How would you fix the Bruins

[GordonHowe]

Three Steps From the Move

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...e_julien_isn_t_bruins_problem_talent_level_is

Don't read Haggerty anymore.

Can't afford the Globe beyond five clicks. Shan't abide KPD for more than one.

Sports radio, populated by awful, self-hating trolls like "FELGER & MAZZ" (TM). (Sleeping well at night, Michael? Say hey to Satan.)

So, I turn to the Herald's Stephen Harris, who has it about right.

Trade 19 year old, everything one might ask for, entry-level salary BRANDON CARLO. "We need a snippah! We got a make the playoffs! Three years "DNQ? *BURN IT DOWN!*


"Fire Julien! Fire Julien! Fire Julien!"

Don't make me laugh. [/B][/I]"Fire Chia! Fire Chia! Fire Chia!"

How's it working for you, Virginia?

More hopeful for this team, for the reasons Harris, and others, have cited, than at any time since the hostile takeover by Jacobs, Jr./Neely/Sweeney.

We now have a fine admixture of veterans, young, affordable guns, and an ever deeper prospect pool. PS, Boston Bruins DNA, all.

That is good.

What is not good:

Flawed, even poor, leadership. This includes Julien, yet implicates team personel & general management the more.


Look at the record.

Claude Julien -- and Peter Chiarelli, & with little evidence to commend the point, Charlie Jacobs -- restored this franchise to respectability.

They created an environment of accountability, pride, and winning. Wonder of wonders, players actually *wanted* to come to Boston.

Can't speak to the dark days of the 50s/60s the Basement Bruins, et. al.

How many here were fans in the 70s & 80s? Fewer in the 90s & early "oughts," as Sinden & OC ran the franchise into the ground?

So, as some ***** & moan, remember what you've got. A better than average franchise, with better than average managment (hmm), coaching (YES, and eff you, JC detractors) and better than average talent.

Julien brought winning from the very beginning of his tenure. Again, look at his record.

The easy move, the stupid move, the Felger & Mazz, CHB, KPD move, is, of course, to can Julien.

Bit of breathing room for Cam & Don. Foolish move, gentlemen. Step away from the vehicle.

Leadership. That's the quesion.

That's on Claude, but also management and the leadership group among players. They all know who they are, and so do we.

#32 & #8:

You've made rook mistakes. Excellent bits, too.

Whatever you do now, PLEASE,


PLEASE DON'T BE PRECIPITOUS OR PANIC DRIVEN (FOR YOUR JOBS) IN YOUR DECISIONS.

THE EYES OF BRUINS NATION ARE UPON YOU.

Much love,

GH

PS DON'T EFF IT UP.

 

[GloveSave1]

Oh, I've totally come around to the official rebuild mode...just not sure ownership level management has...

In a bubble, I'd just stay on target. Chalk another year up. Grow some kids. Cut some dead weight.

Too bad that's pretty unlikely with everyone's head in the noose.

Bottom line, while I think you could squeeze a short boost out of firing Clode, he's the best out there. Easily.
I've been happy with DS drafts. A lot less with the Nash/Hayes types.

But I can't feel that bad for them...honestly, even with the duds, the money spent on goaltending and vet leadership should be enough for a playoff spot. The antics we see are inexcusable.

Either direction I could understand.

 

[nmbr_24]

The last 2 games were must win... and we walk away with 1 point. It's a kick in the gut to give up the season in mid January but we simply can't afford another year we miss playoffs by a single win

If this team is going to add short term upgrades it must act now before its too late...

But I'd probably tear down if I was king. It's a tough choice because this team has been trying to stay competitive and has been better than I expected.

But this 500 hockey is no man's land... this is why we went 40 years without a cup

I think we need to pick a spot in the future and aim for it... 4-5 years and say that's the target...

Who is still worth keeping if that's the target?

Bergeron would be the respected tie to the past... the grizzle leader
Pastrnak would be in his prime
Carlo would be in his prime
Mcavoy should be established
The other kids will have hit or broke

As for the other names... how many will be sure fire help in 4-5 years?

And how many keep us from tanking now?

Guys like rask, chara, marchand, krecji are favorites... they can still win games... but are they the type of players a non-playoff team should keep?

