Joe Haggerty answers all the fan questions in the Hagg Bag mailbag and the fans want to know who the Bruins are going to target this summer. Leon Draisaitl? Brady Tkachuk? Somebody else?
0:00 - Mailbag Intro
5:48 - Team coaching changes
8:32 - Primary scoring needs
11:20 - Team needs impact players
14:20 - Potential impact player trade
17:03 - Entertain trading Jeremy Swayman?
20:00 - Best Bruins captain
22:40 - Team unity importance
25:29 - Bruins in contention for Tavares
28:23 - Mitch Marner trade speculation
33:24 - Bruins coaching changes
37:00 - Pressure on Montgomery
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Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins' credentialed insiders Mike "Trags" Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe "Haggs" Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.
For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- / @bruinsrinkside
0:00 - Mailbag Intro
5:48 - Team coaching changes
8:32 - Primary scoring needs
11:20 - Team needs impact players
14:20 - Potential impact player trade
17:03 - Entertain trading Jeremy Swayman?
20:00 - Best Bruins captain
22:40 - Team unity importance
25:29 - Bruins in contention for Tavares
28:23 - Mitch Marner trade speculation
33:24 - Bruins coaching changes
37:00 - Pressure on Montgomery
Prize Picks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Gametime! Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply. Go to https://gametime.co !
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Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins' credentialed insiders Mike "Trags" Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe "Haggs" Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.
For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- / @bruinsrinkside
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner
00:12of the CLNS Media Network.
00:14I believe this is the 99th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast.
00:18I am your host, Joe Hagerty.
00:20You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
00:23Sign up for a premium membership.
00:24You get all of my NHL and Bruins writing sent straight directly to your inbox.
00:28I also file columns for the Boston Sports Journal, so you can find all of my Bruins
00:33writing over at bostonsportsjournal.com with some fine sports journalists like Greg Bedard,
00:39Mike Giardi, and a cast of thousands on that staff, so check that out as well.
00:43It's going to be a mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast this week, so we're
00:48going to be answering your questions, and there's plenty of them going on right now
00:51with the offseason in full effect.
00:54Let's get to the mailbag questions, because honestly, there isn't a ton of news this week
01:01as far as the Bruins go.
01:03I think the biggest news was just a little bit of a change in the coaching staff.
01:06We have a question about that later, but I'll just run down the nuts and bolts of it right
01:09now.
01:10Basically, the Bruins hired Jay Leach from the Seattle Kraken.
01:17He was an assistant coach for the Kraken the last couple of years.
01:21Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Providence Bruins before Ryan Mugenel for
01:25about five or six years, very highly thought of in the Bruins organization.
01:31He was actually considered for the head coaching job that Jim Montgomery ended up getting a
01:38couple of years ago, and now he's going to join the staff, be on the bench as an assistant
01:43along with Chris Kelly and Joe Sacco, who has been bumped to associate coach, which
01:50is a promotion for him as well.
01:52Well-deserved.
01:53Joe Sacco has been here a long time, been here before.
01:58Jim Montgomery was a member of Bruce Cassidy's staff as well, and John McClain, who was an
02:04assistant coach on the bench last year, is going to be moved to the player development
02:08department, where he's going to be the skating and skills coach.
02:11And basically, for John McClain, I think it was great that he got the year of experience
02:16on the Bruins bench.
02:17He got the assistant coaching experience with Jim Montgomery, but he was a guy that his
02:24background is skating and skills.
02:26That's what he's been doing for a long time.
02:27That's where he was initially hired by the organization, was to be basically the skating
02:33and skills coach for the NHL team, John McClain there and Tom Ford, who's one of his partners
02:38at Dynamic Skating, a great hockey camp that they run in the summertime for your kids.
02:42If you have youth hockey players up at Merrimack, my son Finn's gone multiple summers to them.
02:48Kim Brandvold, John McClain, Tommy Ford, they all run it together.
02:51It's fantastic.
02:52Dynamic Skating, look it up.
02:54But those guys do skating and skills with the Bruins.
02:57Tommy Ford works more with the guys in Providence and elsewhere, and the prospects and other
03:04people in the Bruins organization, and John McClain had been working with the NHL guys.
03:07Now, they're going to expand John McClain to work with more young players, prospects,
03:12in addition to the Bruins players.
03:14He was also a guy that I think was instrumental working with the medical staff to get players
03:19up and running and back ready to play.
