Former Bruins EX Bruins Discussion Thread

[kjpm]

Eh, I've watched Donato play some games in Minnesota and I'm still not a huge fan of his game. He still does little to nothing without the puck, which was what frustrated me most about him when he was here. Greenway does most of the heavy lifting on his line. Definitely doesn't play the way Cassidy's system requires from the wingers.

He's putting up numbers and definitely looks better than he did for the Bruins but I'm not losing sleep over it. He wasn't going to play over Marchand or DeBrusk and needs to play with some decent players to be effective so it just wasn't going to be a fit here, unfortunately. Glad that he found a place that works for him nonetheless, he's certainly going to carve out a good career for himself.

 

[Skelen]

What about Coyle "fit" here?

I'm a bit confused by your question. I like Coyle's game and think he can put up more points once he gets things rolling with Heinen. He's a great possession player (which is what the 3rd line needed) and does more for us now then Donato. Donato might have never been anything here ever. Maybe Coyle does nothing here, who knows.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

all 31 teams look for the magic soup mix... pinch of that... squirt of this

if it was a matter of putting the 18 best skaters or best stick handers or top shooters or biggest fighters then thats what the teams would do.

very few players are 5 tool. most have pros and cons. most have holes they will fill but also flaws they will expose. gms/coaches are not paid because their job is easy... and arent fired every other year because they had a ton of success trying

sure 16 teams need to make the playoffs... so usually 16 sets of gm/coach will be said they did a good job putting a team together and operating it. usually the players on a good playoff team are thought to have done a good job, because its easier for players on a good team to have success. but then you get the need to be better... some success is ok, but it breeds the appetite for more. and most flawed players cant improve over career seasons.

so thats the nature of this beast. we will always have situations where some imperfect guy might not fit here but is possible to fit somewhere else. someone that fit there might not fit here. someone that did fit here might go somewhere else and not fit. again, if this was easy to figure out why pay 6-7 figure salaries to guys that are tasked with doing the job. most of us would do it for a free meal and tickets to watch the game

I like to see my fav players do well even if they have left the team. im pulling for schaller and nash to be able to bounce around the league and earn another payday. im not surprised they have struggled so miserably since leaving. if you remember paille/thornton/campbell all went poof and saw their pumpkins burst the second they left too.

im also fine with seeing donato put up points. if I never shed a tear over kessel/seguin/wheeler/thornton leaving town then I am not about to start now for donato.

then again I know many of you still cry over thornton/wheeler/seguin/kessel so it would be expected you would add donato to your list.

I like to focus my emotions mostly on the happiness I feel that Bergeron/chara/marchand/krejci/rask are still here and I will be able to now cheer debrusk/McAvoy/carlo/pastrnak as they begin their careers in black and gold

this team has been good to me as a fan... better than most. I wait for the next cup win and I believe it will happen in my lifetime... maybe even this season

go bruins go

 

[ODAAT]

all 31 teams look for the magic soup mix... pinch of that... squirt of this

if it was a matter of putting the 18 best skaters or best stick handers or top shooters or biggest fighters then thats what the teams would do.

very few players are 5 tool. most have pros and cons. most have holes they will fill but also flaws they will expose. gms/coaches are not paid because their job is easy... and arent fired every other year because they had a ton of success trying

sure 16 teams need to make the playoffs... so usually 16 sets of gm/coach will be said they did a good job putting a team together and operating it. usually the players on a good playoff team are thought to have done a good job, because its easier for players on a good team to have success. but then you get the need to be better... some success is ok, but it breeds the appetite for more. and most flawed players cant improve over career seasons.

so thats the nature of this beast. we will always have situations where some imperfect guy might not fit here but is possible to fit somewhere else. someone that fit there might not fit here. someone that did fit here might go somewhere else and not fit. again, if this was easy to figure out why pay 6-7 figure salaries to guys that are tasked with doing the job. most of us would do it for a free meal and tickets to watch the game

I like to see my fav players do well even if they have left the team. im pulling for schaller and nash to be able to bounce around the league and earn another payday. im not surprised they have struggled so miserably since leaving. if you remember paille/thornton/campbell all went poof and saw their pumpkins burst the second they left too.

im also fine with seeing donato put up points. if I never shed a tear over kessel/seguin/wheeler/thornton leaving town then I am not about to start now for donato.

then again I know many of you still cry over thornton/wheeler/seguin/kessel so it would be expected you would add donato to your list.

