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Post by homerdante on Jul 1, 2023 18:06:44 GMT -5
I'm with you on the "vibe" of this offseason, Tizzle. Feels like offseason before last. Loaded up on mediocre vets, no kids even really getting a shot. We actually have a couple of interesting kids right now who need to have an opening when they're ready, but if your nhl roaster is loaded with cheap refuse you have to pay, and you're completely against the cap, unless you get injuries, you don't have room to take on even the cheap first year player money if your cap is already full. That is what lead to Reilly effectively blocking other players. From reading about the P Bruins last year, there are some guys there who most likely still need a little seasoning, but if one makes a breakthrough this year, and you've got shit vets ahead of them, they never get the call. Merkulov, Lysell, Poitras, Brett Harrison, Mason Lohrei all seem like higher ceiling candidates, none of whom are probably ready to be given the full time job out of camp, but none of them are also going to sniff a chance without injuries with this type of roster construction. Especially on D right now, we're overloaded--we almost need to trade a couple away--there's no shot Lohrei gets a look. Yeah, right now we're maybe a signing away from blocking Lauko. And personally I'd rather play Zboril than Forbort. The higher ceiling guys are likely a bit away. I'm no expert (or even close) but people seem to think Merkulov could play right now and that Beecher is close. McLaughlin definitely is blocked right now with those guys. Again, not likely to be stars but could contribute. Harrison seems like he might be close to being able to help. But again, I'm going off what people tell me. Yeah, I've read most of them probably need a little more time. Of course one could always surprise you in camp, but that's the 10% probably outcome, the 90% if that they all need more time at Providence--based on what I've read. Lysell started out like a rockstar, and then going to the world cup or whatever it's called totally derailed him, and he had a crap rest of year. I've heard all of them can use a little more time for the most part, but that a couple are close, and might be ready mid-season. That's what I meant about blocking all of the spots so the mid season call up isn't even possible. You've also got guys like Steen and Heinen and others shoving, and the Bruins under Neely and Sweeney have been more of a seniority based promotion club rather than the hot hand. I don't think they're going to be all that great this year anyway, most project them nipping at the 7-8 spot in the conference if the cards fall the right way. Why force vets into that mess instead of trying to identify your next core behind Mac and Pasta, etc.? Forbort should have been on waivers and dumped down into Providence to get some more time for one of the new guys and see how they respond to a new coach and new system. If you're gonna throw spaghetti against the wall, throw new, young spaghetti, that way if it sticks, it's worth keeping. Sweeney likes to throw the old stuff, and when it sticks you barely want it for a half a season. |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jul 1, 2023 20:26:36 GMT -5
I don’t see anybody being blocked. Lauko will have a spot next year provided he is signed and he’s the only guy I see as fully ready. Merkulov is possibly next up after him
They signed Luke Toporowski today, he was an interesting guy they had in Providence on an AHL deal. I could see him getting called up at some point. Good shot, pretty tenacious.
I’m not as high on McLaughlin as others are, he strikes me as an up and down guy. Honestly he may be Patrick Brown with a better shot. They even have the BC ties. He scored a few goals early in his career so I feel like some people think he’ll be a regular 3rd liner and while that may happen, he’s been fine in Providence but nothing more than that
Hathaway to the Flyers it seems
Patrick Brown may end up being the Nosek replacement. Strong on faceoffs, plays hard. Good at annoying the other team- quick little YouTube search has him cross checking Landeskog in the face and snowing a goalie before wrestling with Gudas. God awful fighter though. Have him next to Lucic lol
Something fascinating about him- he has 3 seasons where his organization played him more in the playoffs than they did in the regular season. He’s had a lot of playoff run for an up and down guy. 22 games (3 goals). Teams clearly think he’s not going to hurt them out there.
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Post by bigmarty58 on Jul 2, 2023 8:49:56 GMT -5
A lot of duct tape and bailing wire so far from Sweeney. If this is the current makeup of the roster for the season, barring any trades and without bergy, then we will be watching defensive low scoring hockey in 23/24. Raising the cap 1 million dollars this year is not keeping up with current economics in the sports world. Wish the owners could see how little growth is currently happening in this great game. Look no further than having TNT host the finals, really pathetic.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jul 2, 2023 10:04:52 GMT -5
A lot of duct tape and bailing wire so far from Sweeney. If this is the current makeup of the roster for the season, barring any trades and without bergy, then we will be watching defensive low scoring hockey in 23/24. Raising the cap 1 million dollars this year is not keeping up with current economics in the sports world. Wish the owners could see how little growth is currently happening in this great game. Look no further than having TNT host the finals, really pathetic. I believe a cap jump is expected for next year (fortunately) and I think the Bruins are setting themselves up to do a big retool then. I think now they’re just trying to plug holes on the ship and make it back to the playoffs. If Bergeron returns they will make it back, if he doesn’t we will likely be on the bubble. I appreciate that they aren’t locking in money long term Oh well- it’s what happens when you go all-in and lose. Sucks but thems the breaks |
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Post by tizzle on Jul 2, 2023 17:02:10 GMT -5
Not getting Bertuzzi for that money when he wanted to be here is insane.
