Didnt see a lot of this coming

[DKH]

Beleskey while currently underperforming his contract has more value than someone like Hayes who shouldn't even have a contract. My guess is the Bruins still protect Bels but Jimmy from Boston has a hold on this CS/FO.

Agree

Beleskey has the ability to get it together but Hayes I don't see it. Vatrano & Acciari will be back in the next month and Hayes looks to be in trouble

Vegas would never take him

Vegas should be eyeing Morrow the Millers and McQuaid

 

[DaStinger]

In our preseason prediction thread I expected a top 5 offense and a bottom 5 defense. I was wrong all the way around. I still expect the 11-13th finish to hold up though
.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

What do you think of his game? He seems to be getting chances and unless hurt more than I think he's probably got a good streak in him. His linemates are so good he should be able to get out of this If it's just a slump

He looks slower. Takes long range shots. Doesn't create offensive chances. He got a couple close calls but shots weren't precise.

In OT yesterday, he created a golden chance to Krug skating with the puck. That's the Bergy we know. Too few of those this year.

I have no doubt it's related to injury and he'll come back to form. I'm not worried about him long term.

In a way, I feel good with the Bruins at 13-10-1 with Bergy stat line of 3g-6pts since the start of the year. Can only go up and so are the wins. The sooner the better.

 

[DKH]

He looks slower. Takes long range shots. Doesn't create offensive chances. He got a couple close calls but shots weren't precise.

In OT yesterday, he created a golden chance to Krug skating with the puck. That's the Bergy we know. Too few of those this year.

I have no doubt it's related to injury and he'll come back to form. I'm not worried about him long term.

In a way, I feel good with the Bruins at 13-10-1 with Bergy stat line of 3g-6pts since the start of the year. Can only go up and so are the wins. The sooner the better.

And he looked active, sleek, and involved in the World Cup so something's got to be up

He projects as a 25/60 guy and right now is not that

 

[wintersej]

Agree

Beleskey has the ability to get it together but Hayes I don't see it. Vatrano & Acciari will be back in the next month and Hayes looks to be in trouble

Vegas would never take him

Vegas should be eyeing Morrow the Millers and McQuaid

While I agree that Beleksey can get it together, with Marchand, Vatrano, DeBrusk, Heinen, etc in the pipeline I think his $$$ could be used elsewhere.

 

[DKH]

While I agree that Beleksey can get it together, with Marchand, Vatrano, DeBrusk, Heinen, etc in the pipeline I think his $$$ could be used elsewhere.

Yes if they can develop including Bjork Cehlarik Gabrielle lot of top 9 left shots

 

[TheBigBadB]

Exactly where I thought they would be record wise. Carlo is the only one that really came out of left field to be a top 4 defender. Rest are mostly where I expect them to be

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I agree with all of this.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Though injuries may be a factor, never thought Belesky, Krug & Bergy would be so far off of their game.

Thought CMiller would be better, not Morrow.

Carlo out of the blue. Good thing, too. But isn't quite the same impact player without Chara so far. More decisions to be made when Chara's not there and that's a bad thing for any (really) young defenseman (see 3 on 0 last game).

Rask back with vengeance, somewhat surprising.

Return of the horrible power play.

 

[DKH]

Though injuries may be a factor, never thought Belesky, Krug & Bergy would be so far off of their game.

Thought CMiller would be better, not Morrow.

Carlo out of the blue. Good thing, too. But isn't quite the same impact player without Chara so far. More decisions to be made when Chara's not there and that's a bad thing for any (really) young defenseman (see 3 on 0 last game).

Rask back with vengeance, somewhat surprising.

Return of the horrible power play.

Krug is what he is but he's been very good last week - he's out of his confort spot but was outstanding against TB and last game was overall close to that - Philly was good as well

Today will be a tough test as Buffalo is feeling it

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Krug is what he is but he's been very good last week - he's out of his confort spot but was outstanding against TB and last game was overall close to that - Philly was good as well

Today will be a tough test as Buffalo is feeling it

Agree about Krug. But I still think he will get even better.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

you know... despite the fact that we stuck

if you take away the 3 game losing streak when rask was hurt and unable to play

our record is 15-7-1 and we have a 59-44 goal differential in those 23 games

our record against the 27 teams in the nhl who aren't montreal or the rangers is 15-6-1 and our goal differential is 55-41 in those 22 games

we can complain about Bergeron and krecji sucking most the year... krug being miserable the first 20 games... belesky and hayes being a waste of roster space... chara getting hurt...

and yet the record is still damn good. not perfect... but when this team has a healthy rask the defense is killer elite.

if Bergeron and krug and krecji bounce back to their normal level of offense we are going to be a force

if we add a dman and another top 6 forward I dare say we could be a cup contender with this type of styfling defense and this type of goaltending

didn't see that coming

 

[ReggieMoto]

if we add a dman and another top 6 forward...

