BE A GM Thread - Part III (NHL 18/NHL 17/whatever)

[Jonesey]

Figured might as well upgrade the thread.

Click to read more...

 

[FacebookFighter]

When it comes to simming I noticed that when I try to tank is when I do the best.

So my first Franchise mode was last Friday, (Just got the game on the EA sale)

I started with Buffalo, which let's be honest, I shouldn't have to edit that line up much to tank.

I won the President's Trophy and got swept in the first round with zero trades.

So there goes my plan to get a quality defensemen in the draft.


So Kane was unhappy with time since Eichel and Reinhart took 1st line time so I decided to go into win now mode.

To BUF
Sedin (50% retained)
Sedin (50% retained)

To Van
Kane
Ennis
3rd

Ended up 2nd behind the Rangers by 2 points. Face them for the Eastern Finals and win in 7 and sweep the Kings for the cup

But now the Sedins are gone.

Lehner was pissing me off so I sent him and a pick to PIT for Murray
Got Enroth for pratically nothing too

Lines end up as such

Okposo/Eichel/Reinhart
Larsson/ROR/Baptiste
Foligno/Girg/ Bailey
Desl/O'Rielly/ Schneider

Risto/ Bogo
Kulikov/ McCabe
Gorges/ Franson

Murray/(Enroth/ Nillson)

With not much changes and Baptiste and Bailey only a few OVR points I wouldn't think my success would differ all that much but at the moment I'm barely staying alive and with the trade deadline coming up I need help.

Trade Suggestions? Also Trades to start my BUF career mode to make sure I tank?

 

[Squints09]

Hall of Shame(all teams that lost to the 83 offense, 81 defense, and 83 goalie ):
3-1
3-0
4-1
4-2
3-1
3-0
4-1
3-2
5-2
5-1
4-2
5-1
3-2
4-3
5-2
4-2
3-2
3-1

The finish 19-56-7 with 45 points. That's good enough for last in the league by almost 30 points

Team Leaders:
Goals- Patrik Laine
Assists- Adam Lowry
Points- Patrik Laine

Matthews wins Calder but the had 4 in the top 5

The win the Stanley Cup

 

[Squints09]

Draft Picks
With the first overall pick the select C Nolan 2 WAY Patrick(High Elite)
With New Jersey's 7th overall pick, the select C PLY Gabriel Vilardi(Med Top 6)
With the New York Ranger 8th overall pick, the select LW PWR FWD Matthew Strome(Med Top 6)
With the Calgary Flames 12th overall pick, the pick D 2 WAY Jocktan Chainey
With the 23rd overall pick, the pick G HYBIRD Roman Trnka(Med Fringe Starter)
This just in the trade D Josh Morrissey to the for the sharks 2018 2nd and the leafs 2017 4th

This was until my game froze, so I will try to find the strength to redo this and then get back to you guys

 

[JohnJamieson]

NHL 16 on PS4
Salary Cap: ON
Trade Difficulty: HARD
Rosters/Potentials: UNEDITED
Authentic Cap Penalties/Pick Ownership: ON
Player Morale:ON

Major props to all of you here, I read this entire thread over the last little while and enjoyed your stories immensely so I decided to start my own. I apologize for being so derivative in advance!

Real life NTCs for my team will be respected. When contracts are signed with the team I will simply think about it and decide what sort of trade protection the player will receive rather than choosing an arbitrary overall rating cutoff.

UFAs I will just give it some thought about what makes sense for that player in terms of willingness to re-sign or come to the team and work what I perceive to be their natural decisions into the story.

I will try to avoid any trade cheese.

Chara retires a Bruin.

Eriksson will not be traded at the deadline and will walk in free agency following this season as he did in real life if the Bruins fail to make at least the Conference Finals.

BREAKING NEWS OUT OF BOSTON

​

September 24, 2015

The Boston Bruins have formally announced the replacement for Don Sweeney. John Jamieson, 32 of Kingston, Ontario, Canada- a relative unknown in the hockey community will take over the job effective immediately as announced today by team President Cam Neely. Jamieson becomes the 2nd youngest GM in the history of the NHL after former Leafs GM Gord Stellick- although rumour has it that 26 year old wunderkind and Assistant GM John Chayka will take the reins next year for the Coyotes if Don Maloney can't deliver up to expectations this year.

Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney resigned from his position early this month after news broke that he would be facing assault charges stemming from his now infamous bar fight with former Pittsburgh Penguin Ulf Samuelsson. YouTube clips of the incident are in excess of 2 million views as the shocking video went viral on the internet. Samuelsson has long been reviled in Boston for his knee on knee hit against Neely in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals in 1991.

Both Neely and Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs publicly declared their support for Sweeney but after just 4 months on the job he has chosen to step down amid concerns the investigation will become a distraction for the team. Sweeney made some high profile and controversial moves in his short time as GM this summer- including trading away young defense phenom Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames and fan favourite Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings.

In today's press conference Jamieson said he has no plans to make any immediate changes to the Bruins' roster. "We'll see what the start of the season brings and take it from there. There were some big changes this off-season. We'll have to see how everything fits." As far as his vision for the team? "The Bruins identity is and always has been of a tough, hard-nosed club. We intend to be tough to play against game in and game out. After missing the playoffs last year we insist that our entire lineup be accountable for their play and we expect better results in the upcoming season."

Sweeney has yet to speak to the media regarding the Samuelsson incident.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS OPENING DAY ROSTER

Eriksson(86)|Bergeron(91)|Marchand(86)
Hayes(84)|Krejci(88)|Pastrnak(80)
Beleskey(83)|Spooner(83)|Connolly(80)
Kelly(81)|Czarnik(75)|Stempniak(82)
||Griffith(81)

Chara(88)|Krug(85)
Seidenberg(84)|McQuaid(82)
Irwin(82)|K. Miller(81)
Liles(80)|

Rask(92)
Gustavsson(79)

⦁ The Bruins cap hit is at $67.52 mil- with an additional $2.75 mil this year of retained salary they are just $1.13 million below the cap.

⦁ The average age of our NHL roster is 27.8.

⦁ Pastrnak is the youngest at 19, while fellow Czech and team captain Chara is the oldest at 38.

⦁ Seth Griffith and Brett Connolly could be battling for ice time early this season. Connolly was a 6th overall draft pick by the Lightning in 2010 whom the Bruins spent a pair of 2nd rounders on at the 2015 trade deadline. After years of failing to live up to expectations the pressure is on for Connolly to prove he belongs in the league.

⦁ There are no open roster spots at present.

⦁ The Bruins have scores of prospects on the right wing but lack depth at centre and left wing.

⦁ The Bruins have 6 picks right now for next years draft- a pair each of 1st and 5th rounders, and one each in the 2nd and 7th rounds. With only 4 picks in the 2017 entry draft expect the Bruins to bring more in with trades over the course of the next 2 seasons.

⦁ Pending UFAs on the NHL roster this year: Loui Eriksson, Lee Stempniak, Chris Kelly, Matt Irwin, Kevan Miller, John-Michael Liles, Jonas Gustavsson.

⦁ The Bruins have some very good prospects still in the CHL but their core is not getting any younger. Can they contend in the near future with the core pieces still left from their Stanley Cup winning run of 2011?

⦁ A 3-4-0 preseason was a little less than encouraging for the B's. David Krejci led the way with 7 points while Torey Krug topped the team with 4 goals- though 3 of them came in the form of a natural hat trick against the Sabres over the course of the 2nd and 3rd periods of the team's 2nd preseason game.

 

[JohnJamieson]

5 QUESTIONS WITH JOHN JAMIESON​

​

Oct. 7, 2015

Joe Haggerty here from CSNNE.

Just one month ago, new Bruins GM John Jamieson was working as a butcher in Toronto. Today he has a beautiful office here in Boston at TD Garden. And let me tell you, he has started a very impressive single malt scotch collection. I got a chance to sit down with Jamieson ahead of tomorrow's season opener with the Jets. Let's listen in.

JH: So, first of all I have to say- it was more than a little bit of a surprise to hear that you got the job. Especially with veteran virtual GMs like Daniel Palfredsson out there who aren't currently employed. Why do you think the Bruins chose you?

JJ: Well first of all- this is the Bruins we're talking about here. Almost everybody outside of Boston hates them except me! So honestly I don't think there was much competition for me in the process. Plus I had a great tie on at my interview. Moore's had a 3 for 1 sale on the weekend before. Want some more Lagavulin?

JH: Don't mind if I do! So being a Canadian what led you to become a Bruins fan anyway?

JJ: I come from Kingston and there are strong Bruin ties there. Of course Don Cherry hails from Kingston and our junior team- the Frontenacs were once a farm team for the Bruins if you go far back enough. As a result lots of B's players back in the day passed through Kingston on their way up to the show, and there were a fair number of Kingston boys on the team over the years. To this day their logo is very similar- sporting a K instead of a B in a spoked wheel with black and gold colours. My dad cheered for them as many of his era do in Kingston and I have been a fan from the moment I started watching hockey. Here, try this Benriach. She's a beauty.

JH: So tell us a little more about yourself. Who is the new man at the helm with all the delicious scotch? Scotch, scotch, scotch...

JJ: I have a lot of tattoos. I play guitar and sing, I've made a few albums before in a few different styles. Hopefully the press from this job wakes up my record sales a little. I used to be a cook for my day job before I moved on to butchering. I'm getting married next summer. I can drink you under the table. Here, this one is Cragganmore.

