Boston Bruins THANK YOU BRUINS - It wasn't the end we wanted but the future is bright

Mr. Make-Believe

The happy genius of my household
I'm trying... But it's difficult for me to get on this wave of positivity.

I think this team is better than what they showed against TB. There will be a time to celebrate the youth movement and the Bruins' potential in the near future, but it's not right now for this fan. I feel like we should still be watching the present.
 
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BBB24

Registered User
Aug 12, 2010
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Saskatchewan
This why i said ..it might be a one year wonder nevertheless they are an expansion led by a "nobody" karlsson who scored 40. Now are they a one year wonder or do they have a phenomenal coach who can lead any team to Utopia?
Thing is though they are not a nobody team, lots of big names and definitely lots of quality players that teams had no other choice but to leave unprotected.
 

BBB24

Registered User
Aug 12, 2010
3,843
1,351
Saskatchewan
I'm trying... But it's difficult for me to get on this wave of positivity.

I think this team is better than what they showed against TB. There will be a time to celebrate the youth movement and the Bruins' potential in the near future, but it's not right now for this fan. I feel like we should still be watching the present.
Honest question, did you think they were this good, or going to be this good at the beginning of the season.
 

Mr. Make-Believe

The happy genius of my household
Honest question, did you think they were this good, or going to be this good at the beginning of the season.
I was more surprised by some of the individual successes than I was by the team as a whole.

I felt this board (and many analysts) was too pessimistic (or dismissive) of a team that truly looked a full 180 once Cassidy took over to finish last season. They've been a top five team since day one of his employment in his current position.

If there was hesitancy in my optimism, it was in the reliance on all of the young players we had in key roles. To say that they exceeded my expectations is a significant understatement. They were the difference to me between being among the league's better teams, to the outright dominance we saw for a large portion of this season.
 
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bobbyorr04

Bruins fan 4ever
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Apr 12, 2011
13,048
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I'm trying... But it's difficult for me to get on this wave of positivity.

I think this team is better than what they showed against TB. There will be a time to celebrate the youth movement and the Bruins' potential in the near future, but it's not right now for this fan. I feel like we should still be watching the present.

If the friggin refs called a blatant penalty on the McAvoy take down in game 4 we would be posting in a pre-game 6 thread tonight.
 

Memokerobi

Registered User
May 4, 2018
1,215
2,023
This was a really fun season, one I enjoyed watching very much. I thought the team overachieved in the regular season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t be 112 point team next year but I’m sure they’ll be right in the mix of things and I’m looking forward to the next chapter in this youth movement.
 

Ivo

Registered User
Dec 29, 2008
3,011
2,887
Rotterdam, NL
It was a good season for a Bruins fan. I certainly didn’t expect us to be competing for 1st place. Some of our scoring depth didn’t show up in the playoffs, practically all scoring came from the top 2 lines. That’s the main reason for the loss IMO. Games with Tampa were close, a goal here and there from the bottom lines could have made a difference. In any case, thus was not our year seeing how the Caps made the conference finals and they are the one team we seem to never beat.
 

Rebel Bruin

Registered User
Jan 7, 2014
172
17
Dublin
What an enjoyable season! So unexpected. Thank you Bruins!
The entertainment factor with this team is huge - speed, skill and likeability.

Not much changes to make imo. Stay away from FA. Promote the talent within.

Come playoff time next season - a shutdown #3 LHD would make a big difference (trade deadline acquisition maybe) paired with Carlo. Shelter Krug on the 3rd pair in the playoffs and maximise his offence and powerplay.

Long term - if possible try to move Backes for more speed.
 

Mount Kramer Cameras

Registered User
Jul 15, 2014
3,645
1,000
I'm really curious to see what happens at C. Went from our deepest position to our most questionable one.

How so? Bergeron and Krejci are here for a while yet. Frederic or JFK will fill the third line role next year, with Studnicka knocking on the door. It's locked up for years.

In terms of the post-Bergeron era, who knows. That's what feels like a lifetime away.
 