03:23It makes sense, I think, for all involved, and the interesting part is that Jay Leach
03:27is a guy that I think the Bruins, like I said before, have viewed as having head coaching
03:33potential.
03:35He's viewed around the league as a rising star or a rising head coach in the making
03:41that is eventually going to be a head coach at the NHL level, so he comes on the staff
03:46with that resume now, and he really did a good job in Seattle under Dave Hextall.
03:53He comes to the Bruins staff under Jim Montgomery and is, let's call it like it is, he's potentially
04:01an option as a head coach for the Boston Bruins in-house if they ever decided that coaching
04:09change was needed.
04:10I'm not saying that Jim Montgomery's on the hot seat.
04:13I'm not saying that the Bruins are considering this right now.
04:16I'm just saying they now have that option if it ever came to that point, and from what
04:22I've been told, Jim Montgomery signed a three-year contract when he was hired, and this is year
04:28number three that he's going into, and I have not heard anything about any kind of
04:31contract extension for Jim Montgomery.
04:34Certainly, there's been no news about that from the Boston Bruins, so potentially it
04:40feels like, seems like Jim Montgomery may be going into this last year in the last year
04:47of his contract, and now there's somebody on his staff who the Bruins view as a potential
04:52head coaching candidate and somebody that they were interested in when they hired Jim
04:56Montgomery.
04:57So I think the dynamics of that are going to be interesting and something to watch,
05:02and I think you can't argue with the success that Jim Montgomery's had during the regular
05:07season.
05:08I think he's done a lot of great things.
05:10He's been a great coach for this team.
05:12He's taken them and said exactly, he, he, everything he said he was going to do, the
05:17Bruins have done, but you also can't deny that they have not performed as well in the
05:23playoffs as they have during the regular season.
05:27Offense was a definite issue for that team this postseason.
05:31The seven too many men in the ice penalty is not good and something that is problematic
05:36and needs to be fixed, and that's a reflection of the players and the coaches.
05:43So I, you know, I think there are areas that the Bruins, of course, would like to see tightened
05:49up with the team, with the coaching, with everything.
05:52And you know, it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out this year.
05:55So that kind of sets up for an interesting situation with Jay Leach now on board and
06:00on the staff.
06:01Obviously, I think Jim Montgomery is happy to have him.
06:04I think it's going to strengthen their NHL coaching staff and make them even better this
06:10coming season.
06:11So that's great.
06:12And we'll see how it all works together, but just something to watch.
06:16And that is definitely, I think, the most interesting thing that happened this week
06:21moving forward.
06:23But the bottom line is the Bruins upgraded their coaching staff, I think, by bringing
06:27Jay Leach on board, a guy that is very good working with young players, has a history
06:31with a lot of the young Bruins players on this team, having worked with them in Providence,
06:36and is viewed and valued that way around the league.
06:38Obviously, him getting hired by Seattle Kraken as an NHL assistant, you know, he's highly
06:44thought of around the league.
06:46So good move by the Bruins, good move by Don Sweeney, picking up on Seattle changing out
06:50their coaches, firing Dave Hextall and the assistants, and Jay Leach having a place to
06:56go in Boston.
06:57All right.
07:00So let's look at the questions here.
07:03From Mr. Ed315, what should be priorities by Bruins management for the draft, free agency,
07:11and the rest of the offseason?
07:13The priorities, as I see them, should be to, well, I think the number one priority
07:21is to sign Jeremy Swayman.
07:22I think that's the most important thing that they have to do.
07:27Not only to lock him up, not only to reward him for a great breakout season where, you
07:32know, he would have been the Conn Smythe favorite if they had somehow made it to the Stanley
07:37Cup Finals, was the best goalie in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and kind of showed
07:43that he's a number one goaltender.
07:46But I think you also need to get cost certainty with his contract and know exactly what you're
07:51going to be paying him so you can roll out the rest of your offseason and know how much
07:56money you have to spend elsewhere and how much money you have for free agency, for making
08:00trades, for all that stuff.
08:02The only way you can do that is by getting cost certainty with Jeremy Swayman.
08:06So I think that is absolutely paramount that they get that done in the next week, 10 days,
08:13if they can.
08:14You want to get it done prior to July 1st because, you know, it's going to hamper your
08:21ability to spend and know exactly how much you have to spend in free agency to improve
08:25the team and get these other players if you don't know how much Jeremy Swayman is going
08:28to cost you.
