Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty and guests Mick Colageo and Mark Divver discuss the Bruins last couple of losses, the seemingly soft mental makeup of the team and what could happen between now and the 4 Nations Faceoff break looming in a couple of weeks. All that, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Poke the bear is brought to you by price picks and the game time app and welcome into poke
00:08the bear.
00:09Episode 300 presented by prize fix in game time tickets.
00:13My name is Connor Ryan and we are joined once again by the esteemed, the ever knowledgeable
00:19Ty Anderson of 98 feathers.
00:21What's up Ty?
00:22How are you doing?
00:23What's going on today?
00:24How are we feeling?
00:26Not doing great.
00:27Uh, when you look at the way the Bruins are playing tie, uh, in honor of episode 300,
00:32much like, uh, the Persian, uh, messenger that was kicked in the chest by Gerard Butler
00:38in the famous, uh, motion picture 300.
00:41I think we're going to carry a similar vibe of just routinely getting kicked in the chest
00:47into a pit of despair.
00:48I think that's going to be the main theme I'm going to aim for to celebrate this episode.
00:52Given the way the Bruins are playing, are you in the same boat as me or are you on a
00:57little bit of a different wavelength there?
00:58Yeah.
00:59I mean, like what's good, like what's good to sort of talk about and to acknowledge with
01:06this team.
01:07I mean, they're, they are playing so poorly that they're like playing poorly.
01:13And then you're like realizing things that you didn't realize in game, like on your train
01:17ride home or when you watch it for a second time, if you have the stomach to watch it
01:22for a second time, uh, you're noticing things that are just horrendous, um, and just nothing
01:29is going their way.
01:30Um, and you know, it's kind of like this, this week is kind of a microcosm of the season
01:35in a lot of ways where, you know, your unpredictability has become predictable, right?
01:42And that's, that's a dangerous game for a team and for a GM when you want to know what
01:47you have and you just have no idea.
01:50And I think Don Sweeney right now has no idea what he has.
01:55Um, and you know, it's, it's too late in the year to be doing this stuff.
02:00It's too late in the year to be, to be losing to Buffalo the way you lost to Buffalo.
02:07Um, and then you lose to Winnipeg and it's like, you're competitive, right?
02:11And in a matter of 66 seconds, you go from holy shit, good finish, most important period
02:18of the year here to wow, what an embarrassment, like, like we're still asking these questions
02:24and we're still having these problems.
02:26I think it's pretty clear what they got to do at this point.
02:29And this is just, I think this week, especially, you know, like they have found a way to make
02:34it feel like tomorrow against New York Rangers, an important game, like it doesn't matter.
02:40Like, like it just, none of this matters anymore.
02:42It feels like, and it's really their own doing that they've lost the benefit of the doubt.
02:47They've earned zero trust.
02:50And here we are just waiting for the next embarrassing, humiliating sort of loss or
02:55sequence for this team, because right now they're never ending.
02:58It feels like.
02:59Yeah.
03:00And it almost feels like it's a testament to this team in terms of the, you know, the
03:04expectations of what they've showcased so far this year, that as you said, this whole
03:10week was not a blip or like a time in which things have bottomed out.
03:15This is par for the course of what this team has been.
03:18I think literally last week you, you beat those two teams in Ottawa and the Avalanche,
03:24you know, two games, you gut it out after the vibes were not great after you lose that
03:28one sided game on the road to New Jersey.
03:31But you win those two games, Zdorov's like, Oh, you guys are writing this off.
03:34Like, I want to play playoff hockey, saying all the right things.
03:38All of us are looking at that team though, and being like, when's the next shoe going
03:41to drop?
03:42Right.
03:43Even if you're saying all the right things, even if you have that mindset, we've seen
03:46time and time again, where this team just crumbles in those situations.
03:50So losing to Buffalo, not much of a surprise, like embarrassing.
03:54You lose to the worst team in the East, but you drop that game in embarrassing fashion.
03:59And then again, same as the game against Winnipeg, where you already give yourselves a little
04:04margin for error, right?
04:05If you like go take care of business, beat Buffalo, like you should in a game that by
04:09the way, every team behind you or in front of you in the standings lost.
04:14So you ruined that opportunity, you fumble that game away.
04:17But if you did beat Buffalo, and you lose to Winnipeg, then you're like, Ah, all right,
04:21well, now this team clue kind of know what they are there.
04:24They're going to struggle in these teams, but they're staying in the in the mix or staying
04:27in the picture.
04:28Then you play Winnipeg, you have no margin for error, and you just let go of the rope.
04:33And maybe every time like I say, I'm not surprised, I'm always surprised at the manner in which
04:37they continue to let these games slip away.
04:40Like, it's a new calamity every single time right of like, give up a power play goal was
04:46at 11 second or you know, what under 30 seconds after Lynn Tom's goal, Laura has 11 seconds
04:53and then one and then 106 is when the fourth goal happens.
04:56Yeah, yeah.
04:57So and then you have Laura having that awful play in front of the net, like they're finding
05:01new ways to carry out like the same script that we've seen time and time again, they're
05:05like, the Bruins in 2024 25 are like the 48 sequel to land before time where it's going
05:12to follow the same premise, and it's pretty tired script and no one likes it.
05:17But they're going to just tweak something here and there to get you to that same endpoint
05:20in which this team is, you know, letting these leads slip away snowball, you know, and just
05:26play uncompetitive hockey.
05:27So it's not surprising at this point.
05:31And because of that, I feel like everyone should be in the same boat right of like,
05:35the path has to be decided at this point, like, I don't know why they're not making
05:39any adjustments right now, they're probably rolling up the same lineup on Saturday against
05:43the Rangers.
05:44But what else do we need to see at this point?
05:47Well, I mean, and now you're seeing the worst, the worst result of all, I think in terms
05:52of the team, and what's happening here is that, let's go back to that game, that January
05:59fifth game against the Islanders.
06:02You know, you give them life, and they win that game, right?
06:06The Islanders came into town for that game, losers in four out of their last five games
06:12overall.
06:13They have now won nine out of 11 games since that win against the Bruins.
06:17You're now the team that helps kickstart teams that are chasing you, you're kickstarting
06:22their hot runs.
06:24Think about the Columbus Blue Jackets, they started to put together after that game where
06:28they came in, and they beat the Bruins, and they got Montgomery fired, they sort of put
06:31together like shortly after that, you're now the launching pad for other teams to get their
06:36game going.
06:37Right.
06:38And that's that's another part of this that I think is really sort of, I think, underplayed
06:41or under discussed, whatever you want to say, like, they are such a mess that other teams
06:45now are licking their lips when the Bruins come to town, or when they're coming to Boston.
