So are you saying that Loui is not a better defensive player than Seguin? Not sure where you are going with this?
Just because the B's second line was one of the best in the league defensively with Seguin on it, doesn't mean they can't be better in that category with LE. Pure speculation, but one could even go so far as to say that if the three current 2nd liners start "clicking", that line could be better offensively than with Seguin because Marchand and Bergy could devote more time to transition and less worrying about covering for Seguin defensively?
Iggy has absolutely been the difference on that line. He's worlds better defensively than Horton, and his consistent and second to none. He may not have the speed he used to, he's still the fastest guy on his line and the hardest worker. That's something you couldn't say about Horton (until the playoffs, where his effort was much more consistent). As for Eriksson, I truly believe when they've gotten more used to each other, that line will be as dominant as they were w/ Seguin. You can see how Bergeron/Marchand still favor getting the puck to each other, rather than getting Loui involved, and he's content as just getting them the puck and trying to stay out of the way. When they figure out that he's got the best shot on the line, and he's willing to be selfish about taking it, I think you'll see them be as dominant as our first line has been.
True. I was going more by the idea that Seguin=offense, Loui=defense because it seems the pro-Segs crowd think his high-end offense is sorely missed. Last year he had a down year, and we were at 2.65, while the year before, his "breakout" year (for us), our GF/G was 3.17. So even if you subscribe to the idea that he's only getting better offensively, and so would our offense, Loui/Smith has made up for it by contributing to a team defense that's letting in less than 2 a game!
And everyone seems to be forgetting Smith, who is a "slight" sarcasm improvement to Peverly's/C Bourque's/Caron's contribution to the 3rd line last year.
No.
It just means the Bruins are good. Just like they were last year with Tyler Seguin.
Whereas, last year, with Loui Erikson, the Stars were bad.
See how that works?
Ya boy may have actually scored a legitimate goal tonight.
Let's see how it goes, but he still looks invisible to me. I know you guys want to believe everything the Bruins do is right, but we traded two of the best scorers in the game and ended up with this guy on the second line?
The first and second lines on this team are more like 1a and 1b... Bergy's line sometimes is the first line out on the ice. So don't come with that "on the 2nd line" garbage as if it makes him a worse player by default.
If anything, i think Eriksson would be more effective playing with Krejci and Looch on the "First line". In any case he's just hitting his stride, got a points streak... and with the skate thing you gotta keep in mind that is a reward for hard work and going to the dirty areas that Tyler Seguin is rarely found in.
Loui stuck his leg out on that goal and it may or may not have been on purpose but he won the battle for position and got the goal. Deflections are harder for goalies to save, in case you didn't know that. You don't have to like the guy but give credit where it's due.
And yes, the Bruins are good... just like last year. Only this time they have a responsible 2-way player instead of a narcissistic stud whose game sinks as the intensity of playoffs gets higher.
Plus cap considerations.
Plus a surprisingly solid (horrible turnover last night, but overall) and better-than-expected Reilly Smith, who is a solid 3rd line guy.
And that extra cap was instrumental in locking up both Rask AND Bergy. You gotta look at the big picture, my friend. Don't be so short sighted.
All i meant to say was that we obviously haven't lost anything by the trade, we have a great record (and a losing one when Loui is out of the lineup).
Loui was one of the few bright spots of last night's game. He's coming along nicely. I wish they gave Bart that goal, though.
Props to Loui for playing along as if he didn't know it hit his stick. Looking at the replay he had to have known, but he kept quiet and joined the celebration congratulating the youngster on his first NHL goal... classy.
Wow, really ?
That is a talent. some of the best goal scorers ever to play didn't have pure skill in skating but made a living standing still. Dave Andreychuk, Phil Espo even Rex are a few that come to mind.
There are all different types of skill and standing still in front of the net and having the ability to deflect pucks or knock in rebounds or hell even to screen the goalie and take the D out of the play is a skill and a good one.
