News Article: "Face It: The Bruins Are Soft"

[GordonHowe]

Realize Haggerty is not a board favorite, but what he writes here is *true.* Every Bruins fan should read this article.

And if anyone has Cam's email address -- I'm almost serious -- send it along. He, Chiarelli and the entire management & coaching staff should understand that the overwhelming majority of B's fans are extremely dismayed by this development. And angry about it.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/haggerty-face-facts-bs-have-gone-little-soft

Click to read more...

 

[member 96824]

Maybe Joe will be the spark the boys need

"Suck it Haggs" has a good ring to it.

Hard to disagree with anything he wrote there though. Unfortunate but true.

 

[acr*]

Spot on and would love for Cam and Chia to know.


I honestly think that there is a problem in the locker room. Not having Z there has hurt, but I think that it is reasonable to think that there is a level of fracture between the vets and guys who have won and the new kids. The new kids don't play the same way and I doubt the vets really feel welcoming, as they represent the new direction. Add the loss of other guys like Iginla and Boychuck, pile on some injuries, and you have a **** room. Chia has really ****ed things up. Getting this team back to playing tough hockey and sticking up for eachother would do a lot to repair it and integrate new faces.

 

[xgallantx]

"they’ve replaced a Nathan Horton/Jarome Iginla power forward type with a 5-foot-9, 190-pound kid in Seth Griffith and they’ve swapped out longtime enforcer Shawn Thornton with a clearly aging 34-year-old finesse player with a concussion history on the fourth line in Simon Gagne."

That was the biggest thing I took out of the article. Bruins obviously need Krejci and Chara back but those 2 slots need to be filled. I don't mind Griffith but I'm sorry he's not 1st line material on a team that wants to compete for a cup....Good #13 guy. Even though not popular, I'm up for acquiring Stewart from Buffalo. That 1st line needs a big body, even if he needs a fire lit under his butt. Horton needed that fire lit many a times and I think he got the job done more often than not. Bring up RObins in the regular season then add a crasher for the 4th line for playoff games would also be on my things to do list.

 

[bb_fan]

Realize Haggerty is not a board favorite, but what he writes here is *true.* Every Bruins fan should read this article.

And if anyone has Cam's email address -- I'm almost serious -- send it along. He, Chiarelli and the entire management & coaching staff should understand that the overwhelming majority of B's fans are extremely dismayed by this development. And angry about it.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/haggerty-face-facts-bs-have-gone-little-soft

some of us have been commenting on this for a while. (and getting lambasted for it too)

the media is always the one hyping the 'Big Bad' bruins, and the media has been playing off that 2011 cup victory were they.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Normally not this type, but I think we need to have a 4th line of sh#* stirrers. I appreciate the foot soldiers in Campbell and I guess Gagne, but give me a heavy hitter on the RW.

Eriksson needs to go for someone like Troy Brouwer. He can chip in 20 while also being a physical presence.

Team needs that identity back. Big Marchand fan, but he needs to find his game and keep it. Kid should be visible almost every night with his skill set but he's not. Either on the score sheet or the physical agitation, he needs to make an impact for the money he's being paid.

 

[22Brad Park]

Great read and bang on.Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely are slipping.To many dumb moves lately.

 

[ashnathan]

Great article. Agree 100%. One of the comments below the article is astoundingly right too.


They have to figure out what they are as a team. There's way to much "tweener" on this roster. Nobody is overly skilled or overly tough or overly anything elite. They need to figure out if they are going to be a skill team and add more skill, or a tough grinding team and add more size. Right now this roster is neither.

 

[ashnathan]

"they’ve replaced a Nathan Horton/Jarome Iginla power forward type with a 5-foot-9, 190-pound kid in Seth Griffith and they’ve swapped out longtime enforcer Shawn Thornton with a clearly aging 34-year-old finesse player with a concussion history on the fourth line in Simon Gagne."

That was the biggest thing I took out of the article. Bruins obviously need Krejci and Chara back but those 2 slots need to be filled. I don't mind Griffith but I'm sorry he's not 1st line material on a team that wants to compete for a cup....Good #13 guy. Even though not popular, I'm up for acquiring Stewart from Buffalo. That 1st line needs a big body, even if he needs a fire lit under his butt. Horton needed that fire lit many a times and I think he got the job done more often than not. Bring up RObins in the regular season then add a crasher for the 4th line for playoff games would also be on my things to do list.

I still take Big Buff over him, quicker, better shot, meaner.

 

[Son of Donegal]

The funny thing is that Griffith is largely winning his puck battles and forcing those turnovers. The players I am worried about right now are some of our top players Lucic, Bergeron, Smith, Kelly and the entire 4th line.

As for D...There is no excuse for Seids and Dougie's play the past two games, but with Chara and Miller back, that will sort itself out. Regardless, McQuaid needs to start laying people out and mixing **** up.

 

[22Brad Park]

Great article. Agree 100%. One of the comments below the article is astoundingly right too.


They have to figure out what they are as a team. There's way to much "tweener" on this roster. Nobody is overly skilled or overly tough or overly anything elite. They need to figure out if they are going to be a skill team and add more skill, or a tough grinding team and add more size. Right now this roster is neither.

When you trade a Seguin for what he did you know he making mistakes.Then jammed them to cap and lost Boychuck while guys like Lucy getting 6 mil per.You know theres a problem with vision.

