The Responsible Parties

[Over the volcano]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

 

[Dreghorn2]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

A contrarian might suggest that the draft capitol spent on acquiring said players last season was a mistake as it appears that those players were incorrectly identified as the ones the team needed for a deep run in an all-in season.

Perhaps different players were required.

 

[Over the volcano]

A contrarian might suggest that the draft capitol spent on acquiring said players last season was a mistake as it appears that those players were incorrectly identified as the ones the team needed for a deep run in an all-in season.

Perhaps different players were required.

But they don't really believe that and if they think they do it's only hindsight bias- so why bother

 

[Ladyfan]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

The hockey gods?

 

[UncleRico]

But they don't really believe that and if they think they do it's only hindsight bias- so why bother

idk as much as @MarchysNoseKnows and I go at it, I know he will back me up when I say I’ve been pushing for it at least since we lost to the Carolina hurricanes a few years back.

Did I think we would be in first? Absolutely not, but I’ve been saying we should move on from the older core in favor of the younger core for years and we shouldn’t let these old players just walk and shouldn’t be spending assets on the old core.

So no it isn’t hindsight when you’ve been saying it for years now.

 

[Over the volcano]

idk as much as @MarchysNoseKnows and I go at it, I know he will back me up when I say I’ve been pushing for it at least since we lost to the Carolina hurricanes a few years back.

Did I think we would be in first? Absolutely not, but I’ve been saying we should move on from the older core in favor of the younger core for years and we shouldn’t let these old players just walk and shouldn’t be spending assets on the old core.

So no it isn’t hindsight when you’ve been saying it for years now.

If it isn't hindsight then point me to your posts at the start of last years playoffs that said they weren't built for a deep playoff run.


Give us (and yourself) a break.

 

[NDiesel]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

Whoa hey we don't do positivity around these parts sir

 

[UncleRico]

If it isn't hindsight then point me to your posts at the start of last years playoffs that said they weren't built for a deep playoff run.


Give us (and yourself) a break.

You can go look through all those old threads if you want.

I said last year I wouldn’t waste any draft picks ahead of the trade deadline on that team because of its construction. Which lead to the debate about how there’s only been 1 other team to win the cup with two top-6 centers over the age of 34 and it was one of the 1970s Montreal teams pre-salary cap.

You don’t win with teams constructed like they were last year.

Part of the reason I wanted to move on was due to players breaking down, like bergeron at the end of seasons. Between his back, elbow surgery and groin injuries in two separate seasons, he was laboring entering the playoffs Every year. Can’t have him playing as many games and minutes as he was in a top line role at his age. Then on top of it having another end of his career center on the 2nd line.

It wasn’t only bergeron. Krejci too, Ullmark injured and never experienced the work load he had previously and it showed in the post season.

 

[NDiesel]

You can go look through all those old threads if you want.

I said last year I wouldn’t waste any draft picks ahead of the trade deadline on that team because of its construction. Which lead to the debate about how there’s only been 1 other team to win the cup with two top-6 centers over the age of 34 and it was one of the 1970s Montreal teams pre-salary cap.

You don’t win with teams constructed like they were last year.

Part of the reason I wanted to move on was due to players breaking down, like bergeron at the end of seasons. Between his back, elbow surgery and groin injuries in two separate seasons, he was laboring entering the playoffs Every year. Can’t have him playing as many games and minutes as he was in a top line role at his age. Then on top of it having another end of his career center on the 2nd line.

It wasn’t only bergeron. Krejci too, Ullmark injured and never experienced the work load he had previously and it showed in the post season.

I will vouch for Rico saying to move on from the old core as early as the 2019 loss, although we generally disagree we can't say that you don't stay true to your takes.

 

[Over the volcano]

I will vouch for Rico saying to move on from the old core as early as the 2019 loss, although we generally disagree we can't say that you don't stay true to your takes.

Oh he's been saying the sky is falling since I can remember

 

[UncleRico]

Oh he's been saying the sky is falling since I can remember

Was never that the sky was falling. I was just ready to move on the core when it became obvious a few years ago they weren’t going to win the cup.

I wanted to maximize the pastrnak/McAvoy window and move on/ trade the old players to build around the new core.

It’s just when you say “people didn’t really believe that and if they say they do it is all hindsight” I was actually saying it at the time. And so were a few others.

 

[LSCII]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

The loser point? To get a more realistic gauge for what this team is, look at the win column.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

The loser point? To get a more realistic gauge for what this team is, look at the win column.

If you’re assessing their playoff chances, wouldn’t a more apt view be how they’ve done against playoff teams?

 

[SwayHeyKid]

Oh he's been saying the sky is falling since I can remember

So what is your barometer of success?

 

[Over the volcano]

So what is your barometer of success?

That the sky's still up there.

 

[SwayHeyKid]

After losing Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, Orlov, Clifton, Hathaway, and Foligno in the off-season they are leading the entire league in pts. Who's responsible for that?

Other than the first two I have read alot of how those other guys were basically a non factor anyways, which generally happens when a Bruin is no longer a Bruin, which is silly.

This group has shocked me as I thought they would be a 2-3 seed in the division due to it being pretty weak. It's amazing how they just have developed this plug and play system where the players other than superstars Pasta, Marchand and McAvoy can all just replicate each other. You just hope they can get it to work when it truly matters in a few weeks.

That the sky's still up there.

hahah I like that.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

The loser point? To get a more realistic gauge for what this team is, look at the win column.