We MUST decide if we are going for playoffs... then add a couple necessary depth players NOW and get it done

But if we aren't adding players than accept reality and find some opportunity to add kids/picks for our valuable vets... and maximize our own draft picks for a couple seasons

These last 2 games were a real wake-up slap. With a winning streak we could still make it but now we are too far behind to get there with this 500 hockey we've been stuck on all year

This line just jumps out at me because they were basically the 2nd best team in the league to the Dynasty Canadiens, the Dynasty Islanders, and the Dynasty Oilers. They didn't get the job done but they were hardly a .500 team, 30 straight playoff seasons and they had a bunch of finals losses or losses to the eventual champs and they were a very good hockey team for most of that 40 years without a cup. The last 8-10 was rough and fits your description though.

 

[Wentworth9W]

If you were Don Sweeney and Cam Neely told you to fix the Bruins ASAP how would you do it.

Extend Claude Julien's contract and hold a Press Conference announcing that Claude is our coach and we will not be getting rid of him and that nobody on staff including players will be commenting on questions relating to Claude's job going forward.

Ryan Spooner, Hayes (cap dump) + 4th to Arizona for Martin Hanzal (I think this would be a solid deal for both team, Arizona gets a young 2/3 C with potential and a 4th plus a servicable NHL 3rd/4th liner in Hayes. In exchange the Bs get a desperately needed 25-35 point center in Hanzal)

John-Michael Liles, Jakub Zboril, Matt Beleskey, 2nd Round Pick >Florida for Jason Demers, Jared Mcann, Shawn Thornton and 3rd and 5th pick in 2017. I think this is a decent swap as well, while Florida is getting the best prospect in the deal (Zboril) and probably the current best scorer (Matt Beleskey) the Bs get some decent young RHD talent which is a weakness in their lineup behind Carlo.

For both trades as far as picks go, Bruins give away their 4th, and 2nd but get back a 3rd and 5th in exchange. They also dump 9.3M from their current roster (which has about 5M in space currently) and pick up 9.7M so still under cap and could possibly make one other deal if need be. I really think the Arizona deal would be a no brainer for both sides, the Bruins don't have any NTCs to worry about and I assume just about anyone would wave an NTC to leave AZ. Demers has a modified NTC but I assume he would probably consider going to the Bs a big upgrade.

Lines would look like this:

Marchand/Bergeron/Pasternak
Vatrano/Krejci/Backes
Schaller/Hanzal/Czarnik
Mcann/Moore/Thornton

Nash in reserve for injuries, or to sit under performers.

Chara/Carlo
Krug/Demers
C. Miller/McQuaid (I know these are two RHD, even still I think these two together are better than any other combination for this pair)

K.Miller
Morrow

Rask
McIntyre

I'm new to this so could be ridiculously wrong, or whatnot. Either way it occupied a few minutes of a very boring day at work!

Edit, just realized Hanzal is on the last year of his contract which certainly effects his value. Not sure how much though.

Thanks,
Jeff.

 

[LSCII]

Don't get stuck on franchise players and give them big contracts. (Take a lesson from the Patriots on this one.)

I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with this one. The issue isn't that they fell in love with franchise players and overpaid them in term and length. It's that they fell in love with bottom 6 players and overpaid them in term and length and then threw NTC/NMC on top. In fact, the last "franchise" type player they resigned (Marchand) took a home town discount. I put franchise in quotes because I'm sure some people will want to debate that label for a guy like Marchand. Before that, they resigned Seguin to a ridiculously favorable deal, right before they dumped him for crap.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

This team is already in a rebuild, but they will never admit it.

In the past 2 seasons they Drafted 9 players in the top 2 rounds.

Players on the roster..or in Prov that are under 25

Fwds:
Pastrnak 20
Vatrano 22
Czarnik 23
Spooner 24
Blidh 21

Heinen 21
Acciari 24

D

Krug 25
Carlo 19
C. Miller 23
Morrow 23

Grzelcyk 22
O'Gara 23

G
McIntyre
Subban



Drafted players from the past 2 seasons include

Fwds: Frederic,Debrusk,Senyshyn,JFK,Bjork,Donato,Gabrielle

D: McAvoy,Zboril,Lauzon,Lindgren

G: Vladdar

Most, if not all these drafted players are meeting or exceeding expectations.This team is in good shape going forward.

So to the question "How do i fix the bruins?"

I don't panic, i make sure my scouts are not only looking for new talent but also constantly reevaluating current young players in the system.