06:51That is the complete opposite of what this franchise has been for over a decade, right?
06:58That teams come in here and they feel good about coming in here, they feel good about
07:02you coming, you know, or the Bruins coming to their building, like, no matter what you
07:06got going on, you can rely on the Bruins to help spring your team, or, you know, and that's
07:12what sucks, right?
07:13Like, like, now, now I have to look back at that win against Tampa, right?
07:17And go, well, they didn't have Brayden Point.
07:20Well, you know, the sentence didn't have who was it, Josh Norris missed that game in Boston,
07:25right?
07:26Well, you know, Colorado trades Miko Ronson and plays a game 12 hours later.
07:30It's like, when that happens, you find ways to then, you know, retroactively nullify your
07:37good wins, which is which is the biggest problem for this team right now is that you just can't
07:41feel good about anything they're doing right now across the board.
07:44There's nothing to feel good about.
07:46And this is where we've talked about this in the past, right?
07:49Like that sticky middle ground of you're not a contender, but you're not a rebuilder.
07:54Like this is the worst element that comes with that is that you are just you're like,
08:00well, you know, you have Potras playing at least like, like, there's nothing that you
08:05can feel good about right now.
08:06I think if you're the Bruins, you know, even the thing you want to feel good about David
08:10Posnack and Morgan Geeky, okay, well, well, only one of those guys is signed beyond this
08:14year.
08:15And who the hell knows what's going to happen with the other guy?
08:17You just you just you know, nothing about this team, 53 games into the season.
08:21It's just it's impossible.
08:23Yeah.
08:24And I think we even look at like, listen, there have been what, 13, 14 games now in
08:29which the Bruins have lost by three or more goals, which like it feels like in years past,
08:33it'd be like three or four that are like that where you're like chopping up like I'll burn
08:37the tape.
08:38Fuck it.
08:39That's not good.
08:40Right.
08:41But they happened very rarely.
08:42They've happened so many times this year.
08:44But I also feel like when you look at how poorly the Bruins have played, yes, they've
08:48had a lot of really uncompetitive games against good teams, the Devils, Stars, Carolina.
08:53I feel like that loss on Tuesday was like the the breaking point, right of like when
08:58you look at opportunities after you declare on Saturday that like, oh, you guys are writing
09:02us off, like we're still playing play of argue, we're confident to then go to Buffalo, a team
09:07that has been a laughingstock for over a decade now is the worst team in the Eastern
09:12Conference in a play like that.
09:15And what should have been, again, another get right game for your team to get rolling
09:20there.
09:21And when you look at the opportunity where you've dug yourself into such a hole where
09:23now we're not even into February and every game, Bruins have to look at the standings.
09:28You see that teams like Tampa Bay, Montreal, the Rangers all lose.
09:33And you submit like an uncompetitive performance in that game.
09:37Like that's I think has probably has to be the worst loss of the year in terms of if
09:42you want us to take you seriously, you take care of business in that game.
09:45I don't care if it's you have to win for three in overtime and it's an ugly game, what have
09:50you.
09:51You survive in advance through good teams do to no show against Buffalo.
09:54It's like it feels like literally we're wasting our time in terms of looking at waiting for
09:59this team to prove us wrong.
10:00And listen, Ty, I would love to be proven wrong.
10:04I would love for this team to make the playoffs and have a promo of us and Evan and everyone
10:10else trashing this team for playing like crap for months on end.
10:14I would love to be featured in a promo like that.
10:16I'd love for them to prove us wrong.
10:18But what have we seen that that states the case otherwise that this team should be taken
10:23seriously because I don't see it.
10:25I wish I could see something.
10:27I don't.
10:28Yeah, no.
10:29The only reason you feel that way is that you're a fan of the team, which I'm not going
10:32to begrudge anybody for feeling that way.
10:34But you know, you mentioned like just getting something right.
10:39Feeling good about something.
10:41I would have taken any win over Buffalo.
10:43I go back to that that late December game in twenty eighteen Bruins at Buffalo.
10:49I think Sean Corrali when Sean Corrali had the O.G.
10:52Yeah.
10:53But that was like that was the springboard for them.
10:54They got their shit together after that point.
10:56And it was like, OK, that was the moment you're still waiting for that moment with
11:01this team, you know, like like, OK, so so winning against Florida and Tampa was not
11:07the moment.
11:08OK.
11:09Should be the moment.
11:10It's not.
11:11OK.
11:12Beating Ottawa and and Colorado, Colorado.
11:16Not the moment.
11:17OK.
11:18That should be like you're running out of moments where you can look at it and go, OK,
11:21you feel good.
11:22But now and now, Connor, even if they let's say they rattle off three out of four here,
11:27they're going to the break.
11:28OK, then they're going to break for two weeks.
11:30All right.
11:31Good luck with that momentum.
11:32Good luck.
11:33Keep that momentum.
11:34Like this is a spot they've worked themselves into.
11:36And yeah, the path should be clear at this point.
11:39It should be clear what they do.
11:40They should sell.
11:41There's no you.
11:44You've played fifty three games.
11:45You're going to play what another.
11:49Another ten before the deadline, basically.
11:52I think eleven total games before March 7th.
11:54So so.
11:55Yeah.
11:56So and it doesn't get any easier.
11:58You come back out of the break, you get Anaheim, but then you're like right back into the thick
12:03of it.
12:04Right.
12:05I think even if they win, even if they go, let's say seven and four, I'm still not I'm
12:09still not buying.
12:10I'm not.
12:11And this is the perfect opportunity to reset, to get get out of some contracts if you can.
12:19You know, like like this is where the decision sorry, the decision is obvious at this point,
12:26in my opinion.
12:28And there's no reason to think otherwise.
12:30And if you do, that's great.
12:32But right now, I look at the Bruins team as a team that has a lot of hope.
12:36Hope is a great it's a great thing to have.
12:39It's not a great way to manage a team, right?
12:41You can't manage a team going well.
12:43If Swayman gets hot and the defense stops turning it over and we get some scoring like
12:48when your ifs start to pile up, it's like, OK, no, no, no, no.
12:52That's a lottery ticket.
12:53We're not taking that.
12:54And that's how I think the Bruins should feel right now.
12:56Yeah, exactly.
12:57It does feel like the path has to be decided.
12:59We'll talk more into this episode about options for the team, both for in the coming months
13:04and also looking ahead to the offseason because there's some news about the salary cap.
13:08But before we do that, Ty, take a quick break here from our friends over at PrizeFix.
