Boston Bruins 24-25 Roster/Cap thread VIII

[JAD]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1858524183149293796

https://x.com/i/web/status/1858530573616128372

Last night on "What's Bruin" Dom's insights and gathered comments from another professional coach regarding the Bruins woes is probably more accurate than rumors of hurt feelings.
Other than that ... yeah training camp was a mess ... no one seamed ready for the season, players or coach.

 

[Hookslide]

Agree Swayman's numbers need to improve, but he has also been getting the tougher starts.

True, but he is also getting a lot more money.

 

[JAD]

Sweeney does not how to make adjustments to this roster, maybe he should go down to Washington and work......Chychrun, Managiapane, Varana, Dubois, Ellar, Roy, they all seem to be blending in quite well, and they have had the same amount of time as the Bruins new roster. Oh, and they have lost T.J. Oshie, no excuses there.

Sweeney needs to spend more time watching this mess than scouting for Canada's 4 nation tournament team.

A man cannot serve two masters.

 

[Dicky113]

Sweeney needs to spend more time watching this mess than scouting for Canada's 4 nation tournament team.

A man cannot serve two masters.

Sweeney needs to be fired into the f***ing sun. He might be the worst GM in the league when it comes to free agents and drafting. This is his mess, we need to get rid of him and start a rebuild with someone that doesn’t have their head up their ass. It’s starts the draft. Start unloading what you can for picks, and start fresh. It will never happen with that jackass in charge.

 

[wintersej]

Yeah God forbid a 9.5 million dollar "franchise" (snicker) defensemen should elevate his partners game. It's shouldn't matter if it's Lohrei, Zadorov or Lindholm. He should be able to adjust his game, considering he is "elite".

What of the elite D in the league right now have a shit partner?

1000%. There is no Bruin forward that off the rush even makes opposing D-men flinch. Pasta maybe when he's on but that is more finesse stickhandling than burning speed.

And what team trades away power forwards that can score anyways? Pretty rare commodity in today's NHL.

If Sweeney is limiting his search to only power forwards they have no chance and frankly only makes one question what the heck this front office is thinking.

I do think that come playoffs there are less rush chances and at the same time during the regular season it’s where most of the 5 on 5 goals from. You do need to sprinkle in some rush type players for the transition game, of course.

 

[RiverbottomChuck]

Last night on "What's Bruin" Dom's insights and gathered comments from another professional coach regarding the Bruins woes is probably more accurate than rumors of hurt feelings.
Other than that ... yeah training camp was a mess ... no one seamed ready for the season, players or coach.

What did the coach say about the B's woes?

 

[BruinDust]

What of the elite D in the league right now have a shit partner?


I do think that come playoffs there are less rush chances and at the same time during the regular season it’s where most of the 5 on 5 goals from. You do need to sprinkle in some rush type players for the transition game, of course.

You need a good mix. Guys who can gain the zone, push D back, shoot/score from range. And you need guys who crash the crease, score in tight, greasier goals. Although with the seemingly very fine line they are using for goalie interference now, I think that is swaying it a bit more towards scoring from range. Some of the goals being called back lately (league-wide) for minimal goalie interference is concerning for guys who make their living scoring while on top of the crease. Some more scoring from top offensive blue-line wouldn't hurt either. Opens up space in other areas. People poo-poo'd acquiring Chychrun last summer saying he wasn't needed but he would of been a much better add than Zadorov. Give you both a strong shooter AND a left-shot D for PP 1 (it really needs a left shot QB if the gameplan is Pasta one-tees). And without the long-term commitment.

 

[PlayMakers]

Matt Vautour: Bruins’ unexplainable lack of urgency is killing them

It might not be time to panic, but the Bruins' lack of urgency is sinking them.

www.masslive.com

Yep. If someone wants to point to one thing, one reason they're struggling, it's not the offense, the defense, the goaltending, the coaching... it's a lack of urgency, passion, give a shit.

 

[GordonHowe]

Yep. If someone wants to point to one thing, one reason they're struggling, it's not the offense, the defense, the goaltending, the coaching... it's a lack of urgency, passion, give a shit.

The question is why.

Fairly or unfairly, taking player responsibility and management decisions into account, nearly every problem besetting the Bruins can be laid at Jim Montgomery's doorstep.

 

[LouJersey]

What of the elite D in the league right now have a shit partner?


I do think that come playoffs there are less rush chances and at the same time during the regular season it’s where most of the 5 on 5 goals from. You do need to sprinkle in some rush type players for the transition game, of course.

Who is his shit partner?

Cleary McAvoy is not the same player he was before his big contract. Three top 10 Norris finishes, inks the deal, last two seasons has 2 4th and 2 5th place votes combined.

 

[JAD]

What did the coach say about the B's woes?

I don't want to misquote anyone the show is available on YouTube to watch ...

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

 

[BruinDust]

Yep. If someone wants to point to one thing, one reason they're struggling, it's not the offense, the defense, the goaltending, the coaching... it's a lack of urgency, passion, give a shit.

It's the lack of talent that means they have to work their asses off every game just to give themselves a chance.

 

[Demon Eyes]

Bruins are looking for energy from AHL call-up

Jim Montgomery hopes Jeffrey Viel's energy was infectious.

www.masslive.com

Elias Lindholm: Bruins Biggest Offseason Add Knows He’s Been A Big Disappointment

BRIGHTON– There were big expectations when Elias Lindholm came to Boston. He had big expectations for himself. After signing a seven-year contract worth

www.yardbarker.com

 

[PlayMakers]

The question is why.

Fairly or unfairly, taking player responsibility and management decisions into account, nearly every problem besetting the Bruins can be laid at Jim Montgomery's doorstep.

