What do you want em to do?

[BlackFrancis]

same. i look at what washington did and it's impressive (and doable). they have zero players in the 4 nations tournament.
the GM just made a lot of very savvy moves and took a crusty roster and revitalized it.

i look at what vancouver does regularly and when things aren't working they find ways to make it work. in boston i see a
GM who likes to observe, observe more, observe more, still do nothing...lacks creativity, is too in love with his own players.

retool on the fly is the way to go. move out the freddy/coyle/carlo faction and use all that capital to get better now and in
the long run. it's not only doable but it's smart business. but what do i expect? more of the same.

Got to ease off on the Caps as a blueprint thing. Riding high on PDO via shooting percentage and marginally magic goaltending. Their expected vs actual goals is over 30, which is like what the Bruins score in a normal month. They give up more high danger chances than their opponents, which is never a harbinger of immediate and long term success.

As far as the Sweeney "observe, observe, observe" bit, I'd be shocked if that isn't the way it actually goes down. The characterization gets shook when you think about how he makes trades. Can anyone recall a Don Sweeney trade that required secondary assets to be moved to the Bruins? We can all name one that had those assets moved off to Jeff Gorton's home for whatever he wants.

Sweeney comes across as a dude buying a car on the lot, knowing the make/model/color, and heads into the office, slaps down his requirement data sheet, provided by the Providence Bruins GM on nice glossy paper stock. He then proceeds to put his cash/bank letter/bullion/buttcoin on the table and proceeds to wait for his keys/title/insurance so he can leave. It is likely five words would be spoken by Sweeney in such a transaction.

Retool on the fly is a decent swing at it. They need someone to run the PP from whatever position works that can make the other four guys on the ice with him suck less. Someone brought up Karlsson - a guy who's been a PP master since birth. Well, Erik is losing it. He's got one PP goal and 10 assists on a Pittsburgh team that kinda sucks but is still scoring a ton of goals this season. I checked EK's PP production three months ago and was almost as shocked then as I was upon seeing it wasn't improving. The toilet seats will probably be looking to cast off Laine come summer or next season. He fits some of the bill and would help the PP, but for only the half year he isn't injured.

Anyway, they need a PP guy. They need to fix what has been an odious PK. Need to add speed, front or back end. Need to trade off some of their vets for guys who can pass the damn puck. They should also probably get a native English speaking goalie in here, so Swayman has a close, personal friend again that can tell him how awesome and special he is.

Get all that done and we can go back to decrying the team for being soft again (still?)

 

[RoccoF14]

Got to ease off on the Caps as a blueprint thing. Riding high on PDO via shooting percentage and marginally magic goaltending. Their expected vs actual goals is over 30, which is like what the Bruins score in a normal month. They give up more high danger chances than their opponents, which is never a harbinger of immediate and long term success.

As far as the Sweeney "observe, observe, observe" bit, I'd be shocked if that isn't the way it actually goes down. The characterization gets shook when you think about how he makes trades. Can anyone recall a Don Sweeney trade that required secondary assets to be moved to the Bruins? We can all name one that had those assets moved off to Jeff Gorton's home for whatever he wants.

Sweeney comes across as a dude buying a car on the lot, knowing the make/model/color, and heads into the office, slaps down his requirement data sheet, provided by the Providence Bruins GM on nice glossy paper stock. He then proceeds to put his cash/bank letter/bullion/buttcoin on the table and proceeds to wait for his keys/title/insurance so he can leave. It is likely five words would be spoken by Sweeney in such a transaction.

Retool on the fly is a decent swing at it. They need someone to run the PP from whatever position works that can make the other four guys on the ice with him suck less. Someone brought up Karlsson - a guy who's been a PP master since birth. Well, Erik is losing it. He's got one PP goal and 10 assists on a Pittsburgh team that kinda sucks but is still scoring a ton of goals this season. I checked EK's PP production three months ago and was almost as shocked then as I was upon seeing it wasn't improving. The toilet seats will probably be looking to cast off Laine come summer or next season. He fits some of the bill and would help the PP, but for only the half year he isn't injured.

Anyway, they need a PP guy. They need to fix what has been an odious PK. Need to add speed, front or back end. Need to trade off some of their vets for guys who can pass the damn puck. They should also probably get a native English speaking goalie in here, so Swayman has a close, personal friend again that can tell him how awesome and special he is.

Get all that done and we can go back to decrying the team for being soft again (still?)

I agree with some of this, but I think that whatever rebuild/retool that takes place needs to start with an overhaul behind the bench and a fresh perspective there.

Get your coaching staff set, figure out how you want to play and THEN get the players you need to fit your style. Right now, I don’t know what this team is. It’s a mish-mosh of non-complementary parts.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I just want Coyle and Carlo off the team.

 

[bme44]

I just want Coyle and Carlo off the team.

I think trading Carlo would be a mistake . Of course this depends on the return

 

[rfournier103]

Try to keep this simple...

Fire Don Sweeney. Hire new GM from outside the organization. Move in new direction.

Is that simple enough?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Got to ease off on the Caps as a blueprint thing. Riding high on PDO via shooting percentage and marginally magic goaltending. Their expected vs actual goals is over 30, which is like what the Bruins score in a normal month. They give up more high danger chances than their opponents, which is never a harbinger of immediate and long term success.As far as the Sweeney "observe, observe, observe" bit, I'd be shocked if that isn't the way it actually goes down. The characterization gets shook when you think about how he makes trades. Can anyone recall a Don Sweeney trade that required secondary assets to be moved to the Bruins? We can all name one that had those assets moved off to Jeff Gorton's home for whatever he wants.

