“How’s Your Entertainment Factor?”

[smithformeragent]

It’s a question that Jack Edwards used to ask all the time.

“How’s your entertainment factor?”

It was a cut to commercial line, usually coming in response to a high energy play from the Bruins.

A hit.

A fight.

Sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

And it’s a question that I’ve been thinking a lot about this season.

I had a conversation with some of my students this morning during our mask break. They were wearing Bruins sweatshirts and hats. I made some comments about the recent stretch of play.

I explained to them that during my college years, i never missed a game. If I did, I was religious about watching on DVR. I remember getting TiVo specifically for the Bruins. I went to tons of games, even when the team stunk post lockout.

But how’s my entertainment factor these days?

Not great.

And I’m left wondering if it’s the team, the sport, the direction of the league, or all of the above.

I believe it’s all of the above.
The experts say that the game is better now than ever. The skill. The speed. Elimination of the clutching and grabbing.

I just don’t enjoy it like I once did, and I’m talking about the regular season product. Playoffs are another animal.

For every one game that’s highly entertaining, there are easily 3 or 4 duds.

Too many teams.

Too few games against rivals.

Lack of intensity.

Lack of “good” hatred for the opponents.
And it’s not just the Bruins, but it’s neutral site games too.

Maybe it’s just me, but is anyone else feeling the same way?

I know they say you can’t go home again, but it honestly feels like this product kind of sucks.

My dad used to crap all over “boring hockey” of the 90s and yearn for the good old days. Is it just cyclical?

I dunno. I seriously feel like the league could go into another lockout tomorrow and I wouldn’t miss it much.

Click to read more...

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

The truth of your post physically hurts me.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

idk man...I think it's just that it's December & the Bruins have been a boring team.

the NHL playoffs are still a wild ride. The biggest issue I have with the league is the officiating. I think it has had a way bigger negative impact on even otherwise great playoff games much more than just 10 years ago.

People say the league is soft, but there is still plenty of hate & physicality in the playoffs. Fighting is overrated, I just want hockey games that are fast & physical at the same time. The problem is all these ticky-tack calls that slow down the pacing of games and screw with the momentum & tone of games.

 

[EvilDead]

The problem is the team we root for is on the backslide. The NHL in general has been exciting to watch and you are seeing players getting higher and higher scoring totals back to some semblance of what it was in the late 80s to early 90s before the trap was introduced by Jacques Lemaire with the Devils. The issue is that the Bruins as a team are absolutely dreadful to watch at the moment and look like a team on the way down the standings. They are a one line team with only 6-7 good to decent players on it that are firing on all cylinders right now and one of them just got suspended for a bullshit slew foot.

Any team that is in the doldrums feels this way about hockey. Hell, I felt this way when the NHL came back after the 04-05 lockout and the Bruins were in the cellar.

 

[jgatie]

I had the same conversation with my brother last night. It's boring. Part of what makes hockey great is that grit can make up for talent. See - Terry O'Reilly. They (and by they I mean the Board, the officials, and some GM's/coaches) are slowly but surely taking the grit out of the game, then expecting it to suddenly appear when it is really needed, in the playoffs. To win in the regular season, you need the speed, the elite talent, the puck handlers, the anti-Lucics, the anti-McQuaids. To win in the playoffs, you need both. The teams that realize this win Cups.

I also think the rearranged schedule has to do with this. You don't face Montreal 8 times a year, or even 6, so the bad blood doesn't flow and the ability to initiate/survive a gong show ala the Habs bloodbath in 2011 is lost. Then the playoffs come, and the players aren't ready (unless you are Tampa, St. Louis, or the Caps).

The regular season is meaningless, players are coasting through it trying to not get injured. Promote the rivalries. I couldn't care less about seeing the west coast teams once a year, give me the Leafs, Habs, Rags, and Isles 6-8 times and let the hate flow.

 

[Don Cherry]

The 2011 team was must see tv. We had the toughest team in the league by a lot. Chara was still young, Looch was a beast. We had the Merlot line, Boychuk, Ference and Mcquaid. Thomas was great. This year's team never fights, seldom hits and is simply boring to watch. I'd say my entertainment is at an all time low.

 

[The National]

Definitely a change league wide but this team is probably one of the most boring.

