2011-2012 Boston Bruins (Offseason)

[BDL]

For everyone who does not like Jack Edwards, imagine this every time the B's score...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo

 

[stevea20]

Start off playing hard then, poof... everything goes wrong. They simply have not played their best or had any breaks against the Rangers. Too many players not scoring and hitting is way off. Need to get PHYSICAL guys!

Trade deadline is coming. Any thoughts?

 

[BDL]

It's a rough day for me. First and foremost, news has just broken that Peverley's knee injury will have him out 4-6 weeks (3rd degree MCL sprain. Thanks Hal ). This hereby ends any discussions that begin with "The Bruins don't need to trade for anything." Whether it was to fill the void left by Horton's concussion, or to add depth. It doesn't matter now. The B's need a top 6 forward now that Pev is on the shelf.

Secondly, even though the Sox have fallen out of favor with me in recent years, I have ALWAYS been a Tim Wakefield fan. Even when he was pitching in Pittsburgh on the same team that had a pre-roids Barry Bonds, I like the way he played. Today, he announced his retirement after 19 yrs .

Good luck Tim. You were 1 of the good ones.

 

[stevea20]

B's-Wild game just ended. This is now getting ridiculous-they can't score to save themselves. Continualy getting shutout by decent but mediocre teams, and again having trouble with the Wild. I can't remember a time the Bruins have beaten this team. Almost 50 shots and nothing! Again!!
I believe, as others do, that they can't trade for a big name. They need a good role player who can give them a spark like Pevs and Kelly did last year.
One more thing -- SKATE AND HIT!! I'm not seeing enough of that.

 

[BDL]

After a lack luster showing against Minnesota (48 shots, 0 goals), The Bruins have got to be hoping that some of the 10th and 11th ranked teams skid this week before the trade deadline on the 27th. They need a scoring touch. If for no other reason than to keep the other team's top D pairing honest. As it is, you can tell that the the best defensive set ups are taking the ice against the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin line.

So, if you are looking for a short term financial investment, put your money behind Peter Pan bus line. There is going to be a lot of traffic up and down Rte 95. Sure there are gaps that need to be filled. But this is also going to be a time to showcase any chips that they might have. Kampfer and Hamill had their shots and are now back in Providence. Bodnarchuk and Hennesy were called up last week and the Baby B's leading scorer, Camper, was just called up.

All these moves, plus trying to demonstrate Krejci's versatility by moving him to wing (or jump start him), are all "HEY! Look over here!" type decisions. Even signing Boychuk to that 3yr extension stinks of the trade bait that the Sox used to ship Arroyo for Willy Mo Pena (good call on that 1 Theo).

In my opinion, The B's are open to more moves than we'd think. Recent free agent signee, Corvo wouldn't be immune. Remember Morris? The B's turned him into Seidenberg. Pouliot better start showing some consistency. There are no shoot outs in the playoffs. Krejci's production in the playoffs would make him attractive to a Western Conference team trying to get into the top 4. I wouldn't be surprised if Timmy's name was kicked around a little. He has a no trade clause this season, but next year he won't. Would he like to have some input on which tem he could possibly be sent to rather than being at the whim of Cam and Ciarelli?

My final thought is for Kevin Paul DuPont (KPD). Over the weekend he threw out a possible trade scenario, that was... Shall we say... FLIPPING INSANE! His trade scenario was Dougie Hamilton for PK Subban.

WHAT!?!?!?!?

 

[stevea20]

My final thought is for Kevin Paul DuPont (KPD). Over the weekend he threw out a possible trade scenario, that was... Shall we say... FLIPPING INSANE! His trade scenario was Dougie Hamilton for PK Subban.

I agree that you don't want to see Hamilton traded--too much possiblity there. But, wouldn't you just love to see Subban in a bruins sweater?
He's the kind of player that you hate when he's against you but love when he's on your team. Feisty, not afraid to get dirty and his shot is probably only a level down from Chara's. Maybe a package of, say a 1st and 3rd picks with someone like Corvo included?
It'll never happen , of course, Boston and Montreal don't deal with each other, but I thought it was real interesting.

 

[BDL]

My final thought is for Kevin Paul DuPont (KPD). Over the weekend he threw out a possible trade scenario, that was... Shall we say... FLIPPING INSANE! His trade scenario was Dougie Hamilton for PK Subban.

