The Responsible Parties

[GordonHowe]

Don't know how to post a poll. If anyone does, little help please.

The question:

To whom, and in what order, do you assign responsibility for the half dozen areas of concern which continue to bedevil the Boston Bruins as of mid-March, with the playoffs around the corner?

As for me,

Management: 50%. Sweeney built this roster, and in my mind, the ultimate responsibility for team success or failure lies at the feet of management. Who constructed this team? Mr. Nobody? Basically, it's been "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" for quite a while now. Soft As Charmin in the physical department *for years* is also entirely on Sweeney, who has, evidently, never credited this part of the game or its contribution to team success.

Coaching: 35%. Overreliance on goaltending to save Boston's bacon because the defense has been, in a word, terrible; Poor team defense; poor D corps defense; chronic inability to clear the crease and get out of the zone; repeatedly hemmed in their own end on a nightly basis; Montgomery gassing his overworked best players, a plainly stupid, short-sighted practice that will soon catch up with the Bruins, if it hasn't already.

*STILL* NO ANSWER FOR A TENACIOUS, HEAVY FORECHECK, WHICH WILL BE THEIR UNDOING IN THE PLAYOFFS; fatal failure to win D zone draws (John Beecher can help with that, if they allow him to do so); failure to close out third period leads; poor PK, poor PP -- though both are improving of late.

Hey, it's March. What's our fourth line? What's our first line? What's our second line? What's our third line? What are our D pairings? We're in the final stretch, with fourteen games to go, and Montgomery continues to juggle lines like it's a bodily function. Even at this late date, chaos reigns and stability is in short supply.

Who is responsible for that? Is there any price to pay for repeated f*ck-up's and "blown coverage" in the D zone? Too Many Men on the Ice?

Who's in charge here, exactly?

I won't even go into the many disastrous decisions Montgomery made which, in my view, led to Boston's ignominious end against FLA in round one last year. Whether he has learned from them remains an open question.

Players: 15%. All I can say is, this is the "group" that Don Sweeney assembled. They are what they are. You can't expect them to be anything else. Here's hoping the addition of Maroon and Peeke will alter the complexion of the 2023-24 Boston Bruins for the better, if slightly.

They've overachieved given their collective talent and sensibilities, the coach charged with leading them, and the architect in the front office who constructed the roster.

I was never a fan of Eddie Andelman's "blame pie" (nor could I abide the man himself, but that's a topic for another day).

Percentages please. And if you like, your perspective on why you voted as you did.

Fan is short for fanatic, and we all have our biases -- clearly on display above -- but try to be fair.

To the disgruntled, I extend my apologies. I call 'em as I see 'em.

Bumbershoot at the ready, eternal optimists,

Click to read more...

 

[CDJ]

Yeah I don’t know who to blame the most for this absolute disaster of a season where we are currently 2nd in the league in points


This reads like an autopsy for a body that isn’t even dead

 

[22Brad Park]

Don't know how to post a poll. If anyone does, little help please.

The question:

To whom, and in what order, do you assign responsibility for the half dozen areas of concern which continue to bedevil the Boston Bruins as of mid-March, with the playoffs around the corner?

As for me,

Management: 50%. Sweeney built this roster, and in my mind, the ultimate responsibility for team success or failure lies at the feet of management. Who constructed this team? Mr. Nobody? Basically, it's been "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" for quite a while now. Soft As Charmin in the physical department *for years* is also entirely on Sweeney, who has, evidently, never credited this part of the game or its contribution to team success.

Coaching: 35%. Overreliance on goaltending to save the Boston bacon because the defense has been, in a word, terrible; Poor team defense; poor D corps defense; chronic inability to clear the crease and get out of the zone; repeatedly hemmed in their own end on a nightly basis; Montgomery gassing his overworked best players, a plainly stupid, short-sighted practice that will soon catch up with the Bruins, if it hasn't already.

*STILL* NO ANSWER FOR A TENACIOUS, HEAVY FORECHECK, WHICH WILL BE THEIR UNDOING IN THE PLAYOFFS; fatal failure to win D zone draws (John Beecher can help with that, if they allow him to do so); failure to close out third period leads; poor PK, poor PP -- though both are improving of late.

