WEEI Mike Milbury weighs in on whether Bruins should consider trading Jeremy Swayman

[EvilDead]

BTW for anyone who needs a refresher for how utterly incompetent Milbury was as a GM overall, I highly suggest you watch this video from this hockey youtuber, the Hockey Guy. Looking at the names Mikey just threw away is just mind boggling, even though it lists just a fraction of the bad deals Milbury made.

 

[Mantis]

Milbury is one of the last people on the planet who should be giving trade advice

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

No one knew what Vladar was going to be. Especially people on here, myself included. He barely played at all until recently where he showed in his last stint in the NHL with the Bruins that he could be serviceable as a back up if needed to be called upon. Then we flip him to Calgary for a mid round pick which in and of itself wouldn't be bad. But then we go out and dump a ridiculous amount of money to bring in Linus Ullmark when the Bruins needed to address other parts of the roster, as usual. Plus, we all knew Rask was probably going to come back on cheap money eventually. Why dump money on Ullmark if you are going to get Rask later and no one else was going to give Linus that kind of money? You might as well have brought back Halak on 1 year, $1-2 million deal.

So now we have no cap flexibility to add to any pieces to some sort of mythical cup run people want to dredge up in their imagination and may have pissed off another prospect. The fact that fans of this team here can be so short sighted and think that we should just "let our prospects sit in Providence" is asinine. They aren't going to get better if they just play AHLers. They are going to plateau and not develop. Just like what happened in Detroit.

Not sure what the top wrong thing about this post is - either the idea that the Bruins will have no cap space at the deadline or that Detroit didn’t develop their prospects. Tough call.

 

[EvilDead]

Not sure what the top wrong thing about this post is - either the idea that the Bruins will have no cap space at the deadline or that Detroit didn’t develop their prospects. Tough call.

I am talking about the Red Wings under Ken Holland, not Steve Yzerman.

 

[Fopppa]

No one knew what Vladar was going to be. Especially people on here, myself included. He barely played at all until recently where he showed in his last stint in the NHL with the Bruins that he could be serviceable as a back up if needed to be called upon. Then we flip him to Calgary for a mid round pick which in and of itself wouldn't be bad. But then we go out and dump a ridiculous amount of money to bring in Linus Ullmark when the Bruins needed to address other parts of the roster, as usual. Plus, we all knew Rask was probably going to come back on cheap money eventually. Why dump money on Ullmark if you are going to get Rask later and no one else was going to give Linus that kind of money? You might as well have brought back Halak on 1 year, $1-2 million deal.

So now we have no cap flexibility to add to any pieces to some sort of mythical cup run people want to dredge up in their imagination and may have pissed off another prospect. The fact that fans of this team here can be so short sighted and think that we should just "let our prospects sit in Providence" is asinine. They aren't going to get better if they just play AHLers. They are going to plateau and not develop. Just like what happened in Detroit.

So it isn't really the Vladar trade then? It's the Ullmark contract that's grinding your gears. Might be better to lead with that next time then.

"We all knew Rask was probably going to come back on cheap money". Hindsight is a beautiful thing. We all knew for certain what was probably going to happen, eh? Great to base your strategy on as an NHL GM. Halak showed last season that he's declining, no-one would have been happy bringing him back, it would not have been enough.

"no one else was going to give Linus that kind of money" - ok, I'm sure you have solid sources on that.

I gather from your last paragraph that you'd rather trade Bergy and Marchy and just burn the whole thing down. Nice!

 

[GlenFeatherstone]

If the Bruins traded Swayman they will regret it for years to come. It will be their Tuukka for Raycroft.

 

[LouJersey]

Ok, Rask does really well, Bruins sign him to a 2 year deal, Bergeron signs on for another 2 as well.

What then?

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Last I heard him he was saying they should think about dealing Marchand and Bergeron

Red that over here too.

Tough time for the « sell everything this team is not good and not a contender » crowd.

Meanwhile, the disappointing wins are pilling on and Bruins 5pts back Toronto with a game in hand.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Ok, Rask does really well, Bruins sign him to a 2 year deal, Bergeron signs on for another 2 as well.

What then?

You trade Ullmark and keep Swayman

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Swayman might end up being a good goalie for years to come. But he might not, either. Especially with goalies, it’s so hard to predict and many peter out. Bergeron (not really having an all-star year) is getting old. Trades are something you consider. He’s not untouchable. Now, whether I trust DS to make a smart deal? Another story entirely.

 

[RustyBruins72]

Ok, Rask does really well, Bruins sign him to a 2 year deal, Bergeron signs on for another 2 as well.

What then?

Honestly, I think you try and move Ullmark. I am sure he's got NMC or NTC but I think that's what the Bruins are faced with in your scenario.

