The ONE thing the Bruins have lacked in my lifetime

[missingchicklet]

2011 was extra special for those of us who lived through the entire Cup drought. After 2019 and 2023 combined, 2011 is now looking extra extra special. Plenty of "should ofs" along the way, but the 2011 team was the only one that got the job done. Never thought I could appreciate the players on that roster more than I already did at the time, but somehow I keep finding more space for appreciation.

 

[chizzler]

Another unhealthy thread……..

 

[whatsbruin]

I'm not sure I'd call it killer instinct, but I'd say the ability to play the more physical playoff hockey.
A skilled finesse team will do very well in the reg season, make the playoffs, but more than likely flame out in the playoffs.
I'd rather have a team with more Bertuzzi's , Hathaways, etc that are a middle of the playoff pack, and then come playoffs,
they are determined and physical enough to win.

 

[LouJersey]

Another unhealthy thread……..

Someone should start a most days in first place thread maybe.

 

[DiggityDog]

I’m honestly at that point where I’m happy I got one.

Would I have liked more? Of course, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

I don’t expect others to share this mindset, everyone has a right to be disappointed.

I think it’s so much easier to think about what you don’t or could’ve had, as opposed to being happy with what you actually do.

I choose the latter

 

[McGarnagle]

Maybe it's all just random mathematical chance in the end and nothing really matters in terms of effort, grit, toughness, skill, etc. Like it's either just your year or it's not. You can take steps to put yourself in best position to win and maximize those chances, but even then you're still dependent on bad breaks, officiating, injuries, individual streakiness/fatigue, etc. We all know even the best team in the league only wins something like 40% of cups in the fabled President's Trophy "curse" (highly overstated by people who don't understand probs and stats).

I'm not a big believer in personifying organizations. Like, organizational cultures do exist, but they're set and carried out by individual people. The team doesn't have agency, doesn't make decisions, doesn't take actions. Only people do. So the idea that there's some kind of Bruins characteristic that has spanned 1973-2023 when they've gone through hundreds of players, 20 coaches, 4 GMs, a handful of presidents doesn't stand to reason for me. It's complete turnover. And if Bergeron retires there won't even be a single link back to the 2010 Flyers series beyond Neely being in the front office. How can there be a persistent lack of winning edge when it's fundamentally not even the same team it was 5 years ago. Is there some kind of curse every set of Bruins rookies inherit, are they instructed by Jeremy Jacobs to not have the killer instinct? Or is it all just luck?

If Daugavins hits an open net and that Bruins' core is a dynasty. On the other hand, if Nathan Horton's shot in game 7 gets blocked by Jeff Halpern and the Habs take it up ice and score, Thomas, Julien, and Bergeron go down in history as chronic losers and chokers with no cups.

You just win some and lose some, and probability generally has you losing more than you win, which is exactly what the Bruins have given us. Things like Tampa, Pittsburgh, and Chicago winning multiple cups are the anomalies. We couch it behind platitudes like the other team just wanted it more or tried harder, but by playoff time the talent and coaching spread between teams is usually so thin that you get into the margin of error where it goes down to the bounces. Was Tkachuk really "trying harder" and "wanted it more" than Marchand or is it just that Brad just barely missed on that breakaway because you probably only score on about 33% of your breakaways and this was one of the other 2/3?

 

[DarrenBanks56]

Maybe it's all just random mathematical chance in the end and nothing really matters in terms of effort, grit, toughness, skill, etc. Like it's either just your year or it's not. You can take steps to put yourself in best position to win and maximize those chances, but even then you're still dependent on bad breaks, officiating, injuries, poor individual efforts, etc. We all know even the best team in the league only wins something like 40% of cups in the fabled President's Trophy "curse" (highly overstated by people who don't understand probs and stats).

