On this episode of Pucks with Haggs, Joe Haggerty and Mick Colageo discuss the first few moves of the Bruins offseason as they've begun telling some players they won't be returning.
00:00 Celebrating the 100th Episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast
04:45 Oskar Steen's Departure from the Bruins
11:31 Connor McDavid's Stellar Performance in the Stanley Cup Final
20:03 Coaching Staff Changes and Jay Leach's Potential
26:53 Bold Moves Needed in the Offseason
30:46 Prioritizing the Center Position
Pucks with Haggs is presented by:
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- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1
00:00 Celebrating the 100th Episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast
04:45 Oskar Steen's Departure from the Bruins
11:31 Connor McDavid's Stellar Performance in the Stanley Cup Final
20:03 Coaching Staff Changes and Jay Leach's Potential
26:53 Bold Moves Needed in the Offseason
30:46 Prioritizing the Center Position
Pucks with Haggs is presented by:
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 !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast, powered by PrizePix, the exclusive
00:09daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:13I do believe this is the 100th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, so this is a
00:17very special, big-time show here, Mick, a centennial show, so to speak, just like the
00:23Boston Bruins had the centennial year.
00:25Just like them.
00:27Let's get it going.
00:28I brought Mick Colaggio in, my good friend and colleague today.
00:31Mick, please tell everybody where they can find your work.
00:33I write a weekly Sunday column for bostonhockeynow.com, and I'm in the seasonal issues of the Hockey
00:41News.
00:42Thanks for reminding me of the deadline coming up right after free agency.
00:46And then the Future Watch.
00:47And then, let's see, what else?
00:48I've got my Rigwrap blog, I link to it on X, and I go on the radio with Pete Shepard
00:54in Florida, and I come here with you.
00:58I ride shotgun with hags frequently.
01:00There you go.
01:01Absolutely.
01:02It's been a pleasure every time, Mick.
01:04And I'm your host, Joe Hagerty.
01:06You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
01:09Sign up for a premium membership, get all of my NHL and hockey writing sent straight
01:12directly to your inbox.
01:13I also write a few times a week for the Boston Sports Journal.
01:18Go to bostonsportsjournal.com and check out all my Bruins coverage there as well.
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04:18All right, Mick.
04:22Let's get into it.
04:23A little bit of news, some things, some dribs and drabs coming out with the Boston Bruins.
04:27So a Swedish outlet was quoting Oskar Steen's agent that he is moving on.
04:35The Bruins and Oskar Steen are parting ways.
04:37He's a group six free agent.
04:40He had one goal in 34 games before getting waived and sent down to Providence last year.
04:44He's got like 60 games, I think, at the NHL level, four goals, eight points overall.
04:50Obviously, I think he's done well as a sixth-round pick, a former sixth-round pick of the Bruins.
04:55I think if you can get a player that can hit the NHL at all with you as a sixth-round pick,
04:59I think you're doing pretty well as far as selecting that guy.
05:02But I think this makes sense.
05:04I think Jacob Lauko is a better option as a homegrown, drafted, and developed fourth-line
05:09kind of player.
05:10I think he just couldn't get over the hump offensively and really even sporadically create
05:16offense in the fourth-line role.
05:17He was perfectly fine when he was there, but not enough to stick at the NHL level.
05:21Maybe he can find a fresh start somewhere else.
05:24You also got the distinct impression that when Steen finally did get a chance, a glittering
05:29chance, there was no way that thing was going in.
05:34I think the thing where I kind of made my own decision that he's not a plug-in for the
05:41Bruins in the bottom six was when he started getting knocked off the puck late in the season.
05:48It might have been the playoffs, I'm having trouble parsing it all out right now, but
05:51I do remember there were scenarios where Steen was trying so hard to keep up with the frenetic
05:58pace of the late-season hockey that he would be off-balance trying to initiate.
06:06That's when somebody would say, here's a big chance to hit this fire hydrant because he's
06:10put himself off-balance.
06:12That's when he'd get knocked off the puck or knocked down or whatever because he was
06:16trying so hard to make something happen offensively that he took himself a little off-balance
06:22and made himself vulnerable to timely hits.