Great post, and if I may?? Another player in Morrow in Providence who seems to be highly regarded by the "experts" on TV as I listened to them speak of him when he was moved as part of the Pens Morrow for Morrow deal. Needs a little more time (hardly a shock for a D-man) but could also be a nice little piece that was acquired
Not sure about Fraser (keep in mind, I have watched exactly 0 minutes of his games), is he one of those AHL players who lights er up but can`t translate that game to the NHL level??
Didn`t see last night`s game, but I have watched Loui in the one`s post concussion, and he`s appearing to be more comfortable out there in those games.
Great point about the garbage goal he scored, doesn`t happen if he isn`t showing that willingness to go right to the front of the net. Have to be honest, I didn`t realize he was so willing to be a net presence as I didn`t watch alot of Stars games, pretty refreshing.
Smith has just been a pleasure to watch, I expected zippo out of him, and yep, made that mistake last night which hurts, as did Krug, loved what Julien said about the turnover Krug made which was;
Said Julien: “When you give up a goal in the last minute, it’s not a good thing. So it’s a young player that needs to learn to manage the clock better. So he made a mistake, but then we talked about we needed to move on.”
A coach who gets it.
This team is fine, haven`t hit their stride, join the club boys, the majority of teams aren`t exactly playin mid-season hockey
Thought the second line and Eriksson in particular had a really good night.
He's gotten better every game post-concussion. On a nice point streak right now. He's always in front of the net and that's where three of his goals have come from. We've been complaining that Seguin/Horton don't go to the net as much, Eriksson is always willing and he's always there. He breaks up plays with one poke check every time, too. I think you'll start to see this kind of effort consistently from him. Obviously not 2 points a night, but overall, just really hard work. His beginning was a fluke, he's up to 9 points in 14 games, which is actually our 3rd best PPG player. Only good things from here on out, he's that kind of player.
I get people are huge Seguin fans, I was against trading him myself, but you're going to be happier.
Eriksson had a strong game as one of the many Seguin fanboys in this thread it's tough to admit he has any skills but for one night I liked what he brought
The very fact that the Bruins are 12-5-1 at this juncture (including a span of games WITHOUT Loui in the lineup in which the team went 2-3-0) says that at the very least the trade is working out just fine thus far.
And this is without Loui being fully acclimated to the system, in part due to a concussion that happened just as he seemed to be clicking with Bergy... i am confident we have yet to see Loui play his best Bruins hockey.
But Eriksson came back from that concussion without missing a beat... he's not *lighting up* the score sheet but he is still contributing -- both statistically and in ways not measured via statistics -- on a team that plays in a lot of low-scoring games.
The Bruins are winning with Eriksson playing a top-6 role. And when he was gone they were losing more than they were winning... that alone speaks volumes about Loui's effectiveness thus far.
And he's only warming up. Plus, people keep forgetting this was not a Seguin/Eriksson even swap. We also got a reliable 3rd liner who is the same age as Seguin, and from the very get-go has demonstrated some quality play-making ability.
Every winning team needs solid role players, and even IF Smith fails to improve at all from where he is now... his finding a niche as an above-average 3rd liner (ostensibly thus far, anyhow) makes him a noteworthy return in the Seguin trade. Period.
If the Bruins were a .500 team right now, we might have reason to revisit that trade. But they are not... instead the B's remain among the best teams in the NHL. That is what matters.
I wish Seguin the best, i think Dallas got what they wanted and when all is said and done Boston has/will have gotten what they wanted. I wish Tyler the best because nothing he does moving forward should have anything to do with the Boston Bruins' bottom line.
It's been said before on the old Loui thread but it's worth repeating. A trade does not need to have a designated "winner" and a designated "loser". Both teams can win, both teams can lose... that is the reality.
It's hard to imagine Loui Eriksson being less effective come playoff time than Tyler Seguin was last year. When the going gets tough come playoff time, i'd rather have Loui AND Reilly than an overwhelmed Seguin.
Lastly, none of what i just commented on even takes into account the cap considerations of the trade. This trade directly helped facilitate the B's FO to lock up BOTH Rask and Bergy (as opposed to just one of them), AND also sign Iginla -- who is fitting in with Looch and Krejci like a glove -- on top of closing the aforementioned big contracts.