I'm not a big believer in personifying organizations. Like, organizational cultures do exist, but they're set and carried out by individual people. The team doesn't have agency, doesn't make decisions, doesn't take actions. Only people do. So the idea that there's some kind of Bruins characteristic that has spanned 1973-2023 when they've gone through hundreds of players, 20 coaches, 4 GMs, a handful of presidents doesn't stand to reason for me. It's complete turnover. And if Bergeron retires there won't even be a single link back to the 2010 Flyers series beyond Neely being in the front office. How can there be a persistent lack of winning edge when it's fundamentally not even the same team it was 5 years ago. Is there some kind of curse every set of Bruins rookies inherit, are they instructed by Jeremy Jacobs to not have the killer instinct? Or is it all just luck?

If Daugavins hits an open net and that Bruins' core is a dynasty. On the other hand, if Nathan Horton's shot in game 7 gets blocked by Jeff Halpern and the Habs take it up ice and score, Thomas, Julien, and Bergeron go down in history as chronic losers and chokers with no cups.

You just win some and lose some, and probability generally has you losing more than you win, which is exactly what the Bruins have given us. Things like Tampa, Pittsburgh, and Chicago winning multiple cups are the anomalies. We couch it behind platitudes like the other team just wanted it more or tried harder, but by playoff time the talent and coaching spread between teams is usually so thin that you get into the margin of error where it goes down to the bounces. Was Tkachuk really "trying harder" and "wanted it more" than Marchand or is it just that Brad just barely missed on that breakaway because you probably only score on about 33% of your breakaways and this was one of the other 2/3?

alot fans remember the daugavins empty netter from game 1.
but man o man. How about that kelly empty netter in game 4. that wouldve tied the game at 4 before ethe 3rd period. seguin again setting someone up on a T.
We end up losing that game 5-4 in OT. That was the pivotal game of the series. But thinking back we probably wouldve blown the 3 games to 1 lead.

 

[Bruinfanatic]

alot fans remember the daugavins empty netter from game 1.
but man o man. How about that kelly empty netter in game 4. that wouldve tied the game at 4 before ethe 3rd period. seguin again setting someone up on a T.
We end up losing that game 5-4 in OT. That was the pivotal game of the series. But thinking back we probably wouldve blown the 3 games to 1 lead..

Game 7 would have been in Chicago so not necessarily.Lol

 

[Number8]

Ownership has given everything management needed to build a winner... Management failed.

In this most recent year, absolutely.

However, I was responding to Fenway’s historical listing. And in that historical basis, ownership most definitely has a heavy responsibility for not having more than on Cup in over five decades. Be happy to give a large number of examples.

Given the nature of a sports franchise, IMO ownership of a sports team has one goal for it’s fans — and that is championships. Now if you want to ask about profitability that is a different question. ”Shareholders” in the Bruins have every reason to be ecstatic. Profits are high, and valuation of the franchise is excellent.

However, if you are valued at $3B, then extra profits in the coffers do little for the fans.

I am speaking of this in a historical sense — responding to Fenway’s OP. In that sense, in my view, generating just one championship in 48 years of ownership is not getting the job done.

Again, I’d be happy to share a number of examples of where long-term profitability was put well ahead of what, in my opinion, should the ultimate goal of a billionaire owner of a sports team.

Lots of near misses, but at the end of the day, if you don’t get over that hurdle then ownership and the decisions of same have to have some of the responsibility. Perhaps a good deal. Again, where does the buck ultimately stop?

 

[Number8]

Food for thought — again, in light of the historical aspect of Fenway’s post.

