Sportsnet Elliotte Friedman's " 32 Thoughts " Column ( June 2- 2023 )

[HustleB]

Another new column this week and the Bruins ( well at least the 1991-92 team ) are actually mentioned:

7. In Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to Boston, Cal Burke became the 23rd forward to dress for the Avalanche in 2022-23. That’s the same number of forwards they used all of last season. According to the great people at Sportsnet Stats, the NHL record for most forwards used in one year is 38 — by the 1991-92 Bruins. The list: Scott Arniel, Brent Ashton, Ralph Barahona, Andy Brickley, John Byce, Lyndon Byers, Bob Carpenter, Lou Crawford, Brian Dobbin, Clark Donatelli, Ted Donato, Peter Douris, Matt Glennon, Steve Heinze, Ken Hodge, Brent Hughes, Craig Janney, Joe Juneau, Jeff Lazaro, Stephen Leach, Nevin Markwart, Glen Murray, Cam Neely, Chris Nilan, Adam Oates, Barry Pederson, Dave Poulin, Dave Reid, Vladimir Ruzicka, Petri Skriko, Shayne Stevenson, Allan Stewart, Jozef Stumpel, Bob Sweeney, Dave Thomlinson, Jim Vesey, Wes Walz and Chris Winnes.


Lots of names on that list I haven't thought about in a very long time. Never thought I would see a Ralph Barahona reference in 2022. I am drawing a complete blank on Matt Glennon though.


Full column: 32 Thoughts: Canucks' Boeser, Horvat trending toward being trade candidates

I followed the team at the time and a teenager. There are so many names I don't even remember. Including Barahona.

 

[GordonHowe]

His interview with Bergeron a few weeks ago was really good though

Maybe I'll check it. Thank you.

Even so, I'd take Bob McKenzie or Pierre LeBrun any day.

Like Fluto in a different way, I suspect success has gone to Elliott's head.

 

[DKH]

I followed the team at the time and a teenager. There are so many names I don't even remember. Including Barahona.

I went to every home game those days and I think Allan Stewart played like 3 road games got in a couple of fights (Link Gaetz??) and vanished. I think he didn’t like hockey or fighting and boom - gone. Not sure if right but going from memory - his fights were also wild

Jeff Lazaro father sat 3 seats to my left - wore headphones, always smiling and never said anything- back then wearing a headphones and Walkman to game odd

Lou Crawford? Thought he played for the St Louis Grays …Matt Glennon also don’t remember

Bob Sweeney parents sat directly in back of me- serious characters especially dad ‘Red’ and Dave Reid wife Kathy sat in back one seat over in back - doll and eventually her and my wife became friends off those games

 

[trenton1]

I went to every home game those days and I think Allan Stewart played like 3 road games got in a couple of fights (Link Gaetz??) and vanished. I think he didn’t like hockey or fighting and boom - gone. Not sure if right but going from memory - his fights were also wild

Jeff Lazaro father sat 3 seats to my left - wore headphones, always smiling and never said anything- back then wearing a headphones and Walkman to game odd

Lou Crawford? Thought he played for the St Louis Grays …Matt Glennon also don’t remember

Bob Sweeney parents sat directly in back of me- serious characters especially dad ‘Red’ and Dave Reid wife Kathy sat in back one seat over in back - doll and eventually her and my wife became friends off those games

I think he abruptly left the game to be a minister. He was a ferocious fighter.

 

[BostonBob]

Another new column with nothing about the Bruins ( lather, rinse and repeat )

32 Thoughts: How Vancouver ended up in a tough spot with Bo Horvat

In this week's notes, Elliotte Friedman writes about how the Canucks got to where they are with Bo Horvat, plus who's been interested in Jesse Puljujarvi, and more.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[DaBroons]

A truly wild season.

The Bruins also used about 13 defensemen and 4 goalies that year. Unbelievable that Bowness got them to the conference final with no Neely and with Bourque playing injured...and then Rick got canned for his efforts.

Harry always made someone the scapegoat to deflect attention from himself. I recall distinctly that Mrs Bowness was beyond livid. He then coached the expansion Senators and Sinden hired Brian, "Just work harder," Sutter has their new head coach. Sutter coached da Broons for 3 forgettable seasons, winning one playoff series in the 3 seasons. He made Andy Moog the scapegoat the next season after da Broons were swept by Buffalo.