06:26I think that that's when it became apparent that Steen, as a guy who could plant and good
06:32luck trying to knock him over with those truncated, not truncated, but tree-trunk thighs of his
06:41quad muscles, unbelievable physique on that kid.
06:45Really, terrific character, terrific for the Pete Bruins.
06:51It's time guys age out of the process and Group 6 says it all.
06:57They've had to leverage the whole time and now he's a free bird and he's going to fly
07:01and good for him.
07:02I hope it works out wherever he goes.
07:04He might be back home.
07:06Yeah, yeah.
07:07Could go back to Sweden, definitely.
07:08I would think, though, if he's logged some NHL time, he'll be a depth player somewhere
07:13to start and maybe he can find lightning in a bottle somewhere or he can find that next
07:19level offensively that he couldn't get here.
07:21But for my analysis, my watching him, my seeing him over the years, I think he's just one
07:27of those classic players that can excel at the AHL, can be a very good AHL player, but
07:32just wasn't big enough, fast enough, strong enough, all these things combined that you
07:37have to be at the NHL level to be really effective.
07:40And it was tough because he was put in a fourth line role where they wanted him to bang bodies
07:44for check, check the other team, maybe not look as much for the offense.
07:50Mike Louko kind of struggled this year offensively as well.
07:52You say all that, I think Chris Bork.
07:56You know, the name that we were trying to think of the other Alex Koklachev.
08:00That's another one.
08:01Koko is a good example of that, who was a very good AHL player that just when he came
08:06up to the NHL.
08:07I do wonder if the Bruins blew it with, well, I don't want to say blow it because they have
08:12a process and this kid didn't want to engage it.
08:15But the guy, the other Russian that was there prior to Koko and another generation beforehand,
08:22I'm having trouble coming up with his name right now, but he went on to become a general
08:26manager in the KHL and had a very good KHL career.
08:29But in Boston, he didn't want, he didn't have the patience for the process.
08:33And you know, my league at home is better than this league.
08:35What am I doing here?
08:36And he kind of shot his way out of town and it's too bad that it worked out that way because
08:40I think Zinoviev, maybe, no, is he, yeah, I might have been, yeah, Sergei Zinoviev,
08:47I think is my guy.
08:48Yeah.
08:49Yeah.
08:50Yeah.
08:51And, but, and there's no shame in that.
08:52Like there's, the NHL is the hardest league in the world and there are some players that
08:56just don't have that sort of, that thing that's going to allow them to excel against the fastest,
09:02biggest, most skilled, strongest guys, hockey players in the world.
09:07And they can do it at the HL level, but they just, you know, for whatever reason, and some
09:11of it is like opportunity and, you know, where they're playing with a team.
09:14And if you're playing fourth line role, every single time you go up to another team, maybe
09:18you're not going to be able to show everything you do, especially if you're not a fourth
09:21line player.
09:22Like, I'm not sure Oskar Steen is really a fourth line player when he's at his best or
09:26he's in the right role.
09:28So maybe he gets, you know, some top six minutes with somebody else and he can earn a third
09:32line even with somebody else and can show a little bit more offensively.
09:35Yeah.
09:36Guys in the NHL or in those roles tend to have extraordinary size, strength, or speed.
09:41Steen, I think you can argue as a strength, but he doesn't have the size, vertically at
09:47least, and he doesn't have extraordinary speed.
09:51No.
09:52And the skill to finish too, when he did get chances, like you said, you knew it wasn't
09:55going in when he had it.
09:56You knew it wasn't going in.
09:57Like the end of Ken Dryden's great book, The Game, that he wrote about the 78, 79 Canadians,
10:02which was the last of their four straight Stanley Cup runs in that decade.
10:07In the end of his career, he chronicled their season and all the personalities involved
10:12on the team bus and all of that.
10:14The Steve Schutt part's hilarious.
10:17But he talks about, you know, he starts out with talking about a player that you know
10:20is never going to score.
10:22He finishes the book with an anecdotal breakaway.
10:26He didn't score.
