Eating crow

[Sevendust]

Nick Ritchie almost a point per game player with 9 points after 11 games. Crazy

If everybody who guessed before the season that this guy would be playing on the fourth line, be healthy scratched, be waived, bought out or traded would give this post a like, it probably would put up a new record on hf

 

[Gee Wally]

I was nervous about signing Miller for sure, and I was worried about the defense as a whole. I’ll eat crow on that.

I'm with Shep.
This sums it up for me too.

 

[aguineapig]

Cooking with Crow Meat: A Recipe for "Blackbird" Pie
I find when I get a (Murray) Craven for some of this Bird, I use this recipe. But then I take some Ginger Baker and add it to Cream. Pour in a shot of Bourbon to make a (Rick) Bourbonnais sauce. I then take a (Paul) Shmyr of the sauce and add it on top. Serve with an ear or two of (Jim) Korn. Wash it down with a couple of (Bob) Beers. Next week we'll show you how to prepare (Wacey) Rabbit, with Per Djoos dressing and a side of (Steven) Rice. Our guest chef will be Bun Cook.

 

[Mad-Marcus]

3 of our 6 starting d men came from the 1st 2 rounds of that horrible 2015 draft

 

[StrBender]

Told you so, Yup I told you so. So pass the crow

 

[Over the volcano]

This is why I always preach patience.

Sounding a little like you're patting yourself on the back Dom . . . take that pride elsewhere, its a crow eating only zone in here.

 

[DominicT]

Sounding a little like you're patting yourself on the back Dom . . . take that pride elsewhere, its a crow eating only zone in here.

You got me!!

Okay, I will eat some crow. I said some Bruins fans will never admit they were wrong.

I will gladly eat some crow because there are 2 or 3 that I thought would never admit to it.

May I please stay now?!?!

 

[HustleB]

I was worried Miller's deal was too much, but more then anything I thought Ritchie was a 4th liner that might gave 3rd line upside. I think he's been great so far. Everything I had hoped for and feeling like there's more to uncover. Complete 180 on this guy.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

See, I don't really understand this thought process on this because like I laid out in my response to @BrainOfJ it was free money. And you're not alone in looking at it that way either, but it still made no sense to me. I also didn't get why people tied this move to not resigning Chara because they were completely unrelated.

At the time, he hadn't played in 2 years. He's a great dude, no ones denying that. BUT the Bruins are and have been a cap strapped team, every dollar should count.

While I'm not disagreeing Miller being worth it with his play, the question marks around him at the time (he got paid more than Chara, as well a a handful of other NHL players that were effective even last year). With rumors of the Bruins being out on certain players due to needing to move cap, and the constant need to pay to move salaries, while I agree, it sounds like it send a good message to the room, albeit not by a lot, he was still overpaid for a team that usually is penny pinching trying to find room to add the right players.

This said, Miller has been a pleasant surprise. (still doesn't mean I agree with the contract handed to him given the cap situation), but hopefully that means if he re-signs he's giving us a break, too.

 

[bbfan419]

The things I was right about, it was time to move on from Chara, he fits better with the slower heavier game the caps play, but it has helped us as he blocked younger guys. Also Krug is better than Grizz, but he is not worth the moeny he signed for and we got the best years out of him.

Now for my crow eating, I was so upset they signed Miller and at $2m guaranteed, but wow he looks better than ever, he is tough, pretty good on D and provides a bit of offense time to time. Frederic I did not think was an NHL player, more of a good AHL guy, but so far proves he belongs. Zboril looks legit too even if his role is a 3rd pair D. I wanted Ritchie traded , but the guy is showing he can play, he knows his role and plays it well.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

anyone that wasnt blind and watched the covid cup knew it was time to ditch chara.

 

[lopey]

I was not a fan of the Miller signing. Wtf do I know lol

 

[McGarnagle]

I thought we'd take a step back from last year's President's Trophy team, but so far we look better.

I was dead wrong on Ritchie, he's been amazing. I had zero expectations for Frederic and am super impressed. I didn't think Kevan Miller would ever play hockey again, much less be a stud defenseman playing regular minutes. Bravo. Give that man the Masterton.

On the other hand, I expected Kase and Grzelcyk to take off this year and even before the injuries they were not playing well.

Overall, I did like the young defense and think they've adapted well, especially Zboril. Love that kid. I've never once looked at the team and said "I wish we had Chara."

I was worried Pasta would lose a step and lose some explosiveness after the hip surgery, but he's come back even better than last year. Man. We've got a special team here.

Ritchie and Frederic are the standouts though, if we were voting for 7th Player Award today, they'd share it.

 

[LSCII]

At the time, he hadn't played in 2 years. He's a great dude, no ones denying that. BUT the Bruins are and have been a cap strapped team, every dollar should count.

While I'm not disagreeing Miller being worth it with his play, the question marks around him at the time (he got paid more than Chara, as well a a handful of other NHL players that were effective even last year). With rumors of the Bruins being out on certain players due to needing to move cap, and the constant need to pay to move salaries, while I agree, it sounds like it send a good message to the room, albeit not by a lot, he was still overpaid for a team that usually is penny pinching trying to find room to add the right players.

This said, Miller has been a pleasant surprise. (still doesn't mean I agree with the contract handed to him given the cap situation), but hopefully that means if he re-signs he's giving us a break, too.

I get the health concerns, but like I said above, had he come back and gotten hurt again, he'd have been covered by insurance. It was free money that they'd only have to pay if he stayed healthy. Plus, he'd rehabbed and gotten hurt a number of times, but hadn't given up. So taking care of a player that worked his ass off to get back on the ice was the right thing to do and sent the right message to the rest of the room. I say this as a person that's never been a big Miller fan too. In fact, I've been pretty critical of him over the years. His cap hit is $1.25 mill this year with a real base of a million and a couple of bonuses being available that also equal a million. That's not a prohibitive price to pay for a guy that projected to be all upside if he could stay on the ice, plus it added some toughness to the team, which so many people here were saying was much needed.

