Are the Bruins becoming an undesirable destination for players?

[House Targaryen]

we are a team that is not currently a "contender" IMO. and given the recent moves and decisions that FO keeps making, there are no real signs that we will become a contender. that's what's undesirable. purely as a hockey market/town, i think anyone would want to play here. but our FO is screwing us over right now, royally.

 

[Number8]

They had money back in the mid-90s and early 2000s. And guys didn't want to come here. Annual protracted hold-outs will do that to yah.

Having money and being willing to spend are two entirely different things. Sinden and Jacobs nickel and dimed players routinely and then spent ridiculous amounts of money on Marty Lapointe because JJ got in a pissing match with Mike Illitch.

Whatever you want to say about management today, you cannot say they don't spend money.

 

[jgatie]

Well they had money, they just refused to pay their own guys what they thought their market value was, always assuming their was someone else out there who could do the same job for a little bit cheaper.

Having money and refusing to spend it isn't any different than having no money. I'm not getting your point.

 

[missingchicklet]

If money offered is equal there are plenty of places less attractive to play. Unfortunately there are better ones as well, and the list of the latter is getting larger. Hopefully that get reversed soon. Great city, owner willing to spend up to the cap, passionate fans, established good coach, and historic franchise are all positives. Unfortunately the big negative for a free agent wanting to compete for a Cup is that the team has not been trending in the right direction.

 

[BruinDust]

Having money and refusing to spend it isn't any different than having no money. I'm not getting your point.

I'll use this 90s comparable.

Oilers - Small-market team, no revenue sharing, very-low canadian dollar = Perception of small-market team with financial difficulties to retain top players. As a player I can ask for what you don't have. But if you don't have it I can't think any less of you for not giving it to me.

Bruins - Big-market team, financial sound = Perception of team simply being frugal and cheap. Consistently drawing a hard-line with their own talent. As a player I know you have the finances to meet my contract demands, you simply don't want to give it to me.

But with a salary cap, revenue sharing, the playing field has evened. So the above is inconsequential today.

 

[DK46]

Undesirable ..No...but probably a little lower down the list then we all would like.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Unless they run out of money , they will be desirable.

Bingo!

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Come play in a system that stunts your offensive growth? Sure why not. A lot of players care about stats and scoring goals, so playing a responsible game with defense assignments might not be their thing. Plus seeing them gag two years in a row while be run by a front office who has no idea what their doing isn't too attractive.

So where can these players go?

Teams that don't mind players that shirk defensive responsibility must be playing in a fantasy league.

 

[DKH]

I live here and we get employees every week coming to our office from all over the country coming in from Austin Fresno Dallas Atlanta KC Philliy yada and they r-a-v-e Boston and NE

My buddy is involved with the PGA and the TCP tourney in September is one of the biggest if not number one family destinations

This thread is hilarious you people because the Bruins passed on Connor and Barzal and drafted Trent Frederic think the Bruins now suck and this place blows

I have friends that are comedians and they are not as funny as some stuff posted here

The bleeping Olympics wanted to come here

These are the Boston Bruins playing in a great city that if you got money you can have a blast. Every freaking college kid wants his or their ass in Bodton

Kirk did an article on his blog on Dante Fabbro and why he wanted to play for BU

Go read the articles written on Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov when drafted to the ****** Bruins and how excited they were to come to Boston

Chara and Savard came to a Dave Lewis ravaged team

****ing place is amazing

Had Sweeney drafted DeBribcat we would be comparing the Bruins to living in Maui

 

[LSCII]

As Wally knows players read the boards and see negative crap

It's a shame but what are you going to do

You can point to Boston as a tourist destination, but none of that factors into account the state of the team. They're on the downswing. The front office seems like it's in shambles. The coach is pushing a system that the rest of the league is moving away from. They split time for all lines nearly identical when Claude has the system working, which means less playing time and less points to any free agent. You can't just talk about the city. The city is fine. The team isn't up to par though, and that's the biggest impediment to drawing top notch free agents.

And FWIW, I don't think Jimmy Hayes coming to a message board is going the be the first he's heard that he's playing like ****. Pretty sure the guys who have struggled and played below expectations are well aware of that fact before reading anything a message board has to offer. But hey, what are you going to do?

 

[chizzler]

Unless they run out of money , they will be desirable.

Bingo! Money talks. This is just another thread that popped up due to summer bordom.

 

[Fenway]

Don't think the Bruins read this board? They JUST posted this on Twitter

​

 

[ranold26]

I answered NO.
Boston's problem was giving out too many NTC/NMCs and trading away guys that they should've kept and holding onto replaceable guys too long.