JH: Have you seen the video of the Samuelsson incident? What did you think?

JJ: Yeah I have. Samuelsson clearly dives! WHAT A BUNCH OF ****IN' BULL****! It's too bad Donnie didn't really get a hold of him, I'd like to have seen him tune him up properly. That makes me angry. Let's listen to some Pantera. Maybe I should set up McQuaid to be Don's lawyer at the trial. He could hop into the witness stand and take care of business. I should totally trade to get Shawn Thornton back. Here's the rest of my bottle of Balvenie. Finish her quick so we can break out the Auchentoshan.

JH: THIS MUSIC IS REALLY LOUD! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT THE FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR PLANS FOR THE TEAM?

JJ: "THE GREAAAAAAAAAAT.... SOUUUUTHHHHHERRRRNNNNN..... TRENDKILLLLLLLLLL!!!!" WHOOOOOOOO!!!! DUDE, CHECK OUT THIS SOLO! DIME WAS THE BEST!!!!!!
​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Heading into the season...

Boston|89 OFF|90 DEF|93 GOA|73% CHEM
Providence|73 OFF|79 DEF|79 GOA|66% CHEM

SEASON OPENER

Oct. 8, 2015
WINNIPEG

(0-0-0) vs. BOSTON

(0-0-0)​

At just 1:50 into the first period Alex Burmistrov rifles a hard wrister over Tuukka Rask's glove for a 1-0 Jets lead only to see Brad Marchand tie it right back up on a short-handed breakaway at the 3:27 mark.

A shaky start for the Bruins, but their play improved as the period went on. They had the final 5 SOG of the frame but still trail the Jets in shots 9-8 with the score remaining 1-1.

Mark Stuart takes a delay of game penalty at 4:02 of the second period giving the Bruins their second powerplay of the game. The first shot of the entire period is taken at the 4:44 mark by Torey Krug. The Bruins managed 2 shots on the man advantage but failed to capitalize.

The third period features some outstanding end to end hockey, with Rask and Ondrej Pavelec coming up with key saves for both teams. Both teams had to kill a penalty in the last 5 minutes but the netminders held strong with Pavelec making 12 saves and Rask 11 in the third period to force overtime.

The Bruins were outshot 6-0 in OT but Rask shut the door and the two teams head off to a shootout.

Bergeron is the third Bruins shooter and he scores on a nifty move in tight on Pavelec! The Bruins win their season opener! The Bruins' penalty kill went 5 for 5, scored the team's only goal and were an integral part of Boston's victory tonight.

Rask was the game's first star with 31 saves on 32 shots plus another 3 big stops in the shootout.
​

Oct. 10, 2015
MONTREAL

(0-0-1) vs. BOSTON

(1-0-0)​

Charles Hudon scores just 45 seconds into the game for Montreal. This is the second straight game to start the season the Bruins have come out flat and paid for it with an early goal. Will this be a sign of troubles to come?

At 14:41 Bergeron ties it back up with the B's first power play goal of the year on a nice deflection in front of Carey Price. The Canadiens contend that Bergeron interfered with their goaltender on the play but after review the goal is allowed to stand. We head to the second tied at 1 in a hotly contested match between the two rivals. The Bruins outshot Montreal 16-8 in the frame.

There are no goals in the second but things get ugly late in the period. Mike Brown has been in Bergeron's ear a few times tonight after his controversial first period goal and Patrice finally gives in and drops the gloves with him. Brown is a much better fighter and while Bergy manages to land a few short punches early in the fight he doesn't have what it takes to hang with Brown and eats a couple solid right hands before pulling Brown down on top of himself to end the scrap. This could be a bone of contention in the locker room. Why did someone else not step up and take Brown on instead?

Less than a minute later Torrey Mitchell crushes Matt Beleskey from behind with a BRUTAL cross-check up against the boards in the Boston zone. A huge scrum ensues behind the net and at the end of it Mitchell is sent off with a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Marchand and Subban also take matching roughing minors and jaw at each other from either penalty box. Beleskey stays down for several moments and gets up with a small cut over his left eye. He left the ice under his own power and went back to the dressing room but did come back for the 3rd period.

The Bruins fail to score on their 5-minute powerplay and the game remains tied until Brendan Gallagher beats Rask low to the blocker side from the slot with a killer snapshot at 8:53 into the third period. Nice screen by Pacioretty on the play.

The Bruins pepper Carey Price with a total of 34 shots on the game but they can't score a second time and the final is 2-1 Montreal. It looks like the long time rivals are adding plenty of fuel to the fire already this season.

"Losing to those guys drives me INSANE. Bring me the head of Torrey Mitchell." -GM John Jamieson on tonight's loss.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 12, 2015
TAMPA BAY

(2-0-0) vs. BOSTON

(1-1-0)​

Exactly 5:00 into the first period Loui Eriksson strikes with a wrister from the hash marks on his off wing that sneaks under Ben Bishop's glove. The Bruins score first for the first time this season.

The Bruins fail to convert on a long 2 man advantage after Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson take minor penalties just 23 seconds apart but Beleskey increases the Bruins lead to 2-0 with a goal remarkably similar to Eriksson's with just 1:34 to go in the period. Bishop is visibly frustrated after the goal and slams his stick on the ice in disgust.

A flurry of goals to start the second period by Stralman(TB), Connolly(BOS), and Palat(TB) bring the score to 3-2 Bruins. Jonathan Drouin ties it with 6 minutes remaining and we enter the 3rd with Ryan Callahan in the box for another minute after his late hooking penalty.

Condra takes another penalty 30 seconds in and Torey Krug strikes with a rocket from the point that goes off the crossbar and in just after Callahan gets out of the box. Brian Boyle ties the game at 4 when he throws it on net down near the goal line and the puck hits Dennis Seidenberg's foot out front and bounces beyond Tuukka Rask's outstretched right leg on the far side. The 10 minutes remaining would solve nothing and the teams headed to overtime.

For the second overtime this season the Bruins could not muster a single shot on goal but survive the extra period. Tyler Johnson scores the only goal in the shootout and the Lightning walk away with the extra point.

Beleskey and Spooner each had 2 points tonight and Connolly added a goal as the B's 3rd line controlled the puck and earned some space and offensive zone time for their best game of the young season.

Ondrej Palat has 4 goals already for Tampa in their first 3 games.
​

Oct. 14, 2015
BOSTON

(1-1-1) vs. COLORADO

(1-0-1)​

Tyson Barrie opens the scoring for the Avs at 6:21 of the first on his teams 2nd shot of the game. The Bruins started off hot in their first road game of the season, recording the first 6 shots of the game but Barrie's goal gave the Avalanche life and the first period comes to a close at 2-0 after Blake Comeau's late wrister dribbled through Rask's pads and just made it across the line.

Marchand finally gets the Bruins on the board at 3:25 of the 3rd on a blistering one-timer thanks to a beautiful cross ice pass from Bergeron just 20 seconds after Landeskog hit the post for the Avs down at the other end.

Former Bruin Carl Soderberg and Comeau both head to the box for minor infractions shortly after but the Bruins can't score on the 5-on-3 and with 11 minutes left they still trail by one.

Soderberg tucks one behind former teammate Rask on a wraparound after a mad scramble around the goalmouth when things fall apart in the Bruins zone with just 4 minutes left. Francois Beauchemin adds an empty netter and the Bruins fall 4-1.

"It's really disappointing. Those guys are a fast young team and we didn't slow them down at our blueline consistently enough and as a result they came into our zone with speed all night and got too many grade A chances. We had our game plan and we didn't execute. We have to do a better job in the neutral zone if we want to win games."- Matt Beleskey after the team's 4-1 loss

Austin Czarnik has been plain awful in his first 4 NHL games. He is a team-worst minus 5 so far and just 16 out of 48 in the faceoff dot with 3 shots and no points. He simply doesn't look like he is ready for the NHL yet.
​

Oct. 17, 2015
BOSTON

(1-2-1) vs. ARIZONA

(1-3-0)​

Austin Czarnik has been scratched for tonight's contest and Seth Griffith will play his first game of the year tonight. Griffith will slot into the left side of the second line alongside Krejci and Pastrnak. Chris Kelly will move to centre on the fourth line and Jimmy Hayes will move down to join him and Lee Stempniak after a rough start to his 2015-2016 season. Jonas Gustavsson will make his first start of the season tonight against the Coyotes.

The game is scoreless until Oliver Ekman-Larsson's wrist shot from the half wall beats Gustavsson five-hole through heavy traffic late in the first period. Torey Krug ties the game early in the second but Sergei Plotnikov's first career goal puts the Coyotes back on top just a minute and a half later. To make matters worse Gustavsson suffers an apparent groin injury on the play and Rask has to come into the game on his night off.

Adam McQuaid ties the game at 2 with a thunderous slapshot high glove side in the waning minutes of the second period but Connor Murphy puts the 'Yotes back on top with a wrister from the high slot through Shane Doan's screen that Rask gets a small piece of with the handle of his stick just a minute into the 3rd period.