So my personal mantra in team building, regardless of sport, is you need to be trying to contend, not compete. No respect for just trying to be good rather than do what it takes to be great. Keeping both Goalies is the latter. We'll move one next year when their value is lower, and meantime keeping them is going to cost us what could have been a core player for years to come.
Meanwhile, we are not going to win a title based not he strength of our second goalie, but it does make it more likely we'll be decent/good. When you priorate that level of quality you end up spinning your wheels as a franchise and ultimately make no one happy.
Should have picked a G and rode with him and gotten what we could for the other.
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Post by cdj on Jul 2, 2023 18:49:48 GMT -5
Not disagreeing about moving a goalie but I think we would have had to pay more than Toronto to keep him here on a 1 year deal and quite frankly they’re not in a spot to do that, even if somebody like Ullmark gets moved out for Pennies on the dollar (teams know their situation and the goalie market has plenty of options this summer). Bertuzzi is clearly trying to rebuild his value playing next to Matthews and Marner and will cash in next year when the cap increases and every team has more space. Easier to do that with them than with Zacha/Pasta. I also don’t think the bruins are true contenders and while I think the leafs are still suspect in net and defensively I do think they’re more likely to win the cup next year than the bruins are
Seems to me that the Bruins signed some vets to fill out a solid but not great roster and are kicking the can to next offseason where they will have a ton of flexibility to do a real retool
They went all-in and lost and unfortunately when you go all-in and lose you also lose your seat at the table. We must deal with the repercussions and regroup. And with them not being a cup contender imo I don’t want them to be moving assets out and moving on from RFA like Frederic and Lauko just to accommodate Bertuzzi on a 1 year deal
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Jul 3, 2023 12:40:23 GMT -5
Too bad Bertuzzi on a one year deal would have been a nice piece to trade and get some assets back. They need draft picks and young players.
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Post by GyIantosca on Jul 7, 2023 23:54:12 GMT -5
This team needs a couple of kids to step up.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jul 25, 2023 9:09:45 GMT -5
Bergeron has retired
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Post by bigmarty58 on Jul 25, 2023 10:04:39 GMT -5
Bergy you played and led the Bruins with class, Happy Retirement!
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Post by GyIantosca on Jul 25, 2023 10:57:49 GMT -5
Thank you Mr Bergeron , I so happy you helped us fans enjoy a cup championship. Something before was just a wish you make from time to time. This happened I’ll never forget. Plus 2 more exciting runs. The key is you got it. Others never get it. The top bruin in my lifetime. Orr was before me. I enjoyed him . He gave up everything to be a Bruin. I want him to enjoy his family and future. I know whatever he does it will be interesting and make him happy. What a guy.
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Post by Don Caballero on Jul 25, 2023 19:23:06 GMT -5
One of the best to ever do it in this city. Love him and will miss him! |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Jul 25, 2023 19:25:04 GMT -5
Truly an icon. Couldn’t ask for more from a guy. He worked his butt off. He just played through a herniated disc in his back. He’s played through a punctured lung. He was a model citizen. A great leader who established a culture players around the league wanted to be a part. And most of all he was a superb talent.
Can’t wait until 37 is in the rafters
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Post by tizzle on Jul 29, 2023 16:58:41 GMT -5
Thought he might have come back for one more. But after the kind of disaster this offseason has been, I wondered if it was worth it for him. Who knows if that had anything to do with the decision, ultimately.
Goodbye to an all-time great player and leader.
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Post by bigmarty58 on Aug 1, 2023 10:28:07 GMT -5
Freddy signed for $2.3 million per year for 2 years. That leaves the Bruins with $3.1 million in cap space for this season.
