If I were the Bruins....

[nORRis8]

This is not the same team that won the Cup 4 years ago by any stretch of the imagination.

Gone from the forward lines...Recchi, Seguin, Ryder, Thornton all gone.

My understanding is that Recchi was incredible in the room....something truly missing from this team.

Why did we trade Boychuck?

Lucic looks confused and frustrated.

Smith who was supposed to be a poor man's Seguin had a great first year....appears to be a chemistry problem.

Marchand is MIA most nights.

Krejci is suffering due to Lucic being so horrible.

Chara is not the dominant shut down defenceman anymore.

Bruins are missing Iginla 30 goals.

Ericsson is a good player but he's on the wrong team.

Tuukka....the game last night was indicative of how he plays. First two Oiler goals he's sliding around in the crease on his knees. An Oiler gets the puck in the slot and goes upstairs.

I could care less if they make the playoffs. This is not a playoff team.

Time to shed some weight starting with Chara.

Chara will make 7 mil next year, 5mil....then 4 mil in the next 3 years.

Decide what they want to do with Soderberg. This talented center man at 1 mil a year is the Bruins 2nd leading scorer.

With the traffic jam at defence...Bartowski is not a starter. Definite trade bait.Solid 6th d-man.

The Bruins have 5 natural center man on their starting lineup. Got to cut someone loose and get a scoring winger.

Krejci Bergeron, Campbell, Soderberg, Kelly.

Of the 5 and taking in consideration of the cap....have to cut Krejci loose.

See what interest there is in Louis Ericcson.

Ooooooooooooor.....get a different coach because this is no longer a Claude Julien type of team.

Plenty of options....time for Chiarelli to pull a rabbit out of his ass because the decisions he has made since the Cup win have been a Gong Show.

[nORRis8]

Sorry about the long post but I do not post here often.

[flyercanuck]

Hard to replace what you're losing in Chara. His game is fading fast, and without him you also lose a lot of toughness from all your other players. 

 

Seguin is exactly what this team could use right now. it sucks you had to trade him away (I know why)

 

I can't see Boston calling it a season until they are out of it, so I don't see them making a Kreji type deal until the end of the year. 

 

If its time for a rebuild, you could also trade Rask if someone wanted to back a truck up for him. 

[nORRis8]

Gave up on Seguin due to his partying for about a year after the Cup win.

Then in the playoffs when he could not hit the broad side of a cows ass...they turfed him.

Then again ....different Bruin management did the same to Joe Thornton a few years ago.

Somethings wrong with Lucic. He seems messed up. Loss of confidence.There's a real lack of chemistry on their line. He has scored 30 goals in this League...last night he missed on a breakaway....an open net plus a shootout chance.

At 6'3" and 235 and not using it by getting involved by hitting and hitting often....and if you can't score....then just bulk up and become a 1.5 million 4th line player/enforcer.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Well, let me preface this by saying that as a Lightning fan, I LOVE seeing the Bruins like this. 

It's just natural for me. A long dominant team, now not so much....but hey, that is the way it is in pro sports. You are the underdog team, people want to see you succeed...if the underdog ever becomes the team that wins alot, then people wanna see you go down....wash, rinse, repeat...circle of life in sports fandoms.

 

Ok..now that I got that out of the way, I will speak as an NHL fan. 

 

I don't profess to know what exactly can fix the Bruins' "issues", however, one common theme I am seeing with the team the last season or so is overall team speed....or more precisely, the lack thereof.

 

You hit the nail on the head, Norris, with your opening post: This is NOT the same team that won the Cup and went back to the SC Finals.

Guys that were on those squads are gone, the ones that remained have declined in skill or couldn't replicate whatever success they've had before....and on top of that, the Bruins had to work in some new bodies, do it under very little room cap wise, and made some questionable decisions (Boychuk for instance) regarding personnel....though to be fair, due to the aforementioned cap crunch, not really sure how many choices they had in making those decisions.

 

But overall team speed is severely lacking.

Bruins are still a big, tough bunch...and play their best when they dictate the pace to a 'half ice' type game, play solid in front of Rask, then have guys like Bergeron, Krejci, and Marchand take advantage of offensive opportunities.

 

But when faced with very quick teams like the Habs, Wings, even the Flames from a few nights ago, the Bruins deficiency in team speed is quite evident.

