TSN: JB/Quaider/Bart who gets the axe

[PatriceBergeronFan]

JB was in the AHL for several years, one year in PRO, then came in as a 7th D. He was a mid-season injury replacement for Ference or Stuart I believe. He worked his way up from there. While still prone to the occasional bad pinch or read, JB has cut WAY down on his bad decisions. Whether Bart can do the same remains to be seen, but I would never just outright assume he can't.

I've definitely noticed that. He's rarely in the wrong spot anymore. And thanks. Forgot he was ever not in our Top 4, seems like he's been here forever.

This hit though:

 

[KuralySnipes]

ZeeDougie
KrugSeids
BartQuadier
Miller

I see them loading up like this IF no JB

Still not Stanley Cup caliber. Krug is a huge downgrade defensively over Boychuk, and it will hurt us in the playoffs again.

 

[KuralySnipes]

Hamilton, Boychuk, McQuaid, Miller
Chara, Seidenberg (who playes either side), Krug, Bartkowski
somehow equates to having "too many LHD"

Fair enough, but I was talking about organizational depth in general.

Morrow will hopefully fill Bartkowski's role of 7th defenseman later this year, in my opinion.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Some players were dressed tonight on purpose to show the before the trade...

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Some players were dressed tonight on purpose to show the before the trade...

What's the line up tonight?

 

[Alan Ryan]

I keep Boychuck and McQuaid. I also keep Miller for insurance in case McQuaid gets hurt again.

This gets my vote.

 

[Alan Ryan]

Maybe it's because he's not a known commodity but it is odd that Warofsky's name hasn't been included in the group of candidates as well.

Warsofsky was a late scratch for tonight's Islanders game.

 

[Alan Ryan]

Palmieri is a winger, while some doubt that Spooner would be a good fit on the wing. Based on the organizational depth down the middle, Palmieri would be a better fit. I am a big fan of Spooner, but that's the rationale behind trading Spooner in a deal for a winger.

Spooner scored 2 goals playing LW tonight against the Islanders.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

A decision is forthcoming. You sound like we're an expansion franchise with no forced call to make. We're not talking about growing a guy on the 3rd pair, we're talking about a 2nd pair defenseman that will make or break. It's not like there isn't tape on Bart. There's plenty. And playoff tape. Ugly playoff tape...of the most recent kind. I've considered. I've evaluated. Grow and see elsewhere.

If we were building a contender I'd be all for throwing Bart a spot and seeing what happens.

But we're a Cup contender that needs to cut around the outside, so the inside can be at its best.

I think you know which way Chia is probably going with this...and yes, that does have merit.

Trusting Bart with 2nd pair mins on a team with Cup aspirations could be a fatal flaw and a fire-able offense. Chia will pass.

From God's lips to GloveSave's ear...to Chia's ear?

So, you admit you are basing your assumptions on last year's data, and you still haven't addressed the wild idea that players can actually...Gasp!...improve.

If Bartkowski hasn't improved and is the same guy from the playoffs last year, then he absolutely should not be given a shot at the Top 4. FWIW, I thought he looked pretty damned good tonight playing the majority of the game with Sides on his right. The two of them were matched up with Tavares-Okposo and Nelson all night and Bart did a really nice job on JT in a couple of one one one situations.

A couple of his stretch passes were off the mark and resulted in icing calls, and he got caught flat-footed on one play where a B had a bad turnover just outside the B's blue line (think it was Florek?). Other than that, his decision making was sound, his passes were good, and his play got noticeably chippy as the play got more intense in the 3rd.

If they were "showcasing" him, his value just went up.

 

[headflop]

If Quaider goes, one would think Robins will get a spot this year.

 

[13Hockey]

A top 4 of Chara, Dougie, Seids, and JB can win you a cup

a top 4 with Mcquaid, Krug, or Bart in it can't

Go for it this year trade Mcquaid since Bart is better suited for top 4 minutes when injuries happen

And hope you can resign Boychuk to a hometown discount in the offseason if not thanks for 5 great years

 

[bme44]

IMO: both Boychuck and Warsofsky will be traded.

Trading Bochuck is a gamble or sure but from a cap manegment perspectve, for this year an going forward it is a necessry evil.

I would not surpised to see Campbell also traded by the 20 game mark of the season.