In the 48 years Jeremy Jacobs has owned the Boston Bruins, here are the Stanley Cup winning teams:

Montreal: 6
Edmonton: 5 (vying for 6)
Pittsburgh: 5
NY Islanders: 4
Detroit: 4
New Jersey: 3
Colorado: 3
Tampa Bay: 3
Chicago: 3
Los Angeles: 2

Dallas: 1 (vying for 2)
Carolina: 1 (vying for 2)

Philadelphia: 1
Boston: 1
Calgary:1
NY Rangers: 1
St Louis: 1
Anaheim: 1
Washington: 1

Meanwhile, here are the NHL teams valued as of 2022 at over $1 Billion and the relative assessment (mine) of championships in light of their incredible profitability:

Toronto: Epic Failure
NY Rangers: Failure
Montreal: Very Successful
Chicago: Very Successful
Boston: Failure
LA: Successful
Philadelphia: Failure
Edmonton: Very Successful
Washington: Failure
Detroit: Very Successful
Vancouver: Epic Failure

 

[lextune]

Another unhealthy thread……..

Lol. We of the lunatic fringe must have our outlets!

 

[DKH]

Al Secord for Mike O’Connell and Rick Tocchet for Anson Carter all you need to know

LA Kings last 17 years 2 Cups

Give me LA 2 Cups from lower seed all the better over Vancouver, 65 wins, presidents trophies & finals

I’m about Cups and we got one measly one against a soft team

 

[Fenian24]

Stewing in my hotel room in Vegas after watching the Florida/Carolina game

I have seen the Bruins win 3 Cups - there should have been several more.

No team in NHL history has lost more Game 7's than Boston with the vast majority of them being home games.

THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE A KILLER INSTINCT IN THEIR DNA

I can only think of 3 times the Bruins have won a playoff series that they were the underdogs

2013 against Pittsburgh
2011 against Vancouver
1988 against Montreal



The 2023 Panthers seem to have it but the Bruins led that series 3-1...............A blown Cup

2019 I thought they had it after winning 2 Game 6's in Toronto and St. Louis ...............A blown Cup

2014 - A blown Cup failing to close out Montreal

2013 - I can't say they blew that Cup but honestly they could have swept the Hawks before injuries took their toll.

2012 - Another case where they win a Game 6 on the road only to lose Game 7 at home.

2011 - CUP - That night in Vancouver the B's smelt blood.

2010 - 2011 erased those memories

2009 - losing Game 7 to Carolina at home.

I agree with everything you wrote, I have always chalked it up to lack of heart or choking but it is the ability to put somebody away when you have the chance, as you state killer instinct.


The only question is where can they get those players with killer instinct?

 

[smithformeragent]

I’m not sure that this season has much if anything to do with events that transpired a decade ago or more.

Having said that, this is an underachieving organization in terms of cashing in on championship bids.

Or are they historically overachieving in terms of having strong regular seasons and making deep playoff runs with teams that play above the sum of their parts?

Either way, every time I want to walk away, this asshole organization somehow lures me back into giving a shit.

 

[Fenian24]

I'll get ripped by some for this, but for most of my time being a Bruin fan there has been one constant -- ownership.

If you ask me about ownership of the Patriots and ask me if winning it all is the number one priority, I would answer an unequivocal "Yes". Without hesitation.

If you ask me about ownership of the Bruins and ask me if winning it all is the number one priority, I would answer "No". Do they want to win? Yes. Are there other factors that are just as important or even moreso? IMO, Yes.

The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. With a team that could have won several more Cups. And yet who presided over the 2012-2013 lockout?

The same guy who claims he put the good of the League ahead of his own interests.

The same guy who's net worth is estimated to be just shy of $3 BILLION. Yes, that is with a B.

You'd think a guy with $3Billion would buy a f***ing ice machine that works. Or push to keep the players playing when you have a solid team that could do more damage.

Is Jacobs the sole cause of our not winning more? No, of course not. But at the end of the day, when you look at Fenway's list, where does the buck stop? What's the common theme to the whole list?

Results count. Or should.

Jacob's and Sinden were the main causes before the first lockout and running this team like the Arizona Coyotes or Cleveland Barons, squeezing every penny possible out of the fanbase, if fans had not stopped showing up nothing ever would have changed.

It's one of main reason this long time fan does not and never will trust or like any member of the Jacob's family.

