“How’s Your Entertainment Factor?”

[LouJersey]

I enjoy watching them play still on the TV. last night the exception of course. The game is different but I still love texting my buddies about it and reading you guys here.

I have started to go to bed before the game is over though. I know there aren’t going to be any late fights sooooo

I will say paying money to go see live hockey is a no go for me unless the Bruins are in town and even then I need to be super motivated. Basically one out of every six games are worth it to me so I stopped seeing the Devils or Rangers. I went a couple weeks ago…parking a fortune…had the second seat in….had to get up every break to let people in or out…millions of side convos between people that had nothing to do with the game.

Add in a million whistles and no hitting I’ll pass. I took my two kids, 250 for tix, 40 parking and 60 for pizza before the game outside the arena

 

[NextBigThing]

Apparently a lot of people in New England agree with you. Last night the Revs outdrew the Bruins on TV. I know it was a playoff game, but it would have been unheard of just a couple of years ago.

 

[LSCII]

For me personally, I started losing interest in the regular season when we stopped playing the same division teams 8 times a season.

I couldn't care less about seeing most of the western teams and if I wanted to see western stars I'd get an NHL package.

Feels like there's no rivalries for the bruins anymore.

There was nothing better than heated inter divisional rivalries back in those days. You hated so many teams with a burning fire back then because of the frequency with which they played...

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

The skill route would be fine if our roster had any skill.

Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta, Hall, McAvoy, Grzelcyk, maybe Reilly and maybe Kuhlman are the only players on the roster with any flare in the offensive zone.

The Bruins' problem is that they're not tough but they're not skilled. They're stuck in between with guys almost 3 lines full of guys who aren't really tough but aren't really skilled either, they're just mediocre. There's no identity with this team. They're vanilla ice cream, they're walmart brand cola, they're a 20-pack of pre-packaged hydrogenated cheese-flavored slices. Hints of something there but it's mostly flavorless filler.

Let me clarify.

By Skill Route I mean style of play, not so much the players themselves.

We are a transition team now. We have fast defensemen who move the puck up and through the zones to try and get a clean zone entry.
That is what our D does. If that is blocked off, we have no idea what to do other than cough up the puck and try to get it back so we can rinse and repeat.
We do not do well with dump and chase or hard forechecking. The key is speed now. That plays into skill style hockey.

 

[LouJersey]

For me personally, I started losing interest in the regular season when we stopped playing the same division teams 8 times a season.

I couldn't care less about seeing most of the western teams and if I wanted to see western stars I'd get an NHL package.

Feels like there's no rivalries for the bruins anymore.

good point. Last year I watched a lot of hockey, it was great

 

[BTO]

I’m not going to pretend they’re the 87 Oilers, but they’re exactly in the middle of the NHL in goals per game.

Tied with the Leafs, who I’m sure people will be surprised by.

I think it’s more about the lack of toughness/chippy play and hatred league wide than goals, TBH.

How are they 5v5?

 

[mjhfb]

Marchand has been most of my entertainment factor this season.

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

*Raises hand*

As I mentioned in the Post GDT last night was the second game in a row that I changed the channel rather than watch anymore.

My entertainment factor is in free fall.

The NHL sucks.

I also mentioned last night was the first game in a long time I actually got more work done than anything. I was more interested in what I had not finished before the game and completing it than watching the game itself.

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

Marchand has been most of my entertainment factor this season.

McAvoy also

 

[Colt.45Orr]

I've lost so much interest in watching this team. A big part of it is roster construction, part is the new NHL.

I've always had NHLCI but never switched during a Bruins game until the last few years.

Entertainment factor is about 2/10.

I'm not spending any money to support this soft-serve product.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I guess I’ll be the dissenting voice here - I still love watching every game this team plays (and a lot of other hockey too). I don’t bail on my teams when they struggle or hit rough stretches.

If some think this team has been mediocre over the past few years as had been said above, I can’t wait to see what this place is like during a rebuild.

 

[The National]

I think if this team was winning games people would have different opinions on the overall product.

 

[sarge88]

How are they 5v5?

Fully understand.

However, at the end of the day, goals are goals.

Like I said…they ain’t the 87 Oilers and who knows how the season will play out….but even I was amazed to see they were middle of the pack in GF….more amazed that they were right with Toronto.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

There was nothing better than heated inter divisional rivalries back in those days. You hated so many teams with a burning fire back then because of the frequency with which they played...

good point. Last year I watched a lot of hockey, it was great

Nowadays if there's a questionable hit you don't see that team until 3 months later.

Back then it seemed like if there was a questionable hit you'd be playing the same team 2 more times within 2 weeks.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

It’s a question that Jack Edwards used to ask all the time.

“How’s your entertainment factor?”

It was a cut to commercial line, usually coming in response to a high energy play from the Bruins.

A hit.

A fight.

Sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

And it’s a question that I’ve been thinking a lot about this season.