What good is size and strength if you can't catch the other team, right?

 

With all due respect to Zdeno Chara's career, right now, he is an anchor (and I don't mean that in a good way) to the team.

Bruins badly need some fresh legs and Chara's age combined with his salary just about ensures that the Bruins would need to take a loss on any trade (if there is any to be had) involving him.

 

Milan Lucic's problems? Honestly, I have always thought he was overrated. Seriously. This isn't a "take a cheap shot at Lucic" thing.

Sure, the guy is big, strong, can play the game...but really, to me, he is a glorified 3rd liner who, IMO, has reaped the benefits of having excellent linemates and a good system to play in.

Ultimately, the cream has to rise to the top, and since I don't believe Lucic is creamy, I am not surprised he is struggling.

 

Some positives for the team?

Tuuka Rask.

Yes, Tuuka Rask. The guy is simply a solid goaltender, defensive system or no. He may show signs of weakness here and there, but if the team in front of him were a bit quicker to limit scoring chances, maybe he wouldn't have to scramble around as much.

 

Dougie Hamilton.

While I won't anoint him as the next great defenseman, his combination of size, skating, and playing ability projects him to be a good all around defenseman...something many teams want and the Bruins have in him...and he will only get better over time.

B's could definitely build their defensive corp around him.

 

David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.

Those two vets are probably the ones other teams would LOVE to pluck right away off the Bruins roster.

It's guys like them, who don't as much press as some of the other better known Bruins, that make the team go.

I don't have statistical evidence to back this up, but I am willing to bet, that any successes that other forwards (and even some D-men) have had can be attributed to these two guys playing at their best.

 

In essence, Krejci and Bergeron make their linemates and teammates, better.

 

So, again, not knowing everything Bruins, I would say, moving forward, the keepers for Boston would start with their very good goaltender Tuuka Rask, Dougie Hamilton on defense, and David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron up front.

Oh, and that Pastranak guy, barring this being a fluke season for him, looks like he could be something special too.

 

All those guys represent speed, skill, toughness from which the team can be retooled....if only they can jettison some of the albatrosses they are surrounded by.

 

My take anyways.

Oh, and @nORRis8 , nothing wrong with a novella sized post once in while..... trust me, I know a thing or three about that. 

[wickedmountain]

Well, let me preface this by saying that as a Lightning fan, I LOVE seeing the Bruins like this. 

It's just natural for me. A long dominant team, now not so much....but hey, that is the way it is in pro sports. You are the underdog team, people want to see you succeed...if the underdog ever becomes the team that wins alot, then people wanna see you go down....wash, rinse, repeat...circle of life in sports fandoms.

 

Ok..now that I got that out of the way, I will speak as an NHL fan. 

 

I don't profess to know what exactly can fix the Bruins' "issues", however, one common theme I am seeing with the team the last season or so is overall team speed....or more precisely, the lack thereof.

 

You hit the nail on the head, Norris, with your opening post: This is NOT the same team that won the Cup and went back to the SC Finals.

Guys that were on those squads are gone, the ones that remained have declined in skill or couldn't replicate whatever success they've had before....and on top of that, the Bruins had to work in some new bodies, do it under very little room cap wise, and made some questionable decisions (Boychuk for instance) regarding personnel....though to be fair, due to the aforementioned cap crunch, not really sure how many choices they had in making those decisions.

 

But overall team speed is severely lacking.

Bruins are still a big, tough bunch...and play their best when they dictate the pace to a 'half ice' type game, play solid in front of Rask, then have guys like Bergeron, Krejci, and Marchand take advantage of offensive opportunities.

 

But when faced with very quick teams like the Habs, Wings, even the Flames from a few nights ago, the Bruins deficiency in team speed is quite evident.

What good is size and strength if you can't catch the other team, right?

 

With all due respect to Zdeno Chara's career, right now, he is an anchor (and I don't mean that in a good way) to the team.

Bruins badly need some fresh legs and Chara's age combined with his salary just about ensures that the Bruins would need to take a loss on any trade (if there is any to be had) involving him.

 

Milan Lucic's problems? Honestly, I have always thought he was overrated. Seriously. This isn't a "take a cheap shot at Lucic" thing.

Sure, the guy is big, strong, can play the game...but really, to me, he is a glorified 3rd liner who, IMO, has reaped the benefits of having excellent linemates and a good system to play in.