Now they spend to the cap but how much do they spend on scouting, coaching at all levels, training, development, everything not included in the cap but needed to run a successful franchise. Some people will say they are successful with the array of President trophies. Adam's division champs banners, years in playoffs, etc. I say one Cup in 50 years is not success.

 

[Lobster57]

I just think there are a lot more positive moments than there are negatives ones. Bruins fans should be proud of what this franchise has done the past 15 years or so. There are missed opportunities but it is what it is. I'm always going to look back on this post-salary cap era as a very enjoyable era to be a Bruins fan, not one where I focus on the negative or the "what if" scenarios. They won once, got close a few other times. Had some dramatic and riveting playoff victories in between. I'm just gonna go glass-half-full on this era and think about the positive parts, which there are many. I'll be honest, I was close to giving up on this franchise in 2006-07. Now, this is part of me forever, win or lose.




Has anyone before or since duplicated what Tuukka did to the 2013 Penguins in 4 games? I can't think of anyone.

Tuukka did. in 2019 against the Canes

 

[JOKER 192]

Stewing in my hotel room in Vegas after watching the Florida/Carolina game

I have seen the Bruins win 3 Cups - there should have been several more.

No team in NHL history has lost more Game 7's than Boston with the vast majority of them being home games.

THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE A KILLER INSTINCT IN THEIR DNA

I can only think of 3 times the Bruins have won a playoff series that they were the underdogs

2013 against Pittsburgh
2011 against Vancouver
1988 against Montreal



The 2023 Panthers seem to have it but the Bruins led that series 3-1...............A blown Cup

2019 I thought they had it after winning 2 Game 6's in Toronto and St. Louis ...............A blown Cup

2014 - A blown Cup failing to close out Montreal

2013 - I can't say they blew that Cup but honestly they could have swept the Hawks before injuries took their toll.

2012 - Another case where they win a Game 6 on the road only to lose Game 7 at home.

2011 - CUP - That night in Vancouver the B's smelt blood.

2010 - 2011 erased those memories

2009 - losing Game 7 to Carolina at home.

If ever there was a team, who had ample opportunity to underachieve , well the Bruins have abused the privilege. This isn't Toronto who get's eliminated in the 1st round , no this is ......oh wait ,actually ..............

 

[The don godfather]

Tim Thomas too. He single handedly willed that team to a cup

Thanks you timmy with a dash of claude! Both my heroes.

 

[Roy Donk]

Wallowing in misery isn't healthy.

It's not to say the Bruins haven't been disappointing- they have.

But the obsession on analyzing losses historically cannot be good for one's mental health. I also hope people don't act this way with their kids when they lose games.

You just gotta roll with what happens and keep looking forward.

 

[Aeroforce]

The lack of killer instinct has been my main complaint in this postmortem.

I love what the Florida Panthers are doing; but like with St. Louis in 2019, is anyone actually comfortable saying the B's lost to the better team? Three home losses, up 3-1, a missed breakaway, an OT goalie gaffe, :59 seconds away but couldn't manage to either win a face-off, clear the zone, or make a save?

My belief is this - the B's players have mastered sports psychology to individually live peaceful lives. They avoid the extremes of getting too high when they win and too low when they lose. (Bruce Cassidy is the complete opposite).

So when opponents can kick it into gear and ratchet it up, the B's merely maintain. Like Monty, I'm an 80's music buff. The B's simply do not have the Eye of the Tiger.

I love Tuuka Rask; but the reality is he got outplayed in the biggest game of his life by psycho Jordan Binnington. Marchand's ill-timed line change would infuriate a coach in a preseason game. What was he thinking in a Finals Game Seven? Ullmark may mature, but check his facial expressions and body language during and after the Florida series. He never seized the moment nor grasped the magnitude of the games.

