Sweeney teardown: a season too late?

[easton117]

It looks to me like there maybe was truth to the Marchant Pasternak rift rumour. Why else would Marchant be on the outs like this ?

You’re more likely to find out what’s going on in the bowels of the Vatican than you are getting an accurate rumour out of Boston.

I wouldn’t put much thought in to anything that gets put out there

 

[BayStBullies]

Not a teardown, He is going to try to rebuild on the fly

I think they created quite the "gap" in sentiment for players considering them.

 

[Leafs87]

Depends if they rebuild or retool. If rebuild they will need to meet the cap and those two contracts will help

 

[qc14]

As always it wasn't the strategic vision -- try to transition between generations by bringing in 2 UFAs at positions of need -- that was faulty. It was the tactical pro scouting decision to bring in Lindholm and Zadorov specifically. They go and get Pesce or Roy instead and it's looking a whole lot better.

 

[DieSendungmitderMaus]

As a Bruins fan, I'm completely fine with the timing. The point about avoiding last year's UFA deals is well taken- all through last season I was actually pretty optimistic about the Bruins future despite the lack of prospects due to the combination of the Pasta/McAvoy/Swayman core and a really clean cap outlook. Still, last year's team was too competitive to throw in the towel. It goes against two things I don't really like- one is the impulse to burn it down if you're not a top 5-10 contender despite teams going on cincerella runs all the time and the other is the corresponding mindset that 31 NHL team's seasons are abject failures and that enjoying the jouney as a fan even if it comes up short is loser stuff. Last seasons playoffs were nothing special for Boston, but it did give us a game 7 OT winner and another happy chapter in the Leafs rivalry. There's some fanbases that would kill for memories like these.

 

[LuGBuG]

They just came off an unbelievable regular season the year before. If they tore it down last year it would’ve been a gong show in Boston.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

As always it wasn't the strategic vision -- try to transition between generations by bringing in 2 UFAs at positions of need -- that was faulty. It was the tactical pro scouting decision to bring in Lindholm and Zadorov specifically. They go and get Pesce or Roy instead and it's looking a whole lot better.

Zadorov is hardly an issue. Lindholm is. Zadorov was the #5 defenseman when signed.

 

[qc14]

Zadorov is hardly an issue. Lindholm is. Zadorov was the #5 defenseman when signed.

I agree that Lindholm is the much bigger issue but you can't be giving a $5Mx5 to a #5 defenseman

 

[3074326]

I'm never going to be upset with a GM for trying to win if they think they have a legitimate shot. That's how it should be. It's easy to look back in time and see when the perfect moment was, but you simply can't just give up if the team is competitive. They weren't far removed from being really good.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

More like 5 years late. Should have liquidated guys like Marchand, Bergeron, etc. when they had high value and the team wasn't going anywhere.

 

[Coffee]

More like 5 years late. Should have liquidated guys like Marchand, Bergeron, etc. when they had high value and the team wasn't going anywhere.

You still want him fired ?

 

[Nogatco Rd]

The Lindholm and Zadorov contracts are going to hurt them down the line.

Should they have avoided these big UFA contracts and gone for a rebuild sooner?

Probably but people have been saying they’re due for a rebuild for a while now and each year they outperformed expectations (until now). I can see why management/ownership decided to run it back again, looks like they just gambled on the wrong guys.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

They had 109 points last year, it was worth it to take a shot at a Cup run.

 

[Ulysses31]

as an outsider, it would b fun if they sign marner and dunk on the leafs for the next 5 years.

i kind of like the leafs, i root for them when my team is out, but the circus would be too funny.

 

[Schennanigans]

I don’t think they need to do a full on rebuild. They have a franchise player in pasta and a solid goalie. They can do a retool like Washington did.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Neither is Boston right now

They were worse in 2005-06 when Chara and Savard came on board.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

If you lose in the first round, it doesn’t count for much.

Lol, they still have the record, do better.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Ya they really screwed up. Could be a long rebuild.

That Swayman contract lol.

 

[majormajor]

They've bungled a lot of moves.

But the idea that they were going to rebuild after being a playoff team last year is just HF delusion.

Kind of the central delusion of HF really. Teams just never blow it up after a playoff run. They always try and keep it going. And sometimes they prove us wrong and continue to be good (e.g. Washington) and sometimes they just get worse and worse. But they never blow it up until after they suck.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Timing is fine. Lots of bungling and bad luck. McAvoy and Lindholm (d) out injured. Bad contract to Swayman, made worse by an awful season from Swayman. Sweeney thought Lindholm (f) was a top 6 answer. He has been a big disappointment.

Carlo, Coyle, Frederic, etc have underperformed this season. Sweeney at least was smart enough to get rid of those guys, and got more than he should have in return. Kind of amazing the Bruins are still in the WC race given all that has gone wrong. Pastrnak largely the reason the Bruins aren't in the cellar. Hard to see Boston being a contender for a while. Pipeline for top tier players is barren and it'll be tough to get all that is needed via FA.

 

[Drake1588]

Their point totals the last two seasons made a rebuild all but impossible. They could have avoided getting so old all at once, though. They could have brought in younger faces to stagger the generations.

Going Lindholm, Mittelstadt, Zacha down the middle is going to make a successful retool pretty difficult. I tend to agree that their pro scouting and management has failed them badly. They've put themselves in a hole.

Keep their picks, and slowly build it up again, if you can sell that to ownership. Really, though, they need a new management team to execute that properly.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Lol, they still have the record, do better.

It’s a nothing burger. No one cares. It became inconsequential when they lost in the first round. You do better. Lollercoaster.

 

[DRW895]

The Lindholm and Zadorov contracts are going to hurt them down the line.

Should they have avoided these big UFA contracts and gone for a rebuild sooner?

Salary cup grows. At the same time we should mention nobody but Sweeney could sign Zadorov for this overpaid and long term. He never had more than 3+caphit and 2 years during all his NHL career

 

[KnightofBoston]

Actually, players like it in Boston, nice city.

yea, just because Boston is on the downward trend and needs to retool doesn't mean the following has changed;

Safest major city in the US, lowest murder rate
Best schools and Hospitals in the country
Stable government and infrastructure
Nice neighborhoods and properties that can be had when you make the money an NHL player does
Pretty nice to live in 9 months out of the year, winter's are also getting milder
Historic sports and Hockey city, original 6


all of that stuff matters to hockey players and hockey players looking to raise their families.


Southern teams might be a great place for a young NHL bachelor who just wants to stack their cash and live the good single life and isn't too concerned about their legacy yet, but for the family men in the league there are downsides to not picking the absolute best place in terms of all the factors

 

[KillerMillerTime]

It’s a nothing burger. No one cares. It became inconsequential when they lost in the first round. You do better. Lollercoaster.

No its not a "nothing burger". The next time a team, especially one with no Cup approaches that record, they absolutely will go for it.