10:30The goalies always know.
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11:45Let's talk a little bit about the Stanley Cup Final, Mick.
11:49Outstanding, outstanding game five last night.
11:53Very entertaining from beginning to end.
11:55You knew Florida was going to come back and they did and they almost pulled it off.
12:00It was one of those games where I think time ran out on the Panthers.
12:04If they'd gotten enough chances, they were going to tie that game and it just didn't
12:07happen before they had to pull the goalie.
12:09But just a great game both ways.
12:12That sequence at the end where Kachuck is laying out, saves the empty net goal from
12:16going in and then it ends up going right to McDavid and he bangs it in for the empty net
12:20goal and all of the action that was going on leading up to that.
12:24That was a true Stanley Cup Final game where you felt like it was the two best teams playing
12:30against each other.
12:31Conor McDavid pulled off another absolute superstar, best hockey player in the world
12:35kind of performance.
12:37That's two in a row for him and honestly, I feel like the only way Edmonton's going
12:40to win games from this point forward in this series is if Conor McDavid is that good in
12:45every single game and that productive because Drysaddle just doesn't look like himself.
12:48Looks like he's having issues out there.
12:50So Conor McDavid's going to have to be that good.
12:53I'm really interested to see what's going to happen in Game 6 in Edmonton.
12:56I'm sure it's going to be absolutely crazy out there.
12:58I couldn't get enough of the middle-aged woman that was in the crowd in Edmonton watching
13:02the game on the big screen somewhere last night.
13:04And she was dressed up like the Stanley Cup and had silver all over her with the dish
13:08on her head.
13:09I didn't see that.
13:10Oh my god.
13:11The people out in Edmonton are just nuts.
13:12Now the other viral video, that I saw.
13:15Yes.
13:16Yeah, exactly.
13:17Which we'll never speak of.
13:19But in general, the Oilers fans are nuts, so it's going to be a great atmosphere for
13:23Game 6.
13:24And I'm glad that A, it's been extended this long, so it's been an actual hockey series
13:29to watch with dramatic games.
13:31And B, that we've been able to see Conor McDavid excel and shine as much as he has on this
13:37big stage to show everybody in the world just how good he is if they don't watch enough
13:41Edmonton games.
13:42Like that play last night, the end of a two-and-a-half-minute shift where he goes through everybody, goes
13:48right through the heart of the Florida Diamond, the defense, and then feeds it to Perry and
13:53knows Perry's coming, even though Perry just jumped off the bench and was trailing the
13:58play.
13:59Like, that is just like an amazing play.
14:00And it was...
14:01If you're not old enough, like some of us who got to hang from the rafters, one foot
14:07on the last row of the second balcony at Boston Garden, one foot on the railing in front of
14:13it as those balconies had rails in front of every row.
14:17And then you were high enough up to hold on to the I-beam of the ceiling girders and
14:22look over the five rows in front of you and all the way down and watch Bobby Orr.
14:29And McDavid had a play like this against the Rangers a few years ago where he regrouped
14:35in the middle of the rink.
14:37It looked like his shift was going to be over.
14:39Instead of regrouping, dumping the puck, he identified a situation where he's going to
14:44surprise them with acceleration, sudden acceleration.
14:47And this is something I haven't seen since Bobby Orr.
14:52There have been great players, even in Orr's era, that I just marveled at watching them
14:57carry the puck at top flight and skills at top flight, Gilbert Perrault, almost unparalleled.
15:05But what McDavid does in changing gears and going into a sudden acceleration move at the
15:13identification of an opportunity, and then suddenly you got four bowling pins and there's
15:20this guy who's going through them like it's a skills contest.
15:24If you didn't get a chance to see Bobby Orr play, this is, you know, the same way Don
15:30Cherry was calling Cam Neely a direct descendant of Gordie Howe in 88 when he was running over
15:35the Montreal Canadiens on the 4-check, this is Bobby Orr as a centerman.
15:43This is what you're looking at here.
15:45It isn't the whole game, but this is the whole game he played.