Ultimately, the cream has to rise to the top, and since I don't believe Lucic is creamy, I am not surprised he is struggling.

 

Some positives for the team?

Tuuka Rask.

Yes, Tuuka Rask. The guy is simply a solid goaltender, defensive system or no. He may show signs of weakness here and there, but if the team in front of him were a bit quicker to limit scoring chances, maybe he wouldn't have to scramble around as much.

 

Dougie Hamilton.

While I won't anoint him as the next great defenseman, his combination of size, skating, and playing ability projects him to be a good all around defenseman...something many teams want and the Bruins have in him...and he will only get better over time.

B's could definitely build their defensive corp around him.

 

David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.

Those two vets are probably the ones other teams would LOVE to pluck right away off the Bruins roster.

It's guys like them, who don't as much press as some of the other better known Bruins, that make the team go.

I don't have statistical evidence to back this up, but I am willing to bet, that any successes that other forwards (and even some D-men) have had can be attributed to these two guys playing at their best.

 

In essence, Krejci and Bergeron make their linemates and teammates, better.

 

So, again, not knowing everything Bruins, I would say, moving forward, the keepers for Boston would start with their very good goaltender Tuuka Rask, Dougie Hamilton on defense, and David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron up front.

Oh, and that Pastranak guy, barring this being a fluke season for him, looks like he could be something special too.

 

All those guys represent speed, skill, toughness from which the team can be retooled....if only they can jettison some of the albatrosses they are surrounded by.

 

My take anyways.

Oh, and @nORRis8 , nothing wrong with a novella sized post once in while..... trust me, I know a thing or three about that. 

bruins rule lol

[nORRis8]

@wickedmountain

My. A very fine post indeed.

Doug Hamilton is quietly meeting/exceeding all expectations.

[yave1964]

@nORRis8

 

I swing and miss as much as the next guy when it comes to predictions, but I did say the Bruins were going to slip this year. I still saw them as a playoff team but more of an old toothless bear than anything.

  No cap room. Injury prone stars. No wingers. It makes for a frustrating season.

 

 But they know how to win, simply making the post season makes them dangerous, they still have to hold off Florida and a couple of others, but once in, with Rask and a veteran team that knows how to win anything is possible.

 

 It will be a very interesting offseason in Beantown, decisions have to be made, Soderberg is an UFA and an absolute must to sign. With a big raise due, someone has to go. Loui has little value, the past two seasons have seen to that. I think Krejci is the odd man out, tons of teams in need of a top line center, he is young and could net the scoring winger they desperately need. Chara, well his value took a huge hit this year but on the second unit with the kids developing like they are, managing his minutes better he can still contribute.

  The Bruins MIGHT want to consider trading Rask. Hear me out, the Bruins have a ton of good young goalies in the system and can sign an average netminder who would put up good numbers simply by having this defense in front of him, Rask could net, I don't know, Taylor Hall, or Eberle plus, or any combination of wingers and other hole fillers. I know that may be sacrilege in Boston but Rask in his prime could bring a tremendous infusion of talent in return and fix the cap issue at the same time.

  Anyway, good post.

[wickedmountain]

They sadly need a lot of help this year it's frustrating but that's the way it goes i guess.

[nORRis8]

@yave1964

 

When I heard they were contemplating  trading Boychuck in the off-season I said "noooooo"

Now hes having a stellar year.

 

Chara was the ideal choice and all the Bruins are doing now is holding on to him proving to one and all his skills are diminished.

 

Chiarelli  and Neely have some tough choices to make.

 

Another guy the Bruins miss dearly is Peverley. Love that dude. Utility player...can do everything when called upon.

[jammer2]

  The Bruins need to play Malcom Subban at the NHL level, at least call him up for some back to backs, see what you have in him. I'm sure other teams are interested in him, and his path seems blocked by Rask....so cherry pick him in some easy back to backs and that should up his value for a trade. He would make the perfect type of player to add into a deal to sweeten the pot. Bruins are so close to the cap, and over next year....so you just know some deals are coming.

[blocker]

I watched a few minutes of the Chicago-Boston game today.  Just before the end of a period, Marchant took an absolutely stupid penalty.  Punched some guy after a scrum.  Selfish disregard for his teammates.