I would look to move Krejci,Spooner,Hayes, and McQuaid
i would only move krejci if i was to acquire another C.

I would look to acquire a under 27 yrs old Center ( and winger) and top 4 RHD

I would look into moving Rask, obviously a #1 G would have to be coming back either in that trade or another. i would only make a deal if i was certain the goalie in return was a top 10 in the league and had a better contract than Rask.


Centers i would target are the following
Duchene, RNH, Victor Rask.

Wingers: Sam Reinhart,Coyle,

D: Fowler,Barrie,Leddy,Dumba to name a few. If OEL is actually available, i would be all over it.

I would also try to pry Shea Theodore off the Ducks, i know he is't top 4...or even in the NHL yet.

I would not include my #1 prospect at either C,W or D for any of these deals.


Anyways, that is what i would do...and that is why i am not a GM in the NHL.

 

[wintersej]

^^^ not a fan of all the specific moves (RNH)... but the general point that the Bruins have been in a rebuild the last two seasons is totally true. They are drafting and developing and not giving up anything crazy to support the current team. Sure, they gave up a 2nd and some mid-round picks to try to make the playoffs last year, but the core parts of the rebuild have been developing and are slowly making their way onto the roster. As Dom has said multiple times, eventually, they will need to package some of their quantity for a quality piece. Perhaps it will take more quantity than we would like to get that quality piece.

 

[Boston Bruno]

Toss the bear head around the room.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

For this season, there isn't much you can do. Not really big makeover change in-season by any team.

So either trade or waive/send down to Providence every player with no futur with this team and bring up some players.

Traded/waived:

Hayes
Nash
Schaller
Liles

Bring up:

Heinen
DeBrusk
Cehlarik
O'Gara

Get some value for Spooner, Moore and K.Miller.

Go with this till the end of the season and shake things up next summer:

Marchand-Bergy-Vatrano
Cehlarik-Krejci-Pasta
DeBrusk-Backes-Heinen
Beleskey-Czarnik-Blidh

Chara-Carlo
Krug-C.Miller
O'Gara-McQuaid
Morrow

Rask

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Can't afford the Globe beyond five clicks. Shan't abide KPD for more than one.

Haven't done a whole lot of testing with this... but if you do want to read the globe; Incognito mode on Chrome helps out sometimes getting more articles.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Trade Liles, Hayes for anything.
Trade either one of Kevan Miller or Adam McQuaid (honestly, don't care which one at this point, they are redundant).
Trade Spooner for SOMETHING before his value completely goes away. Young player similarly aged/experienced on the wing.


I explore trading ANYONE; as long as the player(s) we get in return are the best player in the deal. I hate giving up the best player in the deal. Second rule to that, get younger, not older. (Are the Bruins the only team stupid enough to do quantity for quality? Can the Bruins do the reverse next time?)

 

[Revisionhky22]

I'll take a stab at this:

Hayes gone however it can be done.
One of Backes/ Beleskey goes although that may not happen due to NMC clauses.
One of McQuaid or K. Miller goes.
Trade Spooner for Duclair or in package for top LW like Landeskog w/ prospects and this years' first rounder. We have enough prospects so we don't need the draft pick.
Trade Morrow for whatever you can get. He's going to get lost among all the D draft picks coming in.
Trade Subban - with Zane and Vladar he is not needed and should be used for whatever we can get for him.

Prospects to sign - McAvoy, Bjork, JFK.
other untouchables - Senyshyn, Lauzon, DeBrusk.

Top 6 should be:
Marchand - Bergeron - Vatrano
new LW - Krejci - Pasta

Schaller - Moore- Blidh/Nash make a great 4th line I feel along with Accari as a call up if needed so I feel no changes for the 4th line are needed.

3rd line is a big problem - the Backes deal is beginning to look like a bad one to me, but if he can be a good 3rd line center then let him stay there so we can have the above top 6. I also like Czarnik there as he adds speed and offensive creativity, he can even flip with Backes between C/RW. Need to find a LW to pair with them even if it's playing Schaller with them worse case in the short term until a prospect like Bjork or DeBrusk is ready. If we can't ditch Bels then 39 - 42 -27 isn't the worst 3rd line in the league.

Defense - we need to decide what our top 6 is for this year and moving forward short term.