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15:19Ty, when you look at this team, and I think we will have quite a few months, unfortunately,
15:26this spring to dissect and diagnose what went wrong for this team, what they need to do
15:30moving forward.
15:31But when you look at just where the expectations were going into this season and where they
15:37are right now, where, as you said, it feels like we all know the path, but it's almost
15:40like the top brass is just frozen in terms of like knowing what to do.
15:47How do you think they got to this point?
15:49What do you think has been the, has there been one or two main things or it is a comedy
15:54of errors that have all kind of piled up that leads to where they are in this spot?
15:58I mean, I think it's a doomsday of what we projected as sort of the worst case scenario
16:03for this team back in July and August when we were talking was like, they don't have
16:07enough scoring.
16:08And I think, you know, when you, when you go up to the podium in July and you say, yeah,
16:16we let Dubrovsk and JVR and Heinen, we let them all walk.
16:19But, you know, Patra, Merkulov and Lyosel are going to take that next step.
16:23It's like, OK, then you got to do that.
16:25You got to do that.
16:27It's one thing to say it.
16:29It's another thing to do it right.
16:30And it feels like we just, we haven't seen those guys enough.
16:34And I'm at the point, Connor, where I am, I am fed up with not seeing them.
16:39I'm just, I'm fed up with not seeing those guys here.
16:44The last little bit here, Lyosel has four goals and 11 points in his last nine games
16:48in the minors.
16:50Merkulov has four goals and 11 points in his last eight games in the minors.
16:55Any player can sniff a call up up here.
16:57I thought for sure we would wake up on Friday to the AHL transaction wire.
17:03One of, if not both guys would be up here.
17:06Not the case.
17:07Looks like the only change for tomorrow is that Michael Callahan is going in for Parker
17:11Waltherspoon.
17:12Great.
17:13Whatever.
17:14This team can't score.
17:15They can't score.
17:16They haven't been able to score all year.
17:18Do you know that last night against Winnipeg was the 12th time this season that the Bruins
17:24finished a game with zero five on five goals.
17:29It that it's now half their, their five on five offense has maxed out at one goal or
17:33fewer over 22 times a season, 22 games where that that's, that's just under half where
17:41they have had at the most one five on five goal.
17:45And when your power play sucks, that's a problem.
17:47Their power play scored.
17:48That's, that's great.
17:49They got a shorty last night.
17:50That's great.
17:51Five on five.
17:52They are punch lists.
17:53They have no attack five on five.
17:56And here's another stat for you since the game in Jersey, they have had over 243 minutes
18:03of five on five play over that span.
18:07They have five, five on five goals, four of which from Morgan Geeky and the other for
18:11Mason Lowry.
18:13They don't have enough offense.
18:15And so for me, that's where it comes back to.
18:17And it comes back to the same problems that we raised as a potential doomsday back in
18:21July and August.
18:23We all saw it, the bruise and see it somehow the bruise and see what we all saw as what
18:27could be a fatal flaw in this team.
18:30And I think it's proven to be exactly that for this team.
18:32Yeah.
18:33And I even think you look at it right where I think the, the major miscalculation is this
18:38team again, having, I think their, their cranium rearranged by the Florida Panthers the last
18:44few years has just completely messed up in terms of their outlook of roster building
18:48is they built a team they think is good for the playoffs, but with evident holds that
18:52I think we all saw.
18:53Right.
18:54Like you saw not having Jake the brusque there and being like, this team is short one or
18:59two middle six scores at the very least.
19:02Right.
19:03Like, and I think you look at those, those areas where this team can't score, but man,
19:09it's tough to find like silver lining in the season because like everything has gone wrong.
19:13As you said, because I thought this team was going to be hard pressed to score, but they
19:17were going to be top 10 and PK top 10 and goals against, because your goaltending was
19:23going to be solid.
19:24And especially the defense in front of them, we're going to be a solid.
19:27And it's not even like they've been average.
19:29They have been bad.
19:30Like they are making bad reads.
19:32They cannot protect the low slot.
19:34They cannot protect grade a ice.
19:36They're making mistakes.
19:37They're not getting bailed out nearly as much, but I also think like, Oh, people look at
19:41the defense regressing.
19:42And I think they focus a lot of that on Swayman and corporate solo.
19:46And like, I don't think Swayman has been good this year, right?
19:49He hasn't like, he's had a few stretches, but not nearly enough and he needs to be better.
19:53And I'm not going Defcon one for Swayman in terms of this year and everything like that.
19:58But the defense in front of him has been putrid and it's been, it was bad last year and they
20:03would just build out because both him and Omar were going sicko mode every single night.
20:08But like the personnel, the scheme, the coaching, the, the player, like all of it is just has
20:15rotted.
20:16And I think that is the worst part of it.
20:18It's like, and maybe that's why also you're not getting any moves from the Bruins.
20:22Cause they're like in a state of shock as to what this team is because like they have
20:27no identity.
20:28They have very few strengths.
20:29You can, you know, hang your hat on that you can expect for them to, to, to rely on in
20:34these games.
20:35Like they don't have the personnel or the hockey IQ or the talent to play disciplined
20:40hockey every night because they, they've shown time and time again, they can't do it.
20:46And you can't rely on David Pasternak to bail you out every single game.
20:48Like it's, and even if, if that is the case and David Pasternak, by some miracle of God
20:53went and had 48 points in the last 22 games or something insane like that, you still have
20:59a busted ass roster.
21:00That's still a broken system.
21:01Like it's however, like, you know, what is this team's identity?
21:06Like what is this team?
21:09It is like, it is bad than identity.
21:12Yeah.
21:14It's, it is such a mess when you look at just the way this team has so few things that you
21:19can look at, even like, you know, last season, man, it's crazy how much things have shifted
21:25from last year where like, you look at when they lost to the Panthers and that was probably
21:30the most, when you look at mapping out the longterm of going into an off season, being
21:34like this team's, I think they're going to be okay.
21:37And that's not always the case when you lose in the playoffs.
21:40Like there's from what you look at ahead to the off season, to the doom and gloom that
21:44comes from it.
21:46Last year, it's like, all right, you gave Florida a pretty tough series.
21:49You went around, show some resiliency guys, step up.
21:52You have a lot of players that you think are building into that next score.
21:56Swainman looks like the guy, you got a bunch of cap space.
21:59You're feeling good.
22:00Sure.
22:01It wasn't the case in 22, 23, where you're like, wow, this team, this is about to, it's
22:04about to be a rough summer.
22:06And even the year before he was to Carolina, when that team was kind of up and down, don't
22:10know if Bergeron was coming back this year.
