could be Dan, we shall see. I respect your opinion regardless. I think you've got 5+ years of good hockey left in Bergeron and Krejci, and Id stress the +. more or less everyone else will be either hitting their prime in that window or not even there yet. Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, and Marchand are 4/6th of the top 6 that won a Cup, lost a Cup and won the President's Trophy all in different years in a 4 year window. Although they don't have gaudy numbers they've more than proven to be very good. Bergeron has gotten his due, I don't believe that Krejci has. He could be a monster in the postseason this year. Last year he was not, which is an anomaly for him. This year he is well rested and healthy. There aren't many, maybe not even any, defenseman that have as high a ceiling as Hamilton and are as young as he is. He still needs to be protected out there and shouldn't be thrown to the wolves so early in his career, this is where I blame Chara and Seidenberg. Ive said from the hop that Hamilton is a Pietrangelo type D. Dougie is on much faster track though, it took Pietrangelo 3 years to become an NHL regular where as Dougie jumped as soon as possible (post lockout). Hamilton was the Bruins 2nd leading scorer when he went down and is their best D in terms of possession numbers. He still has his moments of terribleness but they are getting more rare by the week. This kid is a star in the making and isn't going to be abused by McEichel. Krug is improving his overall game, still not great but he is a weapon on the pp, i wouldn't look to trade him but if a team was willing to over value him Id certainly hope that PC would listen. I believe that he does have pretty good value as well. i see bottom 6Fs are probably the easiest fix for any position on an NHL roster. Bruins just need to identify what their identity will be moving forward and see what opportunities exist out their to add on. I hope they return to the bastards of the NHL. I like them adding in the speed element but its plain as day that teams no longer fear for their lives like they used to. this change doesn't seem to be from roster turnover more philosophy.
just a funny pic that i wanted to archive for future use. that mustache/glasses combo is really something.
Matty, I want to keep this conversation going as I consider your team a fascinating case study. They're at a point, IMO, where critical decisions need to be made. (I carefully chose "critical" rather than "crucial".) FWIW, I tried to reply two days ago, but my server kept crashing. I will, of course, defer to you because of your greater familiarity with your locals, and your better knowledge of the game, (you may well have the highest hockey IQ on MnC.) I feel my aptitude is in sizing up a team - I'm not so good at individual evaluation. What I see is a "what-the-F!-happened-to-us? kind of team this year! The circumstances are different but it's similar to VAN last year and SJ this season. They just don't have the right mix. The Nucks proved that a good enema can work wonders, but I'd be more concerned about cleaning things up rather than reloading for a SC run as the team preps for '15-'16. The identity of the hockey team from Boston - as you alluded to - is what they need to work on. In that respect, losing Benning may have been the organization's biggest personnel loses in recent years. BTW, I hope we can hook up in Boston in mid-June. I'll take this offline as we get closer. (I have a confession to make. Since getting to know you I have found my "hatred" for the hockey team from Boston softening. I now maintain the hate for the sake of historical tradition and just for the good old fashioned fun of it.)
I'm sorry to have to tell you that no one other than a Masshole is gonna feel sorry for you: - First, it IS the hockey team from Boston that we're talking about. - Second, you guys have the Lombardi Trophy. The Sabres have nothing but the hope of being the spoiler. (I am going to assume that they do not break the Jackets' winning streak, and have locked in their 100% odds at McEichel.) Their final game will be "Fan Appreciation Night" at FNC vs. the Penguins. Interesting, they could play the dual spoiler role that night, (PIT & BOS). Pittsburgh will - or at least should - be highly motivated since they don't have a first. But they have fallen into severe suckitude lately, so you never know. It would be ironic if on FAN the Sabres spoil their fans' hopes by winning that night, and drop to #29. Of course, that would be predicated on them first beating CBJ. I am severely disenchanted with my fellow fans these days. In the long run I obviously want to have Connor McJesus or Jack Eichel, but there would be a lot of short term glee in hearing the wailing eminating from WNY if they end up getting #3. I have said this before, there's lots worse fate that could befall a team than to miss the playoffs given this draft class. Even if you draft 14 you'll get a top-10 talent.
