Confirmed with Link: Chris Bourque signed by KHL club AK Bars Kazan

[qc]

Not at all. This is totally false.

He never played another game for the Bruins after he was assigned to Prov 20 games in. Its not like after 10 games of Pandawful sucking he got another crack...

I am sorry, I am hardly a Bourque fan, especially since I played against him as a kid and wasn't impressed and never thought he could be a pro. But the guys who replaced him were worse and Peverley and Kelly got worse when he left their line.


AND..... OUR RECORD WAS PRETTY DAMNED GOOD THE 20 OR SO GAMES HE PLAYED FOR US!!!!!!!!

I think she was referring to his entire career. He has had plenty of opportunities throughout his career, and he has squandered them all. He's better than Pandolfo or Daug, but he's not worthy of a regular 3rd line spot.

And let's not pretend that he was a contributor to our early success in the regular season.

 

[fedfed]

By the way, it's Ak Bars. AK is not the abbreviation, it's Tatar word meaning "White". Not that it changes much.

 

[Gee Wally]

Meh, I wish the kid well.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

I think she was referring to his entire career. He has had plenty of opportunities throughout his career, and he has squandered them all. He's better than Pandolfo or Daug, but he's not worthy of a regular 3rd line spot.

And let's not pretend that he was a contributor to our early success in the regular season.

Yeah, that is a fair point.

I was just saying that after he went down he got no more chances with us. And the miserable/embarrassing play of those who followed him in his spot along with our record without him/vs with him work in his favor.

 

[Alicat]

I think she was referring to his entire career. He has had plenty of opportunities throughout his career, and he has squandered them all. He's better than Pandolfo or Daug, but he's not worthy of a regular 3rd line spot.

And let's not pretend that he was a contributor to our early success in the regular season.

Thanks!

He had the opportunity to learn how to re-invent parts of his game from 3 core guys who did (Paille, Kelly and Pevs) and he made 0 effort to do so.

He had this "don't you know who my dad is" vibe going on that made things worse.

 

[cat400]

No need to rag on Bourque.

He doesn't appear quite ready for a full time NHL job and his going to the KHL gives Chiarelli $600k extra to work within the cap.

Pro hockey, for a player, is a short-term business and I wish him all the best.

 

[bruinsbeer]

Best of luck to you in Russia, Chris. Sorry it didn't work out. Thanks for saving us on the cap next year.

 

[nycbruins*]

1) bourque's cap hit would have fallen below the threshold where any of it would've counted next season, so the cap relief thing is not true.
2) i believe his contract will still count on the 50-man limit, & providence won't get their most dangerous scorer.

So, the only positive is jacobs saving $550,000.

 

[Artemis]

Thanks!

He had the opportunity to learn how to re-invent parts of his game from 3 core guys who did (Paille, Kelly and Pevs) and he made 0 effort to do so.

He had this "don't you know who my dad is" vibe going on that made things worse.

Is it that he didn't try, or that he just wasn't capable?

Bourque looked to me like the classic AAAA player, terrific in the AHL but just not able to take the next step. Alexandre Giroux is another example - he was a great player in the A but could never stick in the NHL. It's not these guys don't try, or feel entitled, or refuse to learn. It's just that, bottom line, they aren't good enough.

 

[Artemis]

1) bourque's cap hit would have fallen below the threshold where any of it would've counted next season, so the cap relief thing is not true.
2) i believe his contract will still count on the 50-man limit, & providence won't get their most dangerous scorer.

So, the only positive is jacobs saving $550,000.

I have no idea what "fallen below the threshold" means regarding cap hits.

 

[08SeaBass08]

Is it that he didn't try, or that he just wasn't capable?

Bourque looked to me like the classic AAAA player, terrific in the AHL but just not able to take the next step. Alexandre Giroux is another example - he was a great player in the A but could never stick in the NHL. It's not these guys don't try, or feel entitled, or refuse to learn. It's just that, bottom line, they aren't good enough.

All too true. The problem was that people had unreasonable expectations of him. High hopes, sure, but unfair expectations. Hope he does well in the KHL, and he's welcome to take Caron with him.

 

[Paddington]

Is he still a Bruin until the end of the season?

 

[DevilsHughes86]

Best of luck!