22:12It's like, all right, we got something to build upon.
22:14And now it's like you go into this off season and you're like, what do I have in this team?
22:20Like how can we retool it?
22:22And as you said, like there's ways to do it if you're aggressive now, but it ain't going
22:26to be easy.
22:27You're not like looking at, no, we just need to like sign Brock Besser and like, you know,
22:31just hope for no one got to bounce back and we're good to go.
22:34Like you've got issues all across his lineup.
22:37It's not one easy fix or two or three.
22:40Like it is a team that the guts of this roster are, you have to switch some things out because
22:46it's a mess right now.
22:47Yeah.
22:48And, and, you know, go back to the, you know, they built a team and, and I think they were
22:53very much like, no, no, we'll be like how we were in 2010, 11, where we had a great
22:57defense.
22:58Look at 2010, 11, like they still had Michael Ryder, you know, like you had him in like
23:04a third line role by the end of the year.
23:06You had Nathan Horton, you had Luchich, a prime Luchich, you know, Marsham broke through
23:12as a rookie and was, it was a 20 goal score for your team.
23:15Like, like that team, you had, you still had offensive players.
23:18Yeah.
23:19You had the south defense headlined by Chara Seidenberg and Boychuk and Ference, like you
23:24had in McQuaid broke through obviously that year as well.
23:26Like you had those guys.
23:27Yeah.
23:28But you still had players that could score and could put the puck in the neck, you know,
23:31like, like, so I think internally the Bruins to say, well, we built a team like 2010, 11.
23:36No, no.
23:37You built a team like 1990, like, like you don't, you don't have nearly enough nineties
23:42to actually to, to, to good of a compliment for them because they, they made the cup final
23:46that year.
23:47But like you built a team that was like, we're going to win games two to one.
23:50And then it's so illuminating when you watch them play, you know, this sample I mentioned,
23:55right.
23:56Where, where it's the Jersey game to the, to the Winnipeg game last night.
24:00Look at Jersey and look at Winnipeg and look at how they outskill you on basically every
24:06line.
24:07Colorado.
24:08Yeah.
24:09Like you, you just, you, you hope to break even on, on the ships where Pasternak is not
24:15out there.
24:16Like last night they were only creating when Pasternak was out there when he was off the
24:20ice.
24:21They were lucky to even gain the attacking zone.
24:23Like they made it worse than they did a year ago.
24:27And it's so frustrating because Don Sweeney was up there on May 17th talking about how
24:31they got to help Pasternak.
24:32They got to get more secondary scoring.
24:34They got to do this.
24:35They got to do that.
24:36And they did nothing.
24:37They did nothing to address that.
24:38They fell into the identity politics that they consider very comfortable and very safe
24:42for them and their fan base.
24:44Get big guys who can hit, get big guys who can fight like, okay, that's awesome.
24:50Do you want to sell tickets?
24:51You want to win games?
24:52Do you want to sell jerseys and fight club shirts?
24:54Do you want to win hockey games?
24:56It feels like they are so obsessed with the identity of we can't get pushed around.
25:01Okay.
25:02Well now guess what?
25:03Now, now you're losing games five one.
25:05So who gives a shit if you get pushed around?
25:07You can't score.
25:08You're getting pushed around another way now.
25:10It's not physically it's on the, it's on the scoreboard.
25:12You can't hang with pretty much half the league because you don't have enough speed or skill.
25:16And so this is the problem with this team every year.
25:19And this is the big reason why I don't think Don Sweeney is as good or as bad as, as people
25:26on either side of the fence will say, but I'm at the point where I'm open to bringing
25:31in a whole new brain trust now, because I think that you are way, you are in way too
25:36deep with the identity of what your franchise was 50 years ago that you've lost sight of
25:41what, where the game is trending now.
25:44And this is, this is a firm belief that I have Connor.
25:48You watch the Stanley cup playoffs and you're going to have teams like the Islanders and
25:54like the blues and you know, like teams that, that, wow, they play a hard brand of hockey,
25:59but what wins at the end of the day is talent.
26:03Talent wins.
26:04Now it's not look at Vegas, look at Florida, look at the Colorado, the Colorado avalanche,
26:09look at Tampa talent wins being tough, being stout.
26:14Like that.
26:15Those are, those are, are, are good qualities, but you need talent and the Bruins are woefully
26:20short on talent in my opinion.
26:22Yeah.
26:23It almost feels like when this team and like the ownership and top brass, we're looking
26:27at like the identity they wanted to build.
26:30They all watched the Florida series the last two years and almost feels like they watched
26:34those games and then went on to frigging grok or some AI thing.
26:38I was like, what are the Florida Panthers good at?
26:41And that dipshit computer was like, and they saw like Chuck fighting Pasternak and like
26:46Florida is tough.
26:47They're very mean.
26:48They were meanie pants to you.
26:49The last two years you got to get big and it's like if you watch Florida and they've
26:53got tough players, they've got like guys like a Chuck and they've got guys like Bennett.
26:57We all know that.
26:58And that's like the flashy things that people notice.
27:00These guys that will, uh, bug the shit out of you and we'll get under your skin and all
27:06those things.
27:07And they, they do what needs to be done to win games.
27:09But you look at that forward core and like it's Carter for Hagee, like a physical player
27:15is like even Sam Bennett, like a, a imposing figure is Evan Rodriguez and imposing guy.
27:22No.
27:23But what they have all across the lineup is guys that will skate their asses off.
27:27They will hound you when you have the puck on your stick and they have the skill that
27:31every time you fuck up, they will bury you and they will do that time and time and time
27:36again.
27:37And that's what wins in the playoffs.
27:38You look at like guys on the Bruins who have done well in the playoffs last couple of years,
27:43like Jake DeBrusque, not the most physical guy, but you know what, when he's on his game
27:48and listen, I know that wasn't every single game, but why he was a pretty steady playoff
27:53guy at times for this team, because he moves his feet, he hounds pucks, and he can make
27:57plays happen when time and space and ice, especially dries up in the playoffs.
28:03And when you have a team like Florida and they have those guys that have that skill,
28:06have that will to, to win puck battles, hound you, they will, they will kill you that way.
28:12The Bruins, even if they want to try to win games to one, they don't have those opportunities.
28:16Those will, those will spread up with this team two or three times a game, but that five
28:21and five and at the power play, and when you don't bury them, oh, you should, you should
28:25out of luck.
28:26Like Florida and Vegas and all these teams generate 10 to 15 because off in most of them
28:32in the playoffs is off of just forcing turnovers, picking off passes and doing those things,
28:37doing the hard work that needs to be done to win playoff games.