08:30So I think that's number one.
08:31Number two is primary scoring, getting primary scoring.
08:37Don Sweeney mentioned in his press conference, the end of season press conference a couple
08:40of times, that the Bruins needed secondary scoring, they needed to add secondary scoring
08:44to what they already have.
08:47They averaged 2.38 goals per game during the playoffs.
08:51It was one of the worst, they were one of the worst offensive teams in the playoffs.
08:56Obviously they got to the end of the second round because their goaltending was phenomenal
08:59and Swayman was unbelievable.
09:01But it was not because they were scoring goals and they were creating offense.
09:05And I think they need another primary offense goal scorer, high event player, guy that makes
09:11things happen, guy that can be effective in the playoffs.
09:14They need somebody else that can, you know, be somebody the other teams have to worry
09:18about shutting down offensively.
09:22Pasternak needs help there.
09:24And they have the money to get it.
09:25You know, they need to overpay for somebody that they can bring in that can be another
09:29primary scorer, another guy that can drive a line with his offense, that can make things
09:33happen for his other teammates, make everybody around him better because he's that good an
09:37offensive player.
09:40And I really think that's the massive, big priority.
09:44They could also use, I think, another defenseman, a big, strong, mean, stay-at-home type, a
09:51guy that can throw people around.
09:53They could use, you know, certainly they're going to need a Pat Maroon type on this team
09:57too, if it's not Pat Maroon.
10:00Somebody to add that's big, strong, tough, intimidating, you know, bottom six type.
10:06But they could also get that later on in the year.
10:08They've gotten that at the trade deadline the last couple of years, those kind of players.
10:11And I think that's sort of been their MO, I think, for the Bruins is that, you know,
10:16they try to develop that during the year.
10:17And if they don't have it, they can get it at the trade deadline.
10:20They may continue to do that.
10:23But I just think the rest of the offseason definitely needs to be about improving the
10:27offense and bringing out, bringing another finisher, whether it's Sam Reinhardt or somebody
10:32else via free agency or a trade, they need to bring in somebody that can be effective
10:38putting the puck in the net, make everybody around them better, just make things happen
10:41offensively and in a primary way, not in a secondary way.
10:45They have enough third, fourth line types, guys that can be bottom six players, guys
10:49that can maybe pop in 15 to 20 goals, like they have a ton of those guys.
10:54That is not something they need more of.
10:56They have enough of those kind of players.
10:58What they need is somebody that can be, you know, a 30 plus goal scorer, a guy that the
11:03other team worries about shutting down and is concerned about and knows they have to,
11:09you know, put great defenders on and really like check them during the game.
11:13That's the kind of player.
11:14They need another one of those to take some of the pressure off Marshand and Pasternak
11:19to always be those guys.
11:23So I think that's the biggest thing they have to get in another defenseman.
11:27They could certainly use another forward, like a big strong forward.
11:30They could use more size, more grit, more meanness, more physicality at the forward
11:34position as well.
11:35You know, if you could get that with the primary scorer, that's awesome, like roll it all into
11:40one package.
11:41But like, if you don't get that, if it's more of a Sam Reinhardt type, you are going to
11:44need to go out and get somebody that can be a bit of an intimidator in the bottom six.
11:49But bottom line is they need, I feel like they need to get two or three impact players
11:58in this offseason in order to turn this team from a good team, a playoff team, a team that
12:04has good regular seasons and that is not quite as good in the playoffs and is not a threat
12:09to a team like Florida.
12:11They need two or three impact players to bring them in in order to become a team that Florida
12:15legitimately has to worry about, that can beat Florida, that can be a legit Stanley
12:19Cup contender for the next five to 10 years.
12:22If Don Sweeney makes all the right moves, hits double triples home runs with these free
12:28agent signings, hopefully, you know, for the fans, more triples and home runs than doubles.
12:32But if he hits hard with these free agent signings and what he does this offseason with
12:36the cap, salary cap space, they could set themselves up for a five to 10 year run as
12:41a legit premium Stanley Cup contender that everybody's going to have to worry about.
12:46But it comes down to Don Sweeney and the Bruins really hitting it this offseason with the
12:51$20 million they have in salary cap space.
12:54They can't miss.
12:55They can't.
12:56They can't have a guy, a guy that a David Bacchus type signing.
12:59They need to hit on all these guys.
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14:15All right.
