Paille/By S. Bradley
A season dominated by 35 healthy scratches might be enough for some players to quit, or at least ask for a trade somewhere there might be more playing time.
But Daniel Paille took head coach Claude Julien’s decision to sit him for the bulk of the first two thirds of the season as motivation to work harder and then prove he belonged in the lineup once the coach gave him the go-ahead.
Paille did just that with some masterful penalty-killing and even some offensive contributions down the stretch and in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup champion Bruins. Paille believed he was going to be part of something special, whether he was playing or not, and he was right.
Stats
Regular-season: 43 GP, 6-7-13, plus-3
Playoffs: 25 GP, 3-3-6, plus-2
Contract status: Signed through 2011-12 at a cap hit of $1.075 million
Best regular-season moment: The Bruins needed a win April 2 against Atlanta to clinch the Northeast Division title. Paille’s unassisted shorthanded goal tied the game, which they later won on Michael Ryder’s penalty shot. Paille was also plus-1 that night.
Best playoff moment: Although he was great without recording a point in 11:10 of ice time in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Paille was at his best in Game 3 while logging 14:59 of ice time. Paille recorded a shorthanded goal and an assist to go with a plus-2 rating. He registered five hits and spearheaded a perfect 8-for-8 night for the Bruins’ penalty kill.
Worst moment: Paille’s late hit to the head of Dallas’ Raymond Sawada Feb. 3 cost Paille a four-game suspension and set a poor example, considering the Bruins have been at the forefront as far as trying to get headshots out of the sport in the aftermath of injuries to the likes of Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron. Paille wasn’t very apologetic at first, but over the course of the season he came to realize there were better ways he could’ve approached that play.
Regular-season grade: B-minus
Playoff grade: A-minus. The penalty kill went through some tough stretches and Paille could’ve cashed in a little more on his offensive chances.
Carnac predicts … Paille will continue to play a key role for the Bruins on the penalty kill and fourth line until he’s pushed out of the lineup by a prospect or two.
McTeagle that is the PK where I think I started referring to him as the one man PK machine, and honestly while Paille may not have skated as many minutes as some of the top line forwards, I think his contributions on the PK went a long way towards shutting down the Canuck’s PP (which was very good during the regular season and in the play offs up until they played the Bruins). I think shutting down their PP pretty much made it possible for the Bruins to dominate the 5 on 5 and win the cup.
Paille definitely earned his place on the team-especially after his disaster of a start to the regular season.
Some may still view him as a first round draft bust, but that bust has his name on the cup.
my favorite Paille moment was I believe early in the series against TB… anyone else remember his one-man PK, where he dominated up and down the ice for about 50 seconds?
There was a long stretch during the season where I thought Paille was a waste of cap space.
Since moving to the 4th line and turning into a one man PK machine I have come to appreciate where he does have talent.
When he gets a breakaway I still don’t expect him to score, but I love his aggressiveness on the PK and think he has found a niche on the 4th line with Campbell and Thornton and I think they turned into one of the toughest 4th lines in the league. I am sure the Canucks would agree.
another worst moment was that first game against the yotes which turned into all those healthly scratches.
in addition to being a pk monster, paille helped get the 4th line mojo back.
He was huge on the PK. Loved his wheels and hustle. Well done Danny boy.