News Article: Jimmy Hayes, Matt Beleskey embrace challenge of coming to Bruins

[finchster]

When was the last time a player signed for a team and said he wasn't excited to play in a town and didn't give out all the sports clichés? Hayes I can believe, Beleskey is just happy someone signed him for 5 years.

 

[Man Rocket]

When was the last time a player signed for a team and said he wasn't excited to play in a town and didn't give out all the sports clichés? Hayes I can believe, Beleskey is just happy someone signed him for 5 years.

okay.

 

[ODAAT]

When was the last time a player signed for a team and said he wasn't excited to play in a town and didn't give out all the sports clichés? Hayes I can believe, Beleskey is just happy someone signed him for 5 years.

sure but he could have stayed in the sunshine playing for a pretty stacked team who conceivably would challenge for the cup again this season but opted to join a team who`s in a bit of a transition for less money

 

[finchster]

sure but he could have stayed in the sunshine playing for a pretty stacked team who conceivably would challenge for the cup again this season but opted to join a team who`s in a bit of a transition for less money

Ducks offered 4X4 = 16

Bruins offered 3.8X5 =19

The Bruins offered him more money and longer term, not to mention a no movement clause for two years. Beleskey had one good season and knew it was his chance to cash in and set himself up for life, and the Bruins were dumb enough to sign this year's David Clarkson.

 

[OutspokenMinority*]

i'd like hayes more if he threw a hit and didn't go to bc

he throws leans instead for the most part. uses his body for positioning. not as well as his brother but similar. big hits will happen occasionally but the leans win games.

 

[BB88]

Ducks offered 4X4 = 16

Bruins offered 3.8X5 =19

The Bruins offered him more money and longer term, not to mention a no movement clause for two years. Beleskey had one good season and knew it was his chance to cash in and set himself up for life, and the Bruins were dumb enough to sign this year's David Clarkson.

Even Sir Bob said that the minimun deal he would sign is 5/5 and Sweeney signed him with 3.8M, I was ready to hate that deal but him under 4M is great.

 

[finchster]

Even Sir Bob said that the minimun deal he would sign is 5/5 and Sweeney signed him with 3.8M, I was ready to hate that deal but him under 4M is great.

And if a deal came along that was 5X5 Beleskey wouldn't be here. Teams were smart this time out. No team wanted to invest 5m in a guy who had one good year. Beleskey cannot accept a contract that was never offered to him.

 

[OutspokenMinority*]

Jimmy Hayes' assignment:

Jimmy Hayes' assignment is to watch every single second of Mark Louis Recchi's career.

repeatedly.

until he can recite the play by play by heart.

 

[LouJersey]

Man these two are really being set up for disappointment . Beleskey is no Lucic . Not even close . He rugged and hits but not menacing and can't fight well at all IMO. Hayes is not either . Maybe he becomes different here but not sure he changes his spots that much . This isn't like 2007 bringing in Thornton and Lucic .

 

[BB88]

And if a deal came along that was 5X5 Beleskey wouldn't be here. Teams were smart this time out. No team wanted to invest 5m in a guy who had one good year. Beleskey cannot accept a contract that was never offered to him.

It was reported that he had lots of offers on his table but wanted to come to Boston.
I'm also sorry but I trust Bob when he says something.

He had fallen in love with Boston when he was there last summer with his wife at someone's wedding, you can clearly see that he loves it there and that his wife loves it there.

 

[HumBucker]

I like what Beleskey said about "Whatever team you come to, you have to earn what you get."

I don't like that he referred to himself in the third person. I hope Hayes doesn't start doing that. "Jimmy had a good game tonight."

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Jimmy Hayes' assignment is to watch every single second of Mark Louis Recchi's career.

repeatedly.

until he can recite the play by play by heart.

I'd rather he follow Ryan Smyth, Dave Andreychuk, Older Keith Tkatchuk, Mike Knuble, John Leclair, Steve Shutt etc.

