Pre-Game Talk: GAME 45 7:08 PM - Return of the Whalercanes - NESN, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS, 98.5 WBZ-FM

[LouJersey]

It really does boggle the mind, Lou. I assume they felt he would provide veteran leadership (and maybe he does), stability, and some physical play. Do you pay 3.8m x2 for that, though, and little else? Seriously terrible decision as it turns out.

still holding out hope he can go like 3-3-6 in a 7 game series with some hits and leadership. I root for him.

 

[Ladyfan]

hoping to be blown out one more time to see some changes in the front office.

 

[ON3M4N]

Over/Under - 10:30 TOI for Jack Studnicka tonight

 

[Ladyfan]

Hoping magic will happen but I feel like it's going to be like watching Pats Vs Bills all over again.

Who???

I am off to do stuff before heading onto Boston.

Bs 3, Carolina 2

I will leave this here.

Hey Steve, I hope the Bruins win tonight.

HERE WE GO BRUIINS...HERE WE GO

 

[NDiesel]

still holding out hope he can go like 3-3-6 in a 7 game series with some hits and leadership. I root for him.

That is basically all we can hope for now, he looks cooked though, both his hands and feet move in slow motion.

 

[slim399]

The whole Debrusk trade request and him playing still annoys me. I know he has been decent. I almost prefer something like this. I like Studnicka sheltered with the two vets.

Hall-Haula-Pastrnak
Frederic-Coyle-Steen
Foligno-Studnicka-Smith
Blidh-Nosek-Lazar

 

[gvkmedia]

Yeah, against all odds...
They have no chance....
Wrong. This is the perfect game to win. Studnicka scores. Pasta and Hall each tally one. I'm not sure the Canes even get a goal tonight.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Over/Under - 10:30 TOI for Jack Studnicka tonight

I'll take the over.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

The whole Debrusk trade request and him playing still annoys me. I know he has been decent. I almost prefer something like this. I like Studnicka sheltered with the two vets.

Hall-Haula-Pastrnak
Frederic-Coyle-Steen
Foligno-Studnicka-Smith
Blidh-Nosek-Lazar

Youre waiving Debrusk and losing him for nothing in that scenario

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

Do we bother putting a tape in the recorder for this one or just save us from burning it later?

Pre-burn

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

I feel like we've heard this a few times before...

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

ROFL

 

[HumBucker]

Glad I re-upped the bottle of vodka yesterday. Tonights gonna be a fun one!

I just re-assigned my vodka to the minors and called up the bourbon.

 

[stungun54]

6-1 canes. marchand missing 14 days of hockey. ouch.....

 

[Aussie Bruin]

They are from evolving-hockey.com . I just think he's a big guy who's taken a beating and his hands have totally left him. He's smart and mucks up the dzone enough to be positive there, but that's a fourth liner. This is the last two years individually. Shows a clear 3 year decline for a player approaching his middle 30's. LETS GIVE HIM A NMC.

Last year

View attachment 506138

19-20

View attachment 506139

I can actually see the appeal of Foligno from this data. His offensive capability is poor and has been for a while, no doubt about it. But his defensive stats are another story. In 2019-20 he was a better defensive forward than 98% of the league, according to this data. That's Bergeron territory, elite. Yes he dropped away defensively last year, but you could argue the plausible excuse that he had a mixed up season playing for two different teams who both had significant issues, and even then he was still in the 62nd percentile.

Sweeney runs a team that prides itself on its defensive structure and the ability of its forwards to play solid D. He looks at these numbers, and I reckon his eyes light up seeing that sort of defensive capability. The offense is by and by, he will probably have thought there are others who can provide that. He's also a known optimist, and he may well have considered that Nick would respond well to the Bruins' style and team environment. The rationale is probably if Foligno can be an excellent shut down forward while being a good mentor and leader and playing hard and physical on the ice, he'll be worth the $3.8m.