Bergeron scores a huge powerplay goal with 11 minutes to go, banging home the rebound of Krug's point shot past the outstretched glove of a downed Mike Smith. (A good Kingston boy he is though)

The game had been getting very chippy and things boiled over after the Bergeron marker. There was a faceoff in the Arizona zone just past the halfway mark of the period and Steve Downie tried to take some liberties with the Bruins' young star David Pastrnak. Adam McQuaid took exception, here's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley from NESN with the call.

Jack: Krejci loses the draw and the puck goes back in the corner. Ekman-Larsson dumps it around the other side of the net to Stone who takes it up the boards and makes the pass to Boyd Gordon in the neutral zone. Oh, looks like McQuaid and Downie are squaring off! McQuaid fires a hard right! Downie fires back and misses! McQuaid lands a huge haymaker and it looks like that one hurt! Downie gets in a left jab and then lands a right of his own! These guys are just trading bombs now! McQuaid shakes the elbow pad loose! Downie lands again but McQuaid fires right back and DOWNIE'S KNEES BUCKLED! MCQUAID DRILLS HIM WITH THE HUGEST! UPPERCUT! I HAVE EVER SEEN AND DOWNIE IS DOWN! AND! OUT!!!!!!

Brick: Yeah Jack uh... it looks like uh... Downie's learning curve is gonna look like Mount Everest after that last shot. It's taking him a moment to get up here. He's a pretty tough character but uh... taking on McQuaid turned out to be more than he could handle. Let's look at the replay. Here uh... you can see Downie kinda talking to Pastrnak before the draw, uh... looks like he's trying to intimidate the kid a little bit. When the puck goes into the corner he gives Pastrnak a bit of a can opener and dumps him into the boards. A little shove while he's down and uh... evidently McQuaid was not very happy about that.

Shortly after that Nicklas Grossman received a double minor for high sticking when his failed stick lift attempt cut Brad Marchand's nose. At 35 stitches the cut ran nearly halfway across Marchand's legendarily enormous schnozz. Ryan Spooner smoothly converted a chance in the slot for a 4-3 lead after some great cycling down low by the B's 2nd PP unit left Smith out of position and scrambling to his right without time to cover the high blocker side.

Just when you thought the game was over, Tobias Rieder rips a hard wrist shot off the iron and into the back of the net with the extra attacker on in the final minute and the Bruins will be heading to overtime for the 3rd time in just 5 games.

The B's captain Zdeno Chara at last records the teams first overtime SOG of the year a minute in. At 2:40 of the frame Bergeron takes a pass from Chara just past the Yotes blue line and drives the net. A beautiful job of protecting the puck on his right from Connor Murphy as he fires a hard wrister short side from close range that goes off Mike Smith's shoulder and in for a Bruins victory! McQuaid registers the secondary assist for a Gordie Howe hat trick.

The newly reformed 4th line were all minus one tonight but Hayes had 2 shots compared to the 1 he had in his first 4 games and Stempniak had 3 so there is reason for the B's to feel positive that the line will be able to contribute going forward.
​

 

[MillanDynasty]

I recreated some NHL teams to redesign some new jersey styles in my future Franchise Mode playthroughs.

Quebec Nordiques

Minnesota Wild

Columbus Blue Jackets

The home jersey is almost the same as their current alternate, instead with the current logo. Here's the away uniform:

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 21, 2015
PHILADELPHIA

(2-2-1) vs. BOSTON

(2-2-1)​

The Bruins head back home after their short 2 game road trip to some good news: Jonas Gustavsson's groin injury has turned out to be not too serious and he will be on the bench tonight backing up Tuukka Rask against the Flyers.

Patrice Bergeron continues his recent hot streak and opens the scoring just 3:22 into the game when he stuffs home a Krug point shot that bounced off the end boards and to the side of the net. Mark Streit answers shortly after with a drive from the middle point over Rask's right shoulder that silences the home crowd.

In the 2nd period White and McDonald tally in the 7th minute to give Philly a 3-1 lead.

Matt Read bangs home a rebound with 8 minutes to go in the third for your final score of 4-1 Philly. The Bruins were outshout 34-24. They were outhit 21-10 by the Flyers and the questions around the team and their lacklustre early season performance are starting to creep in.​

Oct. 23, 2015
BOSTON

(2-3-1) vs. NEW YORK

(1-5-0)​

The game starts at a furious pace with both teams throwing hits hard and often. Former Bruin Johnny Boychuk lands an especially hard hit on his former partner Chara early on behind the Bruins net. John Tavares cracks open the scoring with a beauty- he recovers the puck along the boards, spins toward the middle and fires a wrister from a tight angle at the bottom of the circle that beats a surprised Rask on his glove side.

The second gets underway and Loui Eriksson beats Jaroslav Halak early on with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle thanks to Bergeron's screen in front. Tavares strikes back again with 3 minutes left in the 2nd. A 3 on 2 rush into the zone leaves him with an opportunity to tee up a hard one timer in the low slot and Rask never had a chance.

With 7 minutes to go in the 3rd period Brett Connolly steps into Spooner's drop pass on the rush and crushes a huge slapper past Halak from the top of the circle! The Bruins have tied the game and they have life again!

Krejci finally pots his first of the year on a low wrister aided by Pastrnak's screen just 49 seconds later. The Bruins lead 3-2!

Josh Bailey buries a rebound from a Grabovski shot and with just 2 minutes left the Islanders have tied the game. You'd think the Bruins were off to yet another overtime but Marchand comes up huge and tips the puck off of Hamonic's stick at the Bruins blue line and takes it all the way home, finishing with a sick forehand backhand deke before going top cheese on Halak. Seidenberg finishes with 7 hits.​

​

 

[FacebookFighter]

Need trade help

Hey guys,

So I'm starting my 2nd Sabres Franchise and want to reevaluate the team and want some advice.

So first of all, Kane or Okposo needs to go. Kane gets pissy anytime he's not on the first line and by midseason Eichel and Reinhart are more deserving of 1st line time. Also Okposo has a big contract I don't need. I really want to pick up another young gun to match my other young 1st liners. (Also trading both to get a 1st and 2nd would be nice)

2nd Trade I want to more like a collection of trades. I want to get rid of Bogozian, Franson and Gorges, They're all to expensive for my taste. I'd like to pick up Zadorov again.

3rd Trade. Goalie replacement. I want Lehner and Nillson out

Lines:
(1X)/ Eichel/ Reinhart
(1X)/ ROR/ Ennis
Larsson/Girg/Foligno
Des/FA Signing/ FA signing

D
(Risto)/(Kulikov)
(2X)/(2x)
McCabe/ (Zadorov)


G
(3x)
(3X)

x= # trade

Untouchables

Eichel
Reinhart
Risto
McCabe
Nylander
Guhle

acquisitions Ideas
OFF 1st
Nolan Patrick,
Bennett turned to a LW
Sharp
OFF 2nd
Jagr
Thachuk

DEF
Zadorov
Myers
Campbell

G
Murray
Enroth



I would like some suggestions and could use a lot of help

 

[JohnJamieson]

Oct. 27, 2015
ARIZONA

(3-5-1) vs. BOSTON

(3-3-1)​

Through 7 games the Bruins first line is absolutely on fire. The trio of Eriksson, Bergeron, and Marchand have combined for 24 points. The Bruins problem? The entire rest of the lineup have contributed... 24 points. The teams power play has been excellent thus far but 5-on-5 scoring has been an issue. The Bruins have juggled the lines for tonight's matchup against the 'Yotes but if the team can't produce more offense we could see the B's trying to acquire some secondary scoring.

Tonight the revamped bottom 9 look like this- Beleskey has been moved up to the 2nd line with Krejci and Pastrnak in the hopes that his physicality and energy can spark the Czech duo's considerable offensive prowess. Jimmy Hayes moves to the third line with Spooner and Connolly in the hopes they can find some chemistry together and Griffith is now on the 4th line with Kelly and Stempniak. Kevan Miller has been scratched and John-Michael Liles will see his first action of the year. Anders Lindback will start in goal tonight for Arizona.

The game is eerily quiet through the first 40 minutes. All the bad blood from the last game has been put aside and the teams grind out 2 periods of excellent 2-way hockey. The shots read 20-18 for Boston but the goalies have looked sharp and good scoring chances have been few and far between. There has been just a single minor penalty handed out so far- to Marchand for holding the stick.

Zbynek Michalek takes a holding penalty 30 seconds into the third and Matt Irwin promptly makes him pay with a rocket from the top of the circle over Lindback's blocker shoulder. At the 5:40 mark Bergeron adds his 5th of the year to stake the Bruins to a 2-0 lead.

Eriksson adds another halfway through the period and the Bruins never look back, a 3-0 victory sparked by a dominant 3rd period in which the B's outshot their opponents 11-5. Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for the shutout, Eriksson had a 3 point night and Irwin launched a team high 6 shots on goal. Irwin and new D-partner Liles displayed some good chemistry tonight as Liles finished plus one in a touch over 18 minutes of ice time.​

Oct. 30, 2015
BOSTON

(4-3-1) vs. FLORIDA

(4-4-1)​

Gustavsson gets the start in net tonight in the first of a back-to-back. Kulikov solves him just 4:24 into the game and Jagr adds another late in the period as Florida comfortably outplay the Bruins to a 2-0 lead.

Gustavsson is lights out in the 2nd period, making 19 saves, several of them outsanding as the Bruins are lucky to be entering the 3rd with the score still 2-0.