KnightofBoston

Registered User
Mar 22, 2010
19,777
6,018
The Valley of Pioneers
Well let's see, based on injuries and growth;


Rask - will be right about where he was this year

Chara - will take a step back

Marchand - will be right about where he was this year, maybe less offense but more consistency and hopefully less garbage that keeps him from playing

Bergeron - due to injuries, he was kept from putting up a season best for himself, not worried about him next year

Pastrnak - getting stronger and more sound defensively - will take a step forward

Heinen - has seen a full season, on the ice and in the stands, got a taste of playoff action. Will take another step

DeBrusk - will be a main contributor and put up 50-60 points next season, improvement

Nash - Riley and Rick out - downgrade for the team

Donato - in - got his taste and will be a contributor - look for him to put up 20/20 and struggle at times - a positive but doesn't replace Rick AND Riley

Kuraly - only getting better - same with the rest of the 50's line, not concerned with them


Backes had an injury riddled season so if he can stay healthy that's an improvement - but he's the biggest question mark in my mind


Krejci - with potentially DeBrusk and donato on his wings he has no excuses not to contribute. Next season is make or break for him, his no move/trade expires after next season -second biggest wild card behind Backes


Charlie - knee should be better and full off season of training with the knowledge of how long and grueling the NHL season is and what it's like to play in tight playoff hockey when your team and you also have expectations set. He'll be an improvement

Carlo - looked great leading up to his ankle break, as long as he rehabs correctly, he might be our best shut down guy next year


Gryz is the wild card on defense - he could improve or he could show that this year was an anomaly. If it's the former, we're in good shape

Miller and McQuaid will give you what you expect , both stepped up this year when they were needed and neither should be relied on as a top 3 minutes getter


Krug - this is a big year for him. He needs to step up defensively in the place of chara fading and he needs to eat more minutes and play well throughout the year.


I think the Bruins will regress a bit in terms of points, they'll likely fight Toronto for that 2nd spot rather than Tampa for first, but will be better overall when it comes to the playoffs


At the end of the day, it'll come down to injuries and youth contribution. Can the older guys stay healthy and can the youth avoid sophomore slumps and take the next step?

Not sure what options Sweeney has in free agency...seems he's damned either way given so many of the hindsight comments on dealing for Nash , which would make me laugh if they weren't so annoying, so hopefully guys like Heinen, DeBrusk, Carlo, Charlie can be major contributors and not just playing over their heads like some did at times this season
 
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ON3M4N

Ignores/60 = Elite
Dec 13, 2015
12,966
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Connecticut
My only thought about this team going into the season was "they are going to surprise some people" and I think they did. I didn't think they'd be as good as they were. There were some guys that really stepped up this year and some guys that you kind of shook your head and wondered where they were. Still fine with the Nash trade. It was a lets go for it move and I rather see that then sitting on our hands doing nothing.

The one negative I have is this team felt different after they took over #1 against Tampa. IIRC they won the game 4-2 and then proceeded to drop 4 of their next 6 games and were a -1 in goal diff. One of their two wins came against a OTT team in their final game who had nothing to play for. I can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed like the team didn't have the same compete level after that. Now that 2-3-1 record gave us TOR in the 1st round vs NJD. How different is the TBL series if Boston took care of NJD in 4-5 games vs 7 against a much better TOR team?

I'm interested to see what comes out for injuries because some guys did not look like themselves. DeBrusk went from a PPG player vs TOR to 1 point in 5 games vs TBL. Krejci was hit or miss, Nash (either) was meh. The 3rd line was a mess and the defense was dropping like flies. At the end of the day the wheels just fell off all at the same time lol.
 

BigGoalBrad

Registered User
Jun 3, 2012
9,908
2,684
Do you continue with the youth movement? Do you look to add a veteran or look for a FA addition.

The answer is both.

We will lean heavily on the kids in the regular season and have a great year. The bottom 2 lines will be great and not miss a beat despite the losses of guys like Riley.