Sweeney comes across as a dude buying a car on the lot, knowing the make/model/color, and heads into the office, slaps down his requirement data sheet, provided by the Providence Bruins GM on nice glossy paper stock. He then proceeds to put his cash/bank letter/bullion/buttcoin on the table and proceeds to wait for his keys/title/insurance so he can leave. It is likely five words would be spoken by Sweeney in such a transaction.

Retool on the fly is a decent swing at it. They need someone to run the PP from whatever position works that can make the other four guys on the ice with him suck less. Someone brought up Karlsson - a guy who's been a PP master since birth. Well, Erik is losing it. He's got one PP goal and 10 assists on a Pittsburgh team that kinda sucks but is still scoring a ton of goals this season. I checked EK's PP production three months ago and was almost as shocked then as I was upon seeing it wasn't improving. The toilet seats will probably be looking to cast off Laine come summer or next season. He fits some of the bill and would help the PP, but for only the half year he isn't injured.

Anyway, they need a PP guy. They need to fix what has been an odious PK. Need to add speed, front or back end. Need to trade off some of their vets for guys who can pass the damn puck. They should also probably get a native English speaking goalie in here, so Swayman has a close, personal friend again that can tell him how awesome and special he is.

Get all that done and we can go back to decrying the team for being soft again (still?)

Don't get the bolded part.

Sorry, I'm old.

 

[neelynugs]

I agree, but I'm not ready to say this GM can't do it. He took over a team that was over the cap and out of the playoffs and retooled it into a team that would go to the finals 4 years later, and win more games than any team in the last 8 years. He's been retooling this team for years and just last year they put up 109 points. He's also let guys go that he picked, like DeBrusk and Ullmark so I don't think he's afraid to trade Freddy or Coyle. He's brought in McAvoy, Swayman, Hampus, Carlo, Lohrei, Zadorov, Zacha, Geekie, Coyle, Frederic, Poitras, Kastelic... There's a lot to like there.

I think he's earned the chance to right the ship once again.

i certainly don't see them doing anything significant as far as management change, so it's his job to fix this. we'll see how it goes - i'm not too optimistic, but that's just MO.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I think trading Carlo would be a mistake . Of course this depends on the return

Soft no offense doesn't fit with any of the LD. Dudes rapidly declining even if he isn't that old.

Get a better 2RD that can push for PP time in the off-season.

 

[dugg133]

Soft no offense doesn't fit with any of the LD. Dudes rapidly declining even if he isn't that old.

Get a better 2RD that can push for PP time in the off-season.

Lindholm-Carlo has been our best pairing for the better part of 3 years now, idk how you can say Carlo doesn't fit with any of out LD.

I'd still move him for the right return btw cause I don't think he ages well with all his concussions and ultimately he should be replaceable with Hampus already there to elevate the 2nd pair.

 

[Beyonder]

I have to admit, what Washington has accomplished (so far) does give me pause before saying "full rebuild." The Caps hit almost everything right going back to when they picked up Strome. If they manage to add another player or two at the deadline, they could be for real in the playoffs. Not many teams have re-invented themselves on the fly as well as the Caps have.

Could the Bruins accomplish a similar turn around without punting the next 3 seasons? If the Capitals can do it, why can't the Bruins? My main problem with this idea is: Could the current GM really pull it off?

With Washington out there as an example and with the Bruins seemingly not at all buying into the tank model of gutting the team for a couple year and drafting high, it seems probable they will try to do something similar. Then it really does seem to come down to whether Sweeney and his staff can make it happen. I'm quite skeptical.

After all, it is not like he has not been trying to replenish the roster the past 2 seasons and the results are very mixed. I'm not very confident of their ability to judge players outside the organization or their appetite for high risk, high reward type moves. Part of the issue is that, yes, you can list individual players who range from not bad to very good or better (and there are some who are not much help) but somehow the whole is less than the sum of the parts. It's just not working overall with this group, the grand design is lacking. I do think it's important to keep in mind what Sweeney inherited when he took over; he started with a fundamentally good team (some elite talent, some great leaders) that needed tweaking. What he has been building since that group largely turned over is much less impressive... to me. YMMV.

At the end of the day, I expect them to try to improve the team in the near term at the trade deadline. I really don't expect them to do a true sell off for prospects and draft picks. It just isn't in their DNA IMO. If they are "sellers" I expect that to be limited in scope and not close to a full tear down. For example, trade Marchand and then wait 4 years for the return to help at the NHL level? I say no way they do that (right or wrong). Just seems most likely they try to position themselves to be right back in the thick of things next season, if not this.

 

[BruinDust]

The Caps "re-tool" is a bit overrated.

Their biggest add IMO was their coach, Spencer Carberry. He came highly regarded and has them buying into what he's selling.

They took a chance on Strome. Smart move.

Their 2nd leading scorer is Protas, a 3rd round pick from 2019.

McMichael, a 1st rounder also from 2019, finally popped this year.

I do like how they rebuilt their D over time. Slowly adding Sandin, Chychrun, and signing Matt Roy.

Mangiapane hasn't really worked out.

OV is OV.

Tom Wilson is finally healthy.

Dubois's numbers are up but most of that is assists and he's playing for a stronger offensive team with a high shooting %. His goal numbers aren't far off last year's totals.

Nic Down has been there for years. Taylor Raddish was a decent value add.

TJ Oshie on LTIR was probably a blessing in disguise. Awful contract.

Ultimately we'll see how far Thompson gets them. Impressive numbers but the sample size is small and Vegas basically gave him away last summer. Is he the real deal or the product of a hot team?