The Bruins press all third period long but Kulikov adds a short handed goal early in the third and Jiri Hudler scores with 2:20 to go as the Bruins fall 4-0. Gustavsson made 33 saves and held the team in there a lot longer than they really deserved with their early lackluster play. Chris Kelly is a minus 3 on the evening and took a double minor for high sticking in the 2nd. He hasn't been very good in the faceoff dot since moving to centre and you'd have to think the Bruins will be doing something in the near future to bolster their bottom 6.​

​

Oct. 31, 2015
BOSTON

(4-4-1) vs. TAMPA BAY

(6-5-0)​

Rask is back in against the Lightning on Hallowe'en night and whatever coach Claude Julien said to the team in between games seems to have worked as the Bruins dominate the first period, outshooting the Bolts 11-5. McQuaid fights Braydon Coburn 5 minutes in and landed several strong right hands that toppled Coburn to the ice. Coburn suffered a small cut to the bridge of his nose but remained in the contest. Both Krejci and Spooner hit a post late in the period and it took some deft saves by Bishop in the Lightning crease to keep the game tied at 0 after 1.

The Lightning find some momentum in the 2nd and Victor Hedman's soft seeing-eye wrister finds it's way through the crowd and into the Bruins' goal at the 8:39 mark.

Krug scores a sweetheart of a goal sneaking in close from the point to bang home a Krejci pass from behind the net on the powerplay at 2:33 of the third but Stamkos spoils it by replying with a laser beam to the top left corner just 22 seconds later.

McQuaid and Callahan drop the gloves at the 7:36 mark after McQuaid levels Drouin receiving a pass as he comes across the blue line. Drouin is a little shaken up on the play but does not leave the game. Callahan has no business fighting the much larger McQuaid but he manages to hold his own well enough to get his point across without taking too much damage. He is able to tie McQuaid up early enough that the linesmen step in to separate the combatants before any significant blows are struck.

The Lightning are able to hold on to their 2-1 lead and defeat the Bruins for the second time this season. The B's 4-5-1 start has to be considered underwhelming at best. The team has been inconsistent defensively and has lacked punch offensively thus far. They have been outscored 28-21 to start this season and presently sit in last place in the Atlantic.

Bergeron has been the team's best player (5G,7A,+9) and while Rask has not been spectacular he has been reasonable(2.40 GAA,.914SV%). The Krejci line has been woefully quiet and the Bruins will need to find a way to give their second line a boost. GM JJ stated this afternoon he is shopping around the league for a 4th line centre.​

​

 

[Squints09]

Hey guys,

So I'm starting my 2nd Sabres Franchise and want to reevaluate the team and want some advice.

So first of all, Kane or Okposo needs to go. Kane gets pissy anytime he's not on the first line and by midseason Eichel and Reinhart are more deserving of 1st line time. Also Okposo has a big contract I don't need. I really want to pick up another young gun to match my other young 1st liners. (Also trading both to get a 1st and 2nd would be nice)

2nd Trade I want to more like a collection of trades. I want to get rid of Bogozian, Franson and Gorges, They're all to expensive for my taste. I'd like to pick up Zadorov again.

3rd Trade. Goalie replacement. I want Lehner and Nillson out

Lines:
(1X)/ Eichel/ Reinhart
(1X)/ ROR/ Ennis
Larsson/Girg/Foligno
Des/FA Signing/ FA signing

D
(Risto)/(Kulikov)
(2X)/(2x)
McCabe/ (Zadorov)


G
(3x)
(3X)

x= # trade

Untouchables

Eichel
Reinhart
Risto
McCabe
Nylander
Guhle

acquisitions Ideas
OFF 1st
Nolan Patrick,
Bennett turned to a LW
Sharp
OFF 2nd
Jagr
Thachuk

DEF
Zadorov
Myers
Campbell

G
Murray
Enroth



I would like some suggestions and could use a lot of help

If I were you don't worry about that LW. Tank and draft Nolan Patrick or Timothy Liligren. Liligren is way better offensively than defensively. He notched an 80 point season for me. Patrick caps of at a 90-91 center but if you make him winger he gets even better. Liligren also become a 90+. I have a couple other ideas, but our you going for the realistic aspect?

 

[FacebookFighter]

If I were you don't worry about that LW. Tank and draft Nolan Patrick or Timothy Liligren. Liligren is way better offensively than defensively. He notched an 80 point season for me. Patrick caps of at a 90-91 center but if you make him winger he gets even better. Liligren also become a 90+. I have a couple other ideas, but our you going for the realistic aspect?

I'm not picky about realism, because this game isn't. Am I right?

 

[JohnJamieson]

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

BRANDON CARLO
Age:18
Position: D
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 185
Shoots: R
Drafted: #37 overall by Boston (2015)
Player Type: DFD
Potential: HIGH TOP 4
Overall Rating: 63​

A towering stay-at-home defenseman, Brandon Carlo fits the Bruins mold perfectly. His positional awareness, defensive acumen and mean streak are his defining characteristics. His game is marked not only by his strong physical presence but his smooth skating and his ability to keep the game simple and natural; he consistently finds and executes high percentage plays with the puck and helps drive possession for his team.

He made good progress this past season on his offensive game with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL, nearly doubling his yearly point total to 25 from 13 but his upside is limited in the offensive end. He has begun 2015-2016 back in the WHL with the Americans and is expected to remain there this season.

He is a superb defensive zone talent and you can't teach 6'5". As a result of his already well rounded game, physical attributes and high hockey IQ his projected NHL arrival is sooner than most from this draft year. He has a high ceiling and if his offensive game continues to improve he could become a very special player.
​

FRANK VATRANO
Age: 21
Position: LW
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 215
Shoots: L
Undrafted
Player Type: PWF
Potential: HIGH BOTTOM 6
Overall Rating: 76​

Born in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Frank Vatrano is an intriguing young player signed by the Bruins earlier this year. Undrafted out of the U.S. National Development League, Frankie had an excellent season last year with UMASS scoring 18 goals and adding 10 assists in 36 games. He was signed by the Bruins in March and finished the year in Providence scoring 10 ten goals and adding 2 assists- in the team's final 10 games.

Vatrano is not afraid to go to tough areas in the offensive end and plays with a relentless competitive energy. He skates surprisingly well and is undersized compared to a traditional power forward type player but has tremendous physical strength and the ability to outmuscle defenders in front of the net and create his own scoring opportunities. Outside of the net-front area he has developed a tremendously hard and accurate wrist shot and is a deadly threat in the slot. Simply put- the guy can score.

Vatrano has some areas in his game he needs to work on- his decision making with the puck is sometimes rash and his physicality and commitment in the offensive zone is not always mirrored at his own end of the rink. Frank is a feel good story with a very real chance to crack the Bruins lineup this season-maybe even soon given the senior team's goal scoring struggles early this season. To begin the year in Providence he has posted a stat line of 3G-3A-7 PIM-+4 and an impressive 36 SOG in the first ten games of the season.
​

AHL UPDATE​

Through 10 games the Providence Bruins have posted a 6-4-0 record. 1st line centre Alex Khoklachev leads the team with 9 points (2G,7A). Like the big club they have experienced forward depth and scoring issues this year. Providence have outscored their opponents 19-16 through the end of October. Vatrano and Khoklachev look to be the sole true forward prospects on the AHL roster right now. Zac Rinaldo and Max Talbot are experienced NHL players who could step into a bottom 6 role this year if need be.

The defense looks solid in Providence, they are young with no player older than 27, and they are a large group- the current starting six average 6'3", 209 lbs. The best prospects are Joe Morrow, acquired in the Seguin trade and Colin Miller, acquired in the Lucic trade who is currently out with a concussion but nearing a return.

Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre have been phenomenal thus far- Subban starting 7 games with a GAA of 1.56 and a SV% of .944 and McIntyre starting 3 with a GAA of 0.96 and a SV% of .958.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Nov. 3, 2015
DALLAS

(3-7-2) vs. BOSTON

(4-5-1)​

Just 2 minutes into the contest former Bruin Tyler Seguin beats Rask on a beautiful one timer to the short side on the rush. Dallas captain Jamie Benn makes it 2-0 when he bangs home the rebound on another Seguin shot just 5 minutes later.

Dallas control the play and get the best of the opportunities until Goligoski buries a power play goal with 7 minutes to go in the 2nd. Jimmy Hayes finally scores his first of the year a minute later and the Bruins are on the board.

Dallas own the puck and they have all the chances. McQuaid winds up dropping the gloves with Jordie Benn 8 minutes into the 3rd when Spooner gets taken down hard in front of Stars' goalie Kari Lehtonen after he freezes the puck. Quader stuns the lesser Benn brother with a lethal haymaker but Jamie gets revenge for the Benns as he scores his second of the night just a minute later to make the score a final 4-1 Stars. Through 11 games McQuaid has already amassed 5 fighting majors and 31 PIM, with Bergeron being the only other Bruin to have fought this season.

Sources indicate the Bruins were close to making a deal for Mike Santorelli of the Ducks but couldn't get it done. We've heard that they have also made an effort to acquire Marcus Kruger from Chicago, but cap constraints for both teams kept a deal from materializing. It looks like it could be difficult for the Bruins to make any improvements through trade right now with so little cap space and so few assets available league wide at this early stage of the season.