Chara - Carlo for one more year. By 2018-19 season Carlo should be ready to anchor top pair.
Krug - C. Miller - I like the way they've looked this year together and C.Miller was just starting to play very well before the injury.
XXXX - K.Miller / McQuaid - other is gone via trade or expansion draft.
Liles should be a 7th for this year and not resigned next year. Then next year this goes to O'Gara or Grezlyck if they are ready.

Back up goalie is a must for a 2 year term until Zane is ready to be up full time. Khuodobin was a bust unfortunately.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

This team is already in a rebuild, but they will never admit it.

In the past 2 seasons they Drafted 9 players in the top 2 rounds.

Players on the roster..or in Prov that are under 25

Fwds:
Pastrnak 20
Vatrano 22
Czarnik 23
Spooner 24
Blidh 21

Heinen 21
Acciari 24

D

Krug 25
Carlo 19
C. Miller 23
Morrow 23

Grzelcyk 22
O'Gara 23

G
McIntyre
Subban



Drafted players from the past 2 seasons include

Fwds: Frederic,Debrusk,Senyshyn,JFK,Bjork,Donato,Gabrielle

D: McAvoy,Zboril,Lauzon,Lindgren

G: Vladdar

Most, if not all these drafted players are meeting or exceeding expectations.This team is in good shape going forward.

So to the question "How do i fix the bruins?"

I don't panic, i make sure my scouts are not only looking for new talent but also constantly reevaluating current young players in the system.

I would look to move Krejci,Spooner,Hayes, and McQuaid
i would only move krejci if i was to acquire another C.

I would look to acquire a under 27 yrs old Center ( and winger) and top 4 RHD

I would look into moving Rask, obviously a #1 G would have to be coming back either in that trade or another. i would only make a deal if i was certain the goalie in return was a top 10 in the league and had a better contract than Rask.


Centers i would target are the following
Duchene, RNH, Victor Rask.

Wingers: Sam Reinhart,Coyle,

D: Fowler,Barrie,Leddy,Dumba to name a few. If OEL is actually available, i would be all over it.

I would also try to pry Shea Theodore off the Ducks, i know he is't top 4...or even in the NHL yet.

I would not include my #1 prospect at either C,W or D for any of these deals.


Anyways, that is what i would do...and that is why i am not a GM in the NHL.

Can't rebuild without a teardown... this is more an extended renovation we are going through

Renovations usually make things better... but rarely are they as good as a brand new shinny thing

I know why we went this direction... our ownership isn't willing to give up playoff revenue. But where has that got us? We didn't make the playoffs and we didn't get a chance at a top 5 pick

Now the question is... what happens next? Will we make the playoffs and justify this approach? Or will we end up in no man's land again?

We must pick one direction or the other and focus. Trying to walk the middle I'd the truest path to failure

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...e_julien_isn_t_bruins_problem_talent_level_is

Don't read Haggerty anymore.

Can't afford the Globe beyond five clicks. Shan't abide KPD for more than one.

Sports radio, populated by awful, self-hating trolls like "FELGER & MAZZ" (TM). (Sleeping well at night, Michael? Say hey to Satan.)

So, I turn to the Herald's Stephen Harris, who has it about right.

Trade 19 year old, everything one might ask for, entry-level salary BRANDON CARLO. "We need a snippah! We got a make the playoffs! Three years "DNQ? *BURN IT DOWN!*


"Fire Julien! Fire Julien! Fire Julien!"

Don't make me laugh. [/B][/I]"Fire Chia! Fire Chia! Fire Chia!"

How's it working for you, Virginia?

More hopeful for this team, for the reasons Harris, and others, have cited, than at any time since the hostile takeover by Jacobs, Jr./Neely/Sweeney.

We now have a fine admixture of veterans, young, affordable guns, and an ever deeper prospect pool. PS, Boston Bruins DNA, all.

That is good.

What is not good:

Flawed, even poor, leadership. This includes Julien, yet implicates team personel & general management the more.


Look at the record.

Claude Julien -- and Peter Chiarelli, & with little evidence to commend the point, Charlie Jacobs -- restored this franchise to respectability.

They created an environment of accountability, pride, and winning. Wonder of wonders, players actually *wanted* to come to Boston.

Can't speak to the dark days of the 50s/60s the Basement Bruins, et. al.

