Tag: Boston Bruins

The Bruins Win The Season Opener

The Boston Bruins opened the 2016–17 season last night with a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Everyone who is happy that they kicked off the new year with a win, raise your hand.

(Robert raises his hand)

Everyone who walked out to the middle of the Tobin Bridge when Tuukka Rask let in a goal on the very first shot he saw this season, raise your hand.

(Robert raises his hand)

I am so glad hockey is back (especially after the pathetic way the Red Sox season ended) but I know full well that it’s going to be a long year.

Does Don Sweeney Deserve a Honeymoon Period?

Question for Boston Bruins fans:

Does new GM Don Sweeney deserve a honeymoon period where we lay off the major criticism for a while?

For me?  No.  He doesn’t.  In fact, I already have him on the hot seat.  Doug Hamilton, gone and not replaced.  Not even close.  Milan Lucic, gone and not quite replaced.  We’ve got some new forwards to try and fill his skates, but does anyone really believe we won’t look at that trade and wonder what could have been?  And what did we get in return?  Three first round picks (yay!), none of whom passed the conditioning test on the opening day of training camp (boo!).  Also, Zac Rinaldo… because what the team that can’t score or play defense really needs is a goon.

Remember the start of the baseball season when Red Sox Manager John Farrell tried to tell us that the Sox had five aces when everyone with even the smallest brain could see that we actually had five fifth starters?  Was I the only one who kept thinking of that statement as I watched the Bruins roll out six sixth defensemen last night?  When Torey Krug is getting 20+ minutes of ice time, something is seriously wrong.  Now I know we’ve lost two legitimate top pairing guys to injuries, but the depth is clearly terrible.  Isn’t it then the GM’s job to build up that depth and replace the missing pieces?  How did Sweeney react to the Siedenberg and Chara injuries?  Well, he didn’t.  He failed to supply a roster that could compete in an NHL game.

I suspect we’re going to see a lot of games like last night’s over the course of this season.  Even after Chara and Siedenberg (I’m spelling that wrong, aren’t I) come back.  I suspect Tuukka Rask is going to set a new league record for most shots against in a season.  Is he good enough to be the only line of defense on the ice?  Not nearly.  No one is.

I know last night was only game of the Sweeney regime, but given the performance so far, I can’t imagine his job isn’t in jeopardy already.

Bruins Win

I turned on the Bruins game with about 14 minutes left in the third period. They were losing 2-1 to Edmonton. EDMONTON!

When the game ended the final score was 5-2 Bruins.

The last 10 minutes were seriously fun to watch.

Long Term Contracts

As a general rule, I do not like seeing professional athletes getting long term contracts. In the NFL contracts are not guaranteed, so the term length is meaningless. In the other major sports contracts are guaranteed so if a player’s performance level drops over time the team is still contractually obligated to pay out the full price. Also, if a players performance level drops off the face of the Earth, you are stuck with the guy for years and no other team is going to take him off your hands. That’s why if I were a major pro sports league general manager no one would ever get more than a three year deal. I might have to fork over Fort Knox to get a player, but it’s better than paying a mint six years down the road and have the guy ride the pine, or play in the minors.

Having said that…

The Boston Bruins this week have given eight year contracts to Tuukka Rask and Patrice Bergeron. Rask gets 56 million over the full term and Bergeron gets 52 million. In both cases, I approve whole heartedly. I’ve made no secret that I am not the worlds biggest Tuukka fan, but given the way he played in the post season, he assuaged many of my fears. Bergeron, on the other hand… well… let’s just say that the only thing I am unhappy about in the announcements of the last two days is that somehow Bergeron is making less than Rask. If Rask makes 56 million over eight years, then Bergeron needs to make 60 million over eight years. He must have given the Bruins a home town discount.

Many hockey fans and pundits will think I am nuts for saying this, but there isn’t a hockey player on Earth right now that I would trade for Patrice Bergeron. You can keep Crosby and Ovetchkin and Stamkos and any other great player you can name. I would rather have Sir Bergy than any of them. Let’s face it, the guys does everything and has been doing everything for 10 years and he’s still only 28 years old! He’s the best defensive forward in the league. His offensive skills are off the hook, and don’t give me that he’s-only-a-20-goals-a-year-guy. He’s topped 30 in the past, and we all know that if the Bruins were an offense first system he would be reaching 40. He’s an animal. He played a game in the Stanley Cup finals with a collapsed lung. A COLLAPSED LUNG! He is matched up against the other teams best players, and he still finds the time and space to be one of our most productive offensive players. He’s the best. There. I said it. Patrice Bergeron is the best. When Zdeno Chara leaves us (hopefully via retirement) he will be Captain Bergy. I would not be opposed to giving him the C even before Chara leaves, and I am willing to bet that Chara would agree with the move.

While I stated that I am not a fan of long term contracts, here are two eight year deals that I am 100% behind. Congratulations Tuukka and Patrice. May you both enjoy long, long productive careers as members of the Boston Bruins. Keep up the good work.

Tyler Seguin

So the giant bear at the Granite Steak and Grill in Rochester, NH and I were talking tonight. I told him that I read on twitter that the Boston Bruins had traded Tyler Seguin. I couldn’t believe it, and neither could the bear. What an idiot move!

photo

The Jagr Era Begins!

Jaromir Jagr made his debut as a Bruin last night.  How’d he do?  Not bad.  He scored the only goal in a 1-0 Bruins win over the Devils.  Just a game winning goal in his first game, that’s all.  Just 15,000 Boston fans chanting his name as if he were the second coming of Phil Esposito.  That’s all.

