Management Sweeney addresses media: All Sweeney Talk Here

[BruinsFanSince94]

In other words back to the bad old days. I don't think I can take that

It’s a possibility. Ownership, who listens to daddy because they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing, have a yes-men type management group.

 

[bp13]

Burke would be my choice as GM and Torterella would be my coach.

Bottom line: Sweeney, Neely and Cassidy need to be shown the door.

WTF is wrong with Cassidy??? Is there some suggestion he hasn’t gotten enough out of his lineups?

Man....coaches can’t win around here. I think Butch has been great. Way better than I expected.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

In a limited role, and for a proper farewell, yes, I do want Z back. He can still be effective, and remains a towering example of leadership and charactor.

To let him go because of an internal, Burns' mandated cap would be a travesty. Z deserves to end his career in a Bruins uniform, and to be treated with the class he has demonstrated in his tenure here.

Sentimental? Yes. Appropriate? Absolutely.

Especially if the Bruins can make room for Miller.

 

[member 96824]

WTF is wrong with Cassidy??? Is there some suggestion he hasn’t gotten enough out of his lineups?

Man....coaches can’t win around here. I think Butch has been great. Way better than I expected.

Baffling. Cassidy turned this franchise around and has gotten way more than anyone could have ever expected out of 35 year olds and the mess of swinging doors Sweeney and Neely have provided.

The only person on earth that could possibly think Cassidy needs to go is Jared Knight’s dad.

 

[Don Cherry]

WTF is wrong with Cassidy??? Is there some suggestion he hasn’t gotten enough out of his lineups?

Man....coaches can’t win around here. I think Butch has been great. Way better than I expected.

He loves passive, soft hockey. You're a fan, I'm not.

 

[Don Cherry]

Baffling. Cassidy turned this franchise around and has gotten way more than anyone could have ever expected out of 35 year olds and the mess of swinging doors Sweeney and Neely have provided.

The only person on earth that could possibly think Cassidy needs to go is Jared Knight’s dad.

Please don't bring my son Jared into this!

 

[Dr Hook]

The only person on earth that could possibly think Cassidy needs to go is Jared Knight’s dad.

And Peter Cehlarik

 

[bp13]

He loves passive, soft hockey. You're a fan, I'm not.

His top 6 forwards are Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta, Krejci, Coyle and JDB.

His top 4 Dmen were McAvoy, Carlo, Krug and either Gryz or Chara.

You tell me where he’s not getting enough physicality or fighting or whatever it is you apparently want, and then tell me how it’s his coaching that is making that happen rather than that roster of players.

 

[GordonHowe]

In other words back to the bad old days. I don't think I can take that

Vote Them Out. Vote with your feet, ladies and germs. Vote with your dollars.

 

[Gordoff]

Vote Them Out. Vote with your feet, ladies and germs. Vote with your dollars.

It's the only language the smug know...

 

[GordonHowe]

His top 6 forwards are Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta, Krejci, Coyle and JDB.

His top 4 Dmen were McAvoy, Carlo, Krug and either Gryz or Chara.

You tell me where he’s not getting enough physicality or fighting or whatever it is you apparently want, and then tell me how it’s his coaching that is making that happen rather than that roster of players.

It's both.

I don't believe Cassidy is Don Cherry, though he would likely greet greater physicality warmly.

However, if Sweeney and Neely evidently don't seek to provide that, the failure is unequivicably on them. Why they don't get it, why they have failed to get it for five years, is beyond me.

Said again: Washington, St. Louis, TBL.

 

[GordonHowe]

In other words back to the bad old days. I don't think I can take that

I can't.

I won't.

Eff Mr. Burns and Smithers.

 

[GordonHowe]

Especially if the Bruins can make room for Miller.

WTF all the way around. Seriously, you're bringing back Kevan Miller?

Nothing against him but come on. Jesus.

 

[Fenian24]

It's both.

I don't believe Cassidy is Don Cherry, though he would likely greet greater physicality warmly.

However, if Sweeney and Neely evidently don't seek to provide that, the failure is unequivicably on them. Why they don't get it, why they have failed to get it for five years, is beyond me.

Said again: Washington, St. Louis, TBL.