Hey, it's March. What's are fourth line? What's our first line? What's our second line? What's our third line? What are our D pairings? We're in the final stretch, with fourteen games to go, and Montgomery continues to juggle lines like it's a bodily function. Even at this late date, chaos reigns and stability is in short supply.

Who is responsible for that? Is there any price to pay for repeated f*ck-up's and "blown coverage" in the D zone? Too Many Men on the Ice?

Who's in charge here, exactly?

I won't even go into the many disastrous decisions Montgomery made which, in my view, led to Boston's ignominious end against FLA in round one last year. Whether he has learned from them remains an open question.

Players: 15%. All I can say is, this is the "group" that Don Sweeney assembled. They are what they are. You can't expect them to be anything else. Here's hoping the addition of Maroon and Peeke will alter the complexion of the 2023-24 Boston Bruins for the better, if slightly.

They've overachieved given their collective talent and sensibilities, the coach charged with leading them, and the architect in the front office who constructed the roster.

I was never a fan of Eddie Andelman's "blame pie" (nor could I abide the man himself, but that's a topic for another day).

Percentages please. And if you like, your perspective on why you voted as you did.

Fan is short for fanatic, and we all have our biases -- clearly on display above -- but try to be fair.

To the disgruntled, I extend my apologies. I call 'em as I see 'em.

Bumbershoot at the ready, eternal optimists,

This is a well thought out post by you even if some I do & do not agree with.I would like lines to be more set and wish they would be built a little better for heavy battles in playoffs as well.That said ,the Bruins have had good teams a long time now and have sold off alot of assets to make attempted runs like a good GM should do.The retirement of top centres from years past has hurt and they do not grow on trees, especially when your not getting good draft slots .I am glad Bruins have elite goaltending ,Lord knows that sent Bruins packing a few times to in past.Hopefully summer brings some help in key areas but with that said this season has surely proven lots of so called experts incorrect.I am
sure I could really break down my thoughts better like you did but it's late here sorry.Hey,at least they are making playoffs again though right!,2nd most pts in NHL at moment fighting for another division.

 

[GordonHowe]

This is a well thought out post by you even if some I do & do not agree with.I would like lines to be more set and wish they would be built a little better for heavy battles in playoffs as well.That said ,the Bruins have had good teams a long time now and have sold off alot of assets to make attempted runs like a good GM should do.The retirement of top centres from years past has hurt and they do not grow on trees, especially when your not getting good draft slots .I am glad Bruins have elite goaltending ,Lord knows that sent Bruins packing a few times to in past.Hopefully summer brings some help in key areas but with that said this season has surely proven lots of so called experts incorrect.I am
sure I could really break down my thoughts better like you did but it's late here sorry.Hey,at least they are making playoffs again though right!,2nd most pts in NHL at moment fighting for another division.

Thank you. Good stuff. It's late here, too!

 

[DKH]

Don't know how to post a poll. If anyone does, little help please.

The question:

To whom, and in what order, do you assign responsibility for the half dozen areas of concern which continue to bedevil the Boston Bruins as of mid-March, with the playoffs around the corner?

As for me,

Management: 50%. Sweeney built this roster, and in my mind, the ultimate responsibility for team success or failure lies at the feet of management. Who constructed this team? Mr. Nobody? Basically, it's been "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" for quite a while now. Soft As Charmin in the physical department *for years* is also entirely on Sweeney, who has, evidently, never credited this part of the game or its contribution to team success.

Coaching: 35%. Overreliance on goaltending to save the Boston bacon because the defense has been, in a word, terrible; Poor team defense; poor D corps defense; chronic inability to clear the crease and get out of the zone; repeatedly hemmed in their own end on a nightly basis; Montgomery gassing his overworked best players, a plainly stupid, short-sighted practice that will soon catch up with the Bruins, if it hasn't already.