15:48But in that aspect of the attack and what made Orr a unique attacking defenseman, this
15:57is that element, that acceleration, identification, and then the execution ability in the fierceness
16:05of his competitive fire.
16:07That just is what the offensive element of Bobby Orr's game was, and being around to
16:15see McDavid is a thrill because he is a very exciting, exciting player to watch.
16:22The quickness is incredible that he does it at, like you said, at the end of a lengthy
16:27shift like that that's just really unheard of in today's game.
16:33And it's not even just the stick handling and the speed, right?
16:38It's the shot, it's the playmaking, it's the hockey IQ.
16:41He has everything.
16:43Like he has the whole package of everything.
16:47He decided he wanted to get 100 assists this season, and he was just going to make plays
16:51for everybody else.
16:52And he was going to scale back the goals that he scored, and he did it.
16:55He can do whatever he wants to do on the ice.
16:58He has those kind of gifts and those kind of hard-earned skills because you know that
17:01he's a guy that just goes out there and works his ass off to be the best hockey player in
17:05the world.
17:06But even the goal that he scored earlier, where he finds a little opening where he can
17:10shoot it off the skate, and Khabrovsky's skate, and get it into the net, as he's moving full
17:16speed and going through people and all that chaos is going around, and he's picking a
17:19spot where to shoot.
17:21All of those gifts were on display last night.
17:25And for me, watching hockey, there's nothing more exciting than when you watch a player
17:29that is on for an entire game.
17:32And you know that every time he gets the puck, he's going to be in absolute danger.
17:36And the other team is going to be worried about what he's going to do, and he's going
17:39to enforce his will, and he's going to show that skill every time he has the puck.
17:42McDavid was that last night.
17:43He was that the game before as well.
17:46And like I said, he's going to need to be that in game six and seven if Edmonton's going
17:49to have a chance to win against Florida.
17:51Because Florida, I thought, even though they fell behind with the shorthanded goal, they
17:55fell behind by three goals.
17:57When it was five on five, they were doing their four-check thing.
18:01I thought they were controlling play.
18:02They just made a few mistakes that ended up losing them the game.
18:05So it's going to be great to watch game six and seven.
18:07Well, one thing that, I mean, the turnover that led to the brown shorty.
18:14I think that Florida likes to play at a high pace in the attacking zone after they set
18:21up.
18:22They like to move the puck quickly and try to get the defense to say, hey, this is getting
18:27We're going to go out of our structure and we need to stop.
18:33And then once they get that, then they get what they want.
18:36And I think what Edmonton has done here is leverage Florida into playing it faster than
18:43they want to.
18:45And I think that's increased Florida's sloppiness.
18:49And so for Knobloch and that group of athletes to have a competitive answer to the Florida
18:56Panthers in this series that has turned what was a potential sweep into a nail biter.
19:04It's awesome.
19:05It's amazing that they've managed to do this.
19:09And whatever happens from here on in, I can't wait to see it.
19:13But it's amazing what's going on right now and how Florida suddenly has a real grind
19:19on their hands.
19:20And that's what makes this series really something.
19:24And I'm glad we have it.
19:25It's going to be a great finish, whatever it is.
19:28Absolutely.
19:29I hope we have two more games like last night, because that was great.
19:32I was watching it with Finn.
19:34He was into it the whole game and just watching everything that was happening and recognized
19:39just how high level the hockey was and how everybody was just going all out every shift.
19:44Matthew Kachuk, great game for him last night.
19:46Best game of the finals as well.
19:47Yeah, that was such a quick turnaround for him to get that puck in the top corner like
19:52that.
19:55That really just turned the game and made a situation that was falling apart for them
20:03turn into a, all right, here we go, plenty of time.
20:08And that's what you would expect by any team that's in the Stanley Cup final, right?
20:11They can turn a 3-0 deficit into them coming back and pushing hard like they did.
20:16Are you excited for the NBA finals with the Boston Celtics?
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21:43We've got a couple of emails or tweets or whatever, Mick, so let's answer those while
21:48we're here.
21:49We've got a little news, too, that you and I haven't discussed yet.
21:52This is from Roger Perry.