Pending UFA Chris Kelly looks to be a potential trade item this year. A remnant of the B's 2011 cup winning team, he is a consummate grinder and fan favourite. However, at 34 years of age he has had an awful start to the year. He is a team worst -10 and has yet to chip in a single point. At a $3 million dollar cap hit the expectations are simply far above his performance thus far.

John-Michael Liles is on an expiring contract and while he has quietly done a decent job on the 3rd pairing the Bruins do have Colin MIller waiting in the wings down in Providence. Liles is 34, carries a near $4 million dollar cap charge and his days as one of the league's better offensive D-men appear to be behind him. The 23 year old Miller is coming off a breakout season with 52 points in the AHL last year but has played only 4 games this year after suffering a concussion. Miller not only won the fastest skater competition at last year's all-star game, he set an AHL record for the hardest slap shot at 105.5 MPH.

There are some rumours that healthy scratch Austin Czarnik is not exactly the most popular guy on the team and it remains to be seen how the Bruins plan to handle this situation with the 22 year old rookie.

Bruins GM John Jamieson has repeatedly indicated that he would like to re-sign Loui Eriksson in the off-season and has publicly stated he will not trade the 5-time 20 goal scorer.​

Nov. 5, 2015
BOSTON

(4-6-1) vs. WASHINGTON

(6-5-0)​

The Bruins dominate the first period, outshooting the Caps 11-2 but backup goalie Philipp Grubauer is looking very sharp tonight and the game remains scoreless after 1.

John Carlson scores for the Caps with a hard wrister from the point on just their 4th shot of the game, 3:54 into the second. After 2 periods the Bruins lead in shots 23-11, but the Caps 1-0 lead persists.

A spirited 3rd period effort by the Bruins just can't change their fortunes. Alex Ovechkin rifles home a snap shot from the hash marks late in the period for the final tally of the contest and the Bruins fall 2-0.

"I thought we played some of our best hockey of the year. It's really frustrating. We created a lot of chances but we just couldn't finish. Grubauer played great and credit to him but this has been a problem for us all year long. We've got to get things turned around soon."- Bruins coach Claude Julien​

​

Nov. 7, 2015
BOSTON

(4-7-1) vs. MONTREAL

(9-5-1)​

Tuukka Rask will start tonight on the first night of a back-to-back on the road. The Bruins have juggled their lines yet again and a multitude of changes have come down. Coach Julien tried hard not to separate Pastrnak from Krejci but something was bound to give with the way things have been going. If the changes have no effect the Bruins may have to consider moving Marchand off of the top line to spread out the scoring or calling up Khoklachev or Vatrano to provide spark to their lower lines.

BRUINS FORWARD LINES

Eriksson/Bergeron/Marchand
Beleskey/Krejci/Hayes
Connolly/Spooner/Pastrnak
Stempniak/Kelly/Griffith​

The game starts out wild with both teams trading chances early. P.K. Subban jumps up into a 2-on-1 with Tomas Plekanec and finishes over a sprawling Rask to give the home team a 1-0 lead. The sold out Bell Centre crowd roars with approval as their star player celebrates a goal against their most hated rival.

The Bruins keep their composure and the game continues to excite with end-to-end play and hits being dished out left and right. Chara lands a thunderous bodycheck on David Desharnais along the side boards that left him gasping for air and skating slowly back to the bench. The crowd does not approve but on his very next shift he lines up Chris Kelly in the neutral zone for a crushing open ice hit and the audience's response is deafening.

Brett Connolly drills a David Pastrnak pass off the crossbar and in at the 10:15 mark and the game is tied at 1. Spooner has the secondary assist and there is hope for the new 3rd line. The Bruins had to kill a pair of Chara minor penalties in the period but emerge without any further damage.

Halfway through the 2nd period Jeff Petry heads to the box for a hit from behind on Krejci that draws the ire of the Bruins. A scuffle ensued with multiple players mixing it up but Krejci proved to be OK and no further penalties were handed out during the scrum. A minute into the power play Hudon's clearing attempt sails over the glass granting the Bruins a 5-on-3. The Bruins couldn't convert and the game would remain tied through 2.

Marchand's high stick on Gallagher goes unnoticed by the referees early in the third. When Gallagher gets up he has words for Marchand and the two engage in a short shoving match but they drop it and play goes on. Adam McQuaid is called for a cross check on Torrey Mitchell who the Bruins have been targeting all night after Mitchell's hit on Beleskey the last time the two teams met. Seidenberg's stick gets up high on Galchenyuk down below the goal line fighting for the puck and the Canadiens will have a minute long 2-man advantage. The Bruins PK come through and the game heads to overtime.

Overtime solves nothing as both teams manage just one shot on net. P.K. Subban records the shootout winner when he sells Rask on a hard fake to his right then tucks it through the five-hole. Bergeron went 18-for-28 in an impressive performance in the faceoff circle. Rask made 30 saves and was awarded the second star but the Bruins fall short again.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Nov. 8, 2015
BOSTON

(4-7-2) vs. NEW YORK

(5-9-0)​

The second half of the Bruins back-to-back finds them in New York taking on the Islanders. The B's carry a 5 game losing streak into the evening and are tied for last in goals for at a paltry 1.77. They are 17th in goals against at 2.69 and sit in 28th place in the league. Their powerplay started the season hot but haven't scored since Oct. 31 in Tampa and their percentage has fallen to a mediocre 15.9%. The Bruins PK unit has thus far delivered a 29-for-32 performance and their 90.6% kill rate tops the league. Of note is the unexpected fact that they have been the 6th-least penalized team this season.

Jonas Gustavsson gets the nod but he is beaten gloveside by a Mikhail Grabovski wrister just 1:15 into the game. Julien calls his timeout immediately and can be seen tearing into his team for their lack of hustle on the play. The Bruins have consistently been scored on early in games this year and the frustration is clearly getting to their coach. The Bruins get some good chances but then Pastrnak and Chara get sent off 15 seconds apart. Kyle Opkoso makes it 2-0 with a slapshot from the slot directly off the faceoff on the 5-on-3. Strome adds another just before Chara's penalty expires and the Islanders exit the first with a 3-0 lead. After giving up 3 power play goals all season the Bruins surrender 2 in just 1:46.

Marchand takes a high-sticking penalty 6 and a half minutes in and Brock Nelson scores the team's third PP goal of the night when he takes a pass out front and drills a shot off of Gustavsson's blocker and in. Kyle Okposo nets his second goal of the contest just 41 seconds later and the score is an embarrassing 5-0. To make matters worse Bergeron is slapped with a major for boarding with 5:03 to go for a nasty hit on Calvin De Haan.

The Bruins PK were able to get it together and kill that one off but in the second minute of the 3rd period John Tavares lights up the crowd with a beautiful move around Torey Krug on the rush and a sublime forehand finish over Gustavsson's glove. Patrice Bergeron scores to snap his 4 game point drought at 4:09 of the period and Anders Lee adds the final goal of the evening around the 12 minute mark for your final score: 7-1 Islanders.

Things couldn't get much worse here in Boston. They were outshot 29-22 and Gustavsson stayed in to surrender all 7 Isles goals. In 3 appearances this year he now sports shockingly awful marks of 5.35 GAA and .837 SV%. After we talked of the Bruins improved discipline this year in the pre-game they took 6 penalties tonight including a major and a double minor. The Bruins were visibly frustrated by the Isles physical play and took retaliatory penalties in response to the Isles clean checks. Captain Zdeno Chara was -3 on the evening and the Isles led in hits 22-12. One has to wonder how long Claude Julien can hold on to his job with the team's performance trending from bad to worse.​

Nov. 12, 2015
COLORADO

(11-3-1) vs. BOSTON

(4-8-2)​

Rask will return to the crease to face the red hot Avalanche who are surprise leaders of the Central Division. Kevan Miller returns to the lineup as Liles has been scratched. The defensive pairings have been mixed up and the Bruins will ice Chara with Irwin, Seidenberg with Krug, and McQuaid with Miller.

The Bruins fall victim to an early goal yet again. Carl Soderberg scores against his former team for the second time this year as the Avalanche pressure the Bruins early, registering 4 shots on goal already at the 1:13 mark. The Bruins respond better than last game. They start throwing their weight around and register 9 hits in the first period which closes at 1-0.

Brad Marchand scores just 16 seconds into the second to tie the game. David Pastrnak finally scores his first goal of the season at the 1:09 mark. It's a pretty one as he made a nice play to recover the puck along the boards in the Colorado zone and ran a little give and go with Spooner before planting a rocket over Varlamov's left shoulder for Boston's first lead since Oct. 27 against Arizona- 7 games ago. Pastrnak finally gets the monkey off his back and is visibly relieved as he is mobbed by his teammates. Beleskey adds one at 3:06, then Connolly shortly after at 3:33. Varlamov is replaced by backup Reto Berra. Soderberg scores his second of the evening on the power play as Beleskey sat in the box at the 6:24 mark. Eric Gelinas gets brave (or stupid?) and drops the gloves with Adam McQuaid at the 10:55 mark hoping to give his team some jump. Gelinas can't get his right arm loose to throw and McQuaid hits him with a barrage of vicious punches before jerseying him and hitting him on the top of his head with a couple lefts before the linesmen jump in to protect Gelinas. McQuaid skates off to thunderous applause from the home crowd. Gelinas must have lead in his boots because he absorbed a terrific beating that bloodied his face but somehow stayed on his feet throughout. 30 seconds later Brett Connolly adds his second of the night and Bergeron tips a Marchand shot through Berra's five hole in the final minute. 6-2 is the score as a wild 2nd period comes to a close.

