Speculation: What Went Wrong?

[PlayMakers]

What good is keeping him if he plays bad? He don't hit, he don't clear pucks with authority and wanders to far out from net shorthanded all the time.And the last game killing penalties he would not even move his stick to take away the passing lane or deter guy with puck from going certain ways .Anyhow,I have no say but to say I am disgusted with his play would be an understatement.I will keep cheering for him as a Bruin though .

Carlo has been one of the best shut down defensemen in the league for years. He hasn't played well this year. That's on him. I think some of the reason is because he really needs a puck moving partner and Lohrei is too chaotic defensively for that pair to work so when Lindholm went down Carlo was in trouble. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he starts to look like himself upon Lindholm's return.

That said, I still would trade him if I can get good value from a team that sees him as the player he's been for years and not the player he's been for months.

 

[GordonHowe]

Don't confuse inconsistent scoring with inconsistent effort. Coyle is one of the hardest workers on the team. He leads all centers in the league in steals. And he frequently steps in front of guys to protect his teammates. He literally did it several times to keep players off Marchand against Vegas. He also shields his teammates from the media. When it's time to face the music, he's the guy who comes out.

He is having a bad year, and I expect him to be traded but he's been a good Bruin and is considered a leader by anyone around that locker room.

THANK YOU.

QFT.

 

[RoccoF14]

Carlo has been one of the best shut down defensemen in the league for years. He hasn't played well this year. That's on him. I think some of the reason is because he really needs a puck moving partner and Lohrei is too chaotic defensively for that pair to work so when Lindholm went down Carlo was in trouble. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he starts to look like himself upon Lindholm's return.

That said, I still would trade him if I can get good value from a team that sees him as the player he's been for years and not the player he's been for months.

Couldn't agree more. Charlie Coyle gets more undeserved shit than any Bruin I've seen in the 10+ years I've been on this board. He was a HUGE reason why this team had the season it did last year (Brandon Carlo too, BTW). But this is such a "what have you done for me lately" board, that people will turn on a player in a heartbeat, and if you struggle, you're garbage all of a sudden.....

The double standards people have on this board for certain players is mind boggling.

 

[BMC]

I don't get on Carlo because it is my firm belief that once again he's dealing with post concussion issues because when his brain is clear he is a very good defensive defenseman. And yes I'm sure it makes it harder for him to have to play with a rookie who's still learning to play his position.

As for my boy Charlie Coyle- nobody works harder and I'll bet my last dime that no one is taking his lack of production harder than he is. It may be a case of Father Time (who like the Grim Reaper is undefeated) catching up to him. He's almost 33 & his style of play is very hard on the body. I have resigned myself to the fact that he will be traded if Donny makes any trades and I will miss him very much.

 

[BadBruins]

Don't confuse inconsistent scoring with inconsistent effort. Coyle is one of the hardest workers on the team. He leads all centers in the league in steals. And he frequently steps in front of guys to protect his teammates. He literally did it several times to keep players off Marchand against Vegas. He also shields his teammates from the media. When it's time to face the music, he's the guy who comes out.

He is having a bad year, and I expect him to be traded but he's been a good Bruin and is considered a leader by anyone around that locker room.

I don't. Effort is an impossible metric to gauge. Coyle is not a "lazy" player from my perspective. Few in this league are. Though I believe Dom once suggested he doesn't necessarily put in the work in the off-season to improve. I do believe his inconsistencies on the ice are a direct result of how he chooses to play, which leads to his inability to adapt to his environment and linemates. When things are going good and everyone around him is scoring and the team is scoring, he also collects. Never been the type to step up when he's needed and rarely (if ever) shows the engagement and emotion that often fuels this team to success. He's more of a passenger that a true leader from my POV.

I've lobbied for him as the most important forward behind Bergeron in the past (yes, probably trying to justify the contact). Trust me, I get his value.

I wasn't even dumping on on Coyle. More so the notion that David Pasrtrnak and Charlie McAvoy should be stripped of the letters on the sweaters in favor of Coyle and Carlo.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Carlo has been one of the best shut down defensemen in the league for years. He hasn't played well this year. That's on him. I think some of the reason is because he really needs a puck moving partner and Lohrei is too chaotic defensively for that pair to work so when Lindholm went down Carlo was in trouble. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he starts to look like himself upon Lindholm's return.

That said, I still would trade him if I can get good value from a team that sees him as the player he's been for years and not the player he's been for months.

I get on Carlo not just because he’s having an off year… but because he seems to have a giant Twizzler for a hockey stick.

