the top line that left Zacha as a possibility. When that news reached Devils fans, they really let their frustration fly, which made the below tweets age terribly.
The frustration was warranted, but it makes the season Zacha had that much sweeter for Bruins fans and, probably, Zacha, who was rewarded for his strong season with a four-year extension to remain in Boston.
But now both the Devils and the Bruins are preparing for the playoffs against the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers, respectively as they both try to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