He's a bigger body, Rechii didn't have the physical tools Hayes has.

It was reported that he had lots of offers on his table but wanted to come to Boston.
I'm also sorry but I trust Bob when he says something.

He had fallen in love with Boston when he was there last summer with his wife at someone's wedding, you can clearly see that he loves it there and that his wife loves it there.

I'm sure if Winnipeg offered 5X5 his wife would have fallen in love with East St. Paul too.

GW has said forever, "Its always about the money".

Don't fool yourself.

 

[BB88]

I'd rather he follow Ryan Smyth, Dave Andreychuk, Older Keith Tkatchuk, Mike Knuble, John Leclair, Steve Shutt etc.

He's a bigger body, Rechii didn't have the physical tools Hayes has.



I'm sure if Winnipeg offered 5X5 his wife would have fallen in love with East St. Paul too.

GW has said forever, "Its always about the money".

Don't fool yourself.

They were there last summer at the wedding and I bet there are atleast 1-2 guys who have taken less money to play on a team that they want to? It's a whole different thing to play in Boston that is in Anaheim.

It's clear to see that he loves it there and truly wants to play for Boston, just look at his action on signing day and since then.

 

[HumBucker]

I'm sure if Winnipeg offered 5X5 his wife would have fallen in love with East St. Paul too.

GW has said forever, "Its always about the money".

Don't fool yourself.

Patently untrue. Sure, it's probably the main consideration most of the time, as it is for anyone, but there are more than a few cases of players taking less to go to a specific team, especially if they have a shot at the Cup.

Outside sports too, I know of lots of people who chose other factors over money - location, lifestyle, family, overall happiness.

It is not always about the money.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Patently untrue. Sure, it's probably the main consideration most of the time, as it is for anyone, but there are more than a few cases of players taking less to go to a specific team, especially if they have a shot at the Cup.

Outside sports too, I know of lots of people who chose other factors over money - location, lifestyle, family, overall happiness.

It is not always about the money.

It's nice to live in that world, but in reality, when it comes to athletes, its always about the money.

If you can pull out that one or two times a player at the end of his career took a little less money to play for a contender, I'll show you thousands of times where athletes took the money over anything else.

And I don't blame them one bit.

 

[GordonHowe]

My favorite part is Thorntons endorsement.

Me too. That was a heartening endorsement.

I just hope that with both of these players, fans & media don't get carried away.

Let's not expect them to be a player they're not (Lucic) or trash them if they don't score 20. Let them be who they are, not who we want them to be.

Which doesn't mean hopes & shouldn't be high. Just reasonable.

 

[Alicat]

Jimmy is wearing #11.. End of an era....

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Me too. That was a heartening endorsement.

I just hope that with both of these players, fans & media don't get carried away.

Let's not expect them to be a player they're not (Lucic) or trash them if they don't score 20. Let them be who they are, not who we want them to be.

Which doesn't mean hopes & shouldn't be high. Just reasonable.

haha you must be new here

 

[BB88]

It's nice to live in that world, but in reality, when it comes to athletes, its always about the money.

If you can pull out that one or two times a player at the end of his career took a little less money to play for a contender, I'll show you thousands of times where athletes took the money over anything else.

And I don't blame them one bit.

Vermette went back to Arizona on a great deal, I bet he had takers.

BoB said on the day that Beleskey signed with us that the minimun contract he signs is 5/5, + Boston reporters said it's clear that he took less to play with us.

So I believe them more in this Beleskey signing.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

It's nice to live in that world, but in reality, when it comes to athletes, its always about the money.

If you can pull out that one or two times a player at the end of his career took a little less money to play for a contender, I'll show you thousands of times where athletes took the money over anything else.

And I don't blame them one bit.

I agree to an extent, but when you are talking about people making over 50 times the average US household income, part of that comes with choosing where you want to live.

Of course if someone was willing to pay you THAT much more to live someplace else, maybe some of them would take it. But I know I wouldn't live someplace I didn't want to for only a 10-15% pay difference.