He won't play Frederic preferring Lindholm, he did not play Lauzon until the end of the season and he praised the team for restraint when Rask got run and concussed.

Sweeney is part of the problem with the team being passive, maybe a 50/50 split with Cassidy but Butchie does not seem to want any kind of toughness on the team

 

[GordonHowe]

WTF is wrong with Cassidy??? Is there some suggestion he hasn’t gotten enough out of his lineups?

Man....coaches can’t win around here. I think Butch has been great. Way better than I expected.

Agreed. I do wish he had a greater understanding, and commitment to, the benifits of physical play. Claude did, and he wasn't a cromag.

I want my Bruins to play with speed and skill. I also want team physicality and accountablity up and down the roster. All for one, one for all. That's what I wan to see most of all, and by far the most entertaining, and heartening, feature of the Chiarelli/Julien era.

 

[Smitty93]

Baffling. Cassidy turned this franchise around and has gotten way more than anyone could have ever expected out of 35 year olds and the mess of swinging doors Sweeney and Neely have provided.

The only person on earth that could possibly think Cassidy needs to go is Jared Knight’s dad.

I've got to disagree with you here. I'll give Cassidy credit for changing the style of play and have this team no longer playing boring hockey. However, I'm putting some blame on him too and the keyword is adjustments. We saw the same two series against Tampa two of the last three years. Not only did they look unprepared to face Tampa, which is on coaching, they lacked mid-series adjustments. They had the same lack of adjustments against St. Louis.

The other piece is lineup flexibility. This has been a one line team ever since Cassidy took over, which makes them incredibly easy to defend. That one line gives them a higher floor, but lower ceiling. I don't care if it makes them a worse regular season team, one of Marchand or Pastrnak should be moved off that line. It makes them more difficult to defend and gives the team a higher ceiling.

Here's a fun fact: over the past three years, Krejci and Pastrnak have better GoalsFor/60, GoalsAgainst/60, GoalsFor%, expectedGoalsFor/60, and expectedGoalsFor% together than apart. The statistics literally say they should play together, but Cassidy refuses to do it for any consistent amount of time. The stats have also shown that basically anyone can play well with the Marchand and Bergeron pairing, except for Jimmy Hayes.

They refuse to change because it "works", but it doesn't actually work. It lowers their ceiling and makes them easier to defend in the playoffs when you can put more focus into stopping certain lines. I think Cassidy is a moron for not changing it despite the fact that it's been their clear fatal flaw for over three years.

Lastly, I'll be honest, I just flat out don't like the guy, which, admittedly, probably clouds my judgement. I don't like how he's always willing to throw a player under the bus, but never takes personal blame for bad coaching. I think that as long as the Neely/Sweeney/Cassidy triumvirate exists, they'll never win a Stanley Cup and I've thought that ever since they were put together. I think we're basically the Boudreau Capitals or the McLellan Sharks and who the f*** wants to be them.

 

[PlayMakers]

Sell me on them? Not familiar but Burke made the Kessel trade with Boston.

Oh I don't know. I was just throwing out names.

I mentioned Burke because he's long been rumored as a good option for the Bruins front office. He's from here. He's a big believer in old school Bruins style hockey. And he's known for getting his man. If he wanted a guy he found a way to get it done. Sometimes it was a steal, sometimes he'd overpay but he'd never let Krejci go 5 years without a RW. On the downside, he also believes in a top6/bottom6 model, meaning he likes all defense, no offense 3rd lines, which I think is dated. He also doesn't put much stock in the current version of analytics.

I mentioned Mark Hunter because was a finalist for the Seattle job. He's developed a bunch of NHL stars like Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Bo Horvat... Honestly I don't know a lot about him but he is considered a hot commodity. Someone like Dom would probably be an expert.

 

[BruinDust]

I've got to disagree with you here. I'll give Cassidy credit for changing the style of play and have this team no longer playing boring hockey. However, I'm putting some blame on him too and the keyword is adjustments. We saw the same two series against Tampa two of the last three years. Not only did they look unprepared to face Tampa, which is on coaching, they lacked mid-series adjustments. They had the same lack of adjustments against St. Louis.