21:53Hi, Joe.
21:54I heard the REP's recently made some coaching changes.
21:57Can you please give your thoughts on what is changing for the coaching staff this year
22:00and what those changes mean for Jim Montgomery and Baba Senza's future?
22:03I don't know what Baba Senza has to do with any of the changes that they made, but thank
22:08you, love the podcast, Roger Perry.
22:10I kind of went over my thoughts on this last week, but Mick, your thoughts on Jay Leach
22:16being added to the coaching staff, on Joe Sacco being bumped up to associate coach,
22:21and some changes happening with the Bruins.
22:23John McClain obviously going back to skating and skills, which is more his background anyway
22:28than being an assistant coach on the bench.
22:30Just what you make of all those changes.
22:32Well, Leach's availability and the Bruins' willing interest in bringing him back into
22:38the fold where they developed him.
22:41He was a Peabruins coach.
22:42That's where he got...
22:43Peabruins head coach.
22:44Yes.
22:45Yeah.
22:46And so, and he was terrific in that role and his NHL opportunities came elsewhere and necessarily
22:58the way things go in this business.
23:00So for the Bruins to say, hey, we can get this guy back, then they want him.
23:06Should Jim Montgomery be worried?
23:08No.
23:09I think that they should be thrilled that they have capable people assisting and they
23:14have a very team-oriented approach about what they do.
23:18And I think that any of these guys, I believe the cliche that the pressure is there from
23:23within is greater than anything going on without.
23:26And the highly competitive people who really excel in this business and are so thoughtful
23:31in every little thing that they do, they're thrilled to have any help.
23:34Now, yeah, sure.
23:36Bruce Cassidy gets promoted, works with Claude Julien, replaces Claude Julien.
23:41We see it over and over again.
23:43Well, the one thing I would interject, and you're walking down this path, is that I think
23:50the Bruins view Jay Leach as an NHL head coach in the making.
23:54I think they definitely view him in that light.
23:56Same way they did Cassidy.
23:57Yes.
23:58He was considered for the job when Montgomery ended up getting it after he had left for
24:01Seattle.
24:02He was one of the candidates that got mentioned along with Dave Quinn and a few other people.
24:08So I do think he is kind of the very logical sort of ready-made replacement if anything
24:14did happen with Jim Montgomery during the season.
24:17But to your point, if you've had the success that Jim Montgomery's had the last two regular
24:21seasons, if you made a progressive step in the playoffs like you did last spring, I think
24:26you're feeling pretty good and secure about the job that you're doing.
24:30But they're always going to...
24:31You know, as a coach, there's always going to be potential replacements or whatever.
24:36Absolutely.
24:37Because the worst thing a guy can do in this business, as you've seen over and over again,
24:41San Jose had a great example of this back, I don't know, maybe 15 years ago.
24:46But you get better, you get better, you get better, you get better.
24:50And you're getting close.
24:51And then you back off one step.
24:53You may be this much higher than when the guy took the job.
24:57But the fact that you took one step back after being all the way up here, they say, I think
25:01we got to make a change.
25:02It happens all the time.
25:04So that's the business they chose.
25:06They know.
25:07I once asked Peter LaViolette, full disclosure, he married my cousin's daughter.
25:12So we see each other at weddings, funerals and cookouts.
25:16So charity golf tournaments.
25:18So I asked him once about the whole deal with Paul Maurice.
25:22You know, Paul Maurice got canned by the Hurricanes right before the lockout year.
25:27Before the season ended, LaViolette becomes a coach.
25:30Come back after the lockout year, they win the Stanley Cup of Carolina.
25:34By the 8-0-9 season, LaViolette's struggling, gets fired.
25:38Who do they hire back?
25:39Paul Maurice goes to the conference final.
25:41Beat the Bruins in that famous seven-game overtime.
25:45And so I asked him, I said, what is it like between you and Paul Maurice?
25:48He goes, oh, no, we get along well.
25:50We have a lot of respect for each other.
25:52I said, do you guys just trade houses then when you're back?
25:55He goes, oh, no, we're not that tight.
26:00That's funny.
