Matt Bartkowski

[DKH]

I'm going to go against the love for Bart for a minute and say that I'd like the Bruins to explore other options in the off season.

Right now Bart is looking good because he's out there showing the much needed foot speed in comparison to McQuaid (who isn't fleet of foot), Seidenberg (who still isn't 100%) and Chara (who is likely still hurt and showing age). While the speed is definitely needed, there are 2 things scaring me about Bart:

1. His mental game- he doesn't have the highest hockey IQ and it his time watching from upstairs and being with the team hasn't shown me the ability to grow as he needs to in order to be effective. He's making mistakes in his own end, he's not making the right outlets, he's over skating at times when he has better options to move the puck and he's also misreading the safe play when collecting the puck with pressure.

He needs to make quicker reads and get them right otherwise he'll be eaten up by teams like Montreal or NY. While there are a number of things he certainly can learn, he's not showing the growth in this area that makes me believe he can reach the next tier to play 2nd pair minutes.


2. When Bart gets locked up with someone in the defensive zone, his feet become stuck in cement. Watching his penalties- trips, hooks, holding it almost always comes back to this. He's trying to use his upper body to win battles which isn't going to work. For a guy that can skate, he needs to use his feet and adapt his game to win 1on1 battles with his feet.

Add to this, Bart isn't an option on the PP (mostly because of point 1). If he's my 2nd pair defenseman, I want him to be an option and I honestly can't see him as one right now.

What I see Bart as is a stronger but slightly slower Matt Hunwick- and who around here wants to pay for Matt Hunwick?

I don't meant to rag on Bart here- he's serviceable but on a team that should have long playoff run expectations, he's a 7th dman. We have enough people around here complaining about Kelly with the money he's making playing in the bottom 6- paying Bart any real money would be much worse in my opinion.

good stuff and no way I pay Bart $3 M.

You have to assume Chara and Seidenberg will be back

Krug and Hamilton are locks

I do think they want McQuaid back

so, what do you think of Morrow? have you seen him? He roams and reminds me of the defensive version of Ryan Spooner

 

[chizzler]

good stuff and no way I pay Bart $3 M.

You have to assume Chara and Seidenberg will be back

Krug and Hamilton are locks

I do think they want McQuaid back

so, what do you think of Morrow? have you seen him? He roams and reminds me of the defensive version of Ryan Spooner

Where did you get 3 mil man?

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I don't know about that, Hamilton and Krug are easily better than him at carrying the puck, IMO.

I think carrying the puck is his best skill set, but I don't see him making and great passes or really doing much with the puck at all. He's good at carrying the puck to center ice and dumping it in. But when he has the puck on his stick in his zone or at the blueline and is under pressure he fails.

That's the thing with him. Great to skate the puck out of our zone but never seem to create a breakout pass that leads to offense.

As a whole, that is the weakness of our whole D group. A very bad passing unit.

That's why I want Morrow up. He is the best we have seen all year.

Personally, I think this, "he can't make an outlet pass" stuff is BS. He is definitely more comfortable carrying the puck out, but he's perfectly capable of a good transition pass and makes them frequently.

Bart is a better skater than Krug and Hamilton (pretty close) and his puck retrieval skills are better than both. Krug is a much smarter player and has much better instincts, particularly in the O zone. Same for Dougie in the offensive zone.

Tell you what though, people like to just say he's horrible in his own end and it gets repeated verbatim like its gospel. In his latest sretch in the lineup, he has been decent in his own end, and certainly better than Dougie, who has been a freaking adventure every time he touches the puck. Morrow did not look much better IMO, although he was the flavor or the month the first time he was up, which means he got a pass for a lot of the same stuff Bart did/does.

I would not mind bringing Bart back as the 7th D, but he may get a better offer from someone who thinks he will make a good 3rd pair.

 

[patty59]

Personally, I think this, "he can't make an outlet pass" stuff is BS. He is definitely more comfortable carrying the puck out, but he's perfectly capable of a good transition pass and makes them frequently.

Bart is a better skater than Krug and Hamilton (pretty close) and his puck retrieval skills are better than both. Krug is a much smarter player and has much better instincts, particularly in the O zone. Same for Dougie in the offensive zone.

Tell you what though, people like to just say he's horrible in his own end and it gets repeated verbatim like its gospel. In his latest sretch in the lineup, he has been decent in his own end, and certainly better than Dougie, who has been a freaking adventure every time he touches the puck. Morrow did not look much better IMO, although he was the flavor or the month the first time he was up, which means he got a pass for a lot of the same stuff Bart did/does.

I would not mind bringing Bart back as the 7th D, but he may get a better offer from someone who thinks he will make a good 3rd pair.

How can you even type these things and be serious about them?

Watch Bart when he has the puck under pressure in his own zone if you want to talk about adventures.

Bart is a fine skater and can carry the puck, but I fail to see him really do anything with besides dumping it in.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Where did you get 3 mil man?

Yeah, he's not getting $3m. Not sure who said that?