I like to focus my emotions mostly on the happiness I feel that Bergeron/chara/marchand/krejci/rask are still here and I will be able to now cheer debrusk/McAvoy/carlo/pastrnak as they begin their careers in black and gold

this team has been good to me as a fan... better than most. I wait for the next cup win and I believe it will happen in my lifetime... maybe even this season

go bruins go

my new favorite post on the boards

 

[rocketdan9]

Still bummed to lose Donato. I don’t think there is a forward in our system that will score as many goals as he will over their career. Studnicka and maybe Bjork havae a chance to be the better overall player if they put it all together but neither has that shot.

The problem was that they couldn't "showcase" this Donato

if they could, they wouldn't have traded him

Donato not fitting in with the system, not fitting in with Cassidy..... was likely true

Also the Wild's coach may just let small giveaways etc. slide

Cassidy did not, like ever. One mistake (and it seems like he sees everything), you will be benched or get reduced playing time. Probably made Donato overthink also

 

[BNHL]

Sweeping aside all the BS,this trade was a colossal blunder up to this point.

 

[veganbruin]

Sweeping aside all the BS,this trade was a colossal blunder up to this point.

Gross mismanagement of assets at the very least.

 

[DominicT]

Could he have done better in Boston?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

The problem was that they couldn't "showcase" this Donato

if they could, they wouldn't have traded him

Donato not fitting in with the system, not fitting in with Cassidy..... was likely true

Also the Wild's coach may just let small giveaways etc. slide

Cassidy did not, like ever. One mistake (and it seems like he sees everything), you will be benched or get reduced playing time. Probably made Donato overthink also

please, Donato got miles more leash than any of the other young players.

The guy got extended runs with the 1st and 2nd lines and looked like s**t. He made no effort in the neutral or D zones, didnt fight for loose pucks, didnt battle.

The Bruins did no disservice to the kid in how he got used. They gave him multiple chances and he blew it.

Just the next Spooner

 

[rocketdan9]

please, Donato got miles more leash than any of the other young players.

The guy got extended runs with the 1st and 2nd lines and looked like s**t. He made no effort in the neutral or D zones, didnt fight for loose pucks, didnt battle.

The Bruins did no disservice to the kid in how he got used. They gave him multiple chances and he blew it.

Just the next Spooner

the other poster stated hopefully the Bruins didn't shoot themselves on the foot by trading away a potential 30 goal scorer

but how would have the Bruins known if he was not going to show that here.

And then reference your point above

 

[BNHL]

the other poster stated hopefully the Bruins didn't shoot themselves on the foot by trading away a potential 30 goal scorer

but how would have the Bruins known if he was not going to show that here.

And then reference your point above

He would have been a 30 goal scorer here or anywhere else when all is said and done.

 

[trenton1]

Anyone watched Donato's last 4 games? I think the gap is narrowing.

 

[veganbruin]

Anyone watched Donato's last 4 games? I think the gap is narrowing.

Aside from the goal did you see Coyle in his own end last night? Just a distaster.

 

[rocketdan9]

Aside from the goal did you see Coyle in his own end last night? Just a distaster.

Heinen just needed to get the puck out... twice

 

[Friar85]

Anyone watched Donato's last 4 games? I think the gap is narrowing.

Donato was the Wild’s best forward last night. Probably his best game.

 

[LSCII]

The problem was that they couldn't "showcase" this Donato

if they could, they wouldn't have traded him

Donato not fitting in with the system, not fitting in with Cassidy..... was likely true

Also the Wild's coach may just let small giveaways etc. slide

Cassidy did not, like ever. One mistake (and it seems like he sees everything), you will be benched or get reduced playing time. Probably made Donato overthink also

The big question is whether it's the players or the organization though. At this point, seeing offensively minded player after player struggle to get integrated here, and not fit the system the way the front office and coaches seemingly want, I'm starting to question the way the organization is bringing these guys along. It appears to be a vain attempt to make everyone the next Bergeron.

 

[LSCII]

Anyone watched Donato's last 4 games? I think the gap is narrowing.