The other piece is lineup flexibility. This has been a one line team ever since Cassidy took over, which makes them incredibly easy to defend. That one line gives them a higher floor, but lower ceiling. I don't care if it makes them a worse regular season team, one of Marchand or Pastrnak should be moved off that line. It makes them more difficult to defend and gives the team a higher ceiling.

Here's a fun fact: over the past three years, Krejci and Pastrnak have better GoalsFor/60, GoalsAgainst/60, GoalsFor%, expectedGoalsFor/60, and expectedGoalsFor% together than apart. The statistics literally say they should play together, but Cassidy refuses to do it for any consistent amount of time. The stats have also shown that basically anyone can play well with the Marchand and Bergeron pairing, except for Jimmy Hayes.

They refuse to change because it "works", but it doesn't actually work. It lowers their ceiling and makes them easier to defend in the playoffs when you can put more focus into stopping certain lines. I think Cassidy is a moron for not changing it despite the fact that it's been their clear fatal flaw for over three years.

Lastly, I'll be honest, I just flat out don't like the guy, which, admittedly, probably clouds my judgement. I don't like how he's always willing to throw a player under the bus, but never takes personal blame for bad coaching. I think that as long as the Neely/Sweeney/Cassidy triumvirate exists, they'll never win a Stanley Cup and I've thought that ever since they were put together. I think we're basically the Boudreau Capitals or the McLellan Sharks and who the f*** wants to be them.

It's Marchand and Pastrnak who need to stay together. I don't care what happens to Bergeron quite frankly in terms of who is wingers are. But separating Marchand and Pasta is like splitting up the Sedin Twins to get more scoring depth. You don't even need any sort of advanced stats. The eye-test is enough to know these two have tremendous offensive chemistry. I think sometimes people can't get behind this because you normally think of offensive pairs as a winger + his center, but in this case you have a pair of wingers that simply feed and read off one another. That and they've grown far too accustomed to Marchand+Bergeron, I mean, it's nearly been a decade of those two attached at the hip. But all good things come to an end.

Another fact Bruins fans need to face....the days of putting pretty much whatever RW you want with Marchand and Bergeron are over. Can we come to grips with the fact that Bergeron is 35, closer to 36 by next years playoffs, and is starting to decline? Marchand will be nearly 33 when we get to next years playoffs. Yet people expect them to carry a lesser player on their RW like it's still 2013 or 2014. That was a long-time ago.

PS: You're spot on about the lack of mid-series adjustments. Cost them the cup vs. St. Louis. And by adjustments I mean strategically far more than line combos.

 

[BruinDust]

Oh I don't know. I was just throwing out names.

Burke has long been rumored as a good option for the Bruins front office. He's from here. He's a big believer in old school Bruins style hockey. And he's known for getting his man. If he wanted a guy he found a way to get it done. Sometimes it was a steal, sometimes he'd overpay but he'd never let Krejci go 5 years without a RW. On the downside, he also believes in a top6/bottom6 model, meaning he likes all defense, no offense 3rd lines, which I think is dated. He also doesn't put much stock in the current version of analytics.

Mark Hunter was a finalist for the Seattle job. He's developed a bunch of NHL stars like Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Bo Horvat... Honestly I don't know ab lot about him but he is considered a hot commodity. Someone like Dom would probably be an expert.

Burke says he's done being a GM. But doesn't he live in Boston (I know he did)? Might be one of the few places he'd consider. It would have to be President and GM. Which I'd be fine with, I'd even prefer it. I want one guy running hockey ops with a singular vision.

 

[Smitty93]

It's Marchand and Pastrnak who need to stay together. I don't care what happens to Bergeron quite frankly in terms of who is wingers are. But separating Marchand and Pasta is like splitting up the Sedin Twins to get more scoring depth. You don't even need any sort of advanced stats. The eye-test is enough to know these two have tremendous offensive chemistry. I think sometimes people can't get behind this because you normally think of offensive pairs as a winger + his center, but in this case you have a pair of wingers that simply feed and read off one another. That and they've grown far too accustomed to Marchand+Bergeron, I mean, it's nearly been a decade of those two attached at the hip. But all good things come to an end.

Another fact Bruins fans need to face....the days of putting pretty much whatever RW you want with Marchand and Bergeron are over. Can we come to grips with the fact that Bergeron is 35, closer to 36 by next years playoffs, and is starting to decline? Marchand will be nearly 33 when we get to next years playoffs. Yet people expect them to carry a lesser player on their RW like it's still 2013 or 2014. That was a long-time ago.