14:18Next question.
14:19Ray Guerino, is there a Matthew Kachuk type trade out there the Bruins could make where
14:24they move a significant core piece plus other assets for a player that can improve their
14:28club considerably, perhaps an RFA or pending RFA-UFA, and they can then extend?
14:35Okay.
14:36Here's the player.
14:38If I'm fantasy projecting a player that would be perfect for the Bruins, a player that would
14:43be everything that they need and then some, a player that could have a Matthew Kachuk
14:47type impact on their team, just as Matthew Kachuk did with the Florida Panthers, where
14:52he took them from a team that won the President's Trophy, a talented team that was a one and
14:57out in the playoffs, took them to the Stanley Cup Finals the next year, based a lot on his
15:02impact and his leadership and what he brings to the table in addition to the team maturing
15:06around him.
15:07You know who that player is that the Boston Bruins could go after in a fantasy world to
15:11make them better like that?
15:13It's another Kachuk.
15:14It's Matthew Kachuk's brother, Brady Kachuk, 24-year-old with the Ottawa Senators, 6'4",
15:20220 pounds, meaner than Matthew Kachuk, more of a bully than Matthew Kachuk, more of a
15:25guy that will stand toe to toe, throw punches against you, and really beat you up than Matthew
15:31Kachuk.
15:33Somebody in the comments called the Florida Panthers a bunch of cul-de-sac tough guys.
15:38Matthew Kachuk, I think you could describe him as that, and I think everybody knows what
15:43that commenter was talking about.
15:45Brady Kachuk is a legit NHL tough guy.
15:48He is a guy that strikes fear into other teams and players, is huge and strong and physical
15:54and dirty, mean, nasty, can back it all up, and, oh, by the way, he scored 30-plus goals
15:59the last three seasons.
16:03He's been over 60, 70, 80 points the last three seasons, been well over 100 penalty
16:07minutes the last three, four seasons, has legit turned into the kind of power forward
16:13unicorn that doesn't grow on trees that you don't see anymore in the NHL, throwback player.
16:19That is what the Boston Bruins need.
16:21In a fantasy world, that is what they would go after.
16:25That's what they would give up, I think, a significant roster piece in order to get.
16:31His $8.2 million salary cap hit for the next, I think he signed for the next three or four
16:36years, so you got some cost certainty there.
16:39That's certainly an amount you would pay for a player like that, but it also means that
16:43it's going to cost a lot to get that player, and it's going to cost you somebody significant
16:47on your roster.
16:50Now, it's tough.
16:53Would you entertain trading a guy like David Postranec to get Brady Kachuk?
16:59Would you entertain trading a guy like Charlie McAvoy to get Brady Kachuk?
17:03Would you entertain trading Jeremy Swayman to get Brady Kachuk if that could get it done?
17:08Because the Ottawa Senators badly need a goaltender, and they're one of the teams that might be
17:13interested in Linus Ulmark if the Bruins were to trade him.
17:19Could you do any of that stuff?
17:20Would you do any of that stuff to get Brady Kachuk?
17:22I mean, I think everybody would have to be on the table to be considered if you were
17:26going to get a player like that at 24 years old that is so rare in the NHL, fits so well
17:31with the traditional identity of the Boston Bruins, has been the big, bad Bruins, to have
17:36a player like that that would come in, kick ass, score goals, take names, make things
17:44happen.
17:45Just think about how much of a spectacle and how fun the Bruins-Panthers games have been
17:51great anyway.
17:52Paul Maurice said this at the end of this playoffs, the second round this year, that
17:56he would pay money to watch the Bruins and the Panthers play hockey because it's such
18:00good hockey, because it's such intense, physical, well-played, all that stuff.
18:05Everybody would pay to see Brady Kachuk in a Bruins uniform, Matthew Kachuk in a Florida
18:10Panthers uniform, and them just go to war with each other a handful of times a year
18:15and in the playoffs potentially too.
18:16Are you kidding me?
18:17That would be awesome.
18:22That's the player I look at and say, and there's been whispers that maybe he wants out of Ottawa,
18:27maybe he's going to get traded, maybe he might be available.
18:31If any of that becomes reality, the Bruins have to overpay, act on it, just throw everything
18:37at the Ottawa Senators to try to make that happen, because I think that is the kind of
18:40player that puts them over the top.
18:42Now, do you have to give up so much that it weakens your team to the point where you're
18:46not even the contender that you were?