 

[ON3M4N]

And this folks is why Milbury is considered one if the worst GM's of his time. At this point he's on par with the Hackerty's and JTS of the world. He's going to say stupid shit to try and cling to any relevance that's flying away.....then again he's pretty stupid so he may believe what he's saying, which is even worse.

 

[NeelyDan]

I’d love if we focused on the points raised rather than dog piling on a guy who is incompetent to the point where it’s intellectually lazy to do so

 

[sarge88]

Now theres a guy you wanna take trade advice from.
The putz.

Crappy player
Mediocre coach
Lousy GM
Annoying Broadcaster

A true, quadruple threat.

 

[sarge88]

I still keep coming back to Ullmark being in the prime of his career and eventually realizing that his best move is to accept a trade -- not necessarily before the TDL, but maybe over the summer.

Unless, of course, (and this is fine if this is his line of thinking) -- he's perfectly happy being a 1a/2 for the next several years.

 

[BNHL]

Milbury claims that much of his tenure suffered from extreme interference from Charles Wang in player movement,contracts etc.

 

[BNHL]

Crappy player
Mediocre coach
Lousy GM
Annoying Broadcaster

A true, quadruple threat.

I thought he was a decent player,a decent coach,lousy GM with an asterisk and a good analyst.

 

[BruinsBtn]

If the price is right, you trade anyone. If Edmonton insists on Swayman in a package for Draisaitl, pull the trigger.

 

[KrejciWinger]

Not a fan of Milbury but he has a point. Its Sweeney's responsibility to see whats available on the market. Was not a fan of his "guarentee" quote that Swayman will be a Bruin a long time. Reminded me of Dubas ego getting stuck with matthews/nylander/marner contracts.

 

[sarge88]

I thought he was a decent player,a decent coach,lousy GM with an asterisk and a good analyst.

Admittedly, I was about 14 when he retired, but I remember as I was developing my understanding of the game in my youth, I always thought he was bad.

 

[EvilDead]

So it isn't really the Vladar trade then? It's the Ullmark contract that's grinding your gears. Might be better to lead with that next time then.

No...it's both. Why would you trade a cheap goalie for a pick and then dump money on a guy not many were looking to go for?

"We all knew Rask was probably going to come back on cheap money". Hindsight is a beautiful thing. We all knew for certain what was probably going to happen, eh? Great to base your strategy on as an NHL GM. Halak showed last season that he's declining, no-one would have been happy bringing him back, it would not have been enough.

You make it sound like I am saying that Halak would be the starter, which he wouldn't. It would be Swayman and Halak until Rask was ready post hip surgery. Which BTW, along with him entering covid protocol and practicing at the team facilities, was the dead giveaway that Rask was coming back.

"no one else was going to give Linus that kind of money" - ok, I'm sure you have solid sources on that.

I gather from your last paragraph that you'd rather trade Bergy and Marchy and just burn the whole thing down. Nice!

Okay then Elliot Friedman, why don't you tell me what Ullmark's market was if you know so f***ing much? Also, is it too much to ask for a bridge year where the team doesn't blow it up and tank but isn't going all or nothing? Because I'll tell you something, Rask or no Rask, this team isn't winning a cup until they beat Tampa Bay in a playoff series. And they have struggled every time they played them. When the B's made it to the cup in 2019 they got all the lucky bounces to get there until losing it in the end. Since then they haven't made it past round two and the Lightning have two cups.

Cope and seethe.

 

[Number8]

To be fair, as the story goes, it was the owner, Charles Wang, who was behind that deal. Apparently he was a non-hockey guy that was kind of eccentric and would make deals without involving his GM. Who knows, though.

Fair enough, I didn't know that.

To be honest I just knew Dipietro had a crazy contract and just did a quick google to confirm it was still in effect.

If I'm equally honest I have a love hate relationship with Mike M. Sometimes he amuses the hell out of me and sometimes he is just too much. I can live with that.

 

[22Brad Park]

You trade Ullmark and keep Swayman

I think Sweeney plan is both them next 3 yrs which is fine by me .Ullmark is not going anywhere with that no trade .

 

[BNHL]

Admittedly, I was about 14 when he retired, but I remember as I was developing my understanding of the game in my youth, I always thought he was bad.

I believe he was just one of those targeted players,like Hal Gill. He had his strengths,difficult to play against,physical,decent fighter,but devoid of any offense. Chara took a lot of heat here too,when his offense declined and his game was from the redline in. Milbury was a +175 for his career,with only one minus season,one year he was +52.

 

[LouJersey]

I’d love if we focused on the points raised rather than dog piling on a guy who is incompetent to the point where it’s intellectually lazy to do so

Exactly. He said it’s fine this year but what if…..it’s a talking point for debate and conversation.

weren’t the same people just getting on Sweeney for saying “I’m not thinking past this year?”