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Post by texs31 on Aug 1, 2023 10:47:07 GMT -5
Freddy signed for $2.3 million per year for 2 years. That leaves the Bruins with $3.1 million in cap space for this season. Sway will probably come in around 3.5 million. The B's will either: A. Demote Mitchell and go with a 22 man roster B. Bury Forbort (which could allow them to carry 23). |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Aug 1, 2023 11:33:10 GMT -5
Forbort will be this years Mike Reilly
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Post by tizzle on Aug 1, 2023 12:34:26 GMT -5
NHL Trade Rumors (and linked by Bleacher Report and others) is floating a rumor the Bruins are discussing trading Zacha. Lysell and a 1st for JT Miller.
Hopefully it's just a BS rumor.
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Post by texs31 on Aug 1, 2023 13:23:17 GMT -5
Swayman gets 3.475, per Friedman
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Post by bigmarty58 on Aug 1, 2023 14:29:00 GMT -5
600K over the cap with no #1 center, can the Bruins afford $8.475 million for two goalies?
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Post by tizzle on Aug 2, 2023 16:16:44 GMT -5
600K over the cap with no #1 center, can the Bruins afford $8.475 million for two goalies? It was dumb to decide to spend that much with the other issues the team had this offseason. I don't remember who it was on the radio, but it made me laugh and it's true. He said something to the effect of how weird it was seeing Sweeney turn into a good GM for a year and now he's gone back to being his normal self and it's like the world makes sense again. |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Aug 2, 2023 16:20:32 GMT -5
They’re not gonna go get a true #1C this off-season, they will be rolling with Zacha and Coyle
And quite frankly they were up 3-1 on the Panthers with those two as their top 2 centers
They can get below the cap very easily, Evan Gold is a cap wizard who knows more than you and I about making that stuff work.
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Post by texs31 on Aug 3, 2023 6:04:08 GMT -5
Their only chance of being competitive is via D and G so keeping the tandem together for now makes sense (same with keeping the D depth).
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Post by tizzle on Aug 3, 2023 16:44:14 GMT -5
Their only chance of being competitive is via D and G so keeping the tandem together for now makes sense (same with keeping the D depth). As I've said earlier, I really have no respect for organizations that prioritize "Being competitive" over trying to build contenders. Next year: the team will have to re-sign Swayman. It will cost more than if they did it now, so the team will have less cap going forward. They'll almost certainly have to trade Ullmark and his value will be less than if they did it now. They won't have draft picks they could have gotten for someone like Grzelcyk. The team will lose DeBrusk for nothing or re-sign him for more than it would cost now. They won't have Bertuzzi on the multi-year deal they could have gotten him on now as a player to build around. Likely won't have had the chance to evaluate Bussi at the NHL level and see if he can be a part of the G rotation going forward. etc. The reason the team will have that much less to work with when they could be building a legit contender is because they chose to use resources to have a "decent" team in 23-24. That's the type of strategy that keeps teams from being real contenders and kept in the mediocrity zone. there are many examples of it across every major sport. It's sad to be content with that. |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Aug 3, 2023 17:44:16 GMT -5
Their only chance of being competitive is via D and G so keeping the tandem together for now makes sense (same with keeping the D depth). As I've said earlier, I really have no respect for organizations that prioritize "Being competitive" over trying to build contenders. Next year: the team will have to re-sign Swayman. It will cost more than if they did it now, so the team will have less cap going forward. They'll almost certainly have to trade Ullmark and his value will be less than if they did it now. They won't have draft picks they could have gotten for someone like Grzelcyk. The team will lose DeBrusk for nothing or re-sign him for more than it would cost now. They won't have Bertuzzi on the multi-year deal they could have gotten him on now as a player to build around. Likely won't have had the chance to evaluate Bussi at the NHL level and see if he can be a part of the G rotation going forward. etc. The reason the team will have that much less to work with when they could be building a legit contender is because they chose to use resources to have a "decent" team in 23-24. That's the type of strategy that keeps teams from being real contenders and kept in the mediocrity zone. there are many examples of it across every major sport. It's sad to be content with that. They literally did it in the middle of the 2010’s and got their way back to the cup before 2020. And guess what? It beat the hell out of being in the basement for 4 years. They have Pastrnak/McAvoy/Lindholm and goaltending set for the foreseeable future. There was never going to be a tear down, they were always going to still be a playoff team. Or at least try. They’ll have a ton to play with next off-season (coupled with the hopeful emergence of guys like Lysell/Lohrei/Poitras/Merkulov/etc). They’re fine going forward long term. They just have to find a 1C. You don’t tank with this roster. |
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