 

[quietbruinfan]

Harry always made someone the scapegoat to deflect attention from himself. I recall distinctly that Mrs Bowness was beyond livid. He then coached the expansion Senators and Sinden hired Brian, "Just work harder," Sutter has their new head coach. Sutter coached da Broons for 3 forgettable seasons, winning one playoff series in the 3 seasons. He made Andy Moog the scapegoat the next season after da Broons were swept by Buffalo.

Sutter was a nice, hard-working man, but he sucked as a coach. I really enjoyed when his smarter players, like Gord Murphy, argued with him on the bench. I knew they were right.

 

[BostonBob]

32 Thoughts: Can NHL-NHLPA get out of their comfort zones?

Can the NHL and NHLPA get creative to give us a long overdue best-on-best tournament? Can they come together to raise the cap more than $1 million? That and more in this week's thoughts.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[bwunderlich]

 

[BostonBob]

Another new column today: 32 Thoughts: What kind of defenceman will the Oilers target in trade?

 

[BostonBob]

Anybody that reading this please grab a seat and take a deep breath - the Bruins are actually mentioned in this week's column. I guess he finally ran out of things about the Leafs to talk about.

10. Boston and David Pastrnak are grinding away. As reported on Saturday, some progress. While the Pavel Zacha extension is not directly related, it shows the philosophy. Don Sweeney is trying to settle all business (although not at a baptism, but before the trade deadline).

Full column: www.sportsnet.ca/article/32-thoughts-jim-rutherford-unloads-with-blunt-truth-about-canucks/

 

[BostonBob]

Holy crap - Friedman actually had some Bruins stuff for the 2nd straight column.

7. Boston is also believed to be in the left-defence market. Would not be surprised if they’ve checked-in on Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, among others. They’ve got special chemistry, and tampering with that can be dangerous. But this is an absolute go-for-it year because you don’t know how long the group will be together. You also don’t know how long you’ll have your top-two centres combining for $3.5M against the cap — an absolute gift from Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. (Yes, they’ll have to deal with bonuses next season, but it’s still a gift.)

8. Don’t sense anything new on David Pastrnak, although I think the Bruins know they’re going into uncharted territory for their organization. Pastrnak’s pretty confident in his own skin; he knows what he wants.

Full column: 32 Thoughts: Canucks, Islanders make interesting gambles in Horvat trade

 

[BostonBob]

This has to be a record for Friedman - 3 columns in a row that mention the Bruins.

8. I mentioned before that Boston has looked at left-shot options such as Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov. The Bruins also appear to be considering Luke Schenn on the right.

29. Boston’s Brandon Carlo did some research into an off-season adjustment. He switched his skate to a Bauer boot, and went to a Marsblade underneath it. The chassis of the Marsblade “rocks” on the blade, and Carlo said that’s had a positive effect when he turns and battles.

Full column: 32 Thoughts: Ideas to fix All-Star weekend for 2024 in Toronto

 

[BostonBob]

OK - this is getting a bit weird as Friedman has managed to mention the Bruins for a 4th column in a row in between his constant fawning over the Leafs.

2. Gavrikov doesn’t fit the Kings, unless he agrees to an extension. But he’s gotten interest from Boston, Edmonton and Toronto to some degree. (Always assume there are others I don’t think of, or uncover.) The other rental lefty I wonder about for this group is Seattle’s Carson Soucy. The Kraken aren’t Krazy about simply letting him walk.

12. At least two teams — Carolina and New Jersey — are pushing on Timo Meier. Undoubtedly, there are more. Toronto has checked-in, everyone’s wondering about Vegas, and one coach said Peter DeBoer’s knowledge from San Jose makes Dallas a factor, although I’ve got no idea if the Stars could do it. (I wonder about Boston. It’s an all-in year for the Bruins, but how much do you want to toy with such a special mix?)

Full column: From demotion to impact player for Jets, Stenlund returns to Columbus as a new player

 

[BostonBob]

This week Friedman takes a look at trade options for every NHL team.