18:48That's something you've got to consider, and that's obviously part of the whole thing.
18:52But I think getting back to the answer, if there's a trade out there that the Bruins
18:56can make, give a Matthew Kachuk-type impact to the Bruins like he did with the Panthers,
19:02I think it's his brother.
19:03I think it's just bringing another Kachuk into the mix that would have that kind of
19:07impact.
19:08That's the kind of player the Bruins should be looking for.
19:10The problem is there's not a lot of those players out there.
19:15From Duke Bruman, best Bruins captain of the last 30 years.
19:20This is a tough one.
19:22It was a short period of time that Patrice Bergeron was captain.
19:25I think he did a great job, and I think he was, in many ways, kind of a...
19:29He was a captain even when he was the alternate captain, and he was wearing the A instead
19:33of the C. He acted like a captain, and he was part of, I think, the best leadership
19:38group that I've ever seen on any sports team when he and Zidane O'Chara were leading the
19:43team.
19:45I think Brad Marchand did a great job this past year.
19:46I think it was a growing year for him, and he kind of figured it out as it was going
19:49along and figured out how he could still be himself and not try to be somebody else while
19:54being captain.
19:56But I think it has to go to Zidane O'Chara.
20:00What was he captain for, 14, 15 years?
20:06With the Boston Bruins, one Stanley Cup title in 2011, three Stanley Cup finals.
20:15They're in the playoffs just about every single year.
20:17They had two years where they didn't make the playoffs in their back-to-back years,
20:21but every other year, they were in the playoffs.
20:23Tons of division titles, some President's Trophies.
20:29And really, when you look back on it, Zidane O'Chara was the best free agent signing in
20:35the history of the NHL, the most impactful player that was signed in free agency.
20:40They really took the Bruins from the end of the Harrison and Mike O'Connell era, when
20:46they were struggling big time, and just had dregs on their roster, a doormat, just not
20:53good to watch, hadn't fully recovered from the Joe Thornton trade and the fallout there,
21:00were obviously not a contender, not even close to it.
21:03To him coming in, them struggling a little bit for the first year, they had the wrong
21:06coach in Dave Lewis, they were still sort of jettisoning the players that were left
21:12over from the previous regime, but then started to build, and immediately became a playoff
21:21team the following year, and built it back up until they won the Cup, and stayed at that
21:26level through his entire time here.
21:28He had an air of accountability with him, where everybody knew they had to be at their
21:33best, always be in shape, be professional, he wasn't going to accept anything less.
21:39He had a stern side to his leadership, but he also, I think as he grew and matured, relaxed
21:47a little bit with that too, and understood that you had to be different things for different
21:51people, and you couldn't be like the drill sergeant, demanding everybody do as many pull-ups
21:55as him all the time.
21:59And I think by the time they won the Cup, I think he'd figured it out.
22:04He had found the balance between being a taskmaster and being somebody that expected the best
22:10out of everybody, but also being a guy that knew when to ease off the gas pedal, knew
22:14that the team needed to cut loose sometimes, and understood that also the vibe of the room,
22:23that everybody was a part of the team, everybody was accepted, there were no rookies, there
22:26were no labels put on people.
22:27He was so vigilant about that, that everybody had to be treated equally.
22:33He did not want young players being treated differently or badly, or anything like that.
22:37Did not want people saying, oh, you can't come out with us because you're a rookie,
22:41or you can't do this, because he did not want any of that.
22:44And I think that's what brings players together, teams together, that makes everybody feel
22:48like they're a part of it, and he was at the forefront of that, and really set the example
22:52with that.
22:53So, best captain, best Bruins captain in the last 30 years for me is Zidane O'Chara.
23:00And I think the results speak for themselves.
23:03I don't even think this is a really tough one.
23:06But I will say, asterisk next to it, best Bruins captain, but he also had Patrice Bergeron,
23:13who was also kind of a second captain.
23:16It was the two of them together, and that's what made it so good, it was the two of them
23:21together as leaders, as unquestioned tone setters, as guys that led by example, as the
23:26hardest workers on the team, as very conscientious, good people, setting the tone for everything
23:32that was going on with the Bruins.
23:34All of that makes a big difference, and all of that is an important part of the success
23:39and what happened.
23:40So, I think Bergeron and O'Chara go hand in hand, but O'Chara was the C. O'Chara was the
23:45captain at that time, he was the leader, and he was the unquestioned C. So, I think you
23:50give it to him.