28:41The Bruins just don't have the horses to do that.
28:43Like it's not even saying like these guys are, it's, it's the way the roster is built.
28:46Like they can't adhere to that state, that same style of play.
28:51If this team was to play Florida and they somehow beat them, it'd be a lot of what you
28:56saw in that Florida game down there a few weeks ago.
28:58And you'd have to be posture, not going insane and swimming, bailing you out and just some
29:04pucks going your way like that.
29:05And that is not, again, to what you said earlier of like building your entire outlook on hope.
29:11That's not, that's not good enough.
29:12You don't have, you don't have the people in place to do that.
29:14So it feels like they looked at like the flashy or just the baseline of what Florida is.
29:20You look at the NHL, you need speed, you need skill up front.
29:24And like, you can have that in a, in the frame of a six foot skater, like a Sam Bennett or
29:30Evan Rodriguez.
29:31And if they move their fucking feet and they can force turnovers, they will make plays
29:36in the playoffs.
29:37Like it's right.
29:38This, I mean, this is a trend now.
29:40This is not like an outlier, the Florida hasn't reinvented the wheel, but like, that's what
29:45they're good at.
29:46Yeah.
29:47I was watching that series last year, Bruins and Panthers, like, yeah, Sam Bennett punches
29:52Brad Marsh and in the face, but did Sam Bennett, was he the X factor in that series?
29:57No, it was Anton Lundell and Evan Rodriguez.
30:00One of those guys was the first round pick.
30:02The other one is a complimentary, complimentary speed and skill guy who can, who can hack
30:06it with your top line talents or, and can, can move up the lineup in a pinch, right?
30:11Like that's how you got beat a year ago, along with Barkov and Reinhardt, who, by the way,
30:18their talent, big, big physical guys, right?
30:20No, Sam Reinhardt, it's a selkie like guy on the wing because he's a big brawny guy.
30:25No, it's because he skates his ass off and make plays, which is turnovers.
30:29And he's, they're phenomenal players in that regard.
30:31Sorry, I cut you off, but no, no, but, but like, and then you go back, like, if you want
30:35to tell me that they lost in 2023 because they weren't prepared to get punched in the
30:39mouth.
30:40Yeah.
30:41I'll give you something there.
30:42I'll agree with that.
30:43But guess what?
30:44That last season's team, it was not a result of, of a lack of toughness.
30:47It was, they didn't generate enough offensively and everybody could, could see that.
30:52Why couldn't they see that?
30:54Why couldn't, why were they doing the same thing that they were?
30:57It's like they were trying to atone for not having cap space in 2023 and tackling the
31:02problems that they had in 2023, in 2024, when they weren't the same set of problems that
31:07they had.
31:08It was different.
31:09It was different.
31:10And, and so that's, that's where, that's where I stand on it, where I'm like, I just want
31:14new brains.
31:15I want new minds.
31:16I want new people looking at talent, evaluating talent.
31:19And listen, the Bruins have some people in their front office, in my opinion, in their
31:23hockey ops who are very smart people.
31:26They, they see the game, they see where it's going, but I worry that their natural default
31:32at the top of the organization is, well, our fans expect a certain amount of toughness.
31:37It's like, no, your fans want, want to win one championship in 52 years.
31:42That would eat, which eat with each passing year looks more and more like a once in a
31:47lifetime outlier on the back of Tim Thomas, more than anything else.
31:52Like they, they, yes.
31:54Did you bully the Canucks in 2011?
31:56Yes, you did.
31:57You also had a game seven shutout from your goaltender.
32:00Kind of important.
32:01I think kind of important that you had that kind of performance in a game seven.
32:05It's just, it's just, it's so maddening that, that they fall, they continue to fall into
32:12the identity of the big, bad Bruins when the game has continues to go further and further
32:18away from that.
32:19The Panthers were big and bad.
32:21Yes.
32:22But the top of their roster has speed, skill, smarts, and talent.
32:26And that's what the Bruins need more of.
32:28They need more talent.
32:29And to your point, like the aggressiveness of moving guys out, like you're going to have
32:35to pull a Houdini here.
32:36I think with a, with a few of these kinds of contracts and hope that some team bites
32:40or that you can get fair value because yes, the cap is going up, which we'll talk about,
32:45but it's going up for everybody.
32:47Not just you.
32:48You're, you're, you're not the only one that's going to have cap space and weaponize that
32:51cap space.
32:52So that's going to be a challenge to them as well.
32:54Bruins going to be walking in with some shroot bucks thinking they're going to like have
32:57outbid everyone.
32:58It's like, no, that is not how these things are going these days.
33:01You know what's funny though?
33:03It may age some of their contracts better.
33:06It might, it might.
33:07But at the same time, like this is, this is the worst spot to be in right now because
33:12like you, you have all these needs, you have talent and you have a lot of guys that have
33:17no movement clauses, no trades, modified, no trades, modified trade protections.
33:22And what's their, what's their reason to waive it?
33:25Right.
33:26Like what's their re what, what, what, Oh, you want to trade me?
33:30Okay.
33:31I like it here.
33:32I built a house here, so I'm staying like, yeah, it's a lot of that that could be on
33:35this team as well.
33:36Yeah.
33:37There's a lot to weigh there.
33:38Uh, Ty will look a little bit more at the off season and what moves the Bruins need
33:42to make before we do that.
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35:31Ty, in terms of odds and ends here, before we look at the off season, Brad Marchand talked
35:37a little bit about the trade rumors surrounding him.
35:40And I think we've already talked at length about the usual suspects of trade targets,
35:44the, you know, the Fredericks, the Andrew Peaks, the coils, the Carlos, like those guys
35:50even.
35:51With a guy like Marchand, at face value, it makes sense, UFA, a guy that a lot of I think
35:57contending teams would look at and be like, we'll give you a first one, the 24th overall
36:01for a guy to add him for a run.
36:04I think there's a lot of appeal there.
36:05But what do you think the ramifications would be for the Bruins trading Marchand?
36:11Because I look at moving a guy with that voice, especially if like, if you're the Bruins and
36:16you think that you can retool and kind of be back in the thick of things next year or
36:21so.
36:22I do think it's not as easy as like, ah, this year ain't it, let's punt.
36:25And like, I mean, as a captain, this isn't like, like the Flyers trading Giroux a few
36:29years ago, right?
36:30Like there's a lot, I think a lot more at play when it comes to moving a guy like Marchand
36:35and what it means for this team specifically.
36:38Yeah, I think that you sort of, you look at why do they love Marchand so much beyond the
36:46obvious of being one of the greatest players in franchise history?