Blake Comeau blows one by Rask at 3:25 to cut the lead to 3. Iginla scores another for the Avs at 14:21 but Pastrnak scores again at 15:10 for your 7-4 final score. The Bruins record 38 shots and 20 hits as they snap their 6 game losing streak. The Bruins scored six second period goals after notching just 4 in their previous 6 games.

Ryan Spooner had 4 assists while Connolly and Pastrnak each added 2 goals and an assist as the newly minted line racked up a combined 10 points and claimed all 3 stars of the game.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS TRADE STEMPNIAK

Lee Stempniak(left), Jay McClement(right)

Nov. 13, 2015
​

Today the Bruins traded Lee Stempniak to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Jay McClement and a 2016 6th round draft choice. Stempniak was openly dissatisfied with his playing time, but didn't do himself any favours with the quality of his play. In 15 games with the Bruins Stempniak was a horrendous -11 with just 1 assist and no goals. Stempniak has 165 career goals in 723 games. The oft-dealt 32 year old right winger joins his 10th NHL club. He projects to join the second line in Carolina with Victor Rask and Nathan Gerbe which would be a much better situation for him. Rask and Gerbe have both notched 15 points so far in 16 games but Chris Terry on the right side of that line had contributed just 5 points.

Of the trade Carolina GM Ron Francis says: "We think Lee adds a nice dimension to our 2nd line. He's got some scoring pop and he can skate with Victor and Nathan. He brings a more responsible and stronger defensive element to that line than we've had so far this year. He's an experienced guy with a professional work ethic and we think he will be great to have in our locker room as well."

The Bruins received Jay McClement in the trade. McClement is a 32 year old centre who has long been one of the league's most outstanding penalty killers. McClement is a terrific face-off man and joins the team having scored 3 goals with Carolina this year in 16 games with no assists and a -5. Bruins GM John Jamieson's first trade with the team is a small one but looks to be very sensible. With just 85 goals in 786 career games McClement does not light the lamp with regularity but is a much better fit for Boston's 4th line than Stempniak was.

The Bruins addressed a clear need with this trade: depth at the centre position. Stempniak's contract was expiring at the end of the year. He was making $850k. McClement is signed through the end of next season for $1.2 mil so the Bruins took on some more salary- although they sent down C Austin Czarnik today, who will benefit by immediately getting into the lineup in Providence. When all is said and done this leaves the Bruins with just under $1.5 mil of cap space, a touch more than they had before and the added 6th round pick is a nice bonus as well. At present the Bruins carry just 19 skaters on the NHL roster, with John-Michael Liles being the sole scratch.

We caught up with Bruins GM John Jamieson who said this regarding the trade: "We wish Lee the best, he's a fine individual but the fit was not good here in Boston. The Bruins are pleased with our acquisition of Jay McClement- a fine Kingston boy mind you. We've had trouble all year long with our fourth line and we think that Jay can be a stabilizing force for us in that spot in the lineup."​

Nov. 14, 2015

After the trade...

Boston|89 OFF|90 DEF|93 GOA|75% CHEM
Providence|74 OFF|79 DEF|79 GOA|74% CHEM

DETROIT

(10-5-1) vs. BOSTON

(5-8-2)​

Jay McClement joins the Bruins for his first game with the team as the 4th line centre tonight. Chris Kelly will move back to the left wing. Hayes moves down to join them and Seth Griffith gets a tryout on the 2nd line with Krejci and Beleskey. McClement is also on the 2nd PK unit tonight and the B's penalty killers are very busy in the first period. They kill a McQuaid hooking penalty and then a Chris Kelly double minor for high sticking early but when McQuaid takes another minor, this time for holding the Bruins can't kill it. Pavel Datsyuk scores at 12:01 of the period. Bergeron won the faceoff but Seidenberg's clearing attempt along the boards was stopped by Gustav Nyquist who fed it to an open Datsyuk at the left faceoff dot. Datsyuk had space and strode towards the net with a pump fake then went backhand short side over Rask's shoulder and sent his water bottle for a ride. A truly magnificent goal. The Bruins kill a Beleskey slashing minor that overlaps a Kevan Miller holding penalty but one second after Miller gets out of the box Datsyuk bangs home the rebound off a Kronwall shot for a 2-0 lead. The Red Wings outshoot the Bruins 14-3 as they spend an incredible 11:35 on the powerplay during the first period.

Tomas Jurco scores to make it 3-0 at 7:17 of the second. Seth Griffith finally records the Bruins first shot of the second period at 10:31. Incredibly it is the first Bruins shot since Pastrnak was stopped by Petr Mrazek at 7:40 of the first- a stretch of 22:51, one of the longest stretches for a team without a shot in the history of the game. The Bruins twice get a power play in the second- and twice nullify it with a penalty of their own.

Tomas Tatar adds a 4th for the Wings at 5:23 of the 3rd. Matt Beleskey breaks Mrazek's bid for a shutout with 9:46 to go in the game with a tip on a Kevan Miller shot. McQuaid has a scrap with Luke Glendening late in the game because neither of them have anything better to do and McQuaid pounds the crap out of the much smaller Glendening. 4-1 is the final score as the Wings outshoot the Bruins 39-17. Seidenberg ties his season high with 7 hits. The Bruins take 23 PIM in the game while Detroit take 9. Nyquist registered 3 assists in an easy win for the Red Wings.​

Nov. 17, 2015
SAN JOSE

(10-3-4) vs. BOSTON

(5-9-2)​

Tommy Wingels takes a penalty just 45 seconds in and the Bruins manage three shots on the powerplay but they can't get one past James Reimer. Barclay Goodrow beats Rask blocker side with a wrister through traffic for his first of the year with just 1:23 to play in the first and the Sharks lead.

Seidenberg and Miller take a pair of penalties early on and the Sharks convert on both power plays with goals by Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Pastrnak scores for the B's at 11:57 and it's 3-1 Sharks. Paul Martin scores yet another power play goal for the Sharks after Brad Marchand gets 2 for holding the stick and the 2nd ends 4-1 San Jose.

Marchand scores just 30 seconds into the 3rd and we have a 4-2 game, which proves to be the final score in another disappointing loss for Boston.​

​

Nov. 19, 2015
MINNESOTA

(7-8-2) vs. BOSTON

(5-10-2)​

The Bruins PK has tumbled all the way from first to 28th in just 4 games as they had a revolting stretch of allowing 9 goals on 23 attempts. This drops them from over 90% efficiency to below 80% and the team is now 1-7-1 in their last 9. They sit second last in the league and it's starting to look like the season might as well already be over in Beantown.

The Bruins continue to shoot themselves in the foot with penalties and find themselves down 1-0 on a Granlund goal after faltering on their 4th penalty kill- of the first period. Lucky for them Bergeron responds with a goal at 16:03 and the period ends 1-1 with the Wild carrying a 14-11 edge in shots.

The Wild outshoot the Bruins again in the second 11-7 but the score doesn't change. They continue to get the better chances in the 3rd but Patrice Bergeron scores his second goal of the night with just 2:17 left in the game and the Bruins win despite being outshot 37-26. Marchand led the team with 5 hits and assisted on both Bergeron goals.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

Nov. 21, 2015
TORONTO

(11-9-0) vs. BOSTON

(6-10-2)​

The teams look evenly matched to start the game but Joffrey Lupul opens the scoring for Toronto at 10:23. When Van Riemsdyk drives the net and gets stopped, Lupul is right behind to bury the rebound into a wide open net.

The game is a fast paced and hard fought battle. The two teams are laying it on the line and blocking tons of shots. Chris Kelly, mired in a season-long slump is doing anything he can to get himself fired up. He mixes things up with Kadri early in the 2nd after a whistle and registers a pair of big hits on the forecheck during his next shift. Patrice Bergeron ties the game with 4:36 to go in the period. He dumps it into the corner from the red line and Marchand gets deep and recovers the puck behind the goal line when it takes a funny hop over Martin Marincin's stick. He fires it out front to Bergeron who directs it on net. Stalock makes a pad save on the unexpected shot but Bergeron gets 2 more whacks at it while Jake Gardiner tries to remember what he's supposed to do here, because you know... Jake Gardiner.

Jake Gardiner
​

After 2 periods shots are 15-15 and the score is 1-1. The game opens up in the third and both teams try as they might cannot score. We are heading into overtime. The Bruins are 2-2 in their 4 OT appearances this year and Toronto are 0-3 in their 2 OT games. That's not a typo. We're talking about the Maple Leafs here.

The Leafs outshoot the Bruins 5-0 in OT but Rask Hodors it shut and we head to the shootout. Will this writer be forced to eat his cruel words and suffer for his rude inferences about Jake Gardiner and the Maple Leafs?

The shootout proceeds with both goalies making clutch save after clutch save. Not a single goal is scored. The bruins 7th shooter is Torey Krug who starts in on Stalock. He picks up speed as he crosses the blueline and nimbly stickhandles back and forth. He gets in tight and Stalock goes down and Krug lifts it up and over... and Stalock kicked it out with the back of his leg! WHAT A SAVE! Krug can't believe it! Absolutely robbed by Alex Stalock! Enter: Jake. Gardiner. He prepares to take his team on his back...