To get an even more realistic gauge, look at the win AND loss columns. Loser point is such a shitty term when the game in extra time is so vastly different than the 60 minutes that preceded it.

RW - L Those are the two that matter. No idea where that puts the Bruins in terms of the rest of the NHL.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

To get an even more realistic gauge, look at the win AND loss columns. Loser point is such a shitty term when the game in extra time is so vastly different than the 60 minutes that preceded it.

RW - L Those are the two that matter. No idea where that puts the Bruins in terms of the rest of the NHL.

Bruins, Panthers, Rangers are all +26 in RW-L. Bruins have played one more game. Vancouver top in west with +24. Colorado +23, Dallas +22.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Bruins, Panthers, Rangers are all +26 in RW-L. Bruins have played one more game. Vancouver top in west with +24. Colorado +23, Dallas +22.

I don't think that's right. Bruins would be 31 - 14... Which would be +17

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I don't think that's right. Bruins would be 31 - 14... Which would be +17

Sorry you’re correct. OT wins were included in my numbers. My bad.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

It's interesting how perspective changes over time. After the Bruins got bundled out in the 2nd round in 2021, I thought it was time for the franchise to accept that the 2010s era was over and it was time to face hard reality and start a pretty significant rebuild, although I knew full well that wouldn't happen because that's not how this organization works. So they carried on but things only regressed, with a pretty so-so 2021-22 season ending in a 1st round exit this time, which only reinforced my belief that it was time to switch to a more youth and development-driven policy building around the Pasta-McAvoy-Sway etc. core.

Instead Sweeney re-signed Bergy, lured Krejci back and hired a new coach for 'one more run', while continuing his moderate re-tool on the fly. Seemed a bit dubious to me but couldn't deny the romance of it and figured I may as well get on board. Obviously what followed was equal parts tremendous and disastrous. Now we have a transition year where the team is again over-performing and pretty impressive but its Cup chances, while not negligible, still appear to be fairly moderate. Beyond that there will definitely be opportunities and space to make some solid additions to the team for next season, but the market is not great so it remains to be seen who they can land.

Bottom line is I have zero complaints with this season or this year's team in isolation. It's doing a very good job and most of the flaws that it has or which haven't been addressed are understandable consequences of last year's push. We will see what it can do but no real expectations.

As for the bigger picture it depends what you want. Had the Bruins gone for a bigger rebuild like I wanted them to in 2021 then there's no way they'd have been a league-leading team over the last 2 years. The unknown aspect is whether a proper rebuild would have left them in a better position in the long-run. Instead what we got was a record-breaking season that ultimately still ended in failure and another solid year (final outcome pending) but still a wait-and-see on just how the team shapes up for 2024-25 and beyond. Sweeney is undeniably very good at changing parts on the fly and keeping the team competitive, such that we've moved remarkably well from one era to the next, but if it doesn't eventually result in the team at least making the finals at some point, can it be considered a success?

The way I see it Don had an excellent chance to land a Cup with the Bergeron/Chara core he inherited and, for whatever exact reason, it didn't quite happen. Now he has been forging a team over the last 4-5 years entirely of his own making. This roster-in-progress is his second and really should be final shot at glory in Boston, and we'll see how that ultimately plays out over the next couple of years. Like him or not, as fans we can only hope he's on the right path. Good signs so far albeit mixed with a couple of persistent issues, but still a fair way to go.

 

[Over the volcano]

In case folks need an outside perspective, this thread has been running just about all year on the main board

Why is Boston such a good organization?

No high draft picks in forever. Retirements to key players. High tax state. Just seems like they always have later picks stepping up and every signing/trade they make seems to work out. What has Boston figured out that everyone else hasn’t?

forums.hfboards.com

 

[Eddie Munson]

In case folks need an outside perspective, this thread has been running just about all year on the main board

Why is Boston such a good organization?

No high draft picks in forever. Retirements to key players. High tax state. Just seems like they always have later picks stepping up and every signing/trade they make seems to work out. What has Boston figured out that everyone else hasn’t?

forums.hfboards.com

That has to do with Boston’s continued success since the late 2000s. Not an in depth look at this particular squad. Two very different questions here.

This isn't directed at you Over the volcano but in general, I'm not quite sure why people are so defensive about this squad? People can want this team to do well in the playoffs but also see the flaws in it's makeup. These two things don't have to be mutually exclusive.

I'm fine with people thinking this squad can go deep in the playoffs. I agree. The COVID year taught us that all it takes can be a hot goalie and a team to get on a streak. But like this team, that team was marred with a litany of flaws. This thread is to discuss what those flaws are and who is responsible.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

That has to do with Boston’s continued success since the late 2000s. Not an in depth look at this particular squad. Two very different questions here.

This isn't directed at you Over the volcano but in general, I'm not quite sure why people are so defensive about this squad? People can want this team to do well in the playoffs but also see the flaws in it's makeup. These two things don't have to be mutually exclusive.

I'm fine with people thinking this squad can go deep in the playoffs. I agree. The COVID year taught us that all it takes can be a hot goalie and a team to get on a streak. But like this team, that team was marred with a litany of flaws. This thread is to discuss what those flaws are and who is responsible.

Probably has something to do with doling out blame for a "litany of flaws" for a team that is currently first in the entire league.

 

[goldnblack]

I'd love to see the thread we'd make if we were 20th, lol