 

[BklyNBruiN]

But Sweeney has also said he wants players excited to be Boston Bruins. Well, he certainly has that in both the Dorchester-bred Hayes and Ontario-born Beleskey.

And you don't have to tell Hayes what the B's identity has been historically.

“They're known as the Big, Bad Bruins and it's always a heavy game when you're playing against them,” said the 25-year-old Boston College product. “They're a team that's always had a ton of size and a lot of power forwards as well. I think we're going to continue to go in that direction, adding a guy like myself and Beleskey. And there's a lot of skill up front as well.”

Hayes comes with the stamp of approval from former Bruin Shawn Thornton, Hayes' former teammate with the Florida Panthers.

“I love that kid,” said Thornton shortly after the trade. “He's a hard-working kid, a great team guy. And I'll tell you, he'll be a guy that's proud to pull on that sweater.”

While Beleskey grew up in Barrie, Ontario, it sounds like he's every bit as excited to be playing here. With the departure of Milan Lucic, it appears he'll have a great chance to play on David Krejci's left wing. But Beleskey said he didn't necessarily cherry-pick his landing spot because of certain holes in the roster.

“It's the Boston Bruins. It's an extremely attractive place to be,” said 27-year-old Beleskey. “I looked at their team, I talked with my agent and my family and it's always been a place I've liked. I didn't really look at the situation. Any team you go to, you're going to have to earn whatever you get.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/..._matt_beleskey_embrace_challenge_of_coming_to

That's what I'm talking about. I said in another thread about what Sweeney is trying to do in getting back to our identity and playing Boston Bruins hockey. I can't wait, and am excited.

 

[PB37]

Ducks offered 4X4 = 16

Bruins offered 3.8X5 =19

The Bruins offered him more money and longer term, not to mention a no movement clause for two years. Beleskey had one good season and knew it was his chance to cash in and set himself up for life, and the Bruins were dumb enough to sign this year's David Clarkson.

Beleskey turned down multiple, better offers from other teams because he wanted to come here.

 

[EverettMike]

I don't really care if someone "wants to be a Bruin."

I just care if they want to win more than anything. If they would give the exact same effort in Montreal or Nashville or Anaheim that's fine, so long as they give a **** about showing up and winning.

I also don't care if someone is a local kid, or played in hockey east, or had a grandpa who loved the Bruins. That's all just puff for off-season stories. If someone says that playing for the Bruins means more to them than playing somewhere else they probably have an on/off switch, and those things can be flicked at any time. Give me the guy with just the on button who doesn't care where he plays, so long as he plays.

This isn't even a knock on these two, and I'm not calling into question their sincerity, just more a general comment on pursuing players.

 

[PB37]

I don't really care if someone "wants to be a Bruin."

I just care if they want to win more than anything. If they would give the exact same effort in Montreal or Nashville or Anaheim that's fine, so long as they give a **** about showing up and winning.

I also don't care if someone is a local kid, or played in hockey east, or had a grandpa who loved the Bruins. That's all just puff for off-season stories. If someone says that playing for the Bruins means more to them than playing somewhere else they probably have an on/off switch, and those things can be flicked at any time. Give me the guy with just the on button who doesn't care where he plays, so long as he plays.

This isn't even a knock on these two, and I'm not calling into question their sincerity, just more a general comment on pursuing players.

I think it matters to management after losing a top young player like Hamilton. IMO, that's why Sweeney has been very clear about drafting and pursuing players that want to be here.

 

[finchster]

Beleskey turned down multiple, better offers from other teams because he wanted to come here.

Real links with figures, otherwise it's all rumours and conjecture. Again, maybe some teams offered more money per year, but not term. We also gave this guy a NMC for two years. Unless there is somewhere that can show the other rumoured contract offers, rumours mean zero. We do know the Ducks offered 4X4, but 3.8X5 is better.