Left to right: Kadri, Marner, Gardiner
​

Nazem looks pretty good with long hair, am I right? Gardiner takes a deep breath and the whistle blows. He stands a moment then heads towards Tuukka Rask. He takes his time and skates down inside the left circle and lets go a surprise snapshot with a lightning quick release... Rask catches it easily. GET STOPPED GARDINER! WHOOOOOOO!!!!!

Anyways Chris Kelly gets a chance to start redeeming himself and totally blows it. Grabner comes next for the Leafs and uses his speed to get Rask moving and off balance and buries an easy goal for a Maple Leafs victory, who improve to 1-6 in their 3 OT contests.

Bruins GM John Jamieson had this to say after the epic shooutout loss: "On one hand I am extremely frustrated with our team's inability to score goals and win games. On the other hand at least it wasn't Gardiner. I actually had a bet with Cam where I had to fire myself if he scored the winner."​

​

Nov. 23, 2015
BOSTON

(6-10-3) vs. TORONTO

(12-9-0)​

Oh God, these guys again? I thought the Gardiner/karma struggle was over...

Jonas Gustavsson, "The Monster" gets the start tonight against his former team. Wouldn't you know it... at 6:10 of the first period... Jake Gardiner scores and the Leafs have a 1-0 lead. The Leafs enter the zone and work the puck down low and behind the net. After a tough battle Leo Komarov manages to move the puck back out to Morgan Rielly at the point. Gardiner sees some open space and moves down and towards the middle of the ice and Rielly gets a nice little saucer pass over Matt Beleskey's stick. Gardiner settles the puck down quick then fires a huge clapper that Gustavsson barely even moved on. Toronto dominate the first period, outshooting the Bruins 17-6.

Shots in the second are 12-8 Toronto but the score remains 1-0. Gardiner has really shown up tonight, he's had 3 hits too, including a beauty where he laid out former teammate Jay McClement. Scott Oake from CBC caught up with him between periods.

Scott: "Jake, you've had probably your best game of the season tonight. You had that beautiful goal in the first and you've been heavily involved in the play all night long. There was a lot said in the media about your performance last game. Did you take it personally and did you use it as motivation for tonight?"

Jake stares into the camera. There is a reflection of fire visible in his eyes as the Game Of Thrones theme music seems to emerge from nowhere. The camera zooms in slowly as his features tighten.

Jake: "Hodor."

Jake Gardiner scores his second of the night and fourth of the year at 2:57 of the 3rd with a slapshot from the point that Gustavsson never saw through Van Riemsdyk's screen. It's a backbreaker and Brad Boyes follows up with his 3rd of the season at 6:39. Jimmy Hayes scores one for the Bruins at 11:42. It's just his second of the year and the snakebitten fourth line get on the board for the first time all season if you can believe that. The Maple Leafs outshoot the Bruins 49-22 in a brutal affair. Jake Gardiner is the first star and Jonas Gustavsson makes 46 saves in the loss.

At the quarter season mark we can see the Bruins (6-11-3) are simply not relevant at this time and we will drop daily coverage.​

​

 

[JohnJamieson]

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

Kevan Miller (left) shares pointers with Jakub Zboril (right) at Bruins training camp this year

JAKUB ZBORIL
Age:18
Position: D
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 185
Shoots: L
Drafted: #13 overall by Boston (2015)
Player Type: TWD
Potential: HIGH TOP 4
Overall Rating: 58​

Jakub Zboril brings a strong two-way game and a real mean streak to the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. He has good size and is a very fast and fluid skater. Zboril left the Czech Republic and played his first season in the Q last year and amassed 13 goals and 20 assists in his first 44 major junior games. Zboril showcased a heavy, accurate shot and good instincts in the offensive zone.

Zboril is a ferocious competitor. One NHL scout we spoke to says Zboril's name was mentioned most frequently by other QMJHL players as the player they least like to play against. He can be downright vicious and has no fear of dropping the gloves. He has made a habit of stepping up to protect his teammates and racked up 73 PIM in those same 44 games. He has a very intimidating presence at the junior level and at 185 lbs still has room on his frame to add muscle. He is an excellent defender. He positions himself very well and anticipates the play nicely. He is extremely physical along the boards and has also shown a penchant for stepping up and delivering big open-ice hits.

Zboril has all the tools and is a high quality prospect. He can skate, he can shoot, he can hit, he can fight and he has great vison. At times he can step over the line with his physical play and take bad penalties. With some work on his discipline and conditioning he could be even more effective and projects to be a minute munching top 4 defenseman who can contribute on the PP and the PK.
​

ZACH SENYSHYN
Age: 18
Position: RW
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 195
Shoots: R
Drafted: #15 overall by Boston (2015)
Player Type: SNP
Potential: MEDIUM BOTTOM 6
Overall Rating: 57​

Zach Senyshyn was projected to go in the second round this summer but Don Sweeney chose him at #15. The pick has been criticized pretty heavily as a reach but only time will tell what the offensively gifted winger is truly capable of. His first full year of play with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds saw him score 26 goals- from their fourth line. Senyshyn already displays tremendous speed and a great wrist shot. He has great hands; his skill with the puck in tight on the goaltender is formidable. Senyshyn did most of his scoring on the rush and defensemen around the OHL simply could not handle him when he was able to approach them with speed. He made some good players look very bad.

His body of work so far is small and that is one reason his perceived floor is low. There is also concern at the NHL level where he will not receive the kind of space he had to use his speed last year that he may be much less effective. There are deficiencies in his defensive game that he will need to work on to play at a high level in the pros and the simple fact is that Senyshyn is a project. The Bruins bought low and hope he pays off big-time later. Senyshyn has handled the negative press about his high draft position very well and says it drives him to prove the Bruins right to have chosen him. He has 11 goals so far in his first 22 games in the Soo this year.

He has good size and uses his reach well to shield the puck from defenders. Towards the end of last season and through the start of this year he has been getting better in high traffic areas and is developing a nose for the net when the team sets up in the offensive zone. He is a high risk/high reward type of pick.
​

AHL UPDATE​

Providence have gone 5-2-0 since we last checked in and sit at an 11-6-0 record. Khoklachev still leads the team with 14 points (3G,11A). Max Talbot leads the team with 9 goals after catching fire on a brand new 3rd line with Ben Ferreiro and Joonas Kemppainen. Austin Czarnik has a goal and 6 assists in just 5 games since returning to Providence and Colin Miller has recently returned to the lineup after his concussion and 10 game absence.

Defensively the team has continued to impress and Malcolm Subban is now 8-4-0 with a GAA of 1.66, a SV% of .942 and 2 shutouts while McIntyre's numbers in relief are just as impressive: 3-2-0, 1.36 GAA, .940 SV.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

GRIFFITH SENT DOWN, FERRARO RECALLED

Griffith(left), Ferraro with Red Wings last year(right)

Dec. 13, 2015
​

The Bruins (8-17-3) sent struggling young forward Seth Griffith down to Providence (18-6-1) today and recalled Landon Ferraro to enter the lineup. The 22 year old Griffith had just 2 points in 24 games with the big club. He will join the first line on the Baby B's with red hot performers Frank Vatrano (25 GP, 12 G, 13 A) and Alexander Khoklachev (25 GP, 5 G, 21 A). The Bruins hope that joining a winning team and receiving some extra ice time will refresh the young sniper's confidence.

Meanwhile Ferraro (25 GP, 8 G, 11 A with Providence) will join the big club and skate on the 2nd line with Beleskey and Krejci tomorrow night as Boston host the Edmonton Oilers (15-15-0). The latest 4th line incarnation of Kelly, McClement, and Hayes has been starting to find a groove and playing well lately and embattled coach Claude Julien said he hopes not to disturb them. Landon is the son of Ray Ferraro, has skated in 7 NHL contests with the Detroit Red Wings and has one career goal to his name.

Some thought that 21 year old Vatrano would be the more likely call up but it appears the Bruins plan to leave him be for now. We spoke by phone with Bruins GM John Jamieson regarding the roster moves earlier today: "Providence is having a lot of success right now and we really didn't want to disturb anything down there but we felt it was time to give someone else a shot. We really like the look of Frankie for the future and we just didn't want to call him up and cut his ice time. Landon is a little older at 24, has played NHL hockey before and obviously because of his dad has been around pro hockey his entire life. He knows what to expect and what the compete level is like and we think he has a chance to stick with the big club this year."