Less hitting, less fighting, more flying up and down the ice which is entertaining but it gets old without the hitting/fighting.

This team does none of those things lol. Teams like Tampa and Florida are still really entertaining to watch.

 

[sarge88]

There are not enough villains.

There are not enough good, tough players left to avenge the misdeeds of the all too few villains.

During last nights game my mother’s voice popped into my head a few times and she was saying: “ well at least nobody got hurt”.

That seems to be the motto of this league now:

NHL Hockey! At Least Nobody Got Hurt.

Couple that with schizophrenic officiating. A DOPS run by a guy who seemingly suffers from multiple personality disorder and you have what you have.

70% of regular season games devoid of passion, intensity and purpose.

 

[Bruins Bhoy]

I can only speak of the last 14 years, as that is as far as my fandom of the Bruins go back, but it the most boring hockey I have witnessed. I fell in love with hockey the season Z and Savvy were signed, as the Bruins were a tough but skilled team. I got excited to watch physical, energetic and passionate games. That feels like it is lost now. However, I will say that my hockey focus is almost 100% Boston as the coverage over here is almost non-existent, and hockey is one of many sports I watch. So other than watching highlights of other teams, my knowledge is limited and can't comment on the league in general.

 

[Healthy Wrap]

idk man...I think it's just that it's December & the Bruins have been a boring team.

the NHL playoffs are still a wild ride. The biggest issue I have with the league is the officiating. I think it has had a way bigger negative impact on even otherwise great playoff games much more than just 10 years ago.

People say the league is soft, but there is still plenty of hate & physicality in the playoffs. Fighting is overrated, I just want hockey games that are fast & physical at the same time. The problem is all these ticky-tack calls that slow down the pacing of games and screw with the momentum & tone of games.

THANK YOU. This is going to sound like "old man yells at cloud" but there's a definite NBA element to today's game. The league has this false notion that more penalties = more scoring = happier fans when in reality all it does it slow the game down. G7 of the 2011 ECF is widely regarded as one of the best Bruins games in recent memory and the fact that zero penalties were called has a lot to do with it. It was great 5 on 5 action for 60 minutes. Give me that every single time over some special teams-fest.

 

[LSCII]

There is nothing fun or exciting about watching this low talent team try to play hockey. It's eerily reminiscent of the Claude era in that they were trying to win every game 1 to nothing. In this case, Cassidy wants them to score but they lack the capability so they're lucky if they get a singular goal each game. It sucks.

 

[sarge88]

There is nothing fun or exciting about watching this low talent team try to play hockey. It's eerily reminiscent of the Claude era in that they were trying to win every game 1 to nothing. In this case, Cassidy wants them to score but they lack the capability so they're lucky if they get a singular goal each game. It sucks.

I’m not going to pretend they’re the 87 Oilers, but they’re exactly in the middle of the NHL in goals per game.

Tied with the Leafs, who I’m sure people will be surprised by.

I think it’s more about the lack of toughness/chippy play and hatred league wide than goals, TBH.

 

[EvilDead]

There is nothing fun or exciting about watching this low talent team try to play hockey. It's eerily reminiscent of the Claude era in that they were trying to win every game 1 to nothing. In this case, Cassidy wants them to score but they lack the capability so they're lucky if they get a singular goal each game. It sucks.

That end of Julien era malaise is coming back and it is showing badly.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

This season is no different than last season, pre trade deadline.

Is it the NHL declining? Yes.
Is it Bruins management making poor decisions? Yes.
Is it the coaching staff? Partly Yes.
The players? Hard to blame them when it is still a one line team and depth players in positions to fail.

Entertainment? Non existent unfortunately. No emotion. No hitting. No fighting, and I do not factor staged fighting.

The Bruins, and possibly all teams, play the same whether they are winning and losing. They collect the salary win or lose after all.... no more statement games and defending teammates.

Sadly the playoffs are also similar, but not quite as impacted yet. There is still semblance of emotion and pride in the playoffs.

Regular season - 2/10
Postseason - 6/10

Game management at an all time high - 0/10

 

[Clode]

It's becoming background noise at this point.

 

[KrejciMVP]

very boring. need more anger, fighting and rivalries. lots of other action around the league so this is a sweeeny neely problem.