36:50He is the last remaining link to 2011.
36:54The Bruins obviously cherish 2011.
36:58You look at the way that they had, they had an alumni game at Warrior Ice Arena.
37:04Great event, great fundraiser, Nathan Hardy, you know, that, that whole thing, like, like
37:12it's a great source of pride for the organization and rightfully so.
37:19And they, they protect that, that, that era so strongly.
37:22And I think if you move on from that, okay, well now you have a locker room full of guys
37:26that lost in 2019, the few that still remain from 2019 and guys that were part of the team
37:32that was in 2023, blue, you know, the, the greatest regular season ever.
37:39And so there's value in that voice.
37:41You have new guys as well, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov still finding out where they
37:45fit in the mix, obviously.
37:48And so I think that there's an element there of like, to your point, we are not ready to
37:53not have that kind of voice gone from the room.
37:57I thought it was illuminating, you know, Charlie McAvoy speaks after last night's, after Thursday's
38:03loss.
38:04And he basically says like, you know, he was asked about the trade rumors and how do you
38:08keep the younger guys, how do you keep them centered?
38:11And he goes, well, I really haven't been around that much because I've been injured.
38:13It's like, damn.
38:14Okay.
38:15So if McAvoy's injured and Marshan's a pending UFA, who's the voice helping settle the guys
38:21down?
38:22You know, like, who is that guy?
38:23And so, yes, I know it's an injury and McAvoy will be around more now, obviously assuming
38:27health, but like, you know, if he's, if he's not there, he can't, he can't, he can't lead
38:33like he can't help.
38:34Like, like, and so I think that they have some guys and questions that about guys that
38:38may not be ready to step into that spotlight.
38:40And so I think that it is an issue for this team.
38:45I think, I think that's the biggest thing is that guys just aren't ready.
38:48Like in a perfect world, do you think that Marshan would be the captain at 35 years old,
38:5336 years old?
38:54Like if they had their say, not to say he's not deserving, that's a different story.
38:58He's very deserving.
39:00But if they had it their way, would they have made a player who is a tremendous leader with
39:05or without the C and whose game is at its best when he's an antagonist, would they have
39:10him wear the seat?
39:11That's, that's a question.
39:13Yeah, I think it's so much.
39:15Yeah.
39:16And again, I say that, as you said, not being like Martians, not being a captain, because
39:19like he takes it like his competitiveness, his all these things that have made Martian
39:24the player he is, I think resonate as to why he's the captain and all those things.
39:28But like, it's almost like I feel like the ideal scenario is like he's the A and is damn
39:33good at what he is, and can still like, you know, be that veteran leader, but doesn't
39:38have the, the the weight of that seat where he can still kind of respectfully be the shithead
39:45that makes him such an effective player, right?
39:47Like it's almost like if you had, I'm just spitballing here, if you like drafted like
39:51Rupe Hintz, or someone like that, you know, like, like, five, six, seven years ago, that
39:58have evolved into that leadership role, like you can keep Martian and where he is.
40:03But that being said, you take them out of this mix now with the rust that you have with
40:07the decisions that you've already made.
40:09I think there is a lot of risk to that.
40:11And it's something that it makes it a tougher decision, right?
40:15Beyond like the ties and the history, everything like that with Martian, there's just the ramifications
40:21that all right, if you are retooling, and you are thinking you can make some moves and
40:26get right back at it next year or another year that you know, that there is risk involved
40:32with moving guy like him out of the room that I'm not saying like he leaves and all
40:35of a sudden everything is splintered.
40:38But when you look at this team, and the fact they don't have an identity really right now,
40:41like upheaving, you know, overhauling the one guy that has been a constant who like
40:46in terms of his demeanor, yes, maybe he's not the the top line player he used to be.
40:52But the presence he still has in the leadership is still something that's valid.
40:57And you look at just the departures his team has had.
40:59And we're not even talking about Tara and Bergeron and crazy, but like, you know, we
41:05talked about this yesterday, like the amount of just veterans, NHL veterans who've been
41:10here who've been in these spots where they've been through the ups and downs, they've maybe
41:14have played for shittier teams where stuff isn't going right, knowing what to say, like,
41:19how far would this team be without, you know, with a guy like Pat Maroon, or Foligno or
41:25a Shattenkirk, not saying that on the ice, they're going, this team would also be first
41:29guys are out there.
41:30But you are missing, I think, some of those veteran guys who can have a presence like
41:36Kevin Shattenkirk, the end of last season, it's on his last legs, he retired after a
41:41great career, but that was his last season.
41:44After that game against Toronto, what did everyone talk about?
41:46There's a guy was Kevin Shattenkirk in the speech he gave before the thing.
41:49And I'm sure people can look at that and be like, ah, whatever they're, you know, the,
41:54you know, gassing up the guy or anything like that.
41:58Like that matters in the playoffs in hockey with those guys and the presence they can
42:02have in a room where it's the best team is how you can best control chaos for 60 minutes,
42:08night in and night out, like, right, those guys have a lot of value.
42:11And I think taking Martian out of that mix, there, where the team goes from there, even
42:17if you add talent, and you make some moves, the structure of the team and identity and
42:22the presence, that is something that you'd have to contend with, I think, if you do move
42:26for Martian.
42:27Yeah.
42:28And, and just the loss of leadership the last two years, like it's staggering.
42:32It really is like, like Taylor Hall was a guy who was finding his voice as a leader.
42:37And Taylor Hall was sort of the example of like, Hey, man, I'm buying in.
42:40So everyone's got to buy in, you know, like I'm buying line 35 point guy when I could
42:44go to another team and have 75 points right now.
42:47Right.
42:48Dimitri Orlov was a guy who led by example, you know, he was a player who his style was
42:54something that players could rally around.
42:57Like Nick Foligno obviously goes without saying, you know, that same year, let's go back just
43:02last year, though.
43:03You mentioned Shatner.
43:04You mentioned Pat Maroon.
43:05What about JVR?
43:06You know, a guy who over a thousand games in the league has been on all sorts of teams,
43:11cup teams, rebuilding teams, all of that.
43:14Another guy, in my opinion, is Lena Solmark.
43:17Lena Solmark was a guy who I think his demeanor, his personality, he kept guys loose, you know,
43:25but there was an element there of Lena being like, Lena was a fiercely loyal teammate.
43:30And I think that kind of got lost sometimes just because of how he would like, he didn't
43:34seem like he was, you know, all that.
43:35But like, if you had a question about something that he even thought slightly, you know, shit
43:40on a teammate, he was like, he would shoot it down.
