Player Discussion Ryan Spooner VII

[bp13]

Than why did they bother resigning him,if they obviously had little to no faith in him ,that they were willing to give up on him after a couple of games this season and go to Nash.If they had no faith in him than hey should have moved him or walked away.

This is the KEY question.

Honestly the evaluation of pro talent by this management team is atrocious. Beleskey is a beer league player. Backes was overpaid and overtermed and seems incapable of playing center now apparently. And keeping Ryan Spooner through last season, or even the prior year, seemed shortsighted. But re-signing him for $2.8 is quickly proving downright dumb.

Like I have been saying for the last month, now that they've overpaid him they have little choice but to play him, hope he gives you something, then hope your GM figures out how to make a decent NHL trade to get rid of him once and for all. But the fact he lingers around here disappointing 95% of us (while the others blame bad linemates) is a mystery. Sweeney should be taken to task for this, among the other "acquisitions". He gets a world of credit for the youth, well deserved, but his work adding vets to this roster is abysmal. Just awful.

 

[PB37]

Just keep the seat warm until JFK is ready.

Heinen -- JFK -- Cehlarik

I wish that was our third line right now.

 

[Absurdity]

How does a one-year deal at $2.8M build up his trade value? If I'm a GM, that isn't one stitch more attractive to me than an RFA that I get to negotiate with on my own terms.

Because no one probably wanted to trade for him. You sign him and he either fulfills the organization's expectations in which they would keep him if he does, or he has a better showing this year than he did last year and becomes tradeable. The thing is, neither look to be the case if the Ryan Spooner we are seeing the last 5 games continues to be the Ryan Spooner for the rest of the season. I believe he's still a RFA at the end of the season.

 

[bolt thrower]

Spooner cannot be worse than Nash centering the 1st line. If only the coaching staff would give him more than one miserable game instead of promoting stone hands Nash.
Spooner sure hasn't been lights out and deserves a fair amount of criticism but getting pushed aside by freaking Nash is ridiculous.

Maybe the Bruins could build something around Spooner to land Athanasiou. He would be a nice addition to the Bruins lineup and bring tons of speed. Speaking of speed, where has Spooners speed gone? I remember him being pretty fast 3-4 years ago.

 

[BruinDust]

Spooner has shown in the past that he can produce when playing with decent talent. When has Nash ever shown a speck of offensive ability ? In these dire times I am sure that Marchand and Pastrnak would much rather take their chances playing with Spooner then the so called safe pick with Nash. Inserting a plug like Nash between 2 elite wingers is the dumbest thing Cassidy has done since becoming the B's coach, right out of the Julien playboy.

I hear yah, I wouldn't of put Nash there, I like Nash even less than I like Spooner (I can't wait for the day when neither are Boston Bruins).

But given it appears Cassidy trusts Nash more than Spooner, I can see the logic with it, even if I don't agree with it.

 

[Mainehockey33]

He played 2 or 3 shifts on the top line this year, set up Marchand for a couple good scoring chances and it was Nash time ever since. No one has been able to explain why he was taken off the line so quickly. It’s always, he had 10 years to play on the top line!

 

[Tim Vezina Thomas]

Than why did they bother resigning him,if they obviously had little to no faith in him ,that they were willing to give up on him after a couple of games this season and go to Nash.If they had no faith in him than hey should have moved him or walked away.

Walking away from a player with Spooner's skillset/age would be foolish IMO. Spooner isn't a top six center, but hes undeniably an NHL player. If they had a good enough offer I feel like they would have moved him but dumping a player like Spooner when they had his rights isn't the right move.

 

[Blowfish]

Coaches and line-mates.

The excuses are over, the only problem with Ryan Spooner is Ryan Spooner.

R Smith Seguin Koko Subban Miller. All gone by very poor asset management from the coaches to the GM. Next up. Spooner Vatrano Heinen Carlo etc etc.

 

[alg363636]

I thought the few shifts he got with Pastrnak/Marchand over the last few games they looked super dangerous - much better than with Nash

But I mean that's just me.

When Spooner has gotten good wingers he's played well IMO

 

[BobbyAwe]

Ive had it with him. He has shown he has skill. But he disappears too often. Cant be count upon.
He either lacks brains, courage or desire. Or any combination of those attributes.
At the slighest indication that hes going to get thumped he dishes the puck off.
Hes a perimeter player and a luxury if hes producing on the PP.
If he isnt producing on the PP hes as useless as Id be out there.

I've always been a huge supporter of Spooner but I'm also nearing the end. Always waiting for that breakout that never comes, always fearful of trading him and watching him living up to his potential elsewhere, but there's something wrong with him (considering his basic skills) and I think it's finally undeniable?

 

[BruinDust]

R Smith Seguin Koko Subban Miller. All gone by very poor asset management from the coaches to the GM. Next up. Spooner Vatrano Heinen Carlo etc etc.

Different argument but outside of Seguin what was really lost here.

Smith after signing a big deal Florida was willing to give them Marchesault to entice them to take Smith, terrible return at the time on the deal though.

They were losing SOMEONE in the expansion draft, no different than any team.

Subban hasn't proven zilch, had no trade value whatsoever being waiver-eligible. Teams lose players on waivers all the time. It happens.

Not sure why Khokhlachev is even on your list of poor asset management. A KHL player with no NHL future, oh and by the way, is still Bruin property.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Different argument but outside of Seguin what was really lost here.

Smith after signing a big deal Florida was willing to give them Marchesault to entice them to take Smith, terrible return at the time on the deal though.