Bruins teams in the past have been able to play through that. They’ve had enough around them where his inability to move the puck has been hidden by roster strengths elsewhere. What was good about Carlo outweighed the bad.

But after how last season ended, I didn’t feel as though the Bruins had that wiggle room anymore. They could no longer afford to have a top four defensive mainstay who so frequently failed to make things happen with the puck on his stick.

And even though he’s been bad in all respects honestly this year, I still think he would be a good player on another team that would have decent puck movement, but no one with Carlo’s ability to shut down opposing forwards one-on-one.

But I no longer want him here in Boston. And I don’t think Lindholm is going to do enough to change that.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

Simply put, too many bottom 6 players playing up and down the line up. It was never going to work, DS and his terrible scouts thought they were smarter than everyone else.

He traded the wrong goalie from the start. Sway could have returned a haul of skilled young players from the right team.

The team would be in the playoffs, no doubt in my mind.

And what does DS do? he signs a dime a dozen fourth liner to an extension because he had a few good weeks in the beginning of his Bruins career.

God help us if this management is in charge of the retool.

Get rid of them all including the suppose genius of Even Gold, another overrated person in a position he shouldn't be in. Let him go be a star of a junior hockey team.

 

[KnightofBoston]

The lack of leadership on this team is a problem. So I do worry, you trade too many guys, you don’t really fix that issue

In 2023 they arguably had too much leadership, as in too many voices, and then when Monty panicked and started over tinkering (and overtinkering the the guys coming back in game 5 prior to that) with the lines that’s when the team didn’t have enough singular focus to step on Florida’s neck

Last year they overachieved a bit, and on paper they improved to this year, but the leadership factor evaporated


McAvoy imo is not vocal enough to be a good leader. Marchand is the type of guy that’s not great at leading when the chips are down. Pasta is to a degree but he can only do so much


Other guys who I’d like to see fill that void like Carlo just don’t seem to have it in them.

The only other guy that’s doing his best is Coyle.

Zacha is Zacha but he’s more a quiet guy like Krejci


There’s just not enough steel on this tram, period

 

[22Brad Park]

Simply put, too many bottom 6 players playing up and down the line up. It was never going to work, DS and his terrible scouts thought they were smarter than everyone else.

He traded the wrong goalie from the start. Sway could have returned a haul of skilled young players from the right team.

The team would be in the playoffs, no doubt in my mind.

And what does DS do? he signs a dime a dozen fourth liner to an extension because he had a few good weeks in the beginning of his Bruins career.

God help us if this management is in charge of the retool.

Get rid of them all including the suppose genius of Even Gold, another overrated person in a position he shouldn't be in. Let him go be a star of a junior hockey team.

Evan Gold has experience having worked with Capitals before the Bruins the last 10 yrs.That's how the real world works you get promotions if in a place long enough.At least lots do,but with that said ,I do not want him replacing Sweeney either.He is general manager of Providence and assistant GM to Sweeney though ,so it could happen.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

I don't. Effort is an impossible metric to gauge. Coyle is not a "lazy" player from my perspective. Few in this league are. Though I believe Dom once suggested he doesn't necessarily put in the work in the off-season to improve. I do believe his inconsistencies on the ice are a direct result of how he chooses to play, which leads to his inability to adapt to his environment and linemates. When things are going good and everyone around him is scoring and the team is scoring, he also collects. Never been the type to step up when he's needed and rarely (if ever) shows the engagement and emotion that often fuels this team to success. He's more of a passenger that a true leader from my POV.

I've lobbied for him as the most important forward behind Bergeron in the past (yes, probably trying to justify the contact). Trust me, I get his value.

I wasn't even dumping on on Coyle. More so the notion that David Pasrtrnak and Charlie McAvoy should be stripped of the letters on the sweaters in favor of Coyle and Carlo.

Coyle is a genius at looking good doing nothing, He is lazy, slow with not an once of physicality in his body. Big fing deal he can control the puck on the boards when he feels like it. He should he's one of the biggest guys on the ice to bad he's soft as pudding.

You want to keep being an average hockey team? keep employing stiffs like him and Carlo.

Both of them are pathetic to watch wearing my favorite uniform.

 

[Kalus]

What went wrong?

The succinct answer is H Lindholm’s absence and Swayman’s underperformance most of the season are the differences between a strong grip on a wildcard spot and where they are today in my opinion.

It is certainly a flawed roster with a bleak future, that was cemented with the offseason deals given out this summer, but the hope was that they would be good for 2-3 seasons and then when predictive age regression really set in for the key pieces of the roster, they could start the rebuild / heavy retool.