Which was bound to happen given Donato still has untapped upside and Coyle is a finished product and a 3rd liner for a reason.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

{edited}

Donato was the epitome of a floater when he was in Boston. Two levels of effort, one from the offensive blue line in and one for the rest of the ice. The kid was a “cherry picker” and it got him sent down and then dealt.

What I am curious about is why you didn’t bash Donato for his efforts (lack of)?

 

[LSCII]

{edited}

Donato was the epitome of a floater when he was in Boston. Two levels of effort, one from the offensive blue line in and one for the rest of the ice. The kid was a “cherry picker” and it got him sent down and then dealt.

What I am curious about is why you didn’t bash Donato for his efforts (lack of)?

Is this directed at anyone in particular or just in general?

If it's open to everyone, I'd say the reason I didn't bash him is because he played so sparingly that it was irrelevant. I think he was ineffective and deserved to be sent down over that alone.

But I will say that I also don't think the team generally puts young offensively minded players in the best position to succeed given they want to remake and reshape the overall way those guys play before they really get trusted enough to utilize their offensive skills. So a guy like Donatao was struggling and then instead of reacting to the play in front of him, was overthinking things so he didn't get into the coaches doghouse. All that did was land him in what he was trying to avoid.

 

[Over the volcano]

The big question is whether it's the players or the organization though. At this point, seeing offensively minded player after player struggle to get integrated here, and not fit the system the way the front office and coaches seemingly want, I'm starting to question the way the organization is bringing these guys along. It appears to be a vain attempt to make everyone the next Bergeron.

I don't think they need everyone to be the next Bergeron, but they do need to trust every player in the defensive end (particularly if they aren't producing at the offensive end). There are more top 6 opportunities on other teams than there are in Boston right now and Boston hasn't been able to trust its third line all year and Donato was massively sheltered in his deployment.

I don't think the Bruins have any problem integrating young players - just look at the line up. Kuhlman, Bjork, Debrusk, Heinen, Pasta, McAvoy, Clifton all have to be right around Donato's age, and all of them (aside from maybe Bjork maybe) have integrated pretty damn well IMO.

 

[LSCII]

I don't think they need everyone to be the next Bergeron, but they do need to trust every player in the defensive end (particularly if they aren't producing at the offensive end). There are more top 6 opportunities on other teams than there are in Boston right now and Boston hasn't been able to trust its third line all year and Donato was massively sheltered in his deployment.

I don't think the Bruins have any problem integrating young players - just look at the line up. Kuhlman, Bjork, Debrusk, Heinen, Pasta, McAvoy, Clifton all have to be right around Donato's age, and all of them (aside from maybe Bjork maybe) have integrated pretty damn well IMO.

Why is it every offensive minded player has to be proficient in the defensive end in order to play, yet defensive minded players do not have to be proficient in the offensive end? If you want complete 2 way players that play in all 3 zones, that's fine. But that's not the dynamic here. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

 

[trenton1]

I look at Donato thus far and I see a lot of Brad Boyes. A guy who is capable of scoring in bunches in your top 6 while the team enjoys no success whatsoever.

 

[Dr Hook]

Why is it every offensive minded player has to be proficient in the defensive end in order to play, yet defensive minded players do not have to be proficient in the offensive end? If you want complete 2 way players that play in all 3 zones, that's fine. But that's not the dynamic here. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

That was the Clode way and now apparently the Cassidy way, which makes me think maybe it's the Cam way? Clearly someone is dictating a certain style and culture, one in which responsible defensive players are valued and rewarded and offensive guys that don't at least make solid efforts to play D (even if they are terrible at it, like Pasta early on) are not.

 

[jgatie]

Lonnie, substitute "giving an effort" for "proficient" and I think you will better understand. Pastrnak was certainly not proficient in his own end, but after the third or fourth (or 15th) time the coaches told him about a missed assignment, you could see he made an effort to learn from his mistakes. That, and Pasta actually was proficient in the offensive end. The oft cited Spooner/Donato/Vatrano/Koko/etc. "offensive only" players were not, outside of a few streaky games. What good is an "offensive only" player who disappears on offense if he also refuses to be responsible in the defensive end?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

heaven forbid the coaching staff expects a young player to earn their ice time and show consistent effort in all 3 zones...