*STILL* NO ANSWER FOR A TENACIOUS, HEAVY FORECHECK, WHICH WILL BE THEIR UNDOING IN THE PLAYOFFS; fatal failure to win D zone draws (John Beecher can help with that, if they allow him to do so); failure to close out third period leads; poor PK, poor PP -- though both are improving of late.

Hey, it's March. What's are fourth line? What's our first line? What's our second line? What's our third line? What are our D pairings? We're in the final stretch, with fourteen games to go, and Montgomery continues to juggle lines like it's a bodily function. Even at this late date, chaos reigns and stability is in short supply.

Who is responsible for that? Is there any price to pay for repeated f*ck-up's and "blown coverage" in the D zone? Too Many Men on the Ice?

Who's in charge here, exactly?

I won't even go into the many disastrous decisions Montgomery made which, in my view, led to Boston's ignominious end against FLA in round one last year. Whether he has learned from them remains an open question.

Players: 15%. All I can say is, this is the "group" that Don Sweeney assembled. They are what they are. You can't expect them to be anything else. Here's hoping the addition of Maroon and Peeke will alter the complexion of the 2023-24 Boston Bruins for the better, if slightly.

They've overachieved given their collective talent and sensibilities, the coach charged with leading them, and the architect in the front office who constructed the roster.

I was never a fan of Eddie Andelman's "blame pie" (nor could I abide the man himself, but that's a topic for another day).

Percentages please. And if you like, your perspective on why you voted as you did.

Fan is short for fanatic, and we all have our biases -- clearly on display above -- but try to be fair.

To the disgruntled, I extend my apologies. I call 'em as I see 'em.

Bumbershoot at the ready, eternal optimists,

Call your PCP and tell them you need someone to talk to

You can tell them all about your anger & feelings for Sweeney and Neely each week

You will feel better and we won’t have to read this

 

[DKH]

Bruins are ONE point out of best record with 15 OT loses to four for those pesky cats

Make it 9 OT loses instead of 16 and they are FFFFFive points up for overall record

In a bridge year where they lost their iconic franchise tough guy for a very unfortunate but bad decision caused by him not the Pres or GM

Yeh let’s blame Sweeney for ruining the franchise and making it soft

 

[Over the volcano]

When I opened the thread I really did think it was going to be about where we place responsibility for their success. By all reasonable expectations and predictions they should not be performing this well.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

One of the best teams in the league and after a win last night against Montreal. I just don't get having this point of view.

Reminds me of a post I made last night replying to someone pointing out that Boston fans are never happy and I replied that there were people upset that the 2011 Cup final went 7 games.

 

[CDJ]

If you think the roster is flawed then fine, it’s definitely not perfect. For that you can assign 100% of the blame to those who made it

But the team was not supposed to be even close to this good so I don’t know how we can be hating on Montgomery or the roster. I think last years playoff series did a real number on some of you.

 

[BruinDust]

IDK, this is a team that under it's current coaching staff, have either won or been tied after 60 minutes in 82% of it's games, regular season and playoffs.

That's 1 game out of every 5 that you can beat Montgomery and Sweeney's Bruins in regulation.

We can talk about flaws, and softness, roster composition, etc. etc. etc. until we are blue in the face.

Bottom line, the record says this is the most challenging team to defeat within in 60 minutes in the entire league. Doesn't mean they can't be beat. Doesn't mean they are perfect.

But if you want to defeat these Bruins, it's not going to be easy and you can safely say that in the vast majority of their games under this regime.

I know a lot of posters here don't hear or listen to the Canadian hockey media. But I have never, ever, heard a single media member up here say the Bruins are soft, or they are easy to play against, or they are deeply flawed. Keeping in mind that most of the media are focused on Toronto and are well aware of what and how the Bruins are doing given they are divisional and playoff rivals.

 

[goldnblack]

THIS gets to stay a thread? I guess I shouldn't wish for moderation because I feel we get a bit overmoded once in a while (it's mostly great). But damn yo.

 

[DKH]

One of the best teams in the league and after a win last night against Montreal. I just don't get having this point of view.

Reminds me of a post I made last night replying to someone pointing out that Boston fans are never happy and I replied that there were people upset that the 2011 Cup final went 7 games.