The issue is they stumbled this year in what should have been their best year for the next 7 or 8. While a lot of players have underperformed, I think a good deal of that is trickle down from H Lindholm’s absence and Seayman’s underperformance (top goaltending hides a lot of warts). E Lindholm has played like the third line center who is about to really start regressing in his 30s many of of said he was at the time of signing and Zadorov is the unreliable 3rd pair defenseman many of us said he was when he was signed this summer, so I wouldn’t say either has really underperformed.

Coyle is a genius at looking good doing nothing, He is lazy, slow with not an once of physicality in his body. Big fing deal he can control the puck on the boards when he feels like it. He should he's one of the biggest guys on the ice to bad he's soft as pudding.

You want to keep being an average hockey team? keep employing stiffs like him and Carlo.

Both of them are pathetic to watch wearing my favorite uniform.

What we are seeing from Coyle is predictive age regression for a 33 year old. He is not lazy. The day Coyle’s deal was signed I said it wouldn’t look too great the last couple years. Here we are.

 

[22Brad Park]

The lack of leadership on this team is a problem. So I do worry, you trade too many guys, you don’t really fix that issue

In 2023 they arguably had too much leadership, as in too many voices, and then when Monty panicked and started over tinkering (and overtinkering the the guys coming back in game 5 prior to that) with the lines that’s when the team didn’t have enough singular focus to step on Florida’s neck

Last year they overachieved a bit, and on paper they improved to this year, but the leadership factor evaporated


McAvoy imo is not vocal enough to be a good leader. Marchand is the type of guy that’s not great at leading when the chips are down. Pasta is to a degree but he can only do so much


Other guys who I’d like to see fill that void like Carlo just don’t seem to have it in them.

The only other guy that’s doing his best is Coyle.

Zacha is Zacha but he’s more a quiet guy like Krejci


There’s just not enough steel on this tram, period

When you are bad in most important stats, it's a lack of high end talent.I get the leadership is needed but if you don't have the horses you are not leading them far regardless.

 

[Midship]

Bruins pushed all their chips to the center of the table multiple times at the end of the Bergeron area. Really that simple, IMO. Sad they have nothing to show for it.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

Evan Gold has experience having worked with Capitals before the Bruins the last 10 yrs.That's how the real world works you get promotions if in a place long enough.At least lots do,but with that said ,I do not want him replacing Sweeney either.He is general manager of Providence and assistant GM to Sweeney though ,so it could happen.

Get rid of him he's part of a failed management team, a gm of an AHL team that was done nothing in terms of growing prospects for the big club.

10 years of doing what? Another yes man happy to have a job. He is supposed to be DS right hand man a cap genius we are told.

Send him packing with the rest of them. Bring in some talented hockey minds not a bookkeeper

What went wrong?

The succinct answer is H Lindholm’s absence and Swayman’s underperformance most of the season are the differences between a strong grip on a wildcard spot and where they are today in my opinion.

It is certainly a flawed roster with a bleak future, that was cemented with the offseason deals given out this summer, but the hope was that they would be good for 2-3 seasons and then when predictive age regression really set in for the key pieces of the roster, they could start the rebuild / heavy retool.

The issue is they stumbled this year in what should have been their best year for the next 7 or 8. While a lot of players have underperformed, I think a good deal of that is trickle down from H Lindholm’s absence and Seayman’s underperformance (top goaltending hides a lot of warts). E Lindholm has played like the third line center who is about to really start regressing in his 30s many of of said he was at the time of signing and Zadorov is the unreliable 3rd pair defenseman many of us said he was when he was signed this summer, so I wouldn’t say either has really underperformed.



What we are seeing from Coyle is predictive age regression for a 33 year old. He is not lazy. The day Coyle’s deal was signed I said it wouldn’t look too great the last couple years. Here we are.

He had one year in his entire Bruin Career worth 5.5m

The rest he was hidden playing against third liners. His temperament is a losing one, can't wait for the day he's gone.

 

[22Brad Park]

Get rid of him he's part of a failed management team, a gm of an AHL team that was done nothing in terms of growing prospects for the big club.

10 years of doing what? Another yes man happy to have a job. He is supposed to be DS right hand man a cap genius we are told.

Send him packing with the rest of them. Bring in some talented hockey minds not a bookkeeper

I don't know what he does outside capologist because I am not around him day to day to know.Maybe he makes suggestions and Sweeney goes other directions I have no idea.All I am saying is if they fire Sweeney I am sure he will get an interview at least to replace him.I would like a proven hockey mind here myself once Sweeney is canned .( whenever that may be, because it looks like a job for life at the moment)