John Tortorella famously told the Tampa Bay Lightning before the Finals Game Seven in 2004, that if they won that game, they'd walk together forever. I'm not one who typically believes in using negativity to motivate, but when the Florida series began slipping away Monty absolutely should have told them the infamy that would ensue if they completed the choke.

Though, I don't know if it would've changed anything with the even-keeled Bruins players.

 

[Fenian24]

The lack of killer instinct has been my main complaint in this postmortem.

I love what the Florida Panthers are doing; but like with St. Louis in 2019, is anyone actually comfortable saying the B's lost to the better team? Three home losses, up 3-1, a missed breakaway, an OT goalie gaffe, :59 seconds away but couldn't manage to either win a face-off, clear the zone, or make a save?

My belief is this - the B's players have mastered sports psychology to individually live peaceful lives. They avoid the extremes of getting too high when they win and too low when they lose. (Bruce Cassidy is the complete opposite).

So when opponents can kick it into gear and ratchet it up, the B's merely maintain. Like Monty, I'm an 80's music buff. The B's simply do not have the Eye of the Tiger.

I love Tuuka Rask; but the reality is he got outplayed in the biggest game of his life by psycho Jordan Binnington. Marchand's ill-timed line change would infuriate a coach in a preseason game. What was he thinking in a Finals Game Seven? Ullmark may mature, but check his facial expressions and body language during and after the Florida series. He never seized the moment nor grasped the magnitude of the games.

John Tortorella famously told the Tampa Bay Lightning before the Finals Game Seven in 2004, that if they won that game, they'd walk together forever. I'm not one who typically believes in using negativity to motivate, but when the Florida series began slipping away Monty absolutely should have told them the infamy that would ensue if they completed the choke.

Though, I don't know if it would've changed anything with the even-keeled Bruins players.

Fred Shero used the "win tonight and we walk together forever" as they became the first expansion team to win a Cup (over the Bruins of course), others have used similar quotes, Herb Brooks comes to mind as well.

Just a side note regarding the Bruins
1970-won Cup
1971-Lost as a heavy favorite to Montreal in 7
1972-won Cup
1973-Lost in first round to Rangers
1974-Lost to Flyers in 6 games finals
1975-lost preliminary round in 3 games to Chicago
1976-lost semi final to Flyers
1977-lost finals in 4 to Montreal
1978-lost finals in 6 to Montreal
1979-lost semi final (DeFacto final) to Montreal in 7

They left Cups on the table in the seventies as well.

 

[Gee Wally]

Fred Shero used the "win tonight and we walk together forever" as they became the first expansion team to win a Cup (over the Bruins of course), others have used similar quotes, Herb Brooks comes to mind as well.

 

[Patdud]

I’m not sure that this season has much if anything to do with events that transpired a decade ago or more.

Having said that, this is an underachieving organization in terms of cashing in on championship bids.

Or are they historically overachieving in terms of having strong regular seasons and making deep playoff runs with teams that play above the sum of their parts?

Either way, every time I want to walk away, this asshole organization somehow lures me back into giving a shit.

called being a fan

 

[Spooner st]

Except decent damn ice!

Every breakout with a forward getting the puck through the neutral zone had the same outcome -- a moments hesitation when the player had to pause before fully accelerating to make sure they had the puck settled before continuing. Time after time.

Frustrating and embarrassing.

Playoff games in Boston are played in a different manner with the poor ice as compared to many other venues.

Both teams play on the same ice... there's no excuses.

The ice was good enough for them to have an historical season. Enough with the excuses. Yes, players failed AGAIN... and that's been happening for a long time... Management failed in not fixing it.

 

[rfournier103]

The mentality of this team did them in. The 2023 Bruins were too much “Get Along Gang” and not enough “Band of Brothers.”

Timid, and too passive. They’re all nice guys, but when someone on the team isn’t playing up to par, who gets in their face about it? Who says, “get your f***ing shit together!!!” when it needs to be said?

Yes, great leaders lead by example. But they also know when to put their foot in someone’s ass, too.