Frank Vatrano’s 2017-18 was forgettable, and that got him traded

Frank Vatrano - C

Analysis:

Frankie V’s final season as a Bruin (for now) was...less than impressive. For a number of reasons. It mostly started as many open roster spots did this year; someone got hurt, and so the next man up was him. But unlike all the other pleasant surprises that the season brought with rookies and old boys alike, the B’s never really found what made Vatrano so good in the first place, and eventually found why; being a volume shooter is only fine when you’re shooting good shots.

Which is good when you actually score...

...But if you can’t turn that volume shooting into dangerous shots, then it’s not gonna mean much in the grand scheme of things. And that’s not really a good sign you’re well on your way to being moved down the roster depth little by little until you just aren’t playing, which is exactly what happened to him this year.

After 25 games, of which Vatrano began playing less and less, reaching it’s nadir in February, he was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he ended up playing an additional 16 games, and picking up 8 points with his new team.

Aggregate Grade: D+

It’s sad that a local boy playing for the local NHL team couldn’t carve out a roster spot. It’s especially disappointing from an analytical perspective too, as he clearly had plenty of potential and was never a net-loss in terms of shot differential. But different times and new faces made him generally expendable, and thus a player who could’ve certainly been something...just didn’t materialize. And what we got was a player who contributed little and was ultimately dealt so Boston could draft Jakub Lauko.

SKATR Visual: