How would you fix the Bruins

[Blowfish]

Trade Krejci McQuaid Belesky and Backes this trade deadline.

Keep Spooner.

Replace coach next fall.

Replace Neely now.

Call up Cehlarik and Debrusk

Play more Morrow.

 

[Duguay]

*Begin an extensive search to find 2 executives (as the Leafs have done) a Business President & Hockey Ops VP/GM

*Let them decide on Claude for 2017-18

*Obviously replace Cam Neely

*offer Don Sweeney a position as AGM or Hockey Development Guru in the new regime

*look to move David Krejci/or Ryan Spooner

*look to move Kevan Miller/or Adam McQuaid

*move Riley Nash/ Jimmy Hayse

*consider putting 1st Rounder in play (2017)

*consider moving Chara

*consider moving prospects Zboril/or Lauzon

*consider moving prospects Debrusk/or Czarnik


something like;

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak

Vatrano - Spooner/Krejci - Landeskog**

Belesky - Backes - Hudler**

Debrusk - Heinen - Schaller/Senyshun


Shattenkirk
Chara
Krug
Carlo
Chiller
Killer
Morrow
O'Gara

Rask
Kuemper****

 

[DKH]

Rask has played 40 games out of 52

Rask averages 1.3 points per game

Rask is projected to play 63 games

The Bruins project to accumulate 82 points in Rask's 63 games

No team in this format has missed the playoffs at 97 points and only one team the 2014-15 Bruins at 95

If the backup can get 14-15 points in 19 games they are in

Getting 14-15 points in 19 games prorated over a full season would put you in the hunt for a top 3 pick

I'm reading all these crazy ideas and reasons how to fix this and it's one MAIN spot

If this was 2008-2014 Thomas/Rask we are looking at 110 points

 

[Duguay]

Rask has played 40 games out of 52

Rask averages 1.3 points per game

Rask is projected to play 63 games

The Bruins project to accumulate 82 points in Rask's 63 games

No team in this format has missed the playoffs at 97 points and only one team the 2014-15 Bruins at 95

If the backup can get 14-15 points in 19 games they are in

Getting 14-15 points in 19 games prorated over a full season would put you in the hunt for a top 3 pick

I'm reading all these crazy ideas and reasons how to fix this and it's one MAIN spot

If this was 2008-2014 Thomas/Rask we are looking at 110 points

excellent point

 

[LSCII]

Rask has played 40 games out of 52

Rask averages 1.3 points per game

Rask is projected to play 63 games

The Bruins project to accumulate 82 points in Rask's 63 games

No team in this format has missed the playoffs at 97 points and only one team the 2014-15 Bruins at 95

If the backup can get 14-15 points in 19 games they are in

Getting 14-15 points in 19 games prorated over a full season would put you in the hunt for a top 3 pick

I'm reading all these crazy ideas and reasons how to fix this and it's one MAIN spot

If this was 2008-2014 Thomas/Rask we are looking at 110 points

That's all well and good, Dan, but you can't honestly look at this team and the way they've played and consider it a real playoff contender, can you? This team is so wildly inconsistent and has so many glaring holes, all compounded by coaches moves that at best you could call curious. No back up goalie is going to fix that.

 

[Marchy63]

The problem. With the backup goalie is not just that they have to better, it's that they have to be as good as Tuukka Rask in order to get those wins required for this team to make the playoffs. When we had Tim Thomas starting and Rask as the backup we essentially had 2 #1 goalies and they were both near the top of the league. Good luck trying to have that now as there are no real young goalies on ELC that are near as good as Rask when he backed up Thomas.

 

[BruinDust]

That's all well and good, Dan, but you can't honestly look at this team and the way they've played and consider it a real playoff contender, can you? This team is so wildly inconsistent and has so many glaring holes, all compounded by coaches moves that at best you could call curious. No back up goalie is going to fix that.

Exactly.

Give this team a better back-up goaltender in 2014-15, they make the playoffs.

Give this team a better back-up goaltender in 2015-16, they make the playoffs.

That doesn't make those teams good teams. And both of those teams had the same issues as this one does, issues as in plural.

 

[Absurdity]

The problem. With the backup goalie is not just that they have to better, it's that they have to be as good as Tuukka Rask in order to get those wins required for this team to make the playoffs. When we had Tim Thomas starting and Rask as the backup we essentially had 2 #1 goalies and they were both near the top of the league. Good luck trying to have that now as there are no real young goalies on ELC that are near as good as Rask when he backed up Thomas.

Absolutely. This team relies way too much on their goaltender to bail them out. Rask can do it because he's a top 10 goaltender in the league. A goaltender like Khudobin or McIntyre though? Khudobin hasn't been solid like he has shown in the past, and McIntyre is still a rookie. They have to play way over their heads to keep this team in the game. In my opinion, that's more of problem pertaining to the team playing in front of the goaltender, show up/give effort when they want to, rather than the whoever the goaltender is.

 

[DKH]

excellent point

Actually it really isn't supposed to be anything more than we are staring into the mirror so long we are worrying and seeing imperfections that no one really sees or cares

The team is flawed but not to the degree discussed here

There veterans are good they haven't quit on their coach they broke in a handful of kids and will have another half dozen next year

We really need to see how it plays out

If they become buyers at the deadline with draft picks or prospects going out for short term I'm buying a pitchfork and torch short of a 12 game winning streak

 

[DKH]

That's all well and good, Dan, but you can't honestly look at this team and the way they've played and consider it a real playoff contender, can you? This team is so wildly inconsistent and has so many glaring holes, all compounded by coaches moves that at best you could call curious. No back up goalie is going to fix that.

I see them as 92-95 points 9th place 1-5 points out as of today

Any given day this team can beat anyone and lose to anyone

That's the problem

If they had Condon or someone they could have got a .500 record they are in playoffs

In playoffs they could surprise BUT I'd certainly take

Pittsburgh
Washington
Montreal (but would be good)

The rest they have a shot but I'm not into shots unless I'm not driving

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

I see them as 92-95 points 9th place 1-5 points out as of today

Any given day this team can beat anyone and lose to anyone

That's the problem

Pretty much every team in the league can say this. Its how often we lose to the weak teams is the issue and the reason we will miss the playoffs again baring a miracle

 

[DKH]

Pretty much every team in the league can say this. Its how often we lose to the weak teams in the issue and the reason we will miss the playoffs again baring a miracle

We consistently do that - that's the problem

If Chicago or Pittsburgh or Washington or even Columbus (never thought I'd type this but when you got Seth Jones & Zach Werenski) do it its surprising

 

[missingchicklet]

It's astounding this team is even being mentioned in the playoff picture given how rotten the backup goalie situation has been. Gus had 11 wins last year for 22 points. The season before that Sveddy got 14 points, but Rask played in a whopping 70 games. This year the backup goalies have combined for a grand total of 1 win for 2 points. That is an enormous point differential, even if McIntyre is able to get a few wins before the end of the season. I agree that even if the backup goalie situation was at least average the team would be going nowhere even if it made the playoffs, as its inability to score is the main issue, and the defense would certainly look more exposed and worse in a 7-game playoff series or two. If the preseason needs of a good defenseman and scoring winger had been addressed then perhaps they would have had a shot at doing something.

 

[Duguay]

Actually it really isn't supposed to be anything more than we are staring into the mirror so long we are worrying and seeing imperfections that no one really sees or cares

The team is flawed but not to the degree discussed here

There veterans are good they haven't quit on their coach they broke in a handful of kids and will have another half dozen next year

We really need to see how it plays out

If they become buyers at the deadline with draft picks or prospects going out for short term I'm buying a pitchfork and torch short of a 12 game winning streak

I don't think it's black and white either, but I think it's a definite weakness. It for sure cost them points this season.

Look at ROOKIE GM Pierre Dorion, who goes out and gets Mike Condon with his #1 goalie out.

That pretty much saved the season for them. Timely GM moves are huge, and it only cost them a 5th rounder to do it!

Now, saying that, I also believe the Sens are a better team simply because they have the X-factor. Erik Karlsson.

Last year, I'd venture to say we lost out by being so brutal in the Shoot Out. Left lots of points on the table there, and what did we miss by? Wasn't it 1 point?

It's more cumulative, and in Sweeney's defense I think we all thought that re-signing the Russian would solve that problem.

It didn't. But now I want to see reaction, or a plan of some sort. It needs to be addressed, and like yesterday.

I always see a benefit in playing in the Playoffs (brand wise, and player growth wise). Effective deals in the past show that good GM's don't have to sell their soul to do it either.

"GM, GM it up son." That's what I say.

 

[Gee Wally]

The latest from doc5hole:

Bruins at Lightning: Penny for my thoughts
http://blogs.southcoasttoday.com/bruins/2017/01/31/bruins-at-lightning-penny-for-my-thoughts/


Rink Rap is in sunny Florida and will blog from tonight’s Bruins-Bolts game in Tampa.

If this is indeed it for the Boston Bruins, that is, if missing the playoffs a third straight year for the first time in the NHL’s modern era (1967-) should constitute an intolerable failure for ownership and that team president Cam Neely and the entire hockey ops must fall on their swords as punishment (the 2015 management change and accompanying win-now sacrifices notwithstanding), then the Boston Bruins have to make moves in a win-now philosophy.

The NHL trade deadline is March 1 (3 p.m. ET), and as a card-carrying member of the league’s bubble-icious majority (ie. two good or bad weeks can change the entire complexion of the season), it is difficult to find a trading partner because you are neither a have nor a have-not. Except in particular positional contexts (ie. the even-more-desperate Tampa Bay Lightning have a goalie chip to play) what do the Bruins have to give that would not constitute recidivism?

If that sounds like a rhetorical question, it is because the only piece of the Bruins prospect pool that is working out as originally intended is what general manager Don Sweeney has created in the short time he has had to revive the Bruins’ commitment to building through the draft..............

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Rask has played 40 games out of 52

Rask averages 1.3 points per game

Rask is projected to play 63 games

The Bruins project to accumulate 82 points in Rask's 63 games

No team in this format has missed the playoffs at 97 points and only one team the 2014-15 Bruins at 95

If the backup can get 14-15 points in 19 games they are in

Getting 14-15 points in 19 games prorated over a full season would put you in the hunt for a top 3 pick

I'm reading all these crazy ideas and reasons how to fix this and it's one MAIN spot

If this was 2008-2014 Thomas/Rask we are looking at 110 points

We also have much younger / better versions of Chara, Bergeron, and Krejci. Which were also key components of our success then.

Our supporting cast was also better, for the most part, too.

 

[Bmessy]

This is what they need:

-Get Bergeron some deer antler spray so he can get healthy
-Top 4 Dman to replace McQuaid. Move McQuaid to bottom pair where he belongs.
-A 20+ goal LW winger for Krejci
-Move Vatrano to the 3rd line. Get rid of Nash and Hayes. Schaller should never sniff anything beyond the 4th line

Their scoring depth from last year has vanished and their usually leading scorers have slowed.
Roster needs seem simple to me, but how to get it is another story. They removed Boychuk, Hamilton, and Lucic and in return inserted C. Miller and Carlo into the NHL lineup. This has affected them in the last 2-3 season. The futures look great, which is fine. But they aren't helping our present playoff goals. The present took a hit and if they want a shot at a deep playoff run they need to add impact players. If we wait it out we probably will be fine. Especially if McAvoy can make an instant impact and Carlo keeps improving. Plus there's gotta be a 20 goal scorer in those forward prospects. But, will management be patient enough to wait it out another 2-3 years? Sweeney will have ownership breathing down his neck.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

We also have much younger / better versions of Chara, Bergeron, and Krejci. Which were also key components of our success then.

Our supporting cast was also better, for the most part, too.

You also have a much better version of Marchand and the addition of a young stud in Pastrnak.

And Bergeron is not worse. He's third in the NHL in SOG this year. Burns, Ovechkin, Bergeron, Kane, Seguin. Pretty good company.

 

[bbfan1972]

Move Nash, Hayes, and Morrow for whatever.

Find out what it would take to get Bishop as a rental, or offer to take Halak with the Islanders retaining $3M.

Trade Spooner for an up coming D-man. (Pieces would have to be added/subtracted)

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

You also have a much better version of Marchand and the addition of a young stud in Pastrnak.