43:44And I think I think like, you know, when times are tough, you need that kind of guy, right.
43:48And I think they have some guys that just either their voices aren't ready for it or
43:52they don't carry as much weight as as they, you know, would like or the Bruins would like,
43:58you know, like you were talking about Martian, right.
44:00And like him wearing the C versus wearing an A, like I and this is not the great, great
44:04example this season, I understand.
44:05But like Chris Kreider, the guy wears an A, doesn't half wear the C to be an absolute
44:11badass MF-er for the Rangers, you know, a lead by example type, you watch how he reacts
44:16when he scores a goal.
44:18And like, you know, you see him coming in the lineup, you're like, ah shit, here we
44:22go.
44:23Like you're in for a tough night with a guy like that.
44:24Like that's kind of Martian, in my opinion, you know, like a different brand of hockey.
44:28Yes.
44:29But ultimately a guy who, you know, defensemen seem to come in and they're like, oh, I'm
44:33in for it tonight.
44:34Like, you know, can he still go to that level when he's wearing the cap, when he's wearing
44:39the C?
44:40Like, again, it's not a knock on him.
44:42It's just you wonder if the Bruins wish that they had another guy in there that could maybe
44:47take some of that pressure off Martian because, you know, I wrote about this for the sports
44:51sub doc.
44:52Ninety five sports dot com.
44:53Like, it feels like Martian is feeling the pressure of everything right now.
44:56He takes three penalties and that Thursday game.
45:00They're all a product of him trying to get the team going.
45:02Right.
45:03And he scores a power play goal.
45:05It's but he's thirty six.
45:07You know, he doesn't have a contract beyond this year.
45:09Like there's a level like to your point, there's a level that that he's probably best served
45:15as a second line energy guy, you know, like scorer.
45:19But but really is like, hey, man, we're flat.
45:21Get going here.
45:22Deliver a hit.
45:23It's hard when you're the captain and like still a top two player on the team, in my
45:28opinion.
45:29Yeah.
45:30No, exactly.
45:31And it is a tough spot to be in.
45:32And one of the Bruins will have to weigh in terms of twenty eleven guys.
45:37Daniel Chara reportedly is back with the Bruins in a adviser role.
45:42Don't know what exactly the role is going to be knowing, you know, covering him for
45:48at least the last couple of years, Chara is not a guy that does things half measure
45:52wise.
45:53Like, I don't think he's a guy that's just going to be showing up at the golf courses,
45:57shaking hands and going to fundraisers like this is a guy that I think can play an active
46:02role in terms of being part of either the front office or something like that.
46:07Before we kind of know the main details of what his role will be, though, I think that's
46:12a I look at what Chara brings and the intensity and the the culture that he set.
46:17That's a guy I think you want being part of if it's the next wave of leadership.
46:21I think that's a guy that's exacting that is knows what I think what wins in today's
46:29NHL.
46:30I think it's a mind you want to have as you're trying to build whatever this next group can
46:33be.
46:34Yeah.
46:35And Chara's guy, he's a culture guy, you know, and he's a guy who, you know, he's even been
46:42involved with like his kids, you know, his kids playing hockey, teaching them, you know,
46:48the way the game should be played, the way that you should treat people within the game,
46:51like like it's a culture hire, you know, and maintain that culture and that sort of what
46:57it takes, that commitment to winning, you know, so so there there's that part of it,
47:03which I which I like.
47:04Yeah. Chara, I mean, he's always seemed like a guy who who would come back to hockey in
47:08some fashion. You know, we'll see the level at which he wants to be involved.
47:13You know, he's forty seven, which is already kind of wild.
47:17But then you realize he played till he was forty five.
47:19So it's like, oh, yeah, that actually tracks.
47:22But but, you know, like but he lives locally.
47:26He's still here. You know, I think I think, you know, that that job, the world is an oyster
47:31for him. You know, it's whatever you want it to be.
47:34You know, you can you can, you know, like you can go out, you can be the GM if you want
47:39to be the team president, like down the road, like whatever the case may be like.
47:42I look at Cam Neely, right?
47:43Cam Neely came in.
47:45What was that? Oh, seven or eight.
47:46And he was the vice president.
47:48And then by 2010 or 2009, he was a team president.
47:52Right. So like you, you step in and this is the start of it.
47:54Right. And so I like the idea.
47:58I like it. It's just a matter of where do you want to take it?
48:01He's not going to be a coach, you know, but if he wants to if he wants to be a front
48:04office guy, the Bruins have basically said, like, he'll have a job whenever he wants it.
48:09It's just what is that job?
48:11Yeah. I don't hate the idea of bringing him in.
48:14I don't hate the idea of bringing in, again, just a guy who understands where the game
48:19is going, understands the physical tools and whatnot, what you need as well.
48:23And I, you know, I I don't know what it can be as an executive.
48:27Right. Because we don't we have no idea.
48:29We have no idea what he would be like.
48:31What is he prioritizing to that nature?
48:33But sharp enough mind where where I feel like he would he would understand his
48:38experiences with the Bruins, but also the Islanders and the capital, seeing what those
48:43franchises are going through at that point and their respective timelines and knowing,
48:48you know, what franchises have to do to keep up with where the game's going.
48:52Yeah, exactly.
48:53I will be fascinating to see where he kind of where he fits into that role and what his
48:59what he does in terms of maybe building this next kind of group and what his input can
49:03be. But a good reason to be the yes, like he'll probably be the GM down the road.
49:07Like I would imagine that's like like that's kind of how these things tend to go.
49:11You bring a guy in, he spends X amount of time, you know, doing this or that, learning
49:16the job, learning the ins and the outs, and then they become a GM or an assistant GM.
49:21I mean, you know, look at Vancouver, right?
49:23Like look at Vancouver's leadership structure where you have Rutherford at the top and
49:28you have the GM, Alvin.
49:32And then but you have the Sardines as like like legit contributors.
49:36Look at Luongo in Florida, same kind of deal.
49:40You have all these guys like like they come in as an advisor and then they become like
49:46the damn second in command before you even know it, you know, and that that's probably
49:50where it's going to trend. I would imagine for a guy like Jar.
49:53He's not going to come in to be like, oh, I like that penalty killer.
49:56Go go trade for him. No, he's going to come in with legit say, I would imagine.
50:00Yeah, no, exactly.
50:01So curious to see where that goes and we get more clarity in the months ahead.
50:06Before we wrap things up, I think we'll talk quite a bit this the rest of this year
50:11about the cap space.
50:13If you haven't heard, Cap's supposed to jump up to what, ninety five point five
50:18million from eighty eight million.
50:21So a huge jump and it's going to keep on going.