FYI, Bart's stats in PRO his first two years there:

69 gp - 5g/18a
50 gp - 3g/19a


Morrow:

56 gp - 6g/23a
26 gp - 3g/5a

Not a huge difference in the "you show me yours, I'll show you mine" department.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

How can you even type these things and be serious about them?

Watch Bart when he has the puck under pressure in his own zone if you want to talk about adventures.

Bart is a fine skater and can carry the puck, but I fail to see him really do anything with besides dumping it in.

I watch the games. Blame it on Chara, sophomore slump, whatever you want. Dougie has been real good offensively, but ******* horrible in his own end and an unforced error machine.

If you had been paying attention instead of just writing him off, you might have noticed Bart taking the puck into the O zone a lot. Not a ton of success so far, but he has been taking the puck deep into the O zone and attempting centering plays...and he has the skating ability to get back.

You can disagree, that doesn't bother me any. I am just calling them like I see them. I will say it when Bart has bad games (and he does), but God forbid you say anything bad about Dougie even though it's been on display all year.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

For what its worth, the numbers this year:

Bartkowski:

41 games 0-4-4 -2


Miller:

41 games 2-5-7 +20

 

[Greek_physique]

For what its worth, the numbers this year:

Bartkowski:

41 games 0-4-4 -2


Miller:

41 games 2-5-7 +20

Bart is a diff player.

I like Miller but if Quaider is back he's not as valueable to us.

 

[neelynugs]

Yeah, he's not getting $3m. Not sure who said that?

FYI, Bart's stats in PRO his first two years there:

69 gp - 5g/18a
50 gp - 3g/19a


Morrow:

56 gp - 6g/23a
26 gp - 3g/5a

Not a huge difference in the "you show me yours, I'll show you mine" department.

yeah but you're just talking numbers. i know you've seen these guys plenty of times to say
with certainty that joe morrow can do things with the puck that bartkowski probably can only
do against 7 year old kids in the streets of pittsburgh. bart has basically zero offensive game,
and isn't good enough defensively to be considered a "stay at home" type. he is an incredible
skater, that's his 1 and only top quality.

i'd take morrow over bart 100 times out of 100. really liked his simple game up in the NHL. he's
been working hard at playing better defense, and while he had some struggles, no doubt, i
think with the offense he can bring, i'd throw him out there right now. he should be on this team
come fall at the very least. i like him a lot better than trotman too.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

I watch the games. Blame it on Chara, sophomore slump, whatever you want. Dougie has been real good offensively, but ******* horrible in his own end and an unforced error machine.

If you had been paying attention instead of just writing him off, you might have noticed Bart taking the puck into the O zone a lot. Not a ton of success so far, but he has been taking the puck deep into the O zone and attempting centering plays...and he has the skating ability to get back.

You can disagree, that doesn't bother me any. I am just calling them like I see them. I will say it when Bart has bad games (and he does), but God forbid you say anything bad about Dougie even though it's been on display all year.

I prefer when Bart carries the puck out of the zone,it limits his decision making .Making correct decisions is not a strength of Bart.

 

[patty59]

I watch the games. Blame it on Chara, sophomore slump, whatever you want. Dougie has been real good offensively, but ******* horrible in his own end and an unforced error machine.

If you had been paying attention instead of just writing him off, you might have noticed Bart taking the puck into the O zone a lot. Not a ton of success so far, but he has been taking the puck deep into the O zone and attempting centering plays...and he has the skating ability to get back.

You can disagree, that doesn't bother me any. I am just calling them like I see them. I will say it when Bart has bad games (and he does), but God forbid you say anything bad about Dougie even though it's been on display all year.

Hamilton and Bartkowski aren't even on the same planet. Yes, Hamilton has made some bad plays this year, but you know what he at least gets it done at the other end and well. Hamilton has 10x as many points as Bartkowski this year and he's been playing top pairing minutes vs the other teams best all season long.

 

[chizzler]

Hamilton and Bartkowski aren't even on the same planet. Yes, Hamilton has made some bad plays this year, but you know what he at least gets it done at the other end and well. Hamilton has 10x as many points as Bartkowski this year and he's been playing top pairing minutes vs the other teams best all season long.

The eye test says Hamilton is better than Bartkowski on offense, but I'm not so sure on defense. Bart hits better, can skate, and his outlet pass isn't so bad. bartkowski also plays with a lesser partner than Hamilton.

 

[patty59]

The eye test says Hamilton is better than Bartkowski on offense, but I'm not so sure on defense. Bart hits better, can skate, and his outlet pass isn't so bad. bartkowski also plays with a lesser partner than Hamilton.

I think it's prety safe to say that Hamilton is the better all around player, which is likely why he was playing first pairing while Bartkowski was a healthy scratch until Miller's arm fell off.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I think it's prety safe to say that Hamilton is the better all around player, which is likely why he was playing first pairing while Bartkowski was a healthy scratch until Miller's arm fell off.

That made me laugh.

Good one.

 

[bruinsfan1970]

Closing Time......