And Bergeron is not worse. He's third in the NHL in SOG this year. Burns, Ovechkin, Bergeron, Kane, Seguin. Pretty good company.

What do you think SOG stands for?

 

[PlayMakers]

1) Acquire a 3rd line C.

2) Acquire a backup G.

3) Give Cehlarik a tryout on Krejci's LW.


I think that's a modest shopping list. And I'd like to think we could get those things by dealing off parts we don't need, instead of youth/futures... Guys like Matt Beleskey and McQuaid or Kevan Miller.

Playoff teams are always looking to bone up on their defensive depth, and scoring depth. Even if we have to take back a similar contract (we can expose the guy we get)... we just need to find someone with surplus of what we need.

Would ANA would put Beleskey back on LW on the top line and Rakell back at 3C, making Vermette available?

Could Chiarelli want to grab another ex-Bruin/character guy in McQuaid and be willing to part with Letestu for him?

Maybe SJ wants to beef up their wings like last year and would be interested in swapping their backup for Beleskey?

Nashville is running out Matt Irwin as their #5d, wouldn't they be interested in replacing him with a McQuaid or Miller? They're also using Mike Ribeiro as a 4th line C. I know folks here don't like him but Julien had him in MTL, and even from the 4th line, he's still on pace for 40 points. That would give our 3rd line a boost.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

What do you think SOG stands for?

Shots on goal. AKA Being good at generating offense.

You guys will go on a run. Barring major injuries. Embrace it.

 

[wintersej]

After the season and before the expansion draft, go all in on Fowler... 1st + Spooner + another prospect. Pay Vegas a 2nd to take Kevan instead of Colin.

And that's it.

Marchand Bergeron Pasta
DeBrusk Krejci Backes
Beleksey JFK Vatrano
Blidh Nash Hayes
(with chances for Heinen, Cehlarik, Senyshyn, Bjork, Kuraly, etc to win those spots instead.)

Chara Carlo
Fowler McAvoy
Krug Colin
With McQuaid to step in as any of the young right D falter.

edit: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/254308

edit #2: Oh, and of course, move Neely out of hockey ops

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Don't disagree with your ideas, but put my thoughts/concerns in there in bold.

1) Acquire a 3rd line C.

2) Acquire a backup G.

3) Give Cehlarik a tryout on Krejci's LW.


Would ANA would put Beleskey back on LW on the top line and Rakell back at 3C, making Vermette available?

I've heard they are happy with Vermette? Is Belesky a better option than Rakell? Also, had they wanted to sign Belesky to that contract, they probably would have? Or was he asking for more from them?

Could Chiarelli want to grab another ex-Bruin/character guy in McQuaid and be willing to part with Letestu for him? Who would be Oilers #3 center after (not criticizing, trying to know their depth). That seems realistic if they have someone that can slot in there.

Maybe SJ wants to beef up their wings like last year and would be interested in swapping their backup for Beleskey? Had to google their back up, and his stats are phenomenal, all things considered for 9 games. Not sure if they'd give that up for a struggling winger? Probably rather give up picks.

Nashville is running out Matt Irwin as their #5d, wouldn't they be interested in replacing him with a McQuaid or Miller? They're also using Mike Ribeiro as a 4th line C. I know folks here don't like him but Julien had him in MTL, and even from the 4th line, he's still on pace for 40 points. That would give our 3rd line a boost.


Irwin is better in Nashville than I think McQuaid or Miller are here? I could be wrong. But not sure if swapping out a better version of Irwin than played here, with one of our 2 fairly oft-injured defensemen is an upgrade. Might give us picks for either, but probably don't want to subtract from their roster for either.

Think you are targeting the right teams, I'm just not familiar enough with their depth to know if what we are trying to acquire, they are comfortable replacing in house.

 

[Sheppy]

Trade Krejci McQuaid Belesky and Backes this trade deadline.

Keep Spooner.

Replace coach next fall.

Replace Neely now.

Call up Cehlarik and Debrusk

Play more Morrow.

LOL, you trade those guys and the Bruins would get physically dominated even more than they already do. That's gross.