 

[LSCII]

You got me!!

Okay, I will eat some crow. I said some Bruins fans will never admit they were wrong.

I will gladly eat some crow because there are 2 or 3 that I thought would never admit to it.

May I please stay now?!?!

What can I say? I've never been wrong about something here before, so this is unfamiliar ground for me Dom...

 

[member 96824]

Why did you hate the Miller signing? To me it was like playing with the house's money. If he came back and played well, he earned his money. If he came back and got hurt, he goes on LTIR and insurance pays him. If he came back and sucked, it was a one year deal for short money and he plays down in Providence. I didn't think he'd come back and stay healthy, but it was a flier and sent the right message to the rest of the guys in the room since Miller had worked hard for a long time to come back.

Whalerturnedbruin covered it all for me but I would also just add that it’s a symptom of a greater issue that both Don and Chia suffered from which is overvaluing and overpaying the edges of the roster. If you’re right and it was a $2M “atta boy” then honestly I’d have even more issue with it.

Even playing well, Has Miller been $2M good? I don’t think so personally. Then have to consider what the market looked like in this COVID offseason

The bonus money could have cap implications next year IF the B’s choose to spend to the cap. But I’m not sure if they will or not so not gonna knock anything there.

Again, not knocking his play or comeback. I’ve been very impressed. Just still not a fan of the $

 

[LSCII]

Whalerturnedbruin covered it all for me but I would also just add that it’s a symptom of a greater issue that both Don and Chia suffered from which is overvaluing and overpaying the edges of the roster. If you’re right and it was a $2M “atta boy” then honestly I’d have even more issue with it.

Even playing well, Has Miller been $2M good? I don’t think so personally. Then have to consider what the market looked like in this COVID offseason

The bonus money could have cap implications next year IF the B’s choose to spend to the cap. But I’m not sure if they will or not so not gonna knock anything there.

Again, not knocking his play or comeback. I’ve been very impressed. Just still not a fan of the $

You're looking at full money with bonuses. His real money is a mill. Which I'm sure the team was thinking was a bargain if he got back. If not, he goes away and nothing ventured nothing gained. The team won't be spending to the cap next year and I doubt they do it the following year because the lack of crowds most certainly impacts their revenue earnings, so I'm not overly concerned with the bonus piece should he earn it.

It's funny, because I'm not a fan of the overall level of play, generally speaking, but have little issue with the dough.

 

[member 96824]

You're looking at full money with bonuses. His real money is a mill. Which I'm sure the team was thinking was a bargain if he got back. If not, he goes away and nothing ventured nothing gained. The team won't be spending to the cap next year and I doubt they do it the following year because the lack of crowds most certainly impacts their revenue earnings, so I'm not overly concerned with the bonus piece should he earn it.

It's funny, because I'm not a fan of the overall level of play, generally speaking, but have little issue with the dough.

Yeah his bonuses are well within reach though so we have to take that in. He’s already gotten 250K for breathing on NHL ice and another $250K for 10 GP. So we’re at 1.5 now in real money...9 games away from 1.75M

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

It would be hilarious if JDB actually realizes his potential as a sniper and Zboril becomes a regular NHL player.

So much whining about the 2015 draft would get turned on its head completely. Add in if the game/the Islanders wears Barzal down and his production lessens.

 

[member 96824]

It would be hilarious if JDB actually realizes his potential as a sniper and Zboril becomes a regular NHL player.

So much whining about the 2015 draft would get turned on its head completely. Add in if the game/the Islanders wears Barzal down and his production lessens.

I was just about to eat crow on the other side as well.

Jake DeBrusk....what the f***?

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I was just about to eat crow on the other side as well.

Jake DeBrusk....what the f***?

Unfortunately seems like his body is already in the shape of that of a 40 year old veteran.

 

[LSCII]

Yeah his bonuses are well within reach though so we have to take that in. He’s already gotten 250K for breathing on NHL ice and another $250K for 10 GP. So we’re at 1.5 now in real money...9 games away from 1.75M

Sure, I get that, but again, I highly doubt the team goes out and spends up to the cap next year, which is only when it would be an issue. Besides, Clifton, Lauzon, and Zboril make under three mill combined. So they're not laying out a lot of money for their defense, and if they wanted to save cap space and money, they could probably deal Moore, who makes as much as the guys I mentioned above. The point being, the 2 Mill for Miller even if he makes all of it, isn't the problem. It's the 2.75 they've wasted on Moore to sit as an insurance policy. He's also signed for another season after this. So jettisoning him by the deadline should be the priority if I'm Sweeney.

 

[The Andrew Peeke Fan]

I was wrong about Nick Ritchie. I thought it was too much to expect him to dedicate himself to his career by dropping some weight and getting into shape, since he hadn’t done it in the past. I’m more than happy to admit that he proved me wrong and good for him.

Way better hands than given credit for. Could still be a player without his natural size and strength. Giant head and goofy face. Like him, too.

 

[PB37]

I was a little different with the Miller signing. I thought his career was over but I liked the signing because it was a show of grace by the management team towards a guy who busted his ass to try and prove he could still come back. But I thought by the end of camp, he would hang em up or re-injure the knee and be forced to call it quits. Dead wrong. Go get 'em,Killer.

 

[The Andrew Peeke Fan]

Also, I love Zboril, but he has been questionable in several games. And I don't like him with Miller, even in their exceptionally sheltered role.