But in the playoffs guys like Donato and Bjork will be deemed too soft. So we will trade for some washed up crap like Gionta and Wingels at the deadline so we can bench the kids in the playoffs.
 

remer

Registered User
Oct 18, 2005
5,826
1,746
Well a few things :

The NHL does no favours for the Bruins.
1) Horrible year end schedule ( team was gassed)
2) Refs for the last two years did all they could to have the Bruins eliminated
3) Marchand is a major pain for the NHL and DOPS ( he is a target)

Sweeney's team needs some help
1) NHL Pro scouting team is terrible ( Backes, Nash, Beleskey, Postma, Agostino, Holden, Wingels, Stafford, Liles, Stempniak, Rinaldo)
2) Sweeney needs to win a trade- ( many fails in the last three years)

The Bruins are getting older and slower.
1) Aging core players 30 + next year( Backes, Bergeron, Krejci, Marchand, Miller, McQuaid, Chara, Nash, Tuukka, Khudobin)
 

chizzler

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Of course they need to continue the youth movement. This league is a young mans game. Just look at the complaints around here. The biggest is the slow vets. Well, youth remedies that. I’m sure there is room for a move or two but the youth must keep cycling in. IMO of course.:sarcasm:
 

Concessionaire

That could have gone better.
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The lack of secondary scoring during the playoffs made me wonder if age was a factor in the forward lineup.

If we look at this year's roster of forwards (minus the UFAs), you can see there's a bit of an age gap between the vets and the new kids on the block. Only Acciari and Kuraly are in their mid-20s, and they're pretty much 4th liners if used properly.

Backes34
Bergeron32
Krejci32
Marchand29
Acciari26
Kuraly25
Donato22
Heinen22
Bjork21
DeBrusk21
Pastrnak21
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
No question it would have been nice to have a couple of top-six quality forwards in the 24-26 age range to handle some of the offensive workload; they often combine veteran experience with rookie energy. UFAs Schaller (27) and Nash20 (28) were solid contributors during the regular season, but (a) they're pretty much 3rd line players and (b) they more or less disappeared during the playoffs.

In contrast, check out Tampa's forward roster (minus the UFAs). They have a nice age distribution for a team in contender mode, and their mid-20s players definitely made an impact against the Bruins.

Callahan33
Killorn28
Stamkos28
Conacher28
Johnson27
Palat27
Gourde26
Miller25
Paquette24
Kucherov24
Erne23
Point22
Cirelli20
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 
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Tampbear

Registered User
Apr 10, 2015
1,662
389
Tampa
I'm really happy with the team this year. I think the end of the season wore some of our guys out and I know Krejci was fighting his back most of the year, but they exceeded expectations for me. If the rookie can take a step forward and Pasta continues to progress I think we are only going to become more dangerous. Hopefully one of JFK or Frederick can step in as #3 C next year and show that they can push for Krejci's job. I love the direction our D and wings are headed right now and love the way this team has played. It stinks to lose but I feel like this might just be Tampa's year while the Bs should be competitive for a long time and IMO have a brighter future than just about anyone in the east.
 

JOKER 192

Blow it up
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Jun 14, 2010
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The only thing I saw these playoffs that has me scratching my head was how did we get pushed around by a smallish team like we did. It would be one thing if it came from their D but most of the pushing came from their forwards which are on the small side , what gives and how do we fix it going forward? I never mistake the Bruins for a bunch of bangers but WTF, how did they get pushed around by Tampa? Tampa is going to get killed if they try that shit on the Caps.
 

RedeyeRocketeer

Registered User
Jan 11, 2012
10,445
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Canada
The only thing I saw these playoffs that has me scratching my head was how did we get pushed around by a smallish team like we did. It would be one thing if it came from their D but most of the pushing came from their forwards which are on the small side , what gives and how do we fix it going forward? I never mistake the Bruins for a bunch of bangers but WTF, how did they get pushed around by Tampa? Tampa is going to get killed if they try that **** on the Caps.

Uh, WE have the smallish team.
 

ODAAT

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
52,169
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Victoria BC
Do you continue with the youth movement? Do you look to add a veteran or look for a FA addition.

I think they stick to their plan. Now, I have absolutely 0 inside information but I think the plan is to introduce youth each season and perhaps add an UFA vet, wouldn`t think it would be a top 6 UFA but a vet regardless.

There are many here who are far more qualified to speak to the readiness of prospects in Providence. I am not one who can do that but my guess is they`ll give any and all a fair chance to impress and if they don`t, be patient, have them go back to Providence and continue to mould their development
 

Alicat

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Jul 26, 2005
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Boston
Break up day is at 8am today so we will know very soon how injured these guys were
 

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