26:03Bottom line with this is Jay Leach is a good coach.
26:06I think he's very good working with defensemen.
26:08I think he could be really good with Mason Lowry, working with him this year.
26:11Hell yeah.
26:13Look, I feel like also they needed to make some kind of change after all those too
26:17many men in the ice penalties, whether it was somebody's fault or not.
26:20I felt like some kind of change was needed or some kind of accountability.
26:23Some McLean's escape code.
26:25Well, I don't even think that, though, because he's back in the role that he's,
26:31I think, best at now.
26:33And he's great as a skating skills guy, a guy running practices,
26:37a guy working with the rehab players, a guy working with your young players.
26:40I think in the Kim Brandvold kind of role, I think,
26:44is where he's best served.
26:46And I think he's going to do that now, which was what he was
26:48hired for in the first place.
26:49So I think the year of assistant coaching experience at the NHL
26:56was great for him.
26:58And maybe he pursues that even more in the future
27:00after getting a taste of that.
27:02But I think it's-
27:03Well, Joe Sacco gets a little bump here and a title.
27:09But it also makes me wonder, what's the end game for Joe Sacco?
27:13Yeah.
27:15Yeah.
27:16Had a brief NHL experience coaching the Colorado Avalanche,
27:20similar to Bruce Cassidy when he had the caps.
27:23And it didn't work out for him for reasons that are obviously
27:28where the team was at.
27:29And teams just keep on making changes till they get what works.
27:32And usually has a lot more to do with the player personnel
27:35than anything else.
27:36And he never got back to where Cassidy got back to.
27:40So his route has been to be an assistant in Boston.
27:43And-
27:45Maybe he's this generation's Doug Huda.
27:47I don't know.
27:49He's there through multiple coaching administrations.
27:51And he sticks around as an assistant coach and is an important piece.
27:55Maybe life is good and he doesn't want to ride that carousel.
27:59Maybe he just enjoys being home and having an NHL job.
28:02It's a little more like a college coaching career
28:04if you can weather the storm of the only thing that wouldn't-
28:09The one thing that gets everybody kicked out
28:11is if Don Sweeney's tenure finds its end.
28:14And we're not there yet.
28:16But I do think that this offseason and what he does with Omark
28:21and this cap space, and it's highly competitive
28:26when you see that Philip Roenick there just got seven and change
28:30on a long-term deal to stay with the Canucks.
28:33He's a really good player, but was he on your radar for seven plus?
28:39No.
28:40So that's how, to me, that's an opening salvo of July 1
28:45and how competitive it's going to be to get the players that you
28:50have at the top of your list, which probably
28:53means that the Bruins are going to have to be very careful about what they do.
28:58Yep.
28:58Oh, no, of course.
28:59I mean, they need to be careful, Mick, but they also need to be bold, I think.
29:04They need to make big moves.
29:07Like, they can't be doing what they've done the last couple of years,
29:11which is acquiring middle class NHL players and thinking that all they need
29:16is another third line forward and a center that-
29:20We want to add to our depth, quote unquote.
29:22Yeah, a center that's been a third line guy that they think can be a first line.
29:25Like, no, you need to get legit elite NHL talent with the salary cap space
29:31that they have that you think is going to elevate everybody else.
29:33And they need, I frankly, I've said this a bunch,
29:36they need another primary scorer.
29:37They need another guy that drives the action when he's
29:40on the ice among their forward goals.
29:43So does that put a guy like Marchessault on their radar
29:45because he's a line driving winger a la Marchand, a la Pasternak?
29:51Maybe.
29:51I mean, I think anybody that is that kind of talent, I think,
29:54is what they should be looking at and considering, whether it's Reinhardt,
29:57whether it's Marchessault, if they really like Elias-
30:00I feel as much as Reinhardt had a career year, I look at him
30:04and I think the Panthers elevate him.
30:06I don't feel like he elevates the Panthers as much
30:10as he is the byproduct of how they play and the opportunities that come his way.
30:15Now, granted, can't sneeze at a guy who has the capability
30:19of turning those situations into gold 57 times.