 

[Ladyfan]

I hope not

 

[DKH]

I hope not

If we drafted Kyle Connor we would be turning people away.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

The way I see it this franchise will be moving to another city very soon. Why bother we stink and are run by idiots. Thats what Im being told. Im trying hard to become a Celtic fan if they will have me.

 

[DKH]

I'm 100% certain if we drafted someone like able at 29 this thread would never have been created

 

[DKH]

The way I see it this franchise will be moving to another city very soon. Why bother we stink and are run by idiots. Thats what Im being told. Im trying hard to become a Celtic fan if they will have me.

I can see them going to Hartford which would be sad but it's an up and coming city

I hope the Bruins name stays here and we get the 32nd expansion team- the Boston Frederics

 

[talkinaway]

As far as the city and its attractions - you're never going to be everything to everyone. Some players love being in the big city, but others would hate the brutal winters and would rather be in Florida. So, as nice as the Bruins' "Things to do in Boston" video is...eh. lol.

Now, as far as Boston becoming Free Agent poison...it could be getting there, if it's not there already. The perception of "defense is the first, second, third, and fourth thing we do" may be jarring. FAs may not care as much about "Clode doesn't play kids" if they're not kids themselves...in fact, they may see it as an opportunity for ice time.

The fact that we've managed to finish in the worst possible position two years in a row does not bode well. Trade deadline 2015: lose two seconds and a sixth round pick. Trade deadline 2016: lose a second, third, fourth, and fifth round pick. You have to wonder wat the goal of the team was in those moves - and you have to be a little cynical.

Also, there's taxes. I don't know the relative tax rate for all teams, but I know it varies. I know Florida can be attractive to many players for that reason, and I can imagine Massachusetts isn't as attractive. The number that they sign isn't the money they take home - a smaller contract elsewhere can net them more money.

That said, the fact that Boston has spent, and, for the foreseeable future, will spend to the cap is reassuring to players. At least you know your team will spend to cap, and you're only bargaining against "funny money", and not hoping that revenue will come in.

Media market is also a thing that some players may hate, and some may love. I don't think the "hometown boy" is an issue when you're a FA - by the time you're 24, I think your dream of playing for the Bruins has given way to the real world.

 

[Mpasta]

I live here and we get employees every week coming to our office from all over the country coming in from Austin Fresno Dallas Atlanta KC Philliy yada and they r-a-v-e Boston and NE

My buddy is involved with the PGA and the TCP tourney in September is one of the biggest if not number one family destinations

This thread is hilarious you people because the Bruins passed on Connor and Barzal and drafted Trent Frederic think the Bruins now suck and this place blows

I have friends that are comedians and they are not as funny as some stuff posted here

The bleeping Olympics wanted to come here

These are the Boston Bruins playing in a great city that if you got money you can have a blast. Every freaking college kid wants his or their ass in Bodton

Kirk did an article on his blog on Dante Fabbro and why he wanted to play for BU

Go read the articles written on Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov when drafted to the ****** Bruins and how excited they were to come to Boston

Chara and Savard came to a Dave Lewis ravaged team

****ing place is amazing

Had Sweeney drafted DeBribcat we would be comparing the Bruins to living in Maui

I'm not disagreeing with your overall point but to use the bolded to say a city is nice or not might not be the best argument.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

I can see them going to Hartford which would be sad but it's an up and coming city

I hope the Bruins name stays here and we get the 32nd expansion team- the Boston Frederics

That's a joke of a name, No one is that dumb.

We can call them the d*** heads and put Felger's face as the logo

 

[Fenway]

I can see them going to Hartford which would be sad but it's an up and coming city

I hope the Bruins name stays here and we get the 32nd expansion team- the Boston Frederics

 

[GloveSave1]

I voted yes. But cash is king.

 

[FROMSHORETOCHARA]

Its all about the money and the Bruins money is just as green as anywhere else.

edit: Wally got to it first.

I voted no, I don't think Bruins undesirable at least not yet but it's not always all about the money, thats at least an over generalization and close to simply wrong. teams like Edmonton know they need to pay a premium to get free agent in many cases. And for example sometimes you read of swedes who would take a little less to play for red wings. And frankly there is an excellent chance that multiple teams will offer stamkos similar cash. Just examples but the fact is While money is a factor, and is sometimes the factor, everybody is under the same cap so it isn't all about the money. At all.

 

[Killerbeez]

I'm 100% certain if we drafted someone like able at 29 this thread would never have been created

Funny thing is, the guy we drafted probably has/had a good shot at being a fan favorite based on the way he played and is developing. People need to take another shot of whatever calms them down and enjoy the ride. As bad as it has felt the last two seasons, it doesn't hold a candle to the pre-Chiarelli days.