How many here were fans in the 70s & 80s? Fewer in the 90s & early "oughts," as Sinden & OC ran the franchise into the ground?

So, as some ***** & moan, remember what you've got. A better than average franchise, with better than average managment (hmm), coaching (YES, and eff you, JC detractors) and better than average talent.

Julien brought winning from the very beginning of his tenure. Again, look at his record.

The easy move, the stupid move, the Felger & Mazz, CHB, KPD move, is, of course, to can Julien.

Bit of breathing room for Cam & Don. Foolish move, gentlemen. Step away from the vehicle.

Leadership. That's the quesion.

That's on Claude, but also management and the leadership group among players. They all know who they are, and so do we.

#32 & #8:

You've made rook mistakes. Excellent bits, too.

Whatever you do now, PLEASE,


PLEASE DON'T BE PRECIPITOUS OR PANIC DRIVEN (FOR YOUR JOBS) IN YOUR DECISIONS.

THE EYES OF BRUINS NATION ARE UPON YOU.

Much love,

GH

PS DON'T EFF IT UP.

This post is fantastic. Excellent job.

 

[PlayMakers]

In order to come up with a "fix" I think we first have to identify and agree on the problem.

Let's take the coach out of the equation for a moment and look at the personnel mix...

Bergeron - Hampered by a foot injury he's gone from a 30 goal, 70 point player to a 30 point player.

Marchand - Has become more of a passer and less of a shooter for some reason, that may be because he's played a lot with Pasta who really pushes the pace and stretch things out offensively. Last year, his RW did nothing but battle in the corners and go to the net. He shot a ton. So did Bergeron. Still, Marchand is driving the bus offensively for this team.

Krejci - Started off terrible. Seems like a player who has always needed line chemistry and not just one good linemate. 3 guys who work well together, and we just haven't seen that work this year. He's had Beleskey, Pasta, Spooner, Vatrano, Backes, Schaller... What's the magic combo going to be to get this line contributing consistently?

Backes for Eriksson. Fwiw, I like Backes better. That said, while Backes is scoring a little more in Boston than Eriksson in Vancouver, Backes is scoring less this year than Eriksson did last year. That change has resulted in a net drop in goals. That change also disrupted the chemistry of the Krjci line, and the set up on a successful PP, which has affected Spooner.

Spooner- On again, off again. He's on pace for close to the same ES points, but his PP numbers are way down. Didn't do anything with his recent chance at center... Still, he's had some brilliant games this season, and I'd hate to give up on him.

Lack of offense from the 3rd line, combined with poor defensive play. (Czarnik -8, Beleskey -7, Spooner-5)

Lack of offense from the defense, despite the fact they've clearly been activated and are part of the offensive schemes.

Lack of a capable backup.

Does that about sum it up?

 

[riverhawkey91]

Honestly, just stay the course.

It's obviously tough to watch right now, but all along this whole thing has been about rebuilding while staying competitive. The dream would be to stay contenders throughout the process, but let's face it...the only real moves they've made were signing Beleskey and swapping out 30+ Eriksson for 30+ Backes, essentially a wash. Everything else has been an influx of kids, who are going to have their ups and downs and take time to progress. Where they're at is probably entirely to be expected without more free agent signings or trades, which I don't think has ever really been their intention.

The plan has clearly been to rebuild through the draft, and they're doing exactly what they set out to do. They rebuilt the farm from the ground up, and are already seeing returns from some of these guys in the lineup. Are they a great team, no...but they're good enough to still bring people to games and bring money in, which was probably the goal with this on-the-fly rebuild. At the very least, they are competitive enough that the youth movement is still learning the hard work and commitment it takes to win in this league, rather than becoming the wastelands that Edmonton and Arizona were/are.

This method takes time, and they need to be patient. They don't need fixing...they aren't contenders, nor are they all that close, so there's really no point in going crazy and blowing things up for the sake of a playoff push. Just be patient and let this all work itself out like they've set it up to do.

 

[BruinsPortugal]

In order to come up with a "fix" I think we first have to identify and agree on the problem.

Let's take the coach out of the equation for a moment and look at the personnel mix...

Bergeron - Hampered by a foot injury he's gone from a 30 goal, 70 point player to a 30 point player.

