Boston Bruins 24-25 Roster/Cap thread XII
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22Brad Park
Registered User
22Brad Park
Registered User
Over the volcano
Registered User
Team he inherited missed the playoffs, and then missed again the following year.
PlayMakers
Registered User
So, I appreciate your point and put some thought into it. I looked at all the drafts since Sweeney took over, and from what I can see, there really weren't a lot of opportunities to draft top6 centers.
From 2018 to 2021 there were no top6 centers taken immediately after or in the round after the player we chose (if at all). In 2022 we picked Poitras. That covers 5 of his drafts. It's too early to tell what will become of the last 3 drafts but he did pick 8 centers including Dean Letourneau who's top6 or bust.
In 2017 they picked Vaakanainen and a promising center in Studnicka, but they could have picked Josh Norris.
In 2016 Frederic was picked 29th and he is the 23rd highest scorer from his draft year, but Kyrou was taken in the 2nd round so they could have picked him.
And of course we know he struck out in 2015.
So there is truth to what you're saying, at least in those first 3 drafts. On the other hand, he did come away with 9 NHL players in those 3 drafts. He hit on 41% of his picks, which blows the NHL average (19%) out of the water, and 2 of those 9 players were franchise cornerstones McAvoy and Swayman.
You mentioned Bergeron and Krejci being 30 when he got them, well Chara was 38 and Rask was 27 which isn't old but Swayman's first full season turned out to be Rask's last.
So yeah, the center issue wasn't addressed but the franchise G and D were. It sucks that he couldn't get a franchise C in there but I think this is where I fundamentally disagree with all the draft haters. Nobody drafts the "right guy" all the time. In fact, most teams draft the wrong guy 81% of the time.
I mentioned they could have taken Kyrou instead of Frederic. Here's a list of the busts who were taken before Kyrou: Puljuarvi, Jost, Brown, Kunin, Gauthier, Rubtsov, Borgstrom, Jones, Tufte, Howden, Steel, Korshkov, Benson, Asplund... and that's just the forwards. Jake Bean was taken right before McAvoy. Frederic was drafted after 11 of the guys I just listed.
So I guess what I'm saying is, yes he failed to draft a franchise center, but failures and misses are a fact of life with the draft. And he succeeded in drafting two franchise players in those 3 early years. After that, they took a swing on Studnicka and missed. 2018 to 2021 there are no centers taken at our spot or later that turned into top6 centers. In 2022 they got Poitras.
You think he's bad at hockey trades? He got two firsts for Lucic, he got a 1st and two 2nd's for Hamilton, he got a 1st for Ullmark, he got Zacha for Haula, he got Peeke for a 3rd round pick. Those seem like pretty good deals for Boston.
What's his plan now? I think he does what he's always done, try to make this team better. I guarantee he adds a top6 forward before the deadline. My guess is it will be someone who fits in long term. I think they'll need to move some money to make that addition work so that exchange could change the team dynamic but I don't think I'd go so far as to say it's a re-tool. I think Lohrei and Poitras take steps next season, and I think Sweeney adds another UFA for scoring depth on July 1st.
I also think players learn their lesson from this season and have more of a sense of urgency from the start of camp. I think Swayman rebounds, I think Pasta is fully recovered and comes out of the gates firing, I think Marchand starts off much stronger than he did this year... I think there is the potential for this team to be much better next season, but you're right, there is a lot of work to be done to get there.
Fine Post.
I don't believe Sweeney is a buffoon. Nor do I think he has contempt for the fans. The way Harry did. Does he have contempt for the media? Yes. With reason.
All true as to regular season success and playoff gate. True to some extent relative to player responsibility for losing in 2019, and at other times.
But fans do not measure success in terms of regular season wins or playoff gate. If they do, their priorities are misplaced.
The fact remains that Don Sweeney constructed these teams. Over nearly a decade at the tiller.
For the most part, they have been "competitive," as Harry might say. They have not been built to win where it matters most, the post season.
There is a history of largely poor drafting, year after year: Major, costly free agent whiffs: Minor, no needle pick ups; depleting the prospect pool by repeatedly trading away high draft selections for plug & play that keeps the ship afloat in the short term but little else.
More damning: David Krecj bereft of quality wings *for years,* wasting his talent.
Far more damning:
_Complete failure_ to address critical need for capable 1C & 2C as #37 & #46 aged into retirement.
Apparently,.planning for this eventuality did not take serious shape while Patrice and David played out their final years in Boston.
Refusal to address this crucial concern in straightforward fashion when SweeNeely & Company could have acted decisively to preempt a headache they surely knew was coming.
Needless to say, the issue is ongoing.
You can't buy a 1C center in free agency.
You have to grow them at home.
