Matt Irwin

[Zac Rinaldo*]

a friend of mine from out west has me reconsidering how effective this guy can be, saying his footspeed is better than most think and his strength will be especially useful against the generally smaller forward groups in the east.

i'd rather see him as the first fill-in guy starting the year in providence, but wondering what others know/think about him as a player, as i don't know very much about him personally other than that his shot is a bomb

Click to read more...

 

[DitClapper]

His contract is one way I believe? Don't quote me on that one, but I see him as the 7th defenseman at this point. Should be a solid depth guy down the road though.

 

[cramdizzl]

His contract is one way I believe? Don't quote me on that one, but I see him as the 7th defenseman at this point. Should be a solid depth guy down the road though.

Irwin will probably see second pairing minutes, not to mention PP time.

 

[trudatman*]

he's good enough to make most teams' rosters. he'll probably play, but there are too many defenders right now. gotta think they find a new home for Seidenberg.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

he's good enough to make most teams' rosters. he'll probably play, but there are too many defenders right now. gotta think they find a new home for Seidenberg.

Speaks volumes of how bad our defense is now; Seidenberg is 1 of 2 top 4 defenseman we have left. If we move him, we literally have Chara and 6 more bottom pairs.

In my opinion, with the exception of Erhoff, Franson and Zidlicky aren't really an upgrade (overall) on Seidenberg alone.

 

[finchster]

I've met Matt Irwin a few times (friend of my former boss in Canada). I've seen him play a few times, he's got offensive skills and instincts with a bomb of a shot. That being said, he was one of the most sheltered defencemen on the Sharks and needs to up his D game.

 

[BB88]

I've met Matt Irwin a few times (friend of my former boss in Canada). I've seen him play a few times, he's got offensive skills and instincts with a bomb of a shot. That being said, he was one of the most sheltered defencemen on the Sharks and needs to up his D game.

How would that D group do if we'd have Krug and Irwin on different pairings?

That's a lot of pressure for Chara.

 

[tburns21]

How would that D group do if we'd have Krug and Irwin on different pairings?

That's a lot of pressure for Chara.

irwin seems to be a serviceable 3rd pairing guy with Mcquaid. move krug up to play with Seids(assuming he's not traded). the real battle is who plays with chara? I don't know that long term if Trotman is the ideal candidate to play 1st pairing minutes. but who knows at this point... hoepfully sweeney makes some moves (ie seids or k miller) to get some help on the back end and cap dump kelly for signings and maintain cap flexibility.

 

[JOKER 192]

Is there not a buyout window opening up on Wednesday, I think I read that somewhere?

 

[Ratty]

I spoke with his college coach who described him as a "great kid", whom he seen as a #7 guy who will shuttle between Providence and Boston as an injury backup. He went on to say that Matt would be a good addition to the PP team.

 

[BB88]

irwin seems to be a serviceable 3rd pairing guy with Mcquaid. move krug up to play with Seids(assuming he's not traded). the real battle is who plays with chara? I don't know that long term if Trotman is the ideal candidate to play 1st pairing minutes. but who knows at this point... hoepfully sweeney makes some moves (ie seids or k miller) to get some help on the back end and cap dump kelly for signings and maintain cap flexibility.

But that's sort of my question, how would that work?

Krug has been sheltered, Irwin has been sheltered and they need to play on different pairings, Chara+Seids are past their prime, how is the defensive play going to look like?

If Krug gets moved into the 2nd pairing then our 3rd pairing should be strong defensively.

 

[Ice Nine]

I've been looking at Irwin's advanced stats. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Check this out:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/6C5PX5NQS?:display_count=yes

His greatest weakness has been his bottom pairing minutes. There's definitely some top 4D potential there, on the other numbers.

Just by comparison, here are Own the Puck Tableaus for...

Dennis Seidenberg:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/3QR5NKS75?:display_count=yes&:showVizHome=no

Seidenberg basically plays top pairing minutes, and performs like a bad third pairing D.

And we wonder why our D was so terrible last year...

Adam McQuaid:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/8FMPNP36F?:display_count=no

McQuaid plays bottom pairing minutes and plays like an average bottom pairing guy.

By comparison, Irwin looks solid.

 

[BB88]

I've been looking at Irwin's advanced stats. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Check this out:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/6C5PX5NQS?:display_count=yes

His greatest weakness has been his bottom pairing minutes. There's definitely some top 4D potential there, on the other numbers.

Just by comparison, here are Own the Puck Tableaus for...