Maybe they read HFBoards and have been convinced the regular season doesn't matter.

I jest but... that's definitely a theory I'm considering. They had the best regular season in history and it didn't help them in the playoffs. The fans couldn't care less. So why should they? All they need to do is get in, and they don't even need to worry about that until Thanksgiving.

Another theory is the perfect storm. 3 of their 4 best players all had complicated off-seasons and are off to slow starts. Marchand's surgeries, Pasta's surgery, Swayman's hold out... Those guys elevate everyone around them but you could argue they've dragged people down at times this fall.

I'm not a big Monty guy, but I do think he's done things to try to get these guys going. He's chewed out Marchand. He benched Pasta. He's started Korpisalo over Swayman. He's demoted Coyle to the 4th line. He's played 4th liners in the top6 to embarrass the top6 into playing harder. He's changed lines and D pairs. He's tried to let lines and D pairs stay together. None of it seems to work. Which, may be why they need to fire him. At this point he seems like he's out of ideas and at a loss for how to get them to care enough to show up for 60 minutes a night every night.

Edit: I'll add that there's yet another theory that Swayman broke the culture with his holdout. I wasn't happy with Swayman's approach but that seems a bit unfair considering Pasta and McAvoy also held out. Still, they didn't claim to be holding out to set a new precedent for the goalie union and right or wrong, the players in that locker room may feel he put himself and/or the goalie union ahead of his team and teammates. That kind of animosity can be hard to hide in a closed loop like the locker room.

 

[PlayMakers]

It's the lack of talent that means they have to work their asses off every game just to give themselves a chance.

It's the NHL, everybody has to work their asses off to have a chance.

They had similar talent last year and were one of the best teams in the league.

Last year they were willing to work for it. This year they haven't been.

 

[GordonHowe]

Maybe they read HFBoards and have been convinced the regular season doesn't matter.

I jest but... that's definitely a theory I'm considering. They had the best regular season in history and it didn't help them in the playoffs. The fans couldn't care less. So why should they? All they need to do is get in, and they don't even need to worry about that until Thanksgiving.

Another theory is the perfect storm. 3 of their 4 best players all had complicated off-seasons and are off to slow starts. Marchand's surgeries, Pasta's surgery, Swayman's hold out... Those guys elevate everyone around them but you could argue they've dragged people down at times this fall.

I'm not a big Monty guy, but I do think he's done things to try to get these guys going. He's chewed out Marchand. He benched Pasta. He's started Korpisalo over Swayman. He's demoted Coyle to the 4th line. He's played 4th liners in the top6 to embarrass the top6 into playing harder. He's changed lines and D pairs. He's tried to let lines and D pairs stay together. None of it seems to work. Which, may be why they need to fire him. At this point he seems like he's out of ideas and at a loss for how to get them to care enough to show up for 60 minutes a night every night.

Great post.

I would only quibble with the line changing. He rarely lets a line gel.

As I say to anyone who will listen, he changes them like a bodily function. Players can't get used to each other because they're always playing on another line two seconds later. I exaggerate, but I think you understand what I'm saying.

Also, he is not a competent defensive head coach. Not at present and not in the NHL.

 

[BruinDust]

It's the NHL, everybody has to work their asses off to have a chance.

They had similar talent last year and were one of the best teams in the league.

Last year they were willing to work for it. This year they haven't been.

There isn't a team in hockey history that worked it's asses off all 82 games. Just not realistic.

You say they lack passion, well they are 3rd in hits and among the more frequent fighting teams.

Want to know a good way to demoralize a group of hockey players? Build a bad hockey team. Players are all students of the game, they know when as a group they just aren't good enough to win consistently. They won't say it to the media, and drop buzzwords like urgency. But deep down the players know what Sweeney and Neely has assembled this year just won't cut it.

Let's be honest about last year's team. They made a lot of hey when the sun shined in the first half of the season. It was far from one of the best teams in the 2nd half.

 

[Dr Hook]

Swayman's even strength save percent is 34th. Worse than every starter and a couple backups. Korpisalo is 22nd with the same defense. Link

Yes, team defense has been bad, but no way should Korpisalo be ahead of Swayman across the board in every category. Swayman has not been good enough. Not by a mile. Team defense, team offense also not good enough, but Swayman shouldn't be getting a free pass.

The only problem I have with using save percentage is that all shots are equal in that calculation. On a defensive trainwreck like the Bruins, the shots are of a higher quality than allowed by a strong defending team. Has Swayman been great? No, but I think hes been okay. If he was playing this way behind a team that can defend well and spend more time in the offensive zone, his numbers would look acceptable I believe.

 

[wintersej]

You need a good mix. Guys who can gain the zone, push D back, shoot/score from range. And you need guys who crash the crease, score in tight, greasier goals. Although with the seemingly very fine line they are using for goalie interference now, I think that is swaying it a bit more towards scoring from range. Some of the goals being called back lately (league-wide) for minimal goalie interference is concerning for guys who make their living scoring while on top of the crease. Some more scoring from top offensive blue-line wouldn't hurt either. Opens up space in other areas. People poo-poo'd acquiring Chychrun last summer saying he wasn't needed but he would of been a much better add than Zadorov. Give you both a strong shooter AND a left-shot D for PP 1 (it really needs a left shot QB if the gameplan is Pasta one-tees). And without the long-term commitment.

Yeah I think a nuance here is that this team needs more guys who can score beyond 8 feet. I don’t care if it’s a big bruising cycle guy or a rush guy or someone that wears purple lipstick. It’s very hard for all but a select few on this team to score more than dirty goals. And dirty goals is good! But as you say, balance.