PS: You're spot on about the lack of mid-series adjustments. Cost them the cup vs. St. Louis. And by adjustments I mean strategically far more than line combos.

Talking about the Sedin twins is a good comparison because they never won diddly squat. It was a top heavy team and if you could stop them, you'd win. It's the exact same problem this Bruins team has.

Marchand and Pastrnak would still play together on the powerplay, where a significant amount of their success comes from, but if you want to give this team the highest ceiling possible, you need to spread out the scoring talent. What they've done clearly hasn't worked. I don't care that they were a game away from the Stanley Cup. They were only in that position because they got lucky with upsets. I guarantee they don't even get there if they had to play Tampa or Washington.

The team may take a step back in the regular season and those two may not score as much individually, but the team would be better off in the long run.

 

[JOKER 192]

I found this on YouTube you might recognize some of what he says from these very boards.

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Is it me or does anyone else find it weird that we are tearing Sweeney (and Neely) apart and the team just won the Presidents trophy? I don't put much stock in a PT (Toronto would be awash in Armageddon, whatever...) but it is still a major accomplishment today given the parity in the league. So obviously Cassidy deserves a lot of credit for maintaining attitude and performance over DS's obviously frustrating short-comings and broken delivery.

In a sense I think its fair to say Studnika, Zboril, Vaakanainen, et al just need a chance. I can live with that and agree its time to find out. But I cannot believe we are still sitting here without this teams three or four holes competently filled (and our division rivals are as busy as Santa's workshop).

Marchand or Rask to Colorado for Byram or Girard and a first - do a major. Get the Newhook kid.

Bergeron to Montreal for Romanov and a 2nd (I know, right!)

Krejci to Blue Jackets for a first or better, Liam Foudy

If the direction is to play the kids then get value while we can and quickly transition and stockpile picks .

This hurts to suggest. Be nice.

 

[jgatie]

Is it me or does anyone else find it weird that we are tearing Sweeney (and Neely) apart and the team just won the Presidents trophy? I don't put much stock in a PT (Toronto would be awash in Armageddon, whatever...) but it is still a major accomplishment today given the parity in the league. So obviously Cassidy deserves a lot of credit for maintaining attitude and performance over DS's obviously frustrating short-comings and broken delivery.

In a sense I think its fair to say Studnika, Zboril, Vaakanainen, et al just need a chance. I can live with that and agree its time to find out. But I cannot believe we are still sitting here without this teams three or four holes competently filled (and our division rivals are as busy as Santa's workshop).

Marchand or Rask to Colorado for Byram or Girard and a first - do a major. Get the Newhook kid.

Bergeron to Montreal for Romanov and a 2nd (I know, right!)

Krejci to Blue Jackets for a first or better, Liam Foudy

If the direction is to play the kids then get value while we can and quickly transition and stockpile picks .

This hurts to suggest. Be nice.

Dear Lord.

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Dear Lord.

lol - its in jest. Fantasy. But the point is either bail and build or buy and trade. Trying to do both isn't working. If this team was properly run we would have three cups in this era, not one. The collective failings of the last 9 years are astonishing and I recognize the wins - drafting Hamilton, drafting Pasta, drafting CM, Coyle deal, etc.

 

[BMC]

Talking about the Sedin twins is a good comparison because they never won diddly squat. It was a top heavy team and if you could stop them, you'd win. It's the exact same problem this Bruins team has.

Marchand and Pastrnak would still play together on the powerplay, where a significant amount of their success comes from, but if you want to give this team the highest ceiling possible, you need to spread out the scoring talent. What they've done clearly hasn't worked. I don't care that they were a game away from the Stanley Cup. They were only in that position because they got lucky with upsets. I guarantee they don't even get there if they had to play Tampa or Washington.

The team may take a step back in the regular season and those two may not score as much individually, but the team would be better off in the long run.

I don't know how far back you go with the Bruins but this situation is basically a repeat of the early 90s- you had Janney then Oates/Neely/Left Winger To Be Named Later for a long time. Stop them, stop the Bruins. Amazing how history repeats itself.