Marchand - Has become more of a passer and less of a shooter for some reason, that may be because he's played a lot with Pasta who really pushes the pace and stretch things out offensively. Last year, his RW did nothing but battle in the corners and go to the net. He shot a ton. So did Bergeron. Still, Marchand is driving the bus offensively for this team.

Krejci - Started off terrible. Seems like a player who has always needed line chemistry and not just one good linemate. 3 guys who work well together, and we just haven't seen that work this year. He's had Beleskey, Pasta, Spooner, Vatrano, Backes, Schaller... What's the magic combo going to be to get this line contributing consistently?

Backes for Eriksson. Fwiw, I like Backes better. That said, while Backes is scoring a little more in Boston than Eriksson in Vancouver, Backes is scoring less this year than Eriksson did last year. That change has resulted in a net drop in goals. That change also disrupted the chemistry of the Krjci line, and the set up on a successful PP, which has affected Spooner.

Spooner- On again, off again. He's on pace for close to the same ES points, but his PP numbers are way down. Didn't do anything with his recent chance at center... Still, he's had some brilliant games this season, and I'd hate to give up on him.

Lack of offense from the 3rd line, combined with poor defensive play. (Czarnik -8, Beleskey -7, Spooner-5)

Lack of offense from the defense, despite the fact they've clearly been activated and are part of the offensive schemes.

Lack of a capable backup.

Does that about sum it up?

I agree. As much as I think Claude needs to do a better job at coaching in some areas, the talent level is just not there.

They have made mistakes but they are clearly pushing for the kids so bite the bullet and keeping doing it.

I think Sweeney has been unwilling to give up assets, o think he's right. His boss though has been working to mKe the playoffs so there is clearly a misacommunication that needs to stop.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

In order to come up with a "fix" I think we first have to identify and agree on the problem.

Let's take the coach out of the equation for a moment and look at the personnel mix...

Bergeron - Hampered by a foot injury he's gone from a 30 goal, 70 point player to a 30 point player.

Marchand - Has become more of a passer and less of a shooter for some reason, that may be because he's played a lot with Pasta who really pushes the pace and stretch things out offensively. Last year, his RW did nothing but battle in the corners and go to the net. He shot a ton. So did Bergeron. Still, Marchand is driving the bus offensively for this team.

Krejci - Started off terrible. Seems like a player who has always needed line chemistry and not just one good linemate. 3 guys who work well together, and we just haven't seen that work this year. He's had Beleskey, Pasta, Spooner, Vatrano, Backes, Schaller... What's the magic combo going to be to get this line contributing consistently?

Backes for Eriksson. Fwiw, I like Backes better. That said, while Backes is scoring a little more in Boston than Eriksson in Vancouver, Backes is scoring less this year than Eriksson did last year. That change has resulted in a net drop in goals. That change also disrupted the chemistry of the Krjci line, and the set up on a successful PP, which has affected Spooner.

Spooner- On again, off again. He's on pace for close to the same ES points, but his PP numbers are way down. Didn't do anything with his recent chance at center... Still, he's had some brilliant games this season, and I'd hate to give up on him.

Lack of offense from the 3rd line, combined with poor defensive play. (Czarnik -8, Beleskey -7, Spooner-5)

Lack of offense from the defense, despite the fact they've clearly been activated and are part of the offensive schemes.

Lack of a capable backup.

Does that about sum it up?

Yes , it does !

 

[VanIsle]

Draft picks and time.

Head office dismantled this team because they had to pay them too much but McQuaid and Miller are almost the same cost as Seguin.

The big wigs thought they were smarter then people that knew hockey but failed.

Talent beats all, Thornton/Seguin a dollar for 3 quarters is an unfair deal but the same old top dogs believe it to be true.

Hopefully this franchise turns out like the Blackhawks, old boys club doesnt work.

 

[LSCII]

In order to come up with a "fix" I think we first have to identify and agree on the problem.

Let's take the coach out of the equation for a moment and look at the personnel mix...

Bergeron - Hampered by a foot injury he's gone from a 30 goal, 70 point player to a 30 point player.

Marchand - Has become more of a passer and less of a shooter for some reason, that may be because he's played a lot with Pasta who really pushes the pace and stretch things out offensively. Last year, his RW did nothing but battle in the corners and go to the net. He shot a ton. So did Bergeron. Still, Marchand is driving the bus offensively for this team.