23:51But that's a great question, and maybe we'll ask that one too when we've got a panel here,
23:57so everybody can kick it around for a little bit.
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25:26Okay, Coach Darren 9 asks, I seem to remember the Bruins being in contention for John Tavares
25:32when he was a free agent before signing with Toronto.
25:34Yeah, I seem to remember that too.
25:36What are your thoughts on getting him on the cheap from Toronto?
25:40Also are the Bruins using the Centennial jerseys again next year?
25:43Man, that is an awesome question.
25:45I don't have an answer for the Centennial jerseys question.
25:48I will find out and I will find out and tell everybody on a later podcast.
25:54I would say this, I hope they continue to use the Centennial jerseys because I think
25:59they're cool.
26:00I think they look great and I think they, you know, rather than, because they had different
26:06jerseys the year before too, rather than like doing this every year where they're constantly
26:10going through alternate jerseys and third jerseys and different jerseys that they wear.
26:14I think they hit on something great with the Centennial jerseys and they should, you know,
26:18they should wear them for a while until like some other kind of event or celebration or
26:22whatever happens that makes them want to do it a little different.
26:26And I know it's good for jersey sales to have different alternates every year or every couple
26:29of years, whatever, especially if you have a winter classic, like stuff like that.
26:33And maybe that'll be the next impetus for them to change it up is when they have a winter
26:38classic, but I hope they keep the Centennial jerseys for a while.
26:41Could the Bruins be in contention for John Tavares?
26:46I mean, I don't think he's the type of player that's really going to, like he would obviously
26:54help them.
26:55There's no question about it.
26:56He's a good player.
26:57He's, you know, a center.
26:58He's a guy that's kind of, you know, could still be a top six, even though I think he's
27:01aging out of like a consistent top six all the time, like share the heavy workload that
27:10they're looking for somebody to share being a top six center.
27:14You know, I think he's coming out of that.
27:16I think they would want somebody younger and cheaper potentially to start coming into that
27:23role.
27:24And I think he doesn't quite fit that.
27:27I also think I don't think the Bruins in Toronto are going to be dealing for something
27:33like that.
27:34They don't make many trades, the Leafs and the Bruins, and I don't think they're going
27:37to be looking to help out the Leafs in any way, shape or form with their salary cap issues.
27:44So no, I just don't think because of all the factors involved, I don't think the Bruins
27:48would be a guy that a team that Tavares would go to.
27:52I just don't think it makes sense.
27:54I think there will be better options out there.
27:57I'd be surprised if Tavares moved to the Bruins, but I would never say never put it that way,
28:06but I just don't think he's the logical guy to go there given a lot of the other options
28:11that they have and the Leafs would have to take a lot of the cap hit for Tavares in order
28:19for that kind of thing to work.
28:22I still wonder if Mitch Marner gets traded there, even though the Leafs don't want to
28:27do it.
28:28They say they're not going to do it.
28:31I think one of the young guys has to get moved, whether it's Nylander, whether it's Marner,
28:36somebody.
28:37It's not going to be Auston Matthews, obviously, but good question, though.
28:42And like I said, I'm going to find out about the Centennial jerseys and get back to you
28:46on that.
28:48Louder Than Yuri asks, should Don go all in for dry sidle?
28:52Okay, I've gotten a lot of Leon dry sidle questions.
28:58He makes much more sense than Tavares as far as I'm concerned, all factors involved.
29:05If the Oilers are looking to switch things up, change up the DNA of their team, get some
29:11salary cap relief.
29:15If dry sidle wants to go someplace else, perhaps.
29:20He's a great player.
29:21I think he'd be exactly what the Bruins are looking for.
29:25Obviously, I don't think he's the best defensive player in the world.
29:28He's not the greatest two-way center in the world.
29:30He's gotten better, but I still don't think he's where he would need to be if he's going
29:34to play for a team like the Bruins.
29:36And that would be sort of a concern or something that I would be watching pretty closely.
29:41But you're also talking about one of the elite offensive players in the world and somebody
29:45that is absolutely going to bring more scoring to the table for the Bruins.
29:49Absolutely would upgrade their top six center situation in a huge way and give them that
29:55frontline center that they've needed for a long time.
29:58Like all of that stuff, he makes a ton of sense.
30:00The question is, what's it going to cost?