Single-minded people who just look at box score stats and compare Loui vs. Tyler are missing the big picture here. Chia had so much more to consider when pulling the trigger on Seguin than "will Loui score more goals than Tyler will in Dallas??"
In any case, it is still early in the season. Tyler is one of those people who needed a reality check... he is now playing with a chip on his shoulder that he would not have if he remained in Boston. And he is playing better for it.
Too bad he couldn't motivate himself enough while he was here, but that's how it goes. The kid felt like he was untouchable and played like he thought that way... the wake-up call did him good.
Joe Morrow will surprise people within a couple years' time... too. That is all.
This is so "right on the money." Winning the cup, the money, the girls on and on and on. If he does anything like carry his team in the playoffs then I'll be impressed but for now he's just an extremely talented kid who can't ramp it up unless he feels like it and who knows what makes him feel like playing balls to the walls hockey? Certainly not another trip to the Stanley Cup finals. As for the actual trade, we have to give it a couple years to judge it in its entirety. Until then it'll will be back and fourth. As you said, if not for the trade he may never have woken up and smelled the coffee.
Right... to assume that Seguin would be putting these numbers up in Boston is to miss the point entirely.
I've said it before (perhaps even on this thread) that the worst thing that could've happened to Seguin's long-term prospects in Boston -- given his personality and overindulgence in the partying department -- was to jump right into a Cup-winning team his rookie year.
Right off the bat, he gets the prize that every hockey player dreams of... the prize that people work for their entire career. And i think that winning a Cup right off that bat (as good as it was for us fans) was terrible for Seguin.
I think it gave him a sense of entitlement and only added to the "rock-star" persona that Tyler cultivated during his tenure in Boston. He simply took too much for granted when he was here.
Of course his numbers will improve in Dallas, their offseason goals could not have been any more opposite from Boston's. Seguin is now (with Jamie Benn) the "the man" in Dallas... he can get more playing time and play in a more open, "less Claude Julien" system.
He would be performing better on the stat-sheet regardless... but i think his sense of entitlement vanished with the shock of being traded. In his mind, Tyler was untouchable... such a trade was unthinkable to him.
Now that he got that reality check, that nobody on the Bruins is "entitled" to anything... and nobody with a LeBron James mentality will stay on the Bruins for long, he is now playing with something to prove.
His pride must've been hurt, no doubt. He is playing with a chip on his shoulder, and putting in grittier effort than he would be if he were still "the Next One" in Boston. He may have improved somewhat in areas where he was deficient, but i honestly don't think his ceiling in Boston is anywhere where it is currently in Dallas.
I hope the trade works out for both teams. People forget how much cap considerations had to do with the trade, too. And not to mention the prospects we got in return, and a pretty good player who is likely to perform better in the playoffs in Loui Eriksson.
I am sad to see Tyler go, myself. But i am a BRUIN FAN FIRST.
So unfortunate, some people just won't change their ways without that big wake-up call/reality-check. If only Tyler could keep himself motivated, rather than let the chip on his shoulder motivate him. He really is so talented i still i doubts about the trade but what is done is done.
It's not even worth evaluating the stats until after this postseason. Plus, it's not like Loui is OLD... he's just not a kid. I think in the end it will pan out for both teams, in different ways.
Maybe its just as simple as him being a center. His game never really translated to the wing and he wasn't going to win a job away from Bergeron or Krejci. As a wing he's not worth the contract, as a first line center he is (but that wasn't going to happen in Boston).
What? No, and nowhere have I ever come close to saying that, just the opposite. What I am saying is that Eriksson's defensive ability has been negligible in the role he's been used. The Bergeron line has never had issues in that regard whether it was Seguin or Recchi on it - who were both very aware of their defensive responsibilities - and it doesn't again this year. Therefore Eriksson and Smith (the 3rd line has always been solid in this regard as well) haven't had much to do with that improved GAA. Rather the huge difference I see has been on the Krejci line, the line that has always been exposed defensively is doing far better in this regard this year.
As for the offensive bit, anything is possible. I just don't see it happening, and it hasn't happened yet so...