Ryan Spooner and the Bruins avoided arbitration Wednesday, but the 25-year-old center received only a one-year commitment from the team. That the Bruins did not invest in a multi-year term may signal they need to see more production and consistency from Spooner, whose game tailed off dramatically last season following a concussion.
Spooner missed three games after suffering the injury March 6 against the Senators. After returning, he went the final 13 games without scoring a goal. He managed only three assists during that span, one in the final 11 games.
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The 2010 second-rounder picked up two assists in the opening-round playoff series against Ottawa, but he was scratched the final two games after logging just 9:34 worth of ice-time in Game Four
"I’m going to spin (the one-year commitment) into a positive and say that I’m going to take that as a challenge to have a good year and show that I can be the player that they want me to be," Spooner said on a conference call with reporters. "Then on the downside, too, it kind of just shows that they need to see a little bit more out of me as a player. We’ve talked and they’ve said there’s many things that I do great and there’s a lot of things I do that help out the team. There are a lot of things that I could also bring to the table that I need to work on."
There is a reason Spooner was selected 45th overall, however. When on his game, Spooner is a skilled offensive talent, especially on the power play. Spooner recorded a career-high 49 points two seasons ago, but fell to 39 last year, though 18 of his points came on the high-powered B's power play.
It took him several years to stick at the NHL level before finally earning a full-time slot in 2015-16. Now, after agreeing to a deal which will pay him $2.825 million this season, Spooner needs to prove he is worth keeping in Beantown as the third-line center behind Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
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"When I kind of put that pressure on myself, I don’t really play well," explained Spooner. "So, I think for me, it’s kind of always worked best when I just try to have fun with it and I just kind of go out there and play hockey. I mean, it sounds kind of corny, but if you just go out there and you just play hockey and have fun with it, usually things tend to work out for me. That’s kind of the recipe for success that I’ve had."
In 214 career games, spread over parts of five seasons, Spooner does have 117 points, including 85 assists. With 46 of those points coming on the power play, where he plays on the right side as a left-handed shot, Spooner's value is still significant to the Bruins.
But he needs to further prove himself this season.