I agree that you don't want to see Hamilton traded--too much possiblity there. But, wouldn't you just love to see Subban in a bruins sweater?
He's the kind of player that you hate when he's against you but love when he's on your team. Feisty, not afraid to get dirty and his shot is probably only a level down from Chara's. Maybe a package of, say a 1st and 3rd picks with someone like Corvo included?
It'll never happen , of course, Boston and Montreal don't deal with each other, but I thought it was real interesting.

Subban is the type of guy that you hate when your playing him, but change the laundry, and he's a fan favorite. I just don't think that he'd be able to change the gears in his game fast enough to stay upright every shift, instead of looking for 2 minute at the bottom of the pool. An offseason trade, where he could have time to acclimate to a style of play, maybe. But in a push for the playoffs, no way. Plus, 0% chance that the B's or Habs will make a deal that would help each other.

And before anyone gets on me for my statements, history backs me up. In the 80's, Chris Nilan was public enemy #1 around here. Until the B's made a deal to bring him here.

In other news, The B's are trying for 2 in a row tonight (hopefully followed by a 3 game win streak tomorrow) in Buffalo. With all the animosity that has come between the 2 teams, in addition to Marchand saying Buffalo is "the worst place in the NHL", I imagine the energy should be high. Though, Thornton may be out with the flu tonight.

 

[BDL]

ATTENTION CONSPIRACY THEORISTS!!!!!!

You now have enough ammunition to feed you "The NHL is against the Bruins" theories. The mere fact that Turris will be on the ice tomorrow night kind of proves it. I have no problem with the hit that Neil put on Boychuk. It was just a highlight reel check. But Turris's hit... Let's go to the video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEpf5uVCu20

Did Turris leave his feet? Yes. Did Turris use his elbow? Yes. Did he target the head? Yes. Is there a suspension or a fine? Nope.

Shannahan's explanation; Well, one of the aspects that led to the lack of supplementary discipline, was the fact that Corvo wasn't hurt to the point where he missed time. So because Corvo is tougher than we think or Turris didn't deliver the hit hard enough, he gets off.

Wonder what will happen the next time Ferrence goes hard against someone agains the boards?

The past is the past and there is nothing we can do about it. The future is 4+ hrs away. 3pm today is the trade deadline. With so many question marks, I'm in favor of standing pat rather than mortgaging the farm.

UPDATE: Looks like Montreal is banking on a deep draft this year. Besides trading Gill to the Preds for parts and a 2nd RD pick. They have just traded Kostitsyn for a 2013 2nd RD pick and a conditional 3rd. Pretty soon it will be the Nashville Canadiens

 

[BDL]

The trade deadline's over (thank God Nashville is in the West). The Bruins have reunited with a familiar face and shored up there blue line. The B's are in 1st in their division and 2nd in the conference. Ottawa is 1pt behind but the B's have 4 games in hand (12 pts on next closest Toronto). The Bruins have 21 games left. Tonight starts the push of the last quarter of the season. They have to find a way to click within the next week or so, or they may find themselves battling it out for the 7th or 8th position. If they have to shuffle 2 of the lines to do so, so be it. The Bergeron and Campbell lines are fine just the way they are. But someone needs to be the burr under tha saddle and kick start this team. Not going out and fight for fighting's sake. The other teams have caught on to that. But go out there and throw the weight around. If it draws a call from the NHL offices, Oh well. Let the video and media dept.'s of the Bruins do their jobs to submit your defense. And get back to playing the game between the nets instead of the one between your ears. Play your game, let the chips fall where they may.

2 Thoughts about the last game.

1) I feel bad for Max Sauve'. I've been following him since the pre-season of the 2010-11 season. He finally gets a call up to the Bruins, and they send him back down. But the next day, they call him back up, in case Thornton can't play because of the flu. Nuh uh... Thornton played. Poor guy. To get that close.

2) I was not impressed with how Chara drew the hooking call in the last 2 minutes of the game, to get the B's their power play. Granted, if it was anyone else, that swipe would probably knock them down. But to see him go down when anything short of a wrecking ball couldn't do it, reminded me way too much of the respect I lost for Brady when he started gesturing to refs to draw a roughing flag. I can let this 1 slide. First one is a pass, second is a pattern. Hopefully we saw the last Big Z flop.

 

[stevea20]

What a NY nightmare this weekend has been. I must admit I am now very worried about the Bruins chances in the playoffs. Last year at this time they were on an upswing, everything going well. Now is the exact opposite. Can't catch a break, get two wins in a row and the injuries are piling up. Rask scares me most. With the schedual they have the rest of the way it was important for both goalies to be on their game, rested and ready. Now it looks like Thomas will have to carry the load and possibly be gassed in the first round.
This is not looking good.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

We've been out all day, is there any news on Rask?
I checked my phone around 1pm and couldn't find anything.