30:05What are you going to have to give up to get Leon dry sidle?
30:07And it's going to be a lot.
30:08Like, you're going to have to give up, again, like I was talking about with great Brady
30:12Kachuk, Pasternak, McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman.
30:20I don't think Jake Dabrusk, I mean, the rights to Jake Dabrusk, Linus Olmark, a first round
30:28pick and Matt Potra are going to do it.
30:31You know what I mean?
30:32I mean, I don't think a package like that is going to get you Leon dry cell.
30:35Maybe, maybe it would.
30:37Maybe you could give away something like that and get a player like dry saddle back if you
30:40want it out.
30:42And he let it be known where he wanted to go.
30:44And Boston was one of those places like, I guess that maybe that could happen.
30:48But it's going to be half to be what if the Bruins are going to get it done and brings
30:51dry side of the Boston, it's going to have to be because dry saddle really wants to go
30:55to Boston.
30:57He's the engine that's pushing to make that happen.
31:02I just don't think I don't think that I just don't think it's realistic.
31:12I don't I don't know if they have they don't have the prospects in the first round picks
31:16to really pull that off.
31:17And I just don't think I don't think they want to give up the players they're going
31:21to have to give up in order to get them.
31:22Like that's the one thing that would make me pause about Brady Kachuk.
31:26And it's funny that I would I would more readily give up like some of those players for Brady
31:30Kachuk than I would for Leon dry saddle.
31:31But I think I would.
31:32I mean, I think I would for a 24 year old that power forward type like that Brady Kachuk
31:39is that can change the complexion of your team.
31:42Maybe I'm crazy for thinking that way.
31:43Maybe I just like power forwards too much and like guys that, you know, play a rough
31:47style too much physical, heavy, rough style.
31:51Maybe I value that too much in the playoffs.
31:53I don't know.
31:54But I just think realistically, I don't know that the Bruins are going to have enough to
32:00get that make that trade happen as much as some others teams would have it to make it
32:05happen.
32:06The one thing they have is the salary cap space like that.
32:08That is going to be the equalizer for a lot of things and make them a player for a lot
32:12of different things around the league is that they have the salary cap space to make these
32:17kind of things happen.
32:18So I guess stay tuned on the dry saddle, but I just I don't know that one of all the names
32:26that people throw at me and say, hey, what do you think about the Bruins with this dry
32:29saddle is the one where I'm like, you know, I just don't see it.
32:31I don't see the possibility of it happening.
32:35But I guess it could just because they have some needs that the Bruins could fill.
32:43But like I just I don't see how you could get dry saddle and not have to give up one
32:47of your best players.
32:49One of your two or three best players in your team, which for my money right now, based
32:53on age contract, like all that stuff is Pasternak, McAvoy, Swayman like Marchand is obviously
32:59in that conversation, too, but he's a little older now, and that's why I would put him
33:04maybe a rung below those other ones, because those other guys, I think, have the most value
33:08around the league given their age, given their performance level, given where they're going
33:12to be able to maintain that for the next five years, like all that stuff.
33:16And I wouldn't trade any of them.
33:18I don't think for dry saddle.
33:19All right.
33:20Next one.
33:21Hi, Joe.
33:22I heard the Bees recently made some coaching changes.
33:27Can you please give your thoughts on what is changing for the coaching staff this year?
33:30What those changes mean for Jim Montgomery and Bob Assenza's future?
33:34Thank you.
33:35Love the podcast.
33:36Roger Perry.
33:37Yeah.
33:38Like I said, the coaching changes I addressed earlier, I think Jay Leach in some ways gives
33:46the Bruins an option of a head coaching candidate in-house on their staff were to ever come
33:52to a point where they wanted to make a move with the head coach.
33:57I don't see that happening.
33:58I think Jim Montgomery's done a great job.
34:00I just think it gives them like not only does it give them that, it gives them an excellent
34:04assistant coach that's going to help and upgrade, I think, from what they had last year, which
34:09is the bottom line.
34:12But I think you'd be just in denial if you didn't mention the other part of it, that
34:17the Bruins thought of Jay Leach as a candidate when they were looking for a head coach, that
34:22he was with the organization for a long time, that he's highly respected and thought of
34:25by the Boston Bruins and viewed by the Boston Bruins as a future NHL head coach.
34:30So given all that stuff, you have to admit that and talk about that and just say that
34:35it is what it is.