 

[OutspokenMinority*]

A top 4 of Chara, Dougie, Seids, and JB can win you a cup

a top 4 with Mcquaid, Krug, or Bart in it can't

Go for it this year trade Mcquaid since Bart is better suited for top 4 minutes when injuries happen

And hope you can resign Boychuk to a hometown discount in the offseason if not thanks for 5 great years

not if it's the Chara from the last 2 playoffs (TURNSTILE) it can't. every meaningless late-season game that he is allowed to play meaningless unnecessary minutes is a selfish move on his part and a brain-dead move by a management group unwilling to do their jobs (ie. set the team up for playoff success). he is not Ray Bourque. Bourque could play at a high level while logging crazy minutes all year (he could also get shots to the net). Zdeno Chara can not. certainly not the 38 year old version. the 38 year old Zdeno Chara goes from dominant force to liability faster than a souped-up Maserati goes 0-60.

i do not care how many pullups he can do if he is so exhausted come playoff time that he can barely move on the ice. lots of people can do pullups. i don't care about them either. and if it's yet another injury this time around, then we've officially entered "injury-prone" territory, and it would be even more reason to limit him, and/or move on.

also, between Bart and McQuaid, McQuaid is the better option for playoff minutes. McQuaid/Miller is the fallback after Boychuk leaves. Bart is probably trade bait. they already have Krug and probably can't afford two defensemen who are subpar defensively. Bart just makes too many mistakes.

 

[Ratty]

Decision Time

When do you suppose we'll be hearing about a trade? Today is the last exhibition game and rosters need to be set. Do we wear out the refresh button?

 

[KnightofBoston]

I really don't like the idea of Boychuk being traded, trading him leaves us a hole on d the same as when we lost Seidenberg...which is the number one reason we lost to the habs IMO

Plenty of other guys to trade, if this team wasn't in win now mode I would say go youth and keep a guy like Bart...but I just don't like where his decision making is when someone closes in. Nice tools, just not the iq

Boychuk is just as important to this team as Seidenberg imo, and he always picks it up in the playoffs. Can't lose players like that. Try to work out an extension during the season

 

[nmbr_24]

IMO: both Boychuck and Warsofsky will be traded.

Trading Bochuck is a gamble or sure but from a cap manegment perspectve, for this year an going forward it is a necessry evil.

I would not surpised to see Campbell also traded by the 20 game mark of the season.

I don't see it that way, trading Boychuk for anything less than an equal defender or a borderline 1st/2nd liner is going to make the team worse this year. If they are going to sacrifice this year when Chara only has a few years left I just can't see the sense in that. Trading for good players who will improve in the future is great and all but not when the Bruins are the best or one of the best teams in the east. I don't see any logic at all in trading away Boychuk unless it improves the team when Chara is pretty close to the end of his career and Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic are in their prime. The time is now, trading Boychuk for futures makes no sense to me if the goal is to win the cup.

Seriously, if they are going to start trading away key players and downgrade their team right now it is going to take them out of contention and that is going to happen soon enough anyway. To have a 4-5 year period of contention seems normal for most teams, exrtraordinary teams go longer than that but those are fewer and the Bruins are at the end of that period right now, I won't be happy at all to see them give up key players for 3rd liners.

With that said, it is also possible that Chiarelli has a better grip on the situation than I do, I think most of Chiarelli's moves have not been what I expected them to be and hopefully he is going to make the team better this year whatever he does.

 

[Shoebottom]

Bruins lost because of lack of finish & bad PK(both senses). Not because of the D. Improving our offense with Spooner (last night) and a soild RW would help way more than a Seids-Bart would bring us down, if at all. IMO a Seids-Bart would probably be better than a Seids-Boychuk pair.
Anyways, looks like Boychuk is definitely being shopped and one team(Edm?) especially put in an offer but Chia countered with a higher one that killed the deal, but Chia was told to get back to him when he has a deal for Boy with another team to see if they can work something out before he calls the trade in. At least that's the vibe I get from Dom.

 

[Gargyn]

I really don't like the idea of Boychuk being traded, trading him leaves us a hole on d the same as when we lost Seidenberg...which is the number one reason we lost to the habs IMO

Plenty of other guys to trade, if this team wasn't in win now mode I would say go youth and keep a guy like Bart...but I just don't like where his decision making is when someone closes in. Nice tools, just not the iq

Boychuk is just as important to this team as Seidenberg imo, and he always picks it up in the playoffs. Can't lose players like that. Try to work out an extension during the season

number 1 reason we lost to the Habs was the boys could not finish. No goal scorers is the big problem. Julien's system prevents goals fine.