May it be the first of many.

Go Bruins!

They Got Their Defenseman

For weeks now, we’ve been hearing that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was going to try to add  a forward and a defenseman.  Yesterday they got the forward in Jaromir Jagr.  Today they got the defenseman.

Wade Redden.

Unfortunately.

Redden is a former Ottawa teammate of Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly.  I can recall a while back when Ottawa was in a pickle over which of their two excellent defensemen they were going to sign and which they were going to let get away via free agency.  They signed Chara.  They let Redden walk.  He signed a large contract with the Rangers and ended up being the captain of their AHL affiliate.  He became the poster child for NHL teams who hide huge, bad contracts in the minors.  When the new CBA eliminated that loophole, the Rangers bought him out and he signed with the Blues.  He has five points in 23 games this year.  Not exactly a show stopper.

The Bruins gave up a seventh round pick for him, so it’s not that bad a deal.  I hope Redden can find a little of his old self by being around Chara again.  I sort of expect him to be a spot starter who is a healthy scratch more often than not.  He’s probably better than some of the Providence players we’ve had filling in for injuries, but not by much.

The big news for Bruins fans, however is that Patrice Bergeron seems to have suffered concussion last night.  Without him, we aren’t going far.  Get well soon.

Is That All it Took

I don’t get it.

The Bruins opened the season on fire, but then went into a skid. Over the last few weeks they have looked at times bored, confused, and just plain bad. Yeah, they beat the Sabers the other night, but they looked like they slept through the first 40+ minutes or so. It was enough to make one worry about the future.

Then yesterday they get a 41 year old fossil in a trade. Yes he can still play, but his career is older than some of the players. I’m not knocking him, really, he’s just very old in hockey terms. Lets face it, Jagr and I are the same age.

The newly acquired Jaromir Jagr will join the team today and make his game debut tomorrow. What about last night though? The Bruins played the Never Say Die Senators without their new future hall of famer. How did they play? Like maniacs, that’s how. They still managed only three goals in their 3-2 win, but they were flying around the ice like they had something to prove. They actually looked awake and into the game. It was awesome to watch!

My question then is, was that all it took? Was the difference between boring and awesome simply grabbing a fossil off the rental heap? If so, why didn’t they grab some old guy two weeks ago?

In all seriousness, I’m looking forward to seeing Jagr play in a Bruins uniform.

In more all seriousness, I still would have preferred getting Iginla.

In still more seriousness, if Patrice Bergeron is going to miss games due to what ever caused him to leave in the 2nd period last night then the season is over. Bergeron is by far our best player (no offense to Zdeno Chara) and we simply are not winning anything without him. Fingers crossed.

Jarome Iginla

The NHL trade deadline is coming.  It’s time for the annual, “Wouldn’t Jarome Iginla look good in a Bruins uniform?” discussions.  Whenever Calgary starts slipping the conversation inevitably begins.  He should ask for a trade for the good of the team.  The team needs to trade their best player ever for the good of the franchise.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  Eventually the topic always turns to how Boston should go out and get him.

A few years ago I was fully in the do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-this-guy camp.  Now… he’s getting old.  He’s 35, which is very old for most hockey players.  He’s not going to come into Boston and light the lamp 50 times in the final month of the season.  He’s not going to show up and solve all of our offensive problems.  He’s probably not even going to be one of our top scorers.  Should we still pay the unquestionably high price to get him?

HELL YES!

When the Bruins traded for Marc Recchi a few years ago, I was insulted.  Recchi was ancient by hockey standards, and his best years were so far behind him it was sick.  Then he got here and became “The Veteran”.  He set himself up as the elder statesman.  All of the young players looked up to him.  All of them saw him as a role model.  All of them saw his Stanley Cup rings and bought in.  What happened?  Well, just a Stanley Cup a couple of years later.  That’s all.

Iginla is better now than Recchi was then.  He’s never won a championship, but most of the current roster has, so we don’t need that sort of leadership like we did when Recchi got here.  What we do have is a bunch of forwards who go through streaks where they struggle to score goals.  Iginla can assume the role of “The Veteran” and smoothe out all of those scary times when Lucic and Horton and Marchant and Seguin all suddenly forget how to score.  Look at me, he can say, I’m Jarome Iginla and I have twice hit the 50 goals in a season mark.  Learn from me as I demonstrate the wonders of hard work and consistency.

On top of that, throughout his career Iginla has been an A list power forward.  He is what Milan Lucic needs to be.  Wants to be.  Must be.  Trading for Iginla would be worth it just so he could teach Looch what he needs to learn.

People are already complaining about the possibility of the Bruins giving up Malcolm Subban.  Subban is 19, playing in juniors, and a very late first round pick.  In other words, he hasn’t done anything real yet (no offense) and he won’t be ready to contribute at the NHL level for a while.  I hear people saying three years but that seems super optimistic to me.  I say deal him to Calgary and then work your black and gold asses off to sign Iginla for a few more years.

I ask you, wouldn’t Jarome Iginla look good in a Boston Bruins uniform?

I answer you.  Yes, yes he would.

Go get him!

Bruins Question

I have a question about my Boston Bruins.

Why is it that almost every time I turn on the game, the B’s opponent immediately scores a goal? It just happened again. I came home from getting the kids at karate class, popped the game onto the radio, and BAM, Ottawa scores.

I fear our Stanley Cup dreams are slipping more each day.