 

[easton117]

I’m paying 30 a month for the nhl subscription and I think I’ve watched a half dozen games.

It has become apparent to me that whatever the nhl is doing isn’t with me and what I’d like to see in mind.

The Bruins being on the bottom end of mediocre isn’t helping either

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

One thing I have always said to people about the Bruins is that they run on physicality.

A big hit or a fight is the spark that ignites the fuel for this team in all the years I've watched it.
The Bergeron line is a delight to watch, but its not what gets the job done at the end of the day.
Success for this team in a period, a game, a season, a championship always came down to the physical
play. Without it we just look like a normal hockey team trying to do some good things and hoping it makes
an opportunity for a scoring chance. There is no imposing of will anymore.
When we were down or getting beaten badly there would be a player who laid a solid hit on an important
physical player on the opponent and you could feel the energy in the Garden wake up. Not only the fans would get
out of their seats, the players come alive. Answering a big hit with one of our own, dropping the gloves when we
needed a desperate boost, going after a player running around on the ice. THIS is what starts the Bruins engine.
It's in the team DNA, even though that makes no logical sense. In the 35 years I've watched this team it has been the sole
constant. Yet now we don't do that. We ARE the Canadiens. Why? Because more season points and goals means more money
and ticket prices go up. Its a business, not a team hungry for championships. As long as we get to the playoffs and the owner
makes his buck he is satisfied. Thats it.

Sweeney and Neely have chosen a road for this team that most NHL clubs are taking. The skill route.
But that's not Bruins hockey. Never really has been. Even in the 70s we needed the gritty players to lay that
big hit and answer the call when pushback was needed. That seems to be dying now. To get more fans we want
more goals, more spin-o-ramas, more entertainment. Not hard playing blood spillt with every win teams who purchase
championships with everything they have within them.
Toronto is where this league is sailing towards and it amazes me that the people steering cannot figure out why the ship is sinking.

Good heavens, I sound like Fenian.

 

[LSCII]

That end of Julien era malaise is coming back and it is showing badly.

That's my biggest concern, TBH. That complete sense of apathy for how the games turn out. I've been on Ullmark all season long for seeming to not give a shit at all, but it's sadly not just him. It's the entire team.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

For me personally, I started losing interest in the regular season when we stopped playing the same division teams 8 times a season.

I couldn't care less about seeing most of the western teams and if I wanted to see western stars I'd get an NHL package.

Feels like there's no rivalries for the bruins anymore.

 

[Agent86]

You make some great points Mr. Smith - sometimes it is as simple as our lives have shifts in priorities/responsibilities. I've become a bit like your dad and pine for what was despite the fact that, let's be honest, there was a lot of crappy hockey when I grew up as most players used the first 1/3 of the schedule to play themselves back into shape after their summer jobs. There is no doubt that players are better/faster/more skilled today but might be a bit of a personality gap as most players are so robotic - oh where'd you go Derek Sanderson.

As for the on ice product, sport gets more interesting when there is a bit of dislike (okay, hate) involved between fan bases/teams and the balanced scheduling is what hurts the product the most in my opinion. Look at the uptick in excitement here when we finally played the Habs a few weeks back and we can easily argue that this famed rivalry has been pretty much non existent since 2014.

Just spitballing here - 6 games in division (3 sets of back to back home/away every other month), 3 against each other team in conference and home/away against 1 other division, rotated yearly. It doesn't bother me to see the Ducks every other year and might even make that ticket more valuable due to the economic principle of scarcity. Top 3 in divison get in and 4/5 play in. Keeps more fanbases "in it" until the end. The divisional crossover format would not work as well if the schedule became unbalanced but allowing the 4/5 play in mutes some of the argument around a 90pt team in at the expense of a 95pt team missing out.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

My fandom has been in a steady decline since 2013. My life is busier now and regular season hockey is low on the list. Sad but true. If I have time I find myself watching hockey East more often.

I think the talent is too high and there is not enough mistakes. Every goal is a perfect snipe or a deflection. No emotion, it’s like a bunch of robots

I was a STH that went to 40 games one year to now watching sometimes, it’s too bad because the regular season used to br a time to settle the score and have something entertaining happen. Now? Zzzzzz.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

The 2011 team was must see tv. We had the toughest team in the league by a lot. Chara was still young, Looch was a beast. We had the Merlot line, Boychuk, Ference and Mcquaid. Thomas was great. This year's team never fights, seldom hits and is simply boring to watch. I'd say my entertainment is at an all time low.