30:22Yeah, here's the thing, Mick.
30:24You need, that team in particular, that Bruins team,
30:27needs people that drive the action, but also needs people
30:29that are willing to shoot the puck and score.
30:31Well, he's willing to shoot the puck and score.
30:34They do not have enough players-
30:35He can score the hockey puck.
30:37They do not have enough players that have the tunnel vision about, like,
30:40shooting the puck and scoring and being a little selfish sometimes
30:43in order to get the puck in the back of the net.
30:44And I think he's that kind of player.
30:46And I think that's where he could help a lot of other players
30:49that are more than happy to just move the puck along.
30:51I feel like he's going to get a price tag, though, that is not,
30:54that I don't think he'll hold up to.
30:57But they, but, but you know what, though, Mick?
30:59You're going to have to overpay to get a guy that can put the puck in the net.
31:01Like, whether it's him or somebody else,
31:03they're going to have to overpay a little bit.
31:05They're probably going to have to give more money than they're comfortable with.
31:07And it's going to, like, change their salary structure a little bit.
31:10But you know what?
31:11They have the money to spend.
31:12They need to go out and spend it on somebody.
31:14Now, there's some, you know, we can, like, talk about fantasy scenarios, too,
31:19with the Brady Kachuks of the world.
31:20Or you can talk about Martin H.S. as a trade.
31:22And, you know, there's a lot of different ways they can go.
31:25So I'm just, we're just talking mostly about free agent guys.
31:28But I think there's going to be a whole world of possibilities,
31:31given the salary cap space that they have.
31:33And given some of the assets they have to potentially move around.
31:36I wonder if they've cooled on Elias Lindholm.
31:39Yeah, I don't know.
31:40Because, you know, or are they thinking more opportunistically about him?
31:45Because they're thinking, hey, we might be able to get him
31:47at a lower price than what people thought six months ago.
31:51Yeah, I see.
31:52But this is what I'm talking about.
31:54Like, I don't want Don Sweeney to pretend he's shopping at Building 19 and a half
31:58for the best bargains this summer.
32:00That is not the mentality that he should have.
32:03Was that the one in your area?
32:05I think we had Building 19 and three quarters.
32:07The one was Burlington, Building 19 and a half.
32:09OK.
32:10Were you near Building 19 and seven eighths?
32:12I was three quarters.
32:13Three quarters.
32:16But like that is I do not want him to be clipping the Sunday paper coupons
32:21on July 1st when he's tracking down free agents because they have freaking
32:2420 million dollars.
32:25They might have like twenty five, twenty six million dollars.
32:28If Linus Elmark is finds a new home like this is no time to be bargain
32:33hunting and bargain shopping for players.
32:35They need to get players that can be difference makers.
32:37That's what they need to go out and do.
32:39Yeah, he was an all star bottom feeder last summer out of necessity.
32:44Yeah, just a tremendous job that he did.
32:46But it's also a shrink.
32:47This one comes very good.
32:49This comes with more pressure.
32:50Yeah, it is very.
32:51But he's very good at that, too.
32:52Mick, that's like one of his strengths, I think.
32:54And that management strengths is finding those players,
32:56those diamonds in the rough for those guys that are sort of underutilized
33:00other places that come in here and for a good price tag come in
33:03and really perform well, like they're very good at that.
33:05But they need to stretch what they're able to do.
33:08Maybe get a little uncomfortable this summer and spend that money on players
33:12and take risks where you can come in and somebody's going to pay off big time
33:15and be a huge performer for you.
33:17And you're going to have to probably overpay for a player or two like that.
33:20I think they're going to prioritize the center position.
33:23Yeah, they have to.
33:24I mean, they have to.
33:25I think they have to get somebody in,
33:27especially if they think Zach is a winger and they can move
33:30Charlie Coyle down the second line center, bring somebody in.
33:33That can be that like you develop in part or the whole time.
33:36Yes, absolutely.
33:37And that's the best way to do it is have two frontline guys like that.
33:42Maybe have him slide down a third line center as he's learning on the job
33:45and he's healing and whatever.
33:47But I think he's got the talent that eventually he'll be up there, too.