They were losing SOMEONE in the expansion draft, no different than any team.

Subban hasn't proven zilch, had no trade value whatsoever being waiver-eligible. Teams lose players on waivers all the time. It happens.

Not sure why Khokhlachev is even on your list of poor asset management. A KHL player with no NHL future, oh and by the way, is still Bruin property.

And Seguin wasn't this regime.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Here's something I don't understand... Why do people insist on Spooner's success being tied to his ability to become a top six forward? Why can't he just be what he is... A bottom six support player who can contribute on the powerplay? 35-45 points a year.

 

[Absurdity]

Here's something I don't understand... Why do people insist on Spooner's success being tied to his ability to become a top six forward? Why can't he just be what he is... A bottom six support player who can contribute on the powerplay? 35-45 points a year.

As a center, offensive potential vs. lack of a defensive game. If he builds a defensive game netting around 40pts a year, he would be a valuable middle 6 center. In my opinion, if he was a 40pt center who was great on the powerplay and had a defensive game, he would have a future as a Bruin or would have already been traded.

 

[Mainehockey33]

Here's something I don't understand... Why do people insist on Spooner's success being tied to his ability to become a top six forward? Why can't he just be what he is... A bottom six support player who can contribute on the powerplay? 35-45 points a year.

Because he plays best with creative, offensive minded players. He can’t carry a line, doesn’t have the skill set for it, but like Kessel, can be a great complimentary piece of used right.

We saw that in the two shifts he played with Marchand and Pastrnak this year. He set Marchand up a couple times for some good chances. The last time he had a full game at center without Beleskey was two seasons ago.

They’ve been been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole for years now and it’s time to move on. He’s not a grinder or defensive forward. If you’re not going to play him more than a couple shifts on the top line while Bergeron is out, then why did you sign him in the first place?

 

[Nothingbutglass]

Why was he moved off of Marchand's line? Was he that bad?

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Why was he moved off of Marchand's line? Was he that bad?

It's less the case that he's "that bad", as it is that he's "not that good". Or at least, consistently good. Every once in a while he makes a play and you think, "Gee, this guy DOES have some skill and potential". Then he disappears or floats for long stretches or makes a bad play, or misses a tantalizingly easy goal and you think, "Gee, this guy really isn't that good."

That's where we all are with Spooner.

I honestly think there's very little chance he'll be here next year because I don't think he can play with consistency. At least not here; at least not now.

 

[since76]

The real question about spooner is not if he is lazy or bla bla bla....but if we trade him ...who will take his place and be better than him ? Don't talk to me about nash who could not be a good 3rd liner in pee wee.
If you want to change your house door because you hate it, you need to make sure you have a better one to put in place or you will have a very cold winter

 

[Seidenbergy]

The real question about spooner is not if he is lazy or bla bla bla....but if we trade him ...who will take his place and be better than him ? Don't talk to me about nash who could not be a good 3rd liner in pee wee.
If you want to change your house door because you hate it, you need to make sure you have a better one to put in place or you will have a very cold winter

By that logic, we don't have to know who will take his place today, tomorrow or any time soon really....we have until free agency opens because nobody is going to trade for him during the season.

 

[Ron Quixote]

It's less the case that he's "that bad", as it is that he's "not that good". Or at least, consistently good. Every once in a while he makes a play and you think, "Gee, this guy DOES have some skill and potential". Then he disappears or floats for long stretches or makes a bad play, or misses a tantalizingly easy goal and you think, "Gee, this guy really isn't that good."

That's where we all are with Spooner.

I honestly think there's very little chance he'll be here next year because I don't think he can play with consistency. At least not here; at least not now.

Said it better than I could. Thanks.

 

[Mainehockey33]

Why was he moved off of Marchand's line? Was he that bad?

He didn’t create any offensive chances on their second shift together.

In all seriousness, no one knows. If someone says he sucked there, they didn’t watch the game.

 

[ODAAT]

the question I`ll toss out there now is, if DS was to start calling opposing GM`s to let them know Spooner is available, what`s the return on investment at this stage?

I`d say minimal

 

[gvkmedia]

Belesky should not be playing with Spooner. This has been stated several times in this thread and I agree.
I think the door to replace Spooner is Kuraly. Once Backes is back - Kuraly, Backes and DeBrusk should be our 3rd line. Belesky - Nash - Accari - Schaller should rotate in our 4th line. What we really need is a left wing to occupy Krejci's side. Call up Peter C. or make an impact trade using our over excess of propects.

I feel I have wondered off topic.

In conclusion - the Spooner experiment should be over.

 

[BruinDust]

the question I`ll toss out there now is, if DS was to start calling opposing GM`s to let them know Spooner is available, what`s the return on investment at this stage?

I`d say minimal

Unless there is a team that believes Spooner as a center can be more than he's shown thus far into his career at age 25 (almost 26), then his value is mimimal.

Once upon a time, I was convinced he could go elsewhere and be a more valuable player. Now I think he is what he is no matter what team he is on.

 

[wintersej]

The real question about spooner is not if he is lazy or bla bla bla....but if we trade him ...who will take his place and be better than him ? Don't talk to me about nash who could not be a good 3rd liner in pee wee.
If you want to change your house door because you hate it, you need to make sure you have a better one to put in place or you will have a very cold winter

Yup. I think the only answers are Backes and JFK. Neither of which are on the roster at this point. We also are not sure if Backes at C is even an option.