I had a conversation with some of my students this morning during our mask break. They were wearing Bruins sweatshirts and hats. I made some comments about the recent stretch of play.

I explained to them that during my college years, i never missed a game. If I did, I was religious about watching on DVR. I remember getting TiVo specifically for the Bruins. I went to tons of games, even when the team stunk post lockout.

But how’s my entertainment factor these days?

Not great.

And I’m left wondering if it’s the team, the sport, the direction of the league, or all of the above.

I believe it’s all of the above.
The experts say that the game is better now than ever. The skill. The speed. Elimination of the clutching and grabbing.

I just don’t enjoy it like I once did, and I’m talking about the regular season product. Playoffs are another animal.

For every one game that’s highly entertaining, there are easily 3 or 4 duds.

Too many teams.

Too few games against rivals.

Lack of intensity.

Lack of “good” hatred for the opponents.
And it’s not just the Bruins, but it’s neutral site games too.

Maybe it’s just me, but is anyone else feeling the same way?

I know they say you can’t go home again, but it honestly feels like this product kind of sucks.

My dad used to crap all over “boring hockey” of the 90s and yearn for the good old days. Is it just cyclical?

I dunno. I seriously feel like the league could go into another lockout tomorrow and I wouldn’t miss it much.

I'm curious as to what your students thought about the current state of the game? Do young people see it differently?

 

[BMC]

There was nothing better than heated inter divisional rivalries back in those days. You hated so many teams with a burning fire back then because of the frequency with which they played...

Quoted for truth.

Familiarity breeds contempt which in turn breeds hatred. Give me 8-10 games against each team in the division and I guarantee exciting hockey. I guarantee it.

If you want to see Chicago or LA then get Center Ice or something like it.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

It’s a common assumption that playing the same teams more times will build hatred, rivalry and better games, but I’m not sure that it’s actually true anymore. The 2021 divisions didn’t really produce much more in the way of bad blood and excitement. The Bruins had a little bit going on with the Caps and Rangers in particular, but it was far from extreme and there were also all those Devils and Sabres games that were mostly thoroughly awful. You could plausibly argue that it needs a few more years of the same teams seeing each other multiple times to really build proper rivalries, and I think that would definitely help, but I suspect only to a point.

I think a lot of the issues with the current NHL product simply stem from the playing of a game in a society for which it is no longer suited. Fighting? Frowned upon. Hatred? No. But ‘good’ hatred is different, yeah? No. Expecting a player to go out and want to completely crush and dominate every opponent? Completely counter-intuitive to how most young people and athletes are raised. Anything that comes remotely close to putting a player’s head at unnecessary risk? Not on, thankfully (although bizarrely the league still refuses to take this one seriously). Guys who are sneaky good at working over opponents with either physical or verbal abuse? Heavily discouraged, such people cannot be role models for kids. Slashing and cross-checking? Nope, too dangerous. Post-whistle scrums? Childish. Wanting a player to put their body on the line night in, night out and give absolutely everything for their team? Excessive – these guys are employees with rights and families and an expectation that there are limits as to how much danger and risk they’ll put themselves in.

For better or worse, such is the world we’re living in, and the NHL can’t ignore it. If they don’t adapt their product to suit the prevailing zeitgeist, then they lose sponsors and TV/media money and get bad press, and without money there is no league. Then there’s also the raw material the teams are working with. A guy like Tom Wilson is an enormous outlier – the modern male athlete for the most part is fitter, taller and more skilful than those of the past, but he’s also milder, nicer, has a form of masculinity that, for lack of better terms, has ‘softened’ and ‘broadened’ compared to his ancestors, is more concerned with how he is perceived by family, kids and sponsors, and is raised to view pro sport as more of an occupation and money-earner rather than a competitive battle ‘to the death’ against hated opponents. There is still pride in the jersey, but rarely in the city/state that you’re representing. One fanbase and another are all seen as much the same.

All of that affects the current product, and I think unfortunately that’s inevitable and there’s no going back to former times. The way the game is officiated could be a hell of a lot better, and that would improve things, but only so far. The rest we’re stuck with, but honestly most of those fans coming up now in their 20s and younger won’t see it that way, because they don’t know any different and they’ve been raised on the same principles as the guys they’re watching.

 

[mjhfb]

It’s a common assumption that playing the same teams more times will build hatred, rivalry and better games, but I’m not sure that it’s actually true anymore. The 2021 divisions didn’t really produce much more in the way of bad blood and excitement. The Bruins had a little bit going on with the Caps and Rangers in particular, but it was far from extreme and there were also all those Devils and Sabres games that were mostly thoroughly awful. You could plausibly argue that it needs a few more years of the same teams seeing each other multiple times to really build proper rivalries, and I think that would definitely help, but I suspect only to a point.