33:49But I don't think he's quite there yet.
33:50J.J.
33:51Lopilato, as says, is close to seeing in this.
33:54You make you cut.
33:55You touched on this earlier, but this reinforces it.
33:57You said as close to seeing Bobby or split the or being a demon
34:01that was the difference.
34:02But McDavid is easily the greatest on O is dominance
34:04and controlling the last two games is or like.
34:06And I never put anyone in that category.
34:08Remember, Gretzky's teams were loaded.
34:11Gretzky is the best player I've ever seen at using the other four skaters on the ice.
34:17Yeah, I mean, you know.
34:20A lot of players have been great at that.
34:22Gretzky is not the first centerman to pull up at the top of the circle
34:26and curl back and look for the trailer.
34:28Yeah, he he might be the first player I've ever seen run a power play
34:32from below the goal line.
34:33But just his innovative,
34:39creative mindset, not being hampered by traditional ways of thinking.
34:45And, you know, that is really where his superstar was.
34:48Athletically, he was good.
34:51Yeah, it was it was up here where he was all world.
34:54And and, you know, I think the game has become
34:59more and more difficult to transcend
35:02with all of the coaching and video and thinking and thoughtfulness
35:07that goes into playing.
35:08I also think that stifles creativity.
35:11So Boston has a wonderful talent.
35:13And David Pasternak, who invents hockey every every time he goes down
35:17the ice, is a little like Marc Savard in that regard.
35:21They just have original thoughts and do it their way.
35:23And it's fun to watch him really does convobulate opponents.
35:26The way he picked apart Carolina's man to man one night was hilarious.
35:30You know, he just goes toward a guy and they shift in what they do.
35:33He goes to the other guy, he gets them confused.
35:35The next thing you know, he's roofing the buck.
35:37And it's like they're like, what just happened?
35:39I mean, special players come along once in a blue moon.
35:42It's fun to watch them play because they kind of take all the thinking
35:46that goes on behind the bench and turn it on its ear.
35:48And McDavid does this
35:51with a combination of of unprecedented
35:54explosive speed on his skates.
35:57And I mean, I remember seeing great skaters.
36:01And when as a kid, Yvonne Conway blowing his way down the ice,
36:05I mentioned Perot on a turn, one of the most powerful skaters I've ever seen,
36:10or obviously with his ability to change speeds and never be caught.
36:15And but McDavid makes hockey fun in the traditional sense of
36:22just seeing a guy who just goes out there with pure joy
36:25and just and just completely loves the game
36:29and has the ability to make special things happen
36:32because of his extraordinary talent.
36:36And his confidence to use it.
36:37It's just hilarious and fun to watch.
36:40So glad we have him around.
36:41So glad I'm around to watch him play and to stir the drink of the series.
36:46That that that I love.
36:47No, this was this.
36:49People were talking about how this was like a disaster scenario for the NHL
36:53because Florida is a nontraditional Sunbelt team, like, you know,
36:58not a huge market down there.
37:00And Edmonton, obviously, is in the hinterlands
37:03of Alberta and a Canadian team and that, you know, media wise,
37:07it wasn't going to be as big a draw as some other things.
37:09And there's no way that's true, because they got Conor McDavid,
37:13the face of the entire league, into the biggest showcase
37:17that the NHL has, you know, the Stanley Cup final.
37:20And he's doing his thing.
37:23He is showing off for everybody.
37:24He's showing how good he is.
37:25And casual hockey fans watch the Stanley Cup final.
37:28And a lot of them are probably getting introduced to this greatness
37:31because they don't watch many Edmonton Oilers games for one of the first time.
37:34So and it brings out the best in a player like that
37:37when he's playing for a company this close.
37:38So it's been fun to watch and I'm glad he's there as well.
37:42And hopefully, like I said, the last game or two of that series
37:46lives up to what we saw in game five, because that was just awesome playoff hockey.
37:49Mick, thank you very much for joining us.
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38:43Mick, thank you very much for joining us.
38:46Everybody else out there, thanks for listening.
38:48We'll see you at the rink.