Providence goaltender Malcolm Subban left Friday night's contest against the Hartford Wolf Pack with an undisclosed injury. Jeremy Smith dressed and was thrown right in to play his first game of the year the following night against the Portland Pirates and looked shaky at times but claimed a 6-5 victory, managing 32 saves in the process. Zane McIntyre is expected to get the start tonight as Hartford is back in town. There have been no updates on Subban's condition but the team and fans hope it is nothing serious as Subban's play this year has been excellent and represents a big step forward for the young netminder.​

​

BRUINS BEAT OILERS 4-2, RECALL KHOKLACHEV

Dec.14, 2015
​

Just a day after Landon Ferraro joined the Bruins roster, it has been announced his Providence linemate Alex Khoklachev will be coming up to join him. The Bruins defeated the Oilers 4-2 tonight but Jay McClement played just 4 minutes before leaving the game with an upper body injury. Management say he is day-to-day and Khoklachev will join the team and centre the 4th line with Kelly and Hayes. Khoklachev has recorded 5 goals and 21 assists in 26 games in the AHL so far this year. Wednesday's game against the Penguins will be the 22 year old centre's 5th career NHL game. He yas yet to record an NHL point.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS FIRE CLAUDE JULIEN

Dec. 19, 2015
​

After nearly 8 and a half seasons, Claude Julien's reign as Boston's bench boss is over. Julien's 360 wins are the second highest mark in the franchise's history and his 57 postseason victories rank first. He guided the team to it's most recent Stanley cup victory in 2011, another finals appearance in 2013 when they lost to Chicago, a 2014 Presidents' Trophy, one Atlantic Division and three Northeast Division titles. Julien remained behind the Bruins bench this year even though they missed the playoffs last year for the first time since he came on board. The Bruins' struggles this season have been well documented and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until this day would come.

This year's edition of the Boston Bruins saw the key subtractions of star players Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton, the last 2/3rds of their once vaunted 4th line as Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille departed, as well as solid middle 6 forwards Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg. The Bruins added forwards Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes as well as defenseman Matt Irwin. Beleskey and Irwin have been so-so and Hayes has been downright awful. Last year's squad just missed the playoffs which was considered a huge disappointment but this year's team definitely looks weaker on paper and has been completely unable to score goals. No matter the line combinations, no matter the adjustments made to their game the team averages just 1.78 goals through 31 games with a record of 9-19-3 that leaves them in last place in the league. It's fair to say that Julien didn't have the level of talent on this team he has been accustomed to over the years but there's simply no way he was getting the best out of his players.

The Bruins have named Julien's assistant Joe Sacco Interim Head Coach. Sacco played 738 NHL games for the Maple Leafs, Mighty Ducks, Islanders, Capitals and Flyers, and had a 4 year tenure as head coach in Colorado from 2009-2013.​

 

[JohnJamieson]

HALFWAY REPORT​

​

After 41 games...

Boston|89 OFF|88 DEF|93 GOA|74% CHEM
Providence|74 OFF|82 DEF|79 GOA|78% CHEM

​

Jan. 13, 2016

At the halfway mark the Boston Bruins still sit last in the NHL with just 31 points. In stark contrast just before the AHL halfway point Providence lead their entire league with 51 points in 37 games out of 76.

Boston have been especially awful on the road, compiling a 4-12-3 mark. Krejci lost some time due to injury and Zdeno Chara has missed the last 4 games and is not expected back for another 2 weeks or so. Alexander Khoklachev scored in the 3rd period of his first game up with Boston and has 3 goals and an assist in 12 games. It's already clear the Bruins will be sellers this year; let's take a closer look at trade possibilities.

First of all Rask, Chara, and Krejci have full no movement clauses and may not be traded.

Marchand may be asked for a 15 team trade list but this seems unlikely.

Bergeron may be asked for a 3 team list and this scenario is far-fetched.

Eriksson could be asked for a 14 team list but GM JJ promised he wouldn't trade Eriksson, never imagining the awful results his team would put up this year. Anybody would trade Eriksson here rather than lose him to free agency but a promise is a promise.

Matt Beleskey has been asked to provide the 23 teams he can be traded to as it looks like the Bruins are ready to cut bait with the 27 year old who is in just the first year of a contract that spans five and has an AAV of $3.8 mil. Beleskey has just 6 goals and 7 assists so far after recording 22 and 10 last season in 65 games with the Ducks.

Chris Kelly and John-Michael Liles are veteran pending UFAs with a combined $6.875 mil cap hit who haven't produced this year and will almost certainly be traded if the team can find any takers.

Jimmy Hayes is signed for 2 more seasons at $2.3 mil but the 6'6" winger hasn't produced anywhere he's been put in the lineup this year. After 19 goals and 35 points last year he's played all 41 games of this season and managed just 3 goals and 4 assists with a -18 mark. His confidence is shot and reports out of Boston indicate his continued poor performance is really getting to him. With his ice time and opportunity to make a turnaround dwindling it seems like it would be best for both sides if the Bruins were able to engineer a trade.

The Bruins biggest problem is that the performance of the players they may look to deal has been so uniformly poor this season that it could limit the return they get unless they find teams that are very high on those players or have the perfect need/fit for a trade.

Boston still have a glut of right wingers in the minors and could use their depth in this area in trade negotiations. Max Talbot is having an excellent season in the AHL and might be valuable to a team looking for forward depth for a playoff run but he has been a big part of Providence's success which could make trading him unappealing. Zac Rinaldo or Tyler Randell look like very viable trade options from their minor league RW depth.

With their performance this year it seems unlikely they would try flipping any of their best prospects for NHL talent and they figure to only try to get younger.

We would expect the Bruins to target draft picks and possibly a backup goalie. Jonas Gustavsson has been subpar and is a UFA at the end of this season. Malcolm Subban has come a long way but will they want him to sit behind Rask next year or be the man in the minors? If the Bruins are able to clear a decent amount of cap space John Jamieson is expected to be in the market for a good young winger to help address the teams scoring needs.​

BOSTON CATEGORY LEADERS

G |BERGERON|15
A |MARCHAND|21
PTS |BERGERON, MARCHAND|28
PIM |MCQUAID|92
+/- |BERGERON|+8
PPG |KRUG|4
GWG |BERGERON, ERIKSSON|2
HITS |SEIDENBERG|129

PROVIDENCE CATEGORY LEADERS

G |VATRANO|17
A |KHOKLACHEV, KEMPPAINEN|21
PTS |VATRANO|32
PIM |RINALDO|83
+/- |TROTMAN|+19
PPG |VATRANO|4
GWG |VATRANO|5
HITS |BELLEMORE|112

TEAM STATISTIC REPORT

TEAM | W | L | OTL | PTS | GFPG | GF RANK | GAPG | GA RANK | PP% | PP RANK | PK% | PK RANK BOSTON |13|23|5|31|1.83|30TH|2.98|28TH|11.8|28TH|80.3|24TH
PROVIDENCE |25|11|1|51|2.92|3RD|1.97|1ST|15.0|19TH|89.3|2ND

 

[JohnJamieson]

BRUINS TRADE SEIDENBERG FOR NICHUSHKIN

Dennis Seidenberg (left), Valeri Nichushkin (right)

Jan. 25, 2016
​

The Bruins traded longtime defensive stalwart Dennis Seidenberg to the Dallas Stars today. Seidenberg and the B's 2018 2nd round pick were sent off in exchange for young sniper Valeri Nichushkin and a 4th round selection in this year's draft. Dallas sit in the first wild card spot in the West, but with long-term injuries to defenseman Johnny Oduya and Jordie Benn the team chose to make a move and deal from their considerable offensive depth. Oduya suffered a gruesome injury 2 nights ago against the Blackhawks, breaking his leg after sliding feet first into the boards while skating back hard to retrieve a puck behind the Dallas net. There is no timetable for Benn's return but he is not expected back any time soon as he deals with severe post-concussion symptoms.

Things went sour in Dallas for former 10th overall pick Nichushkin and it was leaked to the media that he would not re-sign with the Stars next year and would return to Russia to play in the KHL if he wasn't traded. He is a terrific offensive talent with a blistering shot and good size but has holes in his defensive game, drawing comparisons to Alexander Semin. He has 27 points in 49 games so far this year, solid totals for a 3rd-liner to be sure but his 21 career goals in 136 games leave something to be desired for such a highly touted goal scoring prospect. The Bruins have stated the 20-year-old will step directly on to their second line and the 1st PP unit. It's his chance to show that he has what it takes to be a consistent offensive threat in the NHL.

Seidenberg has played for the Bruins since 2010 and was a key component in their 2011 Stanley Cup win with his bruising physical play and intelligent work with the puck in all 3 zones. He has enjoyed a bounce back year on a miserable Bruins squad after missing 48 games last year with a devastating knee injury. He ranks 3rd in the league with 138 hits, trailing only Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marc Staal. The 34 year old Seidenberg is signed for another 2 years and should provide stability and grit to a Dallas defense corps that boasts plenty of offensive talent but has taken heavy criticism for weak defensive zone play. He will join the Dallas top 4; Lindy Ruff can now mix and match with Seidenberg, John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers as he sees fit.

The key to this trade is Nichushkin. He forced Nill's hand and while the Dallas GM can't be too happy about the return for a former top 10 pick it's better than nothing if Nichushkin had bolted for Russia at the end of the year. One has to wonder whether or not he will re-sign with Boston after the season and after being passed over in favour of other young Stars' players for ice-time consistently, there are those who question whether he truly has what it takes to play in the top 6 in the NHL. Boston GM John Jamieson has made his first big move with the team and it looks like this: either he's hit a home run if Nichushkin sticks around and lives up to the hype or the B's gave up Seidenberg and a 2nd rounder for nothing.

The Bruins also announced they have sent Alex Khoklachev back down to Providence to make room for Nichushkin. Meanwhile, they have called up Linus Arnesson to play on the 3rd pair until Zdeno Chara returns from injury. Perhaps Joe Morrow or Colin Miller seemed more likely options for call up but both players would be subject to waivers on return to the AHL. Providence (30-12-1) continue to steamroll the opposition and will only be better with Khoklachev's return.​