Mick, so what is the skinny on Miller? and I have seen Trotman a gazillion times but I never thought Boychuk would make it let alone make it with a style somewhat different from Providence.
You like Trotman? Miller? We talked Morrow before
also, Providence a complete overhaul with most of Cassidy's favs gone- Florek, Flick, Lindbald- Spooner and Pasta promoted.
You think Sweeney moves on from Butch. He was a Chia guy not Sweeney.
Sweeney has shown in one week he will make moves. Does he stay with Cassidy knowing Don is in control now? Cassidy to me would be a very good NHL assistant coach with D men
I'm no expert on Colin Miller, but I've gotta think that a 22-yo with his documented speed and shot, coupled with his development and team success, and what Sweeney said about incorporating the young D's -- and, this is important -- putting on the coaching staff not to kill these kids when they screw up, it really looks like Sweeney's belief is these kids are about to become NHL regulars via that difficult developmental transition (no pun intended) learning how to against big, bad NHL forwards.
The Butch question becomes intriguing because Sweeney put Pandolfo on that bench late in the season and said upon his hire as GM that Jay was huge to the development of forward play toward the end of the year. Without defining a move or even a track, he acknowledged a plan to expand Pandolfo's role on the team. IMO, that's too ringing an endorsement not to carry your suggestion to its inevitable conclusion. Maybe not this season, but ultimately I see Pandolfo coaching the P-Bruins. Sweeney is VERY high on him.
I thought Trotman was basically Larry Robinson in the Calder Cup games I saw. He was the boss at both ends of the rink. Totally looked like he didn't belong in the game to me. Even talking to him afterward -- and Trotman downplayed the spike in his play, pointing to steady progress -- he just projects NHL player. I totally bought in, the only caveat being the great amount of progress in one season changing my entire outlook on him as an NHL prospect. I went from thinking he was a guy with tools who might never get it to a guy who's breaking the door down.
Morrow went through a thing where he was pretty sound in an NHL stint, then decided he should have the puck on his stick no longer than a half a second in the AHL after he got sent back down. Butch had to talk to him and remind him that he's a way more talented player than that and that the AHL was a place for him to try things, to do more, to help the team win, not just be a sturdy, small part of the game. Morrow, to me, looked awkward at times trying to negotiate that situation and request (and I think the suspended Crescenzi hit was symptomatic, as he was on his off-side of the rink and cutting back looking to make a play - if Crescenzi could adjust his path and catch him like that from a half zone away, then it doesn't bode well for him to be an improvisational Dman in the NHL ... IMO). That said, he is a very good system Dman in the NHL right now, and it's a bit of a shame that he needs the game to stay that quick and simple to thrive. It's a little like Bartkowski but not to the same extremes (be it in skating power or in hockey narcolepsy - I know people love that term). I'll be real intrigued measuring Morrow against Colin Miller.
Unless Sweeney has decided that Dennis Seidenberg is a deteriorating player even 18 months past surgery, I'm not on the changes-are-coming bandwagon.
I expect Sweeney to deal Malcolm Subban and give the AHL nets to McIntyre and Smith, and I expect him to get an NHL-experienced backup for Tuukka Rask. Martin Jones would have been awesome in that role (ie. 55-27 ratio). Now who knows, but Cassidy went with Smith in the series decider at Hartford because he's got a B game and Subban does not. Butch said that if Malcolm doesn't have his best stuff, he generally struggles, whereas Smith finds a way to have a serviceable performance when he's not in the zone. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine Sweeney putting Subban in Boston right now. He certainly can't put McIntyre there without a heap of problems, and there is not room for both of them and Smith in Providence. I actually thought Smith played so well in the AHL playoffs that he would be a prime candidate to back up Rask, but Kirk brought up an interesting point on Twitter about what the Bruins went through (and Rask in particular) when Svedberg lost confidence. It would be unnecessary to ask for that trouble again. Sveddy had never been backup whereas Smith split the nets with Subban (who played great in Providence's two home games vs. Hartford). Smith got Game 5 on the road and made one misplay on the awkward shot off the half wall that led to the 5-hole rebound goal that ended the series.
Smith put up a 2.05 GAA and a .933 SP in the regular season, and he was the fourth goalie taken in the 2007 draft, second round 54th overall. Right now he looks like a guy who will wind up being one of the NHL's better backups, and I won't be surprised to see him launch that career in Boston.