Going out on a limb here but isn't this what the board's been saying for a couple of seasons now?

Those are the team's current holy grails, aren't they? (Is it 'grails'?)

I think the team finds itself in an interesting predicament right now. They seem to actually have most of the pieces in rookies and prospects, the yutes as it were. And they seem to be close. Yet not close enough to make it to the post-season, nevermind a successful post-season. Not too far off, but not there yet.

Can't see the team making any new acquisitions of the type needed to make it to the finish line because of what it would take to get there in terms of treasure and the impact such moves would have on the team's future. I'm sure there are folks who can dream up all kinds of scenarios but realistically, I think they stand pat and grow from within, maybe acquiring a cheap rental at the trade deadline. Maybe.

Thoughts?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

you know... despite the fact that we stuck

if you take away the 3 game losing streak when rask was hurt and unable to play

our record is 15-7-1 and we have a 59-44 goal differential in those 23 games

our record against the 27 teams in the nhl who aren't montreal or the rangers is 15-6-1 and our goal differential is 55-41 in those 22 games

we can complain about Bergeron and krecji sucking most the year... krug being miserable the first 20 games... belesky and hayes being a waste of roster space... chara getting hurt...

and yet the record is still damn good. not perfect... but when this team has a healthy rask the defense is killer elite.

if Bergeron and krug and krecji bounce back to their normal level of offense we are going to be a force

if we add a dman and another top 6 forward I dare say we could be a cup contender with this type of styfling defense and this type of goaltending

didn't see that coming

So this isn't a rebuild?

 

[ReggieMoto]

So this isn't a rebuild?

I think they're mostly done with any kind of rebuild. They need another top pairing dman. And patience.

 

[TMac21]

Have to give them credit for rebounding after a shaky start - if Bergeron can get things going and Z stays healthy it could be a fun year.

 

[BruinDust]

I think they're mostly done with any kind of rebuild. They need another top pairing dman. And patience.

Done? I still wondering when they started.

 

[VanIsle]

Who saw the defense being this good, no one is the answer.

Hopefully Chara can stay healthy and Vatrano comes back and plays with Backes and Krejci and really solidifies the top 2 lines.

Rask has been as good as a goalie can possibly be and as stated already, thank god for Carlo coming from no where to be as good as he has.

Not a whole lot to look forward to on the defense side of the UFA market.
http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/free-agents/defenseman/

 

[Fenian24]

Additional NEGATIVES:

BELESKEY: Continues to be a non-factor. Though he hustles (sometimes), his skill set is about two decades behind; basically adding nothing to team. Can't believe we have to have this guy on the roster for years to come.

BACKES: Is mostly a non-factor on too many nights; Most definitely not yet the player we hoped to be getting. Becoming increasingly worried about his long term contract, too.

KRECJI: Playing like his mind is a million miles away. Bringing his normally high level of disinterest to an even higher plateau. He and Backes just not jellin.

Without the superlative play of Rask, Pasta, Marchand and Carlo, our record is more like 8-16.

Agree with 2 of the 3, I have been happy with Backes. I'm a fan of Belesky's but he has not played well, I still chalk a lot of that up to his linemates. Rocket Richard would have trouble scoring with Hayes and Nash on his line, never mind a player that relies on rebounds and goal mouth scrambles to score his goals.

Schaller has been a nice surprise as well.

 

[ReggieMoto]

Done? I still wondering when they started.

It's a fair question. Some think they have; others think they haven't. This is why I was a little cagey about it being "any kind of rebuild". They clearly made a lot of necessary moves in the off season and have given a fair bit of on-ice time to the youth in the org. If you don't care to call it a rebuild I won't quibble with you, because it's not been a complete housecleaning by any stretch.