i'm gonna have to disagree with u on this, dan. i feel bad for matty. i don't feel bad for the bruins, or for 99.9% of their fanbase - but matty is a notable exception. few fans of their teams are as objective as he is, and as willing to freely admit that some of those players are scumbags. make no mistake - if the Br00nz miss the playoffs, it will put a big grin on my face, thinking about how bitter some losers will be over it, and how desperately they'll be working to rationalize how it was everyone's fault but boston's. but none of that applies to matty. and, if it's any consolation, all of us that actually understand hockey realize that every time anyone beat the Bs this season, they were BEYONG LUCKY to do so. well, that, and of course, the refs and league hate the Bs, and needless to say conspired against them.
Lulz, you are quite correct about your comments about Matty. I will not feel sorry for him if the hockey team from Boston is hitting the links in a week, but I will feel bad for him. Actually, my best laid plan would be for BUF to lose to CBJ, and thus force BOS fans - and enable Sabres fans alike - to cheer wildly for BUF to beat PIT. In this scenario BUF is assured of a top two pick, EDM gets two top-14 picks, and Boston gets to witness NYC's dominance over their burgh once again.
I wish Sabres fans could be consistently objective. What separates us from Islander fans is that Buffalo fans can, in general, talk more intelligently about the game. Their lack of this often makes me regret my choice for where to be born.
http://www.csnne.com/blog/bruins-talk/bruins-confirm-chara-tears-pcl-out-4-6-weeks This was the injury earlier this year http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/744758 No surgery. Permanent tear. Is this the a type of thing a player can play with and be the same? I have no idea how this condition changes what a player does.
i find it nearly impossible to believe an athlete can perform as well with a permanently torn PCL. the PCL stabilizes the knee, with its main function to prevent the shin from moving back relative to the femur. at the very least, i have to believe he'd be in constant pain. this strikes me as an athlete trying to paint an unjustifiably rosy picture, and a couple of sports writers who should report on bake sales instead.
Shero and Don Sweeney rumored to be front runners. hoping we don't have to hear about Millbury and Pierre. i wonder where Claude stands now, probably depends on who the new GM is.
To me, Chiarelli is the wrong scape goat; the team missed the playoffs, but they did get 97 points. Of course the real scape goat is the owner, but he won't fire himself. The Seguin and Boychuk trades probably hurt his cause; and I guess the GM is ultimately responsible for setting up a team's system. I just think this was an impetuous reaction by a pompous owner the "we won't accept anything but the best!" As I've stated before, the team has very important decisions to make this off season and they probably do not need to make a lot of changes to return to the playoffs. Chiarelli had a lot of success there and I think they'll be lucky if their next GM is on par with him. Personally, I'd be pretty surprised if the new GM retained Claude. I think the team needed an enema and instead they've decided to fall on the sword.
great post Dan. i think so too. id say the players are the first ones to blame here. Bergeron & Rask were the only consistently good players this team had. Marchand, Eriksson & Hamilton had their good moments and Pastrnak & Spooner showed skill and played well for young guys. but really other than that everyone else was a disappointment. Everyone. Backup goalie, all bottom 6Fs, most top 6Fs, all the D?.especially the D. Also not sure if the team was tuning Claude out but I don't think so. This roster should've gotten it done. thats a good way to put it. i also wonder if Neely had anything to do with this. Ive never really had a strong read on the PC/Neely and CJ/Neely relationships. Cload and Chiarelli sent out veiled shots on one another last week. and was it really Charlie Jacobs pulling the strings on this or was old man Monty Burns behind this? from the Bruins site and no surprise on that first name- the regimes before Chiarelli (end of Sinden + O'Connell) eras were dreadful, even the good regular season teams were mental midget ballerinas in the post season. 1 series win in 10 years. Chiarelli 10 series wins in 9. Chiarelli built tough teams to beat over a series. Granted, some of PC's pieces came from the O'Connell era.