 

[BDL]

We've been out all day, is there any news on Rask?
I checked my phone around 1pm and couldn't find anything.

There will be no news until he has been further evaulated today (3/5).

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Thanks for the info. I hope it's just a groin pull and not something with his knee again.
We are dropping like flies at this point. Hopefully everyone can get healthy again soon.

 

[MickeySP]

Still no word, I am just hoping it is not the knee, too. It sure looked like it when they helped him off the ice

Guess we will be calling up the someone from Providence.

 

[BDL]

First, there has been no recent update on Tuukka's status, as of yet. However, the rumors are starting to swirl in the web-isphere that Ciarelli is starting to run through his international minutes trying to secure Marty Turco from the European league that he is playing in now. But as I said, only rumors so far.

As for this weekend, a back to back sweep by 2 New York teams. Brutal... First there was the Islanders, on Saturday. While it is good to see the Krejci/Lucic/Seguin line clicking, I'm still not on board. You weaken 1 line to bolster an underperforming one. It's almost like rewarding a kid for once in a while doing his homework. The Bergeron/Seguin/Marchand line all but carried the B's since Horton and Peverley went down. No matter how you shake it out, you have 1 scoring line and 2 weakened lines (3, depending on the status of Paille). Unfortunately, luck is not the Bruins' friend. 3 forwards, 1 goalie and alternating defense men are down. And when luck does decide to show up, it's like... Why bother (empty net shot that hit the post). A last thought about this game... Is there a better poster boy for keeping fighting in the game than Travis Hamonic? Hey Travis, anyone can be a practice hero when they're wearing a full cage.

Then on Sunday, the B's went to MSG to face the 1st place Rangers. For 3/4 of this game, it was a great back and forth effort by the 2 top teams in the Eastern Conference. Neither side afraid to drop the gloves. Set plays baring fruit. And 2 incredibly passionate coaches showing their competitiveness and cunning (both called TO's at the exact right times). And even though Thomas let in 2 soft goals, I can't lay 100% of the blame at his feet. He played an unscheduled 1/2 a game the day before and then came in against a President's Cup contender. He probably lost 12 lbs this weekend. But he may have to play a more energy conserving game going down the stretch. That being said, there is NO WAY that Stepan's goal shouldn't have been saved. Unscreened and undeflected with no movement and not even close to Chara/Weber-esque speed.

Coming down the stretch, 1 thing that I noted, from the past few games, was the execution aforementioned set plays. Not just the face-off to Chara to Seguin/Marchand to the back of the net play that has worked well. But Houda has been scheming individual defensive plans per game and they are working. If you go back to the power plays that New Jersey had last week, every time they came into the Bruins zone, they faced a different front. Sometimes they faced a picket line, sometimes a diamond, sometimes a box. Keeps them honest. If Paille can recover, he should be looking at more break aways.

Now it's the waiting game to see the status on Tuuk.

 

[MickeySP]

This is certainly gonna be an intersting week.

I am psyched to heading to a Prov B's game Friday - gonna be fun!

 

[BDLSGAL]

Tuukka is out for 4-6 weeks with a lower abdominal/ groin strain. Definitely not a great situation! And looks like the rumors were true. The Bruins have signed Turco.

 

[bellanotte10]

I was at the game on saturday. I was literally complaining to my father about Rask and all of a sudden down he goes. I felt terrible like it was all my fault. The garden was not a fun place to be in at the end.

 

[BDLSGAL]

I bet it was a very quiet place to be on Saturday! And that must have been a horrible feeling to have when you saw Tuukka go down Hopefully it will be closer to the 4 week mark for him to work his way back, but at least the Bruins aren't just relying on Providence for their back ups (especially where there are injuries there as well).

 

[bellanotte10]

I bet it was a very quiet place to be on Saturday! And that must have been a horrible feeling to have when you saw Tuukka go down Hopefully it will be closer to the 4 week mark for him to work his way back, but at least the Bruins aren't just relying on Providence for their back ups (especially where there are injuries there as well).

it cleared out so quickly! it was like no one wanted to be around after.

and i'm just glad it wasn't his knee again, and he'd have to get it fixed. Thats what my dad and I thought, so it was even more terrifying. I promise now not to complain about any one play ever again while i'm at a game! haha