Who Inherited a Better/Worse Team: Chia or Sweeney?

[Colt.45Orr]

If you could start over with that core that Chia inherited, you should be able to win at least 2 Cups.

This is the CORE that Chia inherited:

Prime Savard, Chara, Sturm, Thomas. 19-21 year old Bergeron, Rask, Krejci and just drafted Kessel/Lucic/Marchand.

Throw in DRAFTS, FAgency and TRADES that every GM gets to do and you should be winning a couple Cups with that CORE. We look back at the roster that Chia got originally and, yes, they were not that good. But there were some amazing pieces in place --that were the CORE for winning the Cup in 2011.

We have the same CORE today, but now they are much, much older (in hockey terms) and they are all making way more $ than in their youth.

I'd rather start with what Chia had and win a couple Cups.

Thoughts?

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[BB88]

Chia got the better as it looks like now, this draft could make it 50-50.

Sweeney has still those same guys in key roles that Chia had for a very long time, some right from the start.

 

[Marchy63]

Well if the expectation was at least 2 cups he nearly hit that, the problem being he lost Savard and really Sturm to injury while they were still in their prime years (more so Savard than Sturm) and then had to trade Kessel. Also you have to think that during Chia's time here both Chicago and LA have had great success and it would be hard to say that the Bruins would have beaten if they made the finals (they lost to Chicago and may have been able to beat LA last year). But I don't think this team is really that bad right now and they could make a couple of moves that put them right back into contention.

The problem right now is that no one seems to want to trade anyone that is consisdered a "core player" because they like the player. Sometimes you have to trade fan favorites in order to improve your team now and in the future and it may be looked at poorly by fans when it happens, but if it is done correctly you would be a genius. Chia fell in love with his players but I also think Cam did too and I don't really know how much power Chia had to make trades that involved players Cam liked or even if that ever came up.

The Bruins went from a bad team that couldn't make the playoffs to a team that was considered favorites in the eastern conference every year under Chia. And right now having Rask, Bergeron, Lucic, Marchand, Krejci, Eriksson in their prime along with Hamilton, Spooