98.5 The Sports Hub The Boston Bruins have no identity

[Fenway]

When your flagship radio station is this harsh ownership has to listen

Bruins described in three words: Slow, stupid and soft

Well, after a night last night, let's keep it simple. The Bruins can now be described in three words, all of which begin with S: slow, stupid and soft.

985thesportshub.com

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[TCB]

This team is far from soft, slow maybe, saying their stupid is well stupid

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

This team is far from soft, slow maybe, saying their stupid is well stupid

Mind pointing out what they are doing is smart that does not make them stupid? Last night was slow, soft and stupid.

 

[Leafshater67]

They’d be better if they could get a save. Swayman has been awful.

Having a big blueline is nice but not at the expense of mobility and they don’t have much offensive talent, mostly 2 way guys.

 

[Ladyfan]

When your flagship radio station is this harsh ownership has to listen

Bruins described in three words: Slow, stupid and soft

Well, after a night last night, let's keep it simple. The Bruins can now be described in three words, all of which begin with S: slow, stupid and soft.

985thesportshub.com

​

Terrible station. They hate hockey and don't know the sport.

 

[Trizz617]

You can have love for your team and still call it like it is. They are what their record shows.....not great.

 

[quietbruinfan]

I find the whole no identity thing kind of nebulous and shallow. It's an open-ended way of saying they lack both a consistent style and talent.

 

[TCB]

I find the whole no identity thing kind of nebulous and shallow. It's an open-ended way of saying they lack both a consistent style and talent.

I think the identity of this team is more so an identity of Sweeney, and his ability or lack of to build a team. This has his finger prints written all over it, more than any other team under his tenure.

Lets admit it when he took over this team, it was loaded with future Hall of Famers and a remarkable core, even dating back to the 2019 team that was one win away from winning the Cup They still had Bergeron, Marchand, Chara, Krejci Krug, Pasta and Rask from the previous regime. 4 future HOF with arguably Krejci and Tuukka receiving votes.

With only an aging Marchand and Pastrnak being the two left over from that prior regime, this no doubt has an Identity of Sweeney all over it, and it reflects his issues/downfalls with his managerial decisions. Your Gm sets the direction of his team, he has a certain vision of where his team should go and be, by hiring a coach, drafting and acquiring picks, making trades, signing free-agents, cap management, all these significntly impact the performance of your team and his in ability to do these adequately has more than clearly shown his inability to build an overall team and one with good structure.

 

[quietbruinfan]

I think the identity of this team is more so, an identity of Sweeney and his ability, to build a team. This has his finger prints written all over it, more than any other team under his tenure. Lets admit it when he took over this team, it was loaded with future Hall of Famers and a remarkable core, even dating back to the 2019 team that was one win away from winning the Cup They still had Bergeron, Marchand, Chara, Krejci Krug, Pasta and Rask from the previous regime. 4 future HOF with arguably Krejci and Tuukka receiving votes.

With only an aging Marchand and Pastrnak being the two left over from that prior regime, this no doubt has an Identity of Sweeney all over it, and it reflects his issues/downfalls with his managerial decisions. Your Gm sets the direction of his team, he has a certain vision off where his team should go and be, by hiring a coach, drafting and acquiring picks, making trades, signing free-agents, cap management, all these significntly impact the performance of your team and its more than clear has shown his inability to build an overall team with good structure.

Personally, I think they went away from Sweeney's blueprint this summer. You saw what happened.

 

[TCB]

Personally, I think they went away from Sweeney's blueprint this summer. You saw what happened.

If that’s the case, then it’s even a more of a reason to replace him, but I’m not totally buying it,as he’s on record as saying he’d been trying to acquire Lindholm for two years running.

 

[NDiesel]

I think they definitely have an identity: slow and unskilled

 

[Blitzkrug]

You can have love for your team and still call it like it is. They are what their record shows.....not great.

- Me rationalizing every Miami Dolphins season since 2000.

 

[BruinDust]

They are 2nd in the NHL in fighting majors with 19 (tied with Calgary). Only Nashville has more (24) and their goal differential stinks just like the Bruins.

They sit 3rd in the league in hits per game.

They are among the league leaders in 3rd period comebacks.

Is this team soft? No. Does it work hard? Generally yes.

They are slow overall as a group and decision making is often quite poor.

 

[Dr Hook]

They are 2nd in the NHL in fighting majors with 19 (tied with Calgary). Only Nashville has more (24) and their goal differential stinks just like the Bruins.

They sit 3rd in the league in hits per game.

They are among the league leaders in 3rd period comebacks.

Is this team soft? No. Does it work hard? Generally yes.

They are slow overall as a group and decision making is often quite poor.