Team seriously needs a boost physically. Like a Brent Hughes type!!!!!!!

 

[McGarnagle]

One thing I have always said to people about the Bruins is that they run on physicality.

A big hit or a fight is the spark that ignites the fuel for this team in all the years I've watched it.
The Bergeron line is a delight to watch, but its not what gets the job done at the end of the day.
Success for this team in a period, a game, a season, a championship always came down to the physical
play. Without it we just look like a normal hockey team trying to do some good things and hoping it makes
an opportunity for a scoring chance. There is no imposing of will anymore.
When we were down or getting beaten badly there would be a player who laid a solid hit on an important
physical player on the opponent and you could feel the energy in the Garden wake up. Not only the fans would get
out of their seats, the players come alive. Answering a big hit with one of our own, dropping the gloves when we
needed a desperate boost, going after a player running around on the ice. THIS is what starts the Bruins engine.
It's in the team DNA, even though that makes no logical sense. In the 35 years I've watched this team it has been the sole
constant. Yet now we don't do that. We ARE the Canadiens. Why? Because more season points and goals means more money
and ticket prices go up. Its a business, not a team hungry for championships. As long as we get to the playoffs and the owner
makes his buck he is satisfied. Thats it.

Sweeney and Neely have chosen a road for this team that most NHL clubs are taking. The skill route.
But that's not Bruins hockey. Never really has been. Even in the 70s we needed the gritty players to lay that
big hit and answer the call when pushback was needed. That seems to be dying now. To get more fans we want
more goals, more spin-o-ramas, more entertainment. Not hard playing blood spillt with every win teams who purchase
championships with everything they have within them.
Toronto is where this league is sailing towards and it amazes me that the people steering cannot figure out why the ship is sinking.

Good heavens, I sound like Fenian.

The skill route would be fine if our roster had any skill.

Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta, Hall, McAvoy, Grzelcyk, maybe Reilly and maybe Kuhlman are the only players on the roster with any flare in the offensive zone.

The Bruins' problem is that they're not tough but they're not skilled. They're stuck in between with guys almost 3 lines full of guys who aren't really tough but aren't really skilled either, they're just mediocre. There's no identity with this team. They're vanilla ice cream, they're walmart brand cola, they're a 20-pack of pre-packaged hydrogenated cheese-flavored slices. Hints of something there but it's mostly flavorless filler.

 

[BMC]

It’s a question that Jack Edwards used to ask all the time.

“How’s your entertainment factor?”

It was a cut to commercial line, usually coming in response to a high energy play from the Bruins.

A hit.

A fight.

Sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

And it’s a question that I’ve been thinking a lot about this season.

I had a conversation with some of my students this morning during our mask break. They were wearing Bruins sweatshirts and hats. I made some comments about the recent stretch of play.

I explained to them that during my college years, i never missed a game. If I did, I was religious about watching on DVR. I remember getting TiVo specifically for the Bruins. I went to tons of games, even when the team stunk post lockout.

But how’s my entertainment factor these days?

Not great.

And I’m left wondering if it’s the team, the sport, the direction of the league, or all of the above.

I believe it’s all of the above.
The experts say that the game is better now than ever. The skill. The speed. Elimination of the clutching and grabbing.

I just don’t enjoy it like I once did, and I’m talking about the regular season product. Playoffs are another animal.

For every one game that’s highly entertaining, there are easily 3 or 4 duds.

Too many teams.

Too few games against rivals.

Lack of intensity.

Lack of “good” hatred for the opponents.
And it’s not just the Bruins, but it’s neutral site games too.

Maybe it’s just me, but is anyone else feeling the same way?

I know they say you can’t go home again, but it honestly feels like this product kind of sucks.

My dad used to crap all over “boring hockey” of the 90s and yearn for the good old days. Is it just cyclical?

I dunno. I seriously feel like the league could go into another lockout tomorrow and I wouldn’t miss it much.

*Raises hand*

As I mentioned in the Post GDT last night was the second game in a row that I changed the channel rather than watch anymore.

My entertainment factor is in free fall.

The NHL sucks.