I think a lot of the issues with the current NHL product simply stem from the playing of a game in a society for which it is no longer suited. Fighting? Frowned upon. Hatred? No. But ‘good’ hatred is different, yeah? No. Expecting a player to go out and want to completely crush and dominate every opponent? Completely counter-intuitive to how most young people and athletes are raised. Anything that comes remotely close to putting a player’s head at unnecessary risk? Not on, thankfully (although bizarrely the league still refuses to take this one seriously). Guys who are sneaky good at working over opponents with either physical or verbal abuse? Heavily discouraged, such people cannot be role models for kids. Slashing and cross-checking? Nope, too dangerous. Post-whistle scrums? Childish. Wanting a player to put their body on the line night in, night out and give absolutely everything for their team? Excessive – these guys are employees with rights and families and an expectation that there are limits as to how much danger and risk they’ll put themselves in.

For better or worse, such is the world we’re living in, and the NHL can’t ignore it. If they don’t adapt their product to suit the prevailing zeitgeist, then they lose sponsors and TV/media money and get bad press, and without money there is no league. Then there’s also the raw material the teams are working with. A guy like Tom Wilson is an enormous outlier – the modern male athlete for the most part is fitter, taller and more skilful than those of the past, but he’s also milder, nicer, has a form of masculinity that, for lack of better terms, has ‘softened’ and ‘broadened’ compared to his ancestors, is more concerned with how he is perceived by family, kids and sponsors, and is raised to view pro sport as more of an occupation and money-earner rather than a competitive battle ‘to the death’ against hated opponents. There is still pride in the jersey, but rarely in the city/state that you’re representing. One fanbase and another are all seen as much the same.

All of that affects the current product, and I think unfortunately that’s inevitable and there’s no going back to former times. The way the game is officiated could be a hell of a lot better, and that would improve things, but only so far. The rest we’re stuck with, but honestly most of those fans coming up now in their 20s and younger won’t see it that way, because they don’t know any different and they’ve been raised on the same principles as the guys they’re watching.

Interesting take. But I did have look up "zeitgeist".

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Interesting take. But I did have look up "zeitgeist".

Sorry, spent too much time in philosophy classes back in my university days I think!

 

[aic90]

I don’t disagree with the criticisms of the B’s (malaise, too many middling players expected to perform like stars, and so on), but I also think there’s a lot to the “too many teams” argument for why the NHL in general seems less interesting.
If we consider starting lineups only (20 players per team) in the old 21 team league, that is a total of 420 players across the league. In theory those should be the 420 best active players in the world (with the very limited exceptions of the Krejci’s that for whatever reasons choose to play in another league). GM’s haggled and maneuvered to get more of the players near the top of the list of 420, and fewer near the bottom. Ultimately, from a hypothetical ranked list of all active/eligible hockey players in the world, the old NHL divvied up the top 420 across the 21 teams.

Now with a 32-team league, the “cut-off” line on the ranked list of best players in the world is now 220 players farther down the list. Evenly dispersing those 220 players across the 32 teams means that every team has about 7 players that wouldn’t be NHL caliber in the 21-team league. That’s a THIRD of every team.

Since we know the distribution isn’t exactly proportional, that means we’ve got teams with 10, 12, 15 players that would not have been in the league at all in the 21-team league. Ugh.

Add to this the video, coaching (trap!) and data analysis enhancements that are necessary to compensate for rosters heavy on “bottom 200” players and it’s a recipe for choppy, uninspired, listless, boring sport.

 

[ODAAT]

the start to this year reminds me of the one, I think the year prior to Covid , I was bored stiff the first half of the season, consistently turning off the game then poof, finalist vs the Blues....but this group is far more boring and average

 

[BTO]

Sorry, spent too much time in philosophy classes back in my university days I think!

That's like pitching: no such thing as "too much"

 

[BTO]

Fully understand.

However, at the end of the day, goals are goals.

Like I said…they ain’t the 87 Oilers and who knows how the season will play out….but even I was amazed to see they were middle of the pack in GF….more amazed that they were right with Toronto.

Yeah but the leafs were ice cold for a while. Couldn't score worth a damn. But that was only temporary because they actually have scorers. Have scored 5 tonight against Colorado, for example, and 20 goals (so far) in their last 4 games. Of course Boston scored 15 in 3 once. Once.

 

[sarge88]

Yeah but the leafs were ice cold for a while. Couldn't score worth a damn. But that was only temporary because they actually have scorers. Have scored 5 tonight against Colorado, for example, and 20 goals (so far) in their last 4 games. Of course Boston scored 15 in 3 once. Once.

Trust me, I’m not suggesting this is a juggernaut. I just found it very surprising that the Bruins were middle of the pack in GF.

It’s not good enough, of course, but it’s better than I thought it was before I looked it up.

 

[BTO]

Trust me, I’m not suggesting this is a juggernaut. I just found it very surprising that the Bruins were middle of the pack in GF.

It’s not good enough, of course, but it’s better than I thought it was before I looked it up.

Sure, but it's power play. They're like 29th 5v5 or something.

Edit: they are 5th on pp after all. Or something.