This. And sadly just not enough skill and scoring talent to make up for the deficiencies. It cracks me up that there are folks stil calling the team soft, though fewer than there used to be. I think that whole concept has lost its meaning now.

 

[Over the volcano]

Terrible station. They hate hockey and don't know the sport.

Yup - talk about identity. 98.5 is the kind of station that lets Mazzarotti write a brutal takedown of the team in a game he didn't even watch.

 

[jgatie]

Yup - talk about identity. 98.5 is the kind of station that lets Mazzarotti write a brutal takedown of the team in a game he didn't even watch.

Mazzarotti wouldn't know what a puck is if it hit him in the balls.

 

[BruinDust]

This. And sadly just not enough skill and scoring talent to make up for the deficiencies. It cracks me up that there are folks stil calling the team soft, though fewer than there used to be. I think that whole concept has lost its meaning now.

While hitting and fighting still have their place, I just don't think it's the game-changer it once was. We've seen multiple times this season where the Bruins would lay big hits and fight early in games, and still lay eggs that same night. We have a generation of players now who grew up being taught more about when not to hit than when do so, and fairly severe punishment for fighting at the amateur levels. Even during my time playing minor hockey in the mid-to-late 1990s a fighting major in my neck of the woods was an automatic week suspension for the first one of the season, I couldn't fathom what it's been in the decades since.

I think offensive pressure, nice plays, snipes, etc. get today's modern player just as ramped up as hits and fights did for the player of generations past. They grew up idolizing skill guys like Patrick Kane, watching Youtube videos of Pavel Barbour and stickhandling wizardry. Where have all the power forwards gone? Guys I worshipped growing up were guys like Neely, Tkachuk, Shanahan, Guerin, Nolan, Roberts, Lindros, etc. Watching Bruin playoff games where two Bruins would hit one Hab at the same time and the building would go bonkers.

 

[mjhfb]

They are 2nd in the NHL in fighting majors with 19 (tied with Calgary). Only Nashville has more (24) and their goal differential stinks just like the Bruins.

They sit 3rd in the league in hits per game.

They are among the league leaders in 3rd period comebacks.

Is this team soft? No. Does it work hard? Generally yes.

They are slow overall as a group and decision making is often quite poor.

Unfortunately there is little the coaches can do about that, other than manage their exposure. Players can get corrected on the bench, watch video, adjust their positioning, etc. But with a few exceptions microsecond decision making is simply who they are as a player.

 

[BruinDust]

Unfortunately there is little the coaches can do about that, other than manage their exposure. Players can get corrected on the bench, watch video, adjust their positioning, etc. But with a few exceptions microsecond decision making is simply who they are as a player.

100%, the mix of players they have just doesn't work, not enough smart high IQ players, and too many whose hockey IQ is lacking at times. These on-ice decisions being made in fractions of seconds.

 

[Alicat]

Only people on that station who know anything about hockey can be found on Saturday's from 9-11am ET, Unless it comes from them or their guests, I'm not wasting my time on the other dingbats at the station.

 

[22Brad Park]

They are 2nd in the NHL in fighting majors with 19 (tied with Calgary). Only Nashville has more (24) and their goal differential stinks just like the Bruins.

They sit 3rd in the league in hits per game.

They are among the league leaders in 3rd period comebacks.

Is this team soft? No. Does it work hard? Generally yes.

They are slow overall as a group and decision making is often quite poor.

I can definitely agree with decision making.Very very poor at anticipation .I mean I can't count the times a Bruin forces a guy into a situation he has 1 play but other Bruins not thinking and either late or not there at all.Another thing is placing pucks where no other Bruin can get it.Carlo does it steady.

 

[BruinDust]

I can definitely agree with decision making.Very very poor at anticipation .I mean I can't count the times a Bruin forces a guy into a situation he has 1 play but other Bruins not thinking and either late or not there at all.Another thing is placing pucks where no other Bruin can get it.Carlo does it steady.

That game against Colorado last weekend seemed like every dump into the offensive zone was put in the wrong place or with the wrong velocity (hard dump-ins vs. soft) so no Bruin could get to it, and the puck came out of the zone faster than it went in.

 

[22Brad Park]

That game against Colorado last weekend seemed like every dump into the offensive zone was put in the wrong place or with the wrong velocity (hard dump-ins vs. soft) so no Bruin could get to it, and the puck came out of the zone faster than it went in.

O yes ,I agree with you 100%.It's frustrating watching your favorite team lack enough skill, but twice as frustrating when these type players suck at the little things as well.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

That game against Colorado last weekend seemed like every dump into the offensive zone was put in the wrong place or with the wrong velocity (hard dump-ins vs. soft) so no Bruin could get to it, and the puck came out of the zone faster than it went in.

Colorado's didnt work either but they lost