Let's use this term, if rebuild doesn't suit you:

I was in favor of a rebuild... but clearly ownership and management wanted a reloading.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

So this isn't a rebuild?

I was in favor of a rebuild... but clearly ownership and management wanted a reloading

reloads don't usually work... but I'm becoming optimistic this one might

the core of our cup winning teams... is still largely intact. rask, Bergeron, krecji, marchand can all be argued as top 60 players in the nhl over the past 6-8 years

none are top 10 players... but we have 4 guys that are legitimate front liners for anyone

and then... chara is holding on... pastrnak is joining the elite... backes has been in this neighborhood too.

a core of 7 guys that can be argued as top 100 players... is a better starting point than most teams have.

the depth isn't really proven... but theres signs of life. and theres hope. I don't think it would take a lot to turn the third line into a serious threat. the 4th line holds its own

I think where we see the biggest surprise is the blueline. we all expected it to be weak. it probably is weak. but its playing as a unit with support from the forwards and rock solid backup by rask.

we have plenty of attractive assets we can trade... an embarrassment of riches when it comes to well considered prospects.

we have cap room

the ducks are lining up for us

health would be our biggest achillies heel... we don't have the depth to survive crippling injuries. krecji and krug and Bergeron all seem to be playing hurt... we need these guys healthy. our offense is very reliant on these 3 guys.

and now chara going down... will catch up to us... hopefully he comes back at full strength

the Jacobs family isn't going to allow us to rebuild... but maybe this reload they master minded is going to catch us by surprise and be better than we thought.

I'm usually optimistic even at the worst of times... but I might be rewarded for my support this year. and I guess we didn't see that coming

 

[Pia8988]

Hate to break this to you but you have to be left unprotected by the team to be picked by Vegas, Bruins will protect Belesky, I would be amazed if they didn't.

While he is off to a rough start his cap hit is decent for a 2/3rd line lw who has produced like he has over the past few years. Hopefully he rights himself, Claude puts him on a line where he can be productive (Nash and Hayes as linemates for most of the year would hurt anybodies production) and he has a solid last 2/3 of the season.

He has played better with Czarnik as his RW instead of Hayes, put him with Backes and Kreji his production should rebound.

4-6-10 in his last 45 games should be very troubling.

 

[ashnathan]

Hate to break this to you but you have to be left unprotected by the team to be picked by Vegas, Bruins will protect Belesky, I would be amazed if they didn't.

While he is off to a rough start his cap hit is decent for a 2/3rd line lw who has produced like he has over the past few years. Hopefully he rights himself, Claude puts him on a line where he can be productive (Nash and Hayes as linemates for most of the year would hurt anybodies production) and he has a solid last 2/3 of the season.

He has played better with Czarnik as his RW instead of Hayes, put him with Backes and Kreji his production should rebound.

Disagree. I think Beleskey is the guy Sweeney will want to be taken bu Vegas, big cap hit, appauling production per dollar figure, and still has 3 or 4 years left. If Sweeney can have an 'out' I can't see him passing that up. Vegas wont take Hayes, he'll have to be traded, who does that trade? No idea. Even if we have to retain 50% its still not gonna hurt us, were paying 100% and getting nothing out of him now.

 

[Dr Hook]

Vegas wont take Hayes, he'll have to be traded, who does that trade? No idea. Even if we have to retain 50% its still not gonna hurt us, were paying 100% and getting nothing out of him now.

It would even be worth it to me to waive him and send him down to Providence and hope someone picks him off waivers getting nothing in return just to be shed of him, but even that seems unlikely.

Hayes and Beleskey aside, we have a good team this season which is better than I expected us to be. A lot has to do with Carlo giving us that top 4 d-man that we needed. On any team there will always be your underperformers or guys that could be moved or upgraded, but I like how we are set up right now.

 

[BruinDust]

It's a fair question. Some think they have; others think they haven't. This is why I was a little cagey about it being "any kind of rebuild". They clearly made a lot of necessary moves in the off season and have given a fair bit of on-ice time to the youth in the org. If you don't care to call it a rebuild I won't quibble with you, because it's not been a complete housecleaning by any stretch.

Let's use this term, if rebuild doesn't suit you:

Re-load.

I think that is a fair term.