Another Bruins’ season is in the books and, for the 51st time in 52 years, it ended without a Stanley Cup. But with all things considered – retirements of two foundational players, very little spending money last summer – this was a reasonably successful season if you look at it for what it was. It was a bridge season.

Now GM Don Sweeney is on the other side of that bridge and he’s in good position to reap the rewards. But now comes the hard part – executing a plan to get the team back among the elites.

But before we embark on what should be an interesting summer, let’s take one final look back at the season that was. We do so with a generous eye, considering all the circumstances. Here are the final grades:

Forwards

Brad Marchand, A-: He did have a long cold spell in the second half of the season, but his mammoth Game 3 in the Toronto series is noteworthy. But Marchand gets the team’s top grade for the leadership he showed in his first year as captain, helping to make a patchwork lineup come together as a team.

David Pastrnak, B+: Great privilege comes with great responsibility and, when you get paid $11.25 million, you need to put away some of the great chances that Pastrnak had in the Florida series. He could have at least extended it to a Game 7 with his Grade A’s in Game 6. Also, his impact on the power play became non-existent in the second half of the season. But he did win the Toronto series with his scintillating goal and was forced to carry the team offensively most of the season.

Morgan Geekie, B+: Did anyone predict Geekie would be centering Pastrnak by the end of the season? Didn’t think so. It was not ideal, of course, but that’s not to say Geekie hadn’t rightly gained the trust of the coaching staff. Strong on the puck and in battles, the 25-year-old can be more than the fourth-liner most of us envisioned him to be.

Jake DeBrusk, B+: The revelation that the winger played most of the second half with a broken hand changes the perception of this player, as did the fact that he was one of their best postseason players.

Trent Frederic, B: He set career highs in goals and assists (18-22-40). But more importantly, he gained the confidence to just play his game without fear of messing up, especially in the playoffs.

Charlie Coyle, B: With the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, he bumped up in the lineup and held his own. His 25-35-60 totals were better than Bergeron’s and Krejci’s output in ‘22-23. Put another legitimate top-six scoring threat with him and he’ll be fine. But his playoffs (1-4-5 in 13 games) were underwhelming and his faceoffs, though he finished in the black (51.6%), ran too hot and cold. It also dropped to 48% in the playoffs

Pavel Zacha, B: Like Coyle, his 21-38-59 totals were better than Bergeron’s and Krejci’s from a year ago. He also showed good improvement on faceoffs (54.3%), though that dropped precipitously in the playoffs (47.4%). Like Coyle, he didn’t provide enough secondary scoring in the postseason. His first goal didn’t come until Game 6 of the Florida series.

Danton Heinen, B: A valuable utility player who can give you good work just about anywhere in the lineup. Provided he’s not looking for too much, he’s a player the B’s should look at re-signing.

Justin Brazeau, B: With his size and reach, the late-bloomer is an intriguing piece moving forward. He missed some valuable time with the late hand/wrist injury late in the regular season.

Matt Poitras, B-: The rookie provided an early spark that helped to put the B’s on the right path before his season-ending shoulder injury. Now that he can be sent to Providence, he’’ll need to bring it in September.

Jesper Boqvist, B-: As a fourth-line center/wing, he brought a calmness when the puck was on his stick in the D-zone. His game is best when he’s in the middle of the ice but he desperately needs to work on his faceoffs (35.7%). He was a little slow to pick up the B’s system, thus his start in Providence.

John Beecher, C+: We’ll never know how the Florida series would have played out if he buried his chance to put the B‘s up 2-0 in Game 2. With his speed and size, he’s a player who needs his motor to be going more consistently. But he did a decent job of resetting his game after a midseason demotion to Providence.

Jakub Lauko, C+: For a player whose game is predicated on bringing high energy, he didn’t bring it quite enough. His horrific eye injury in October set him back.

James van Riemsdyk, C-: He came back to life a bit in the playoffs (1-3-4) but in the regular season he did not score a goal after Feb. 17. For a player who saw considerable power play time, that’s not good.

Pat Maroon, Incomplete: After playing just two regular season games after back surgery, he brought a positive presence to the playoffs. If he could accept not being in the lineup every night, he’d be a worthy returnee on a short money deal.

Defense

Brandon Carlo, A-: As a defensive defenseman, he managed to lead the team at plus-23 while his offensive zone draws were just 21.2%. He was also the leading playoff goal scorer from the back end with the three, a good argument for a pucks-on-net philosophy.

Charlie McAvoy, B: He was good, then not-so-good and then really good in the regular season. But the alternate captain had some puck-handling issues in the playoffs and his power play work has been spotty.

Mason Lohrei, B: His grade jumped a half grade since the mid-term mark thanks to his impressive playoff run. He still needs to improve his defensive zone work, but the high-end stick skills and lack of fear of the big moment should rightly have B’s fans excited.

Andrew Peeke, B: Buried in Columbus, Peeke came to Boston and provided a rugged, in-your-face defensive style that the team needed on the third pair. Strong deadline deal pickup.

Hampus Lindholm, B-: Two and a half years into his Bruins stay, it’s hard to know just what Lindholm is. Is he the 53-point, Norris candidate dynamo of a year ago or the middling 23-point tweener of this season? Luckily for the B’s, the former showed up in Game 7 against Toronto.

Parker Wotherspoon, B- – Score another one for the pro scouting staff. The AHL cast-off came up from Providence and showed he can play at the NHL level.

Kevin Shattenkirk, B-: The veteran leaned into his strengths in the second half of the season and helped right the team’s flagging power play. His leadership was also pointed to by several players.

Matt Grzelcyk, C: He was off to a decent start but things went downhill when he suffered a torn oblique. He was victimized on a Toronto overtime goal and did not play again in the playoffs.

Derek Forbort, C-: Beset by health issues all season, he was never right. After undergoing two surgeries, his return to the lineup in the playoffs was a testament to his perseverance but it didn’t help the team. The character he showed in the end made it hard to give him anything lower than this grade.

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman, A: Good in the regular season, excellent in the postseason. The goalie-of-the-future’s time is now.

Linus Ullmark, A-: Maybe he’s played his last game as a Bruin, maybe not. But the 2023 Vezina winner had a good regular season and did his best to support Swayman in the playoffs without carping about having to wear a ballcap on most game nights.

Coaching

Jim Montgomery, B+: Seven too-many-men penalties in the playoffs will drop your grade a bit, but the fact is he made a hodge-podge roster better than anyone’s expectations.

General manager

Don Sweeney, A: After giving the players all that they needed to make a long run last year – the failure was on them, mostly – he made the best of a transition season. He also picked up a good bottom pair defenseman (Peeke) at the deadline for Jakub Zboril and third-rounder in 2027. Now, with $21 million of spending money, he’s on the clock to get this team over the hump.