Boston Bruins: It’s been a week since Columbus pulled Vladislav Gavrikov from the lineup; everything points to Massachusetts as the landing spot. (And we’re not talking about playing offensive tackle for the Patriots.) It’s believed the Bruins needed another move to make everything work (Mike Reilly? Craig Smith?) and, to this point, the Blue Jackets remain patient.

The biggest question here is, “What else do they do, if anything?” Boston’s got a special chemistry, and the organization balances that with the knowledge this is a go-for-it year. I believe the Bruins had interest in Bo Horvat, but that’s gone now. The cost for Gavrikov will tell us what opportunities remain. They’ve been linked to Ivan Barbashev and Luke Schenn. A few teams have wondered if they’re in on Timo Meier. That might be opponent paranoia, but if it’s this much of a squeeze for Gavrikov — I’d be curious how they could fit the winger.

Full column: 32 Thoughts: A trade deadline check-in on each NHL team

 

[BostonBob]

This week Friedman focuses on the trade deadline:

13. Think the stalemate between Detroit and Tyler Bertuzzi was term. Two sides couldn’t bridge the gap, and Boston benefits. What a deadline for the Bruins.

28. Boston hit its “over” — 96.5 points — on February 27. That’s ridiculous.


Full column: 32 Thoughts: Wrapping up the NHL trade deadline

 

[BostonBob]

Another new column today mainly focusing on new NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh:

www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/32-thoughts-what-we-learned-about-new-nhlpa-executive-director-marty-walsh/

 

[BostonBob]

Friedman put out a new column yesterday - nothing on the Bruins but still a good read.

www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/32-thoughts-why-brad-treliving-and-the-flames-agreed-to-part-ways/

 

[ODAAT]

I actually like the 32 Thoughts pod, when they get on their Leafs yakking, I simply fast forward and find the rest to be decent stuff

 

[BostonBob]

I actually like the 32 Thoughts pod, when they get on their Leafs yakking, I simply fast forward and find the rest to be decent stuff

So then you probably only spend about 5 minutes listening to each podcast.

 

[BostonBob]

I thought he was done for this season but Friedman put out another new column yesterday. If you don't want to read about the Leafs ( and who here really does ???? ) then this would be the column to skip as he might as well have called this column " Everything You Wanted to Know About Dubas Getting Fired and ( Time Permitting ) a Bit of News About The Other Teams in The NHL ". He did manage to squeeze in this bit of Bruin news:

14. Lots of names in the Pittsburgh search got out. Here are two more: Dallas Stars Assistant GM Scott White and Boston Bruins Assistant GM Evan Gold.

Full column: 32 Thoughts: What's next for Leafs, Flames after front office changes

 

[McGarnagle]

I thought he was done for this season but Friedman put out another new column yesterday. If you don't want to read about the Leafs ( and who here really does ???? ) then this would be the column to skip as he might as well have called this column " Everything You Wanted to Know About Dubas Getting Fired and ( Time Permitting ) a Bit of News About The Other Teams in The NHL ". He did manage to squeeze in this bit of Bruin news:

14. Lots of names in the Pittsburgh search got out. Here are two more: Dallas Stars Assistant GM Scott White and Boston Bruins Assistant GM Evan Gold.

Full column: 32 Thoughts: What's next for Leafs, Flames after front office changes

I assume they gave Gold the titular promotion they did to try to keep him from being poached by other teams looking for GMs

 

[LouJersey]

I assume they gave Gold the titular promotion they did to try to keep him from being poached by other teams looking for GMs

What they really need to do is have Neely retire and go to advisor, Sweeney president and Gold GM is they want to keep him. Someone has to hire him soon, the franchise business wise and wins wise has been superb

 

[DominicT]

What they really need to do is have Neely retire and go to advisor, Sweeney president and Gold GM is they want to keep him. Someone has to hire him soon, the franchise business wise and wins wise has been superb

If they want to keep him all they have to do is deny permission for anyone to talk to him.

He is under contract so no one can touch him without permission

 

[LouJersey]

If they want to keep him all they have to do is deny permission for anyone to talk to him.

He is under contract so no one can touch him without permission

Even for a promotion? Would Boston actually do that? That would seem pretty lame