Which brings us back to robbing Peter (drafting) to pay Paul (regular season success, playoff gate).
Now, why?
Because, in my view, although Don Sweeney & Cam Neely care about icing a club that can legitimately challenge for a Stanley Cup, ultimately they care more about fulfilling the mandate from Buffalo.
And the mandate from Buffalo, first, last and always, is to keep the Boston Bruins profitable. Sustainably, season in, season out.
Period..
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DKH
Worst Poster/Awful Takes
- Feb 27, 2002
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Gordon Howe is the master of 2 hour posts on what he perceives wrong but never gives a specific solution
Just a daily rant
If you are flushing out Neely & Sweeney who comes in or is there a magic person to take over
Just a daily rant
If you are flushing out Neely & Sweeney who comes in or is there a magic person to take over
The thing that worries me about McQueen is that right now in junior his size is a big part of what helps him get by, but his skating is very slow and labored, if I could pick at 4 or 5 , I would take Misa over him easily. We already have a big guy in Letourneau that will be hit or miss.
- Oct 31, 2007
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I'll add that if they trade a first without someone like Nathan McKinnon coming back I might have to consider going to the Pro Shoppe and self immolating like that Monk did in Vietnam. Harsh action and it didn't really change anything, but it did get people's attention.
I'm not smart enough to fix or build an NHL team. But I do know the cupboard is bare and at some point it simply has to be restocked.
Bruins president ready to prepare for 2 paths ahead of trade deadline
The NHL trade isn’t until March 7, but the Boston Bruins must decide whether they’ll be buyers or sellers.
www.masslive.com
Because of where the Bruins are in the standings, the team must weigh all options.
“We’d certainly like improve. ... president Cam Neely told reporters at the 2025 Black and Gold Gala in Boston on Wednesday night. “We’ve got to look at two path. One that we’re buying. One that we may be retooling a little bit. We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here. We certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future but not good for the present.”
Neely added that he doesn’t have the “appetite” for a roster retool, but noted they’ll be smart when it comes to what they need to do.
“If you do it again, you’ve got to know that you’re a team that has a good chance to have a deep run,” Neely said about being buyers. “You don’t want to go all-in and then not really feel confident that you’re going to have a deep run.”
DKH
Worst Poster/Awful Takes
- Feb 27, 2002
- 77,550
- 59,309
It’s all there
Ideal spot is 8th and keep your first unless it’s a guy like (example) Kreider who’s not a rental
1. You are in playoffs
2. Pressure minimal
3. You win - euphoria and momentum
4. You lose - you are in sweet spot of draft 17 or 18
5. You win you still keep your draft spot o believe until you make Conference finals.
Last 10 years were pretty much in playoffs by November 25 and had 4 months to worry here
Screw it
Make April games interesting as well
BoomBruins president ready to prepare for 2 paths ahead of trade deadline
The NHL trade isn’t until March 7, but the Boston Bruins must decide whether they’ll be buyers or sellers.
Because of where the Bruins are in the standings, the team must weigh all options.
“We’d certainly like improve. ... president Cam Neely told reporters at the 2025 Black and Gold Gala in Boston on Wednesday night. “We’ve got to look at two path. One that we’re buying. One that we may be retooling a little bit. We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here. We certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future but not good for the present.”
Neely added that he doesn’t have the “appetite” for a roster retool, but noted they’ll be smart when it comes to what they need to do.
“If you do it again, you’ve got to know that you’re a team that has a good chance to have a deep run,” Neely said about being buyers. “You don’t want to go all-in and then not really feel confident that you’re going to have a deep run.”
Last paragraph bang on
DKH
Worst Poster/Awful Takes
- Feb 27, 2002
- 77,550
- 59,309
Hate to see this
My top FA target to play with Kasty on fourth Line
I’m at the stage if game out of control late - Bruins run the other team and win the fights
Make the other team think twice of running it up on us like Winnipeg & Dallas
My top FA target to play with Kasty on fourth Line
I’m at the stage if game out of control late - Bruins run the other team and win the fights
Make the other team think twice of running it up on us like Winnipeg & Dallas
- Oct 31, 2007
- 19,090
- 19,939
f*** me, I thought you were going to say you were spreading out the tarp and providing me with the gasoline and matches!!!!!
I agree. Not that we are in a position to do it, but building a regular season juggernaut is too expensive and risky. Playoffs are a different animal and you have to focus on that. President's Trophy without a Cup is like kissing your wildly unattractive but kinda loose cousin.
DKH
Worst Poster/Awful Takes
- Feb 27, 2002
- 77,550
- 59,309
I would be fantastic GM and they already know that over there
I’m retired and working on a self help book/life book. People who know me have wanted me to do something like this and it’s probably the time.