 

[Hali33]

Yeah, they are too soft.
And many of the posters who called it before the season started were laughed at for suggesting it.
Hell even I didn't think they'd be this soft.

 

[OrrCam]

Realize Haggerty is not a board favorite, but what he writes here is *true.* Every Bruins fan should read this article.

And if anyone has Cam's email address -- I'm almost serious -- send it along. He, Chiarelli and the entire management & coaching staff should understand that the overwhelming majority of B's fans are extremely dismayed by this development. And angry about it.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/haggerty-face-facts-bs-have-gone-little-soft

Watching the team lately, I'd have to agree. Teams just don't feel any reluctance to park themselves in / near the blue paint anymore. There's a reason for that. So I agree with Haggs. And after all, who would know more about Twinkies than Haggs?

 

[kytem2]

Great read and bang on.Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely are slipping. To many dumb moves lately.

Man, if you had only written "movies" instead of "moves", this would be a classic post.

 

[DitClapper]

Haggs really hit the nail on the head with this one. We need to add grit. Glencross might be a good start.

 

[ksp1957]

some of us have been commenting on this for a while. (and getting lambasted for it too)

the media is always the one hyping the 'Big Bad' bruins, and the media has been playing off that 2011 cup victory were they.

Count me in as one of the posters getting lambasted for calling the Bruins soft. I remember in preseason I complained about it and got roasted for it.

One thing to the Bruins credit. Their games are a great cure for insomnia. Watch them 2 periods and fall asleep.

 

[Gee Wally]

Hate to say it but i agree with him.

 

[BruinDust]

Do I think the Bruins are becoming a soft team? Yup

Simply put this team does not go to battle for each other they way they did in the past.

But it's alot more than just a personnel issue.

To suggest replacing a 5-9 Griffith with say a 6-2 Chris Stewart will help cure what is wrong with this team is ridiculous.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Perfect opportunity last night to open a can of old time hockey on Montreal last night at the end of a game you're not gonna win when Weisel made contact with Svedberg at the end of the game last night. Weis didn't intend it and did his best to get out of the way, but this is hockey, it ain't a tea party and we just stood there and acted like perfect gentlemen...

 

[TheBigBadB]

I mentioned this last night as well.

When the grinders and veteran players are fat and happy they start losing the desire to play a hard game. There needed to be more turnover of those players. Once Campbell, Paille, Loui and Kelly started to fall off pace they needed to start being phased out. Instead they are main stays on this team and safe from any mistakes they make. So you get a bunch of players that really are done with the rough stuff and just want to play out thier contracts.

I really am starting to believe the Cup window is over at this point and they are a season or two from needing a semi rebuild.

 

[Sheppy]

I said they were going to be soft before the first game this year, and look, they're soft. They're actually even softer than i thought they'd be, and that's saying something.

Trade for Ryan Reaves today.

 

[The Special K]

To me it's something more than "they have gone soft". There are several good, competitive teams that don't play a heavy game yet still succeed. Something is just not right....I feel like guys just are not trying, like their heads are just not in it. To me the "soft" thing is just a symptom of a larger problem. I don't know what it is, but I think we can all agree that it's there.

 

[Grasshopperking]

"they’ve replaced a Nathan Horton/Jarome Iginla power forward type with a 5-foot-9, 190-pound kid in Seth Griffith and they’ve swapped out longtime enforcer Shawn Thornton with a clearly aging 34-year-old finesse player with a concussion history on the fourth line in Simon Gagne."

That was the biggest thing I took out of the article. Bruins obviously need Krejci and Chara back but those 2 slots need to be filled. I don't mind Griffith but I'm sorry he's not 1st line material on a team that wants to compete for a cup....Good #13 guy. Even though not popular, I'm up for acquiring Stewart from Buffalo. That 1st line needs a big body, even if he needs a fire lit under his butt. Horton needed that fire lit many a times and I think he got the job done more often than not. Bring up RObins in the regular season then add a crasher for the 4th line for playoff games would also be on my things to do list.

I'm sorry but you can't be serious. Stewart has 1 goal and 1 assist, -12 in 18 games. On Buff, sure but how can you legitimately tell me you take him in an offensive role over Griffith? That 1st line has a big body in Lucic, though I'd argue he doesn't belong there either

 

[Dr Quincy]

The Bruins aren't "soft". The article is wrong.

However, there is a problem in that either the coach or the 7m dollar goalie, or both, are trying to have said goalie avoid the rival team that eats him for lunch.

And before you say "It was the 2nd game of a back to back" etc- When Weise was scratched against the B's the 1st time, how many of you said it was because Lucic was in his head (despite the fact that he'd been getting scratched a bunch prior to that game).

If Rask wasn't psychologically damaged by the Habs, all logic would have him sitting against the weaker Leafs and playing against the team that ate your soul in the playoffs. The fact that Claude tried to hide him from the Habs says something. I wouldn't call it "soft", but "mentally weak" may be appropriate.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

To me it's something more than "they have gone soft". There are several good, competitive teams that don't play a heavy game yet still succeed. Something is just not right....I feel like guys just are not trying, like their heads are just not in it. To me the "soft" thing is just a symptom of a larger problem. I don't know what it is, but I think we can all agree that it's there.

Lack of faith in management and distrust in clodes style is my guess, although i hope not.