50:24They project one hundred and four million and twenty six, twenty seven and one
50:27hundred and thirteen point five million and twenty seven, twenty eight.
50:30So we won't get caught up into targets and all those things, but I think it just
50:35hammers home the point that I say two things for me.
50:37One, a lot of people are going to get paid a lot of money.
50:40So it's not like, again, as you said, it's all going to be you could just, oh, we want
50:44Jack Eichel and we want this guy and like we can now get ransom in this year.
50:48Like that's not going to be the case.
50:49Like contracts are going to be pretty nutty.
50:51But I also think for the Bruins, where you're in this year, everything has gone wrong.
50:56Again, if you go in with a plan of selling off assets now, getting draft picks,
51:02also, and I think right now the Bruins are currently set to have the 13th pick in the
51:06draft. If you can sell off assets, potentially get a top ten pick without being a bottom
51:11out disaster, which is like we can probably label this team as a disaster.
51:16But whatever, it's not been you're not watching a team that is absolutely dreadful.
51:20If they can get a pick like that, free up some money and go into this retool with a
51:26lot of their franchise guys already locked into contracts, which should age really well
51:30right now and have money to acquire, you know, add a player or two.
51:36Again, I don't think that a successful retool for this team, as you saw this past
51:41offseason, it can't all revolve around free agency and just plucking guys up that you
51:45have to be bold with trades, drafting, obviously those things.
51:49But again, when you look at like, you know, other than like the Oilers who are probably
51:54doing backflips now, they can probably re-sign McDavid.
51:57Like if you're the Bruins and you're looking at a retool and the fact the cap's
52:00exploding while you already have so many guys signed, you're in an advantageous spot
52:05that if you are aggressive this offseason, you can get jumpstarted and you can limit
52:09how much this team might be kind of a middling product when you look at just the
52:13landscape around them.
52:15Yeah, I mean, so so there's two ways of looking at the salary cap kind of jumping
52:21up, like it's great for the product, it's great for the league.
52:24It's also can create, you know, remember that 2016 offseason where everyone got paid
52:31and everyone was bad, it was terrible, like nobody was worth the contract that they got.
52:35Like you might have more of that.
52:37And so like that, that's something that I kind of worry about.
52:40Like remember when the NBA exploded their cap and like Timothy Mozgov got the contract
52:45that he got, like it was just disgusting.
52:48You know, like you wonder about those kind of concerns, right?
52:51And so like, you know, there's a way out of it, right?
52:54But but the price of, you know, the price of a brick is going up, right?
52:58Yesterday's price is not today's price for third line talent, fourth line talent.
53:03And that's something that if I'm, you know, as a Bruins observer, as a Bruins
53:09analyst, that is something that scares the shit out of me because there's nothing this
53:14team loves more than third and fourth line talent.
53:17And if that now costs you five and a half million, I'm like, oh, no, because that's
53:22that's how you get bogged down.
53:23It's not paying your stars, you know, for as much as much as people freak out about
53:28what David Pasternak and Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman make, that doesn't look
53:34great and they're going to look good.
53:35Yeah, they're going to look good.
53:36That doesn't sink you nearly as fast as giving, you know, five mil, five and a half,
53:43six, the guys that max out at 17, 18 goals a year.
53:47Like that's that's what can worry me with the cap exploding.
53:51And so it's going to be, you know, it's going to be a shopping spree for a lot of
53:55teams. I'm curious if being a little bit more patient is the way to go versus, you
54:01know, you know, like I always go back to that.
54:03Jesus, what was that? That twenty twenty one, I want to say.
54:07Yeah. Twenty twenty one.
54:08The Bruins had 30 million cap space and they blew it in like an hour and a half.
54:12And you're like, why?
54:13What is Eric Hall?
54:16It was all like, guys, you're like, what, what?
54:18No. Why?
54:19Why? Why are you doing that?
54:20Like and so that's that's going to be the the the the true test, I think, for elite
54:26GMs is like, OK, can we give raises but also stay true to our own structure and
54:32knowing that that we got to bring in talent, but we can't overpay for for middling
54:36talent, so to speak?
54:37Yeah, it's almost like, oh, like they got the money now.
54:40They can like sign Brock Bester for six and a half million.
54:43Buddy, that guy's going for eight and a half.
54:45You like I like Nikolai Ehler, even with some of the flaws in his game.
54:48You don't have he's going for nine and a half million now.
54:51Like, you know, like, yeah, yeah, exactly.
54:54So very interesting dynamics.
54:57The Bruins will have to weigh going into this offseason.
55:01Ty, before we let you go, we're going to read your stuff.
55:03We're going to hear you on the airwaves, all that good stuff.
55:06Yeah, you can find me currently laying in a gutter, dreaming about what could have
55:09been had the Bruins. Yes, Kyle Connor.
55:12Instead of Zach, same brother.
55:13They're both right wings.
55:15Anyways. Yeah, you can you can find me at 98papasportstub.com
55:19also on the air every Saturday morning, 9 to 11 a.m.
55:22on the hockey show on the 98papasportstub.
55:26You can find me there at underscore Ty Anderson online on social media.
55:30All that fun stuff.
55:32That's where I can be found. How about yourself?
55:34Yeah, you can read my stuff over at Boston dot com and the Boston Globe.
55:38We'll have you covered every step of the way this season with recaps,
55:41features, columns, breakdowns and more going into this offseason,
55:45which should be a very busy summer for the Boston Bruins.
55:49And if you want to follow me on Twitter X, whatever you call it these days,
55:52you can at Connor Ryan underscore ninety three.
55:56As we wrap up this episode, episode 300 of Poke the Bear.
56:00It's kind of crazy how much this podcast and channel has taken off
56:04from where we first started.
56:06Unfortunately, the season has not gone according to plan,
56:09but from the good and the bad and a lot more bad than good this year.
56:14Very grateful and thankful for everyone who's listened to myself,
56:19Ty, Evan, all of us lose our minds, go with, you know, ride with the highs.
56:25You commiserate with us when the team is not doing well.
56:28Every step of the way, we appreciate all your guys support.
56:32Very thankful, as crazy as hockey can be, especially in this market.
56:37We don't take for granted how passionate and vocal and supportive
56:42and riled up this fan base can be.
56:45There's not a lot of markets that give a shit about hockey like Bruins fans do.
56:49And for us to talk hockey here and to have all the support.
56:52Very, very, very grateful and thankful for all your guys support.
56:57So there's episode 300 of Poke the Bear.
57:00I'm Connor Ryan. That's Ty Anderson.
57:02You fans have a great rest of your week.