I will be offering a signed copy at 20 % off for the many here who could use some direction.
PlayMakers
Registered User
Good post. I disagree with your take on his drafting and your take on free agency. He has had some whiffs, but he's also picked up guys like Haula, who he turned into Zacha, and Ullmark who won a Vezina and he turned into a 1st round pick. I like Zadorov too. He's 2nd on the team in ice time, 58% Dzone starts and 2nd on the team in plus/minus. Lots of good minor free agent signings too, like Geekie, Brazeau, Nosek, Koepke... Free agency, like the draft, isn't going to hit all the time. I feel like his critics expect him to get everything right all the time, or always draft "the right guy" and never make a mistake because they seem to only focus on the mistakes and never acknowledge the wins. Take the draft for example, everyone focuses on the lack of a center, and that's true and fair, but he also needed to replace Chara and Rask, so he had 3 franchise holes to fill and he filled 2 of them. But that's never acknowledged, it's always "he should have reached for a player that turned out to be a star and I knew it all along because I read draft sites."
I also disagree that the mandate from Buffalo is to keep the Bruins profitable (or that that translates into building teams designed to fail in the first round). With the cap, the Bruins are a cash cow. They don't need to make the playoffs to be profitable, they don't need to win a round. I think your gripe was very true in the Sinden era but in my humble opinion you're holding onto something that died long ago.
do you read your own books?
PlayMakers
Registered User
For anyone wondering what Jacobs thinks of Sweeney, listen to his interview on the subject from last night...
(Don't let Bob Sweeney's ugly face deter you, you can skip his part.)
I started that video 2 minutes in, but Jacobs has some great answers about what it means to own the team in the first 2 minutes and for folks thinking he's in it for the money, it's worth a listen.
Also, Cam Neely chimes in at the 10:36 mark and I think his response will make a lot of folks happy too, in that he talks about having two options moving forward, a plan to improve at the deadline but also a Plan B to re-tool if they're out of the playoff picture.
Edit: Sorry, didn't realize there was a whole thread devoted to these interviews. Still, it seems appropriate for this thread since it touches on Jacobs view of Sweeney and if he'd consider firing him (no chance) and Neely's approach to the trade deadline.
(Don't let Bob Sweeney's ugly face deter you, you can skip his part.)
I started that video 2 minutes in, but Jacobs has some great answers about what it means to own the team in the first 2 minutes and for folks thinking he's in it for the money, it's worth a listen.
Also, Cam Neely chimes in at the 10:36 mark and I think his response will make a lot of folks happy too, in that he talks about having two options moving forward, a plan to improve at the deadline but also a Plan B to re-tool if they're out of the playoff picture.
Edit: Sorry, didn't realize there was a whole thread devoted to these interviews. Still, it seems appropriate for this thread since it touches on Jacobs view of Sweeney and if he'd consider firing him (no chance) and Neely's approach to the trade deadline.
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TCB
Registered User
That’s if you can take his word as gospel, but yes to hear him speak of Sweeney he certainly relishes him, and sounds pretty sincere in doing so.
TCB
Registered User
When Sweeney moved those two out, he freed up cap and he knew a playoff spot would be in jeopardy but considering how deep the 2015 draft was, and history shows it was one of the deepest, and with the right FA signing, all things considered things would be on a fast upward trajectory.
His layout was bang on, the outcome not so much. We all know about the draft picks, and he entered the free agency world by signing Beleskey also not the right choice, nor was the upcoming trade for Jimmy Hayes, both resulted in buy-outs, but when all those moves took place, they all looked awesome on paper, until the picks were made and the performance on ice by Beleskey and Hayes took place.
I think Sweeney has been bang on on a lot of his ideas, but the out-come certainly hasn't been what was anticipated, mainly on his FA signings and the 2015 draft, but I give him credit for having and laying out an excellent scheme numerous times, but the out comes haven't been the results he or anyone else anticipated on many of those occasions.
For me, there are no untouchables on this roster, as my overall wish is to change the core and complexion of the team.
My further wish is to move on from SweeNeely.
I doubt either will occur.
In the event, my third wish in this unlikely scenario would be to keep certain players. Mathew and Mason are two of them.
Finally, my pipe dream desire would be handing the management reigns to newly minted GM Zdeno Chara and Bruins team President, Patrice Bergeron.
Neither will climb aboard any time soon, if ever.
One can dream.
TCB
Registered User
Your passion for this team is unquestioned, so I have to ask why would you want to hand the reigns over to a guy who has no experience at all of being on the managerial side of hockey ops. Although as we all know Chara is brilliant, but to just throw him right in with no experience, could be asking a bit too much. Imo at this point and time,there are a whole lot more qualified and prominent options out-there.
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