Dennis Seidenberg:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/3QR5NKS75?:display_count=yes&:showVizHome=no

Seidenberg basically plays top pairing minutes, and performs like a bad third pairing D. And we wonder why our D was so terrible last year...

Adam McQuaid:
http://public.tableau.com/shared/8FMPNP36F?:display_count=no

By comparison, Irwin looks solid.

On Vancouver-Boston poll we learned that by watching stats Bart is easily better than McQuaid and if Irwin has been sheltered I see a lot of problems/questions.

2 sheltered players on different pairings(bottom4) and who know what kind of 1st pairing, I don't know about you but to me that sounds scary.

 

[Ice Nine]

On Vancouver-Boston poll we learned that by watching stats Bart is easily better than McQuaid and if Irwin has been sheltered I see a lot of problems/questions.

2 sheltered players on different pairings(bottom4) and who know what kind of 1st pairing, I don't know about you but to me that sounds scary.

This is true, and I don't know enough about Irwin's time at SJS to say he's sheltered or not.

So, is the real takeaway how awful Seidenberg's contract is looking?

 

[BB88]

This is true, and I don't know enough about Irwin's time at SJS to say he's sheltered or not.

So, is the real takeaway how awful Seidenberg's contract is looking?

What I've understood from SJ fans is that Irwin needs a a partner who's strong defensively, but so does Krug.

We could make the 3rd pairing work with Irwin or Krug, , it's that we are missing #2 and #3D's with whom we could make the top4 work, make it strong, but we can't make the D group work, pairings work and it looks bad.

 

[member 96824]

Is there not a buyout window opening up on Wednesday, I think I read that somewhere?

Second buyout window is for teams that had to work with arbitration cases. Bruins not included.

 

[JOKER 192]

Second buyout window is for teams that had to work with arbitration cases. Bruins not included.

Ok, thanks for clarification.

 

[Ice Nine]

What I've understood from SJ fans is that Irwin needs a a partner who's strong defensively, but so does Krug.

We could make the 3rd pairing work with Irwin or Krug, , it's that we are missing #2 and #3D's with whom we could make the top4 work, make it strong, but we can't make the D group work, pairings work and it looks bad.

Presently, Chara is our only top 4D who performs like a top 4D (he actually performs like a top pairing D... even in decline, Chara is one of the best D in the league).

The rest, performance wise, are third pairing guys. Krug has top 4D potential, but his minutes were significantly sheltered, so if he plays harder zone starts, and more minutes, he may struggle somewhat getting used to it.

So, other top 4D could emerge (Krug? Miller? Trotman?) but it's pretty ugly when you look under the hood right now.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I think people are being too tough on Seids. He started to look better towards the end of the year, so maybe his recovery was tougher on him. He might not completely regain his form, but he's still definitely a legit top 4 guy IMO.

 

[Boston BROin]

Can't say I know too much about the guy, but people keep bringing up his advanced stats. I just don't understand.

The guy isn't much in the defensive end. He apparently is slow. Someone described him as John Scott slow, so how useful can he be as an offensive minded defenseman? He has a good shot, but that's just about all the positive I've heard. How does he fit in?

 

[BB88]

Can't say I know too much about the guy, but people keep bringing up his advanced stats. I just don't understand.

The guy isn't much in the defensive end. He apparently is slow. Someone described him as John Scott slow, so how useful can he be as an offensive minded defenseman? He has a good shot, but that's just about all the positive I've heard. How does he fit in?

"tough to play against"

 

[BadBruins]

Aaron Johnson. Just a body IMO.

 

[DitClapper]

Nice little first interview as a Bruin. Sounds excited.
http://www.cheknews.ca/victorias-matt-irwin-a-new-member-of-the-boston-bruins-110030/

 

[ODAAT]

he's good enough to make most teams' rosters. he'll probably play, but there are too many defenders right now. gotta think they find a new home for Seidenberg.

you can never have enough defenseman IMO, they are like pitchers. This D, at this time is underwhelming and I see a rotating door scenario

Sweeney will address the D at some point of the year or latest, next summer IMO

 

[ODAAT]

I think people are being too tough on Seids. He started to look better towards the end of the year, so maybe his recovery was tougher on him. He might not completely regain his form, but he's still definitely a legit top 4 guy IMO.

Unlike his teammates, I was encouraged by Seids last dozen games or so. Hoping it continues, had a tough time getting his game back most of the year but the guy came off of major surgery.