 

[Shoebottom]

Spooner scored 2 goals playing LW tonight against the Islanders.

Yes he did. Looked fantastic. Exactly what the Bs need on the wing. But it was only one preseason game vs the fishsticks. Hope to see him on the wing today as well. Another 2 goals, and I can't see him being sent down in favor of Gagne.

 

[KnightofBoston]

number 1 reason we lost to the Habs was the boys could not finish. No goal scorers is the big problem. Julien's system prevents goals fine.

Don't buy it, poor decision making on the back end due to inexperience

 

[ReggieMoto]

I really don't like the idea of Boychuk being traded, trading him leaves us a hole on d the same as when we lost Seidenberg...which is the number one reason we lost to the habs IMO.

Bruins lost because of lack of finish & bad PK(both senses). Not because of the D.

number 1 reason we lost to the Habs was the boys could not finish. No goal scorers is the big problem. Julien's system prevents goals fine.

I agree with Knight. This all started with the loss of veteran presence and ability on the blueline. It wasn't just Seidenberg; it was the loss of both him and McQuaid. This put the Bruins in the bad position to play half of their with youth: Miller, Bart, Krug. Then there was Meszaros. This was not a good recipe for success in the post-season.

Offense begins with the defense. Breakouts begin behind the net, and neutral zone turnovers are an important and invaluable part of the offense. With so much youth attempting and struggling to launch the offense, force turnovers, and maintain puck possession in the offensive zone, it's no surprise (or shouldn't be) that the team was unable to maintain an adequate amount of offensive pressure while on the attack.

That's not to completely let the forwards off the hook, but I think that a depleted defense was a key factor in lack of offense and scoring.

 

[Shoebottom]

I agree with Knight. This all started with the loss of veteran presence and ability on the blueline. It wasn't just Seidenberg; it was the loss of both him and McQuaid. This put the Bruins in the bad position to play half of their with youth: Miller, Bart, Krug. Then there was Meszaros. This was not a good recipe for success in the post-season.

Offense begins with the defense. Breakouts begin behind the net, and neutral zone turnovers are an important and invaluable part of the offense. With so much youth attempting and struggling to launch the offense, force turnovers, and maintain puck possession in the offensive zone, it's no surprise (or shouldn't be) that the team was unable to maintain an adequate amount of offensive pressure while on the attack.

That's not to completely let the forwards off the hook, but I think that a depleted defense was a key factor in lack of offense and scoring.

The D was doing it job. The forwards & the PK wasn't. 13 posts & other chances. If they finish half of those they win in 5-6 games. If you got to blame a Dman, and I wouldn't, it should be Miller, he was the main cause of 2 critical goals.

 

[Bmessy]

You want to remove that from your Stanley Cup lineup?
Chara isn't getting any younger people. Our time to win is now

 

[ReggieMoto]

The D was doing it job. The forwards & the PK wasn't. 13 posts & other chances. If they finish half of those they win in 5-6 games. If you got to blame a Dman, and I wouldn't, it should be Miller, he was the main cause of 2 critical goals.

We will not agree on this point. I don't believe they were. The lack of effective defense led to a lot of skating up and down the ice. Towards the end they even lost Chara to his broken finger. Too many defensive lapses led to the collapse and loss. IMO.

 

[nmbr_24]

Bruins lost because of lack of finish & bad PK(both senses). Not because of the D. Improving our offense with Spooner (last night) and a soild RW would help way more than a Seids-Bart would bring us down, if at all. IMO a Seids-Bart would probably be better than a Seids-Boychuk pair.
Anyways, looks like Boychuk is definitely being shopped and one team(Edm?) especially put in an offer but Chia countered with a higher one that killed the deal, but Chia was told to get back to him when he has a deal for Boy with another team to see if they can work something out before he calls the trade in. At least that's the vibe I get from Dom.

While I agree that Spooner should be on the team and would make them better, I think they lost because their D, namely Bartkowski, Miller, and Krug all were directly responsible for goals that I just don't see happening with a top 4 of Chara-Hamilton-Boychuk-Seidenberg. Krug has top pairing offensive ability and he is improving on D but I don't think he is ready for the defensive responsibility of the top 4, Miller just isn't a top 4 D, and Bartkowski is probably the most able to play the defensive role that a top 4 D in the Bruins system carries, but the drop off from Boychuk to Bartkowski is huge.

I am not going to put it past Chiarelli to package Boychuk and Spooner to make the team better and that is my only concern. I want them to win this year as I am sure you do.