Of course most of this hasn't happened and it turns out that Foligno really is just burnt out, and it's a bad signing for sure, even though his defensive numbers this season are actually still respectable. The passivity is probably the most surprising thing. When Backes knew his body was failing, he tried to amp up the physical and bench leadership sides of his game even more. It had mixed results, but at least he tried. Whereas Foligno still seems to be just quietly going about trying to be a regular player and playing himself into form. Perhaps he simply hasn't come to acceptance yet that his best days, or even anything close to them, are over.

 

[Sheppy]

5-1 Hurricanes

 

[VanIsle]

Gonna be a close one 4-3 Stinky Whale. . . .

 

[CAW1313]

4-2 Boston, eff the Canes!

 

[burstnbloom]

could you maybe have made a PowerPoint for the Bruins front office sometime last June? How does any team that uses this stuff sign him for 2 years and almost 8 mil?

Their analytics guy, Jeremy Rogalski, is EXTREMELY well regarded. I'm shocked that he would sign off on that deal. The problem is that data isn't the whole story. You need pro scouts to understand how he fits in your system. You need your coaching staff to understand the dynamics in the room. And there is a sliding scale on how you balance those things based on which organization you're in and the philosophy. Teams like Tampa and Carolina tend to lean on the analytics pretty hard and have really strong data teams. But Tampa still brought in Bogosian and Maroon, who are bad players analytically but fit in the room really well. I just think here Sweeney uses data but isn't married to it and they decided they wanted to pay for another layer of leadership. And here we are.

 

[DKH]

Wait till he finds out Sweeney extended lol

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

5-1 Bruins

 

[DKH]

The whole Debrusk trade request and him playing still annoys me. I know he has been decent. I almost prefer something like this. I like Studnicka sheltered with the two vets.

Hall-Haula-Pastrnak
Frederic-Coyle-Steen
Foligno-Studnicka-Smith
Blidh-Nosek-Lazar

I’m more annoyed Tarasenko asked for trade still wants out and they play him

Garbage

 

[DKH]

The Bruins should bag skate Marchand between periods for those that took their kids to see him

he could flip pucks after to wide eyed children

 

[Sheppy]

I’m more annoyed Tarasenko asked for trade still wants out and they play him

Garbage

Tarasenko is good.

 

[burstnbloom]

I can actually see the appeal of Foligno from this data. His offensive capability is poor and has been for a while, no doubt about it. But his defensive stats are another story. In 2019-20 he was a better defensive forward than 98% of the league, according to this data. That's Bergeron territory, elite. Yes he dropped away defensively last year, but you could argue the plausible excuse that he had a mixed up season playing for two different teams who both had significant issues, and even then he was still in the 62nd percentile.

Sweeney runs a team that prides itself on its defensive structure and the ability of its forwards to play solid D. He looks at these numbers, and I reckon his eyes light up seeing that sort of defensive capability. The offense is by and by, he will probably have thought there are others who can provide that. He's also a known optimist, and he may well have considered that Nick would respond well to the Bruins' style and team environment. The rationale is probably if Foligno can be an excellent shut down forward while being a good mentor and leader and playing hard and physical on the ice, he'll be worth the $3.8m.

Of course most of this hasn't happened and it turns out that Foligno really is just burnt out, and it's a bad signing for sure, even though his defensive numbers this season are actually still respectable. The passivity is probably the most surprising thing. When Backes knew his body was failing, he tried to amp up the physical and bench leadership sides of his game even more. It had mixed results, but at least he tried. Whereas Foligno still seems to be just quietly going about trying to be a regular player and playing himself into form. Perhaps he simply hasn't come to acceptance yet that his best days, or even anything close to them, are over.

Ya, no doubt. I think I said something like this when he was signed. He's still a good defensive anchor. The problem is a player like this is pretty cheap on the market bc defense for wingers is cheap. The signing is a mess but the real issue is the deployment is also a mess. They've played him on his off wing, they've put him on the PP. They've used him as "former goal scorer Nick Foligno" but that player is long gone. I wouldn't have liked the term and money no matter what but if they had been playing him on Nosek's left with the deployment they use on that line and had him as a guy that subs in for someone like Pasta protecting in the final minute, he could be a nice player here. The money would still suck but they'd be putting him in a position to use his strengths instead of whats been happening.