34:38As far as Bob Essenza goes, I think Bob Essenza has done a really good job.
34:45The Bruins goaltending has continuously been outstanding.
34:50They've had some great goaltenders roll through here over the last 15 years or so, continuously.
34:58So I don't know that you can really be too critical of Bob Essenza or the job that he's
35:05done based on the goaltending production that they get, the results that they get,
35:09and how good their goalies have been.
35:14And obviously a lot of the credit goes to the goalies, and you can't say it's all the
35:17goalie coach, because I wouldn't say that about Bob Essenza or anybody else.
35:21But I think you can't argue with the results that he's gotten and how good he's been.
35:25So I don't know why you would lump him in there about his future.
35:30Obviously he may get to a point where he wants to retire and doesn't want to travel all the
35:33time and be there every single day, but I don't know that he's at that point right now.
35:38And they all rave.
35:39The goalies talk fondly about Goalie Bob and the job that he's done.
35:45The only area, I think, in the last few years where I would question Goalie Bob at all is
35:52staying too long with Linus a couple of years ago, staying too long with Tukka a couple
35:56of years before that when he was hurt.
36:01Not going with Swayman in a couple of instances where they probably should have, which they
36:06obviously reversed this past season where they each got a start and then they wrote
36:10Swayman and we saw what he was able to do.
36:14But I do think that was the one only nitpicky thing I saw was in the playoffs that he probably
36:21needed to be more willing to change out the guy that was the sort of established number
36:27one guy if that player was hurt, wasn't playing up to the level.
36:34Something was wrong there, whether it was mentally or physically, where they needed
36:37to switch it up and they were hesitant to do that, but they went in with a plan this
36:41postseason.
36:42It worked really well.
36:43I don't know that you can be really critical of that in any way, shape, or form.
36:47So the changes, what do they mean for Jim Montgomery?
36:50I just think he's now, and I think this was going to be the case regardless of who was
36:56on the staff, that I think there's a little more pressure on him this year, going into
37:00this year to continue to build and improve.
37:05I think it was, they had a great regular season last year.
37:08He's had two very good regular seasons.
37:11They won a playoff series this past spring, which was a big hurdle to get over for him
37:17based on going out in the first round the year before and really disappointing.
37:21So they built or took a step as far as the postseason goes, but they need to take another
37:27step this postseason.
37:29It goes hand in hand with the players that Don Sweeney brings in and improving the roster
37:34because the struggles that they had scoring goals in the playoffs was not Jim Montgomery's
37:39fault.
37:40It was more the fault of not having enough primary scorers, not having enough guys that
37:44could make it happen offensively, not having enough people that play a playoff style that
37:49can be effective, that as Cam Neely simply said, that wanted the puck against Florida
37:55in the second round.
37:56There weren't enough players that wanted the puck and needed the puck against a team that
38:00was going to continuously punch you in the mouth for the entire series until it was over
38:03one way or the other.
38:05So it's on Bruins management to get more players like that and to bring in more players like
38:10that.
38:12So the bottom line is I think the coaching changes aren't going to change anything radically
38:17aside from I think there's going to be a, this'll probably be the first year there will
38:21be some level of external pressure on Jim Montgomery that the results need to continue.
38:28Things like the too many men in the ice needs to be cleaned up.
38:32Some of the things offensively that are going on need to be cleaned up and improved.
38:37You know, the defensemen, the young players need to continue to develop.
38:41Like it's going to be a big year for Mason Lowry and I think that's part of the reason
38:43that Jay Leach is going to be a good difference maker on this team is somebody like Lowry
38:48I think he's going to work with very closely and I think you'll see great results.
38:51He's been very good working with defensemen traditionally.
38:55So I think that'll be a big thing too having him on staff for that.
38:58But I just think in general going into the third year for a head coach it starts to become
39:03really ramped up expectations wise, pressure wise, all that stuff.
39:08And it'll be that way for Jim Montgomery and as it should be.
39:11You know, if the Bruins are throwing in all the assets and throwing in all the money and
39:16going all in with the salary cap space and building up what they believe is going to
39:20be a championship roster, it's up to the coach to get it out of them.
39:24And that will continue to be the case.
39:27But that's all for this week.
39:28Thank you very much for all the mailbag questions.
39:30They were fantastic.
39:31Thanks for listening to the mailbag episode.
39:33We appreciate it.
39:34We'll see you at the rink.