 

[westernhome]

Still never understood the hate he received on these boards. He wasn't great that's for sure but I feel like people here expected his AHL game to transition to the NHL and were left severely disappointed.

it is strange how people seem angry at him, the kid tried his guts out, never took a shift off, he just didn't quite have it figured out to be able to overcome his size, maybe it would have came a little better with more time or maybe not, but he did do his best within his abilities

 

[nycbruins*]

I have no idea what "fallen below the threshold" means regarding cap hits.

Not sure of the terms exactly, but the equation comes out where you can still bury contracts under about $900,000 in the minors without incurring the cap hit.

 

[Artemis]

Not sure of the terms exactly, but the equation comes out where you can still bury contracts under about $900,000 in the minors without incurring the cap hit.

OK, thanks.

 

[the overrated]

Thanks!

He had the opportunity to learn how to re-invent parts of his game from 3 core guys who did (Paille, Kelly and Pevs) and he made 0 effort to do so.

He had this "don't you know who my dad is" vibe going on that made things worse.

Any examples of things he said/did/didn't do to give you this vibe?

The kid seemed to work hard & try to help the team from my viewpoint; it was fans that acted like he was being given opportunities because of his father, not anything that he was actually doing.

 

[Gator Mike]

Don't understand the vitriol for the kid.

He tried. I thought he played hard. Some people can reinvent their game; others can't.

No reason to bash him on his way out of town.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Most people who followed Chris's career before he got to Boston knew this was inevitable.

 

[Alicat]

Any examples of things he said/did/didn't do to give you this vibe?

The kid seemed to work hard & try to help the team from my viewpoint; it was fans that acted like he was being given opportunities because of his father, not anything that he was actually doing.

His college "career" was the beginning of it. Sometimes you just have a vibe with nothing specific behind it.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

His college "career" was the beginning of it. Sometimes you just have a vibe with nothing specific behind it.

My college roommates wife was one of his closest friends in HS. I know from her and can explain pretty easily why his BU career was so short lived.

She told me he is an extremely dumb kid academically. (To the extreme like in classes he would be the only one of 20 kids in a class to not understand something and would always need extra help.) He wasn't really suited to attending a high pressure academic institution like BU and he probably would have been deemed ineligible at some point if he hung around.

Thats all there is to his BU career being short and him leaving/quitting etc etc. He couldn't handle the academics. Its not laziness or entitlement I think he was just very dumb in the classroom.

 

[stungun]

he is a *******. i wished him the best in a bruins uniform but this does not surprise me. believe me the apple falls very far from the tree, chris is and never will be half the man
his father is. remember wanting to toss his ass out of the restaurant i was working in after he quit on BU and was skating for Portland Pirates for 2 weeks. he was up here having
dinner with dad and rays agent and a bunch of td bank execs. the kid was drinking bud lights in a function room, so wanted to pull the shirt over his head and tko his ass but the
man wouldnt let me. have fun in the motherland you putz........... he is a nobody.

 

[vjcsmoke]

Good luck in the KHL Chris.


http://en.rsport.ru/hockey/20130618/668766031.html

Bye bye! And so ends the Chris Bourque era. Can't say that I'm upset that he's gone.

Still mad that we drafted Zach Hamill instead of Logan Couture though... LOL

 

[GX]

I doubt Kazan is paying him more than that he'll prob make 3 or 4 hundred next year I am guessing he'll take a paycut.

North American players are generally way overpaid by Russian KHL clubs - otherwise you can't really get them to go to depressive commieblock cities (alright, Kazan is not the case, but still, the stereotype is there). I'm pretty sure his contract is bigger than 600tk, additionally income tax in Russia is ridiculously low - 13%, cost of living - smaller.

And dominating the KHL won't mean squat to NHL teams and won't get him another chance in a different organization.

He must first dominate the KHL.. Won't be that easy. Not only skillwise, it usually also takes some two months before NA players manage to adjust to KHL ice size. The good thing is that Bourque has already spent a season in Europe. In 10-11 he was let go after just 8 games - scored a goal and collected a -3.

Being a Latvian, it is hard for me to imagine Daugavins in the Top 6 of any potential Cup contender in the KHL (we'll see how the Ak Bars rebuild continues, but I suspect that they will remain one).

And, no, I'm not trying to compare Bourque to Daugavins, just paint the picture using a player whose on-ice capabilities I know better.

 

[Therick67]

Didn't hate CB, just didn't think he was the answer and his game is limited. if he can't score, he's useless.