Krejci - Started off terrible. Seems like a player who has always needed line chemistry and not just one good linemate. 3 guys who work well together, and we just haven't seen that work this year. He's had Beleskey, Pasta, Spooner, Vatrano, Backes, Schaller... What's the magic combo going to be to get this line contributing consistently?

Backes for Eriksson. Fwiw, I like Backes better. That said, while Backes is scoring a little more in Boston than Eriksson in Vancouver, Backes is scoring less this year than Eriksson did last year. That change has resulted in a net drop in goals. That change also disrupted the chemistry of the Krjci line, and the set up on a successful PP, which has affected Spooner.

Spooner- On again, off again. He's on pace for close to the same ES points, but his PP numbers are way down. Didn't do anything with his recent chance at center... Still, he's had some brilliant games this season, and I'd hate to give up on him.

Lack of offense from the 3rd line, combined with poor defensive play. (Czarnik -8, Beleskey -7, Spooner-5)

Lack of offense from the defense, despite the fact they've clearly been activated and are part of the offensive schemes.

Lack of a capable backup.

Does that about sum it up?

Nah, you can't take the coach out or absolve him of the impact he's had on the lack of scoring. It's partly personnel, but it's also partly coaching. For example, who put Tim Schaller on the PP for a time? Who kept rolling Jimmy Hayes out game after game? Who keeps giving Riley Nash playing time game after game? Saying it's on the personnel is just such an incredible over simplification of what's actually happening here that it invalidates your actual post, IMO.

And FWIW, you can't attribute the 3rd line play and lack of scoring to Spooner when he's played just as much on the DK line than he has on the 3rd line. Doing that is wildly disingenuous, IMO.

If anything the lack of scoring can be attributed to the forwards having to play tighter defensively to cover up the holes on the back end, and that's the argument you can make about the personnel being deficient. It's not a lack of ability up front. It's a lack of actual top 4 NHL caliber defensemen. This backup goalie cry is nothing more than nonsense. I crunched some numbers a week or two back and saw that if the B's got a sv% of .930, typically they'd win and usually anything below that, they'd lose. You know what they call a backup goalie posting a .930 sv%? They call him a starter. As there are only two guys in the league right now doing that.

 

[finchster]

I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with this one. The issue isn't that they fell in love with franchise players and overpaid them in term and length. It's that they fell in love with bottom 6 players and overpaid them in term and length and then threw NTC/NMC on top. In fact, the last "franchise" type player they resigned (Marchand) took a home town discount. I put franchise in quotes because I'm sure some people will want to debate that label for a guy like Marchand. Before that, they resigned Seguin to a ridiculously favorable deal, right before they dumped him for crap.

I am sure the way to win in the NHL is to identify your core and lock them up long term, everyone else is expendable.

 

[whatsbruin]

Hot cheerleaders.

Hasn't the current demise coincide with the removal of the ice girls?

 

[stungun]

JJ is not going to pay the Clode to take the spring
off by firing him. Doubt few teams can the gm before
the June expansion draft either. Neely I doubt is in
trouble as he is a figurehead really.

The problem with dumping players now is they can be
used in the expansion draft as bait really. The questions
I would be asking is who is on the protection list and
who is going to be plucked away from us? Who do we
level exposed hoping they are picked (hayes, beleskey,
liles, etc...)

Trading to push this team to the playoffs is useless as
they are simply not good enough. Trade guys with nmc's
if you can for young talent. Otherwise stay pat and can
Julien at the end of th year and see how front office
handles expansion draft.

 

[CellyHard]

Leave Beleskey unprotected.

Trade one of K.Miller/Mcquaid with Spooner as a cap dump.

Waive Hayes.

Re-attempt making an offer for Lando in the offseason without using Carlo or Charlie. Zboril + Heinen + C.Miller + 2017 1st

Sign Alzner if the money is right. We need a future replacement for Chara. He's a steady, durable and pure shut down defensemen as it gets. He can teach McAvoy the ropes and later become a shutdown tandem with Carlo.

Fill in the roster with our prospects. You can try Debrusk and Ceharlik on the left and Bjork or Senyshyn on the right. JFK could also make a case to play center. He's been on fire recently.

Marchand Bergeron Vatrano
Landeskog Krejci Pastrnak
Debrusk Backes Bjork
Schaller Czarnik Nash

Chara Carlo
Krug K.Miller
Alzner McAvoy

Rask
McIntyre