This team is good sometimes very good but certainly not a juggernaut - a B/B+ student coping an A- point total

Figuratively speaking they could kill or be killed against Carolina, Rangers, and Florida

The others - Toronto, Tampa slight favorite Boston but not a lock

The others Bruins favorites

 

[BruinDust]

If you think the roster is flawed then fine, it’s definitely not perfect. For that you can assign 100% of the blame to those who made it

But the team was not supposed to be even close to this good so I don’t know how we can be hating on Montgomery or the roster. I think last years playoff series did a real number on some of you.

Too many have Florida Panther envy and think the sport is called Super Heavy Forecheck and you win by running your opponent through the boards most often.

And there is still no proof that their aggressive forechecking style is sustainable over 4 rounds of playoffs. They ran out of gas last year with that style. Works great in the chaos of Rounds 1 and 2. Not so much as the games get slower and more methodical as the playoff grind wears on and your depth and overall structure matter more.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Sweeney and Neely.....big gap.....everyone else.

They're the 2 that in a a decade of roster building together have utterly failed to get even 1 young Top 6 center. Yeah, its not easy, but you can at least get 1 in a decade

 

[Ozzy Osbourne]

To me the team is soft and poorly coached. They have overachieved simply because of an outstanding goaltending duo. Way too many games are boring in involve no physicality whatsoever. The Toronto game a week or so ago and maybe one or two others have been exciting all year.

My hope is that the off-season brings some major changes to the culture of this team. More hammer, less nail. It’s a hope, but Mr Sweeney seems to really like our current style so I expect more of the same.

 

[Therick67]

If you think the roster is flawed then fine, it’s definitely not perfect. For that you can assign 100% of the blame to those who made it

But the team was not supposed to be even close to this good so I don’t know how we can be hating on Montgomery or the roster. I think last years playoff series did a real number on some of you.

I know it did to me. I bought in on this team 100% for the first time in my life.

For a guy with a great regular season coaching record, I don't have a lot of faith in him come playoff time.

Having said that, I'll wait until he screws it up this year before I blame him.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

I knew the Sweeneyists would be coming out to blame the fans.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I knew the Sweeneyists would be coming out to blame the fans.

The fans are responsible for the team doing so poorly they’re second in the league?

 

[DKH]

I knew the Sweeneyists would be coming out to blame the fans.

I always look forward to a Fire Sweeney post from the balcony but I’m not getting the blaming fans part

 

[KnightofBoston]

This team is good sometimes very good but certainly not a juggernaut - a B/B+ student coping an A- point total

Figuratively speaking they could kill or be killed against Carolina, Rangers, and Florida

The others - Toronto, Tampa slight favorite Boston but not a lock

The others Bruins favorites

As I tell my students, a B student with more drive/will, will go farther in life than an A student with less

We'll see how much will they have this spring

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

If you think the roster is flawed then fine, it’s definitely not perfect. For that you can assign 100% of the blame to those who made it

But the team was not supposed to be even close to this good so I don’t know how we can be hating on Montgomery or the roster. I think last years playoff series did a real number on some of you.

Because not pulling Ullmark in game 5 then running him back out there in game 6 was an all time level example of bad coaching.

 

[goldnblack]

GM gets toughness and size at the deadline

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE!

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

I knew the Sweeneyists would be coming out to blame the fans.

Blaming the fans for what? Being second in the league? This doesn't make sense to me.

 

[bigbadbruins1]

I would say 60% management, 30% coaching, 10% players.

Management because they didn't recognize the true value of the assets they dumped last year for pure rentals. Also because they didn't even come close to addressing the issues in the faceoff circle, or being able to protect and clear our own net.

Coaching because he's starting to be a Claude, having his "boys" and not benching them when they aren't playing well/ shouldn't be playing ala Grylzlyck and such. He also is very slow on the uptake to make changes, and doesn't seem to really hold any accountability for himself or the players at times. Pasta should be called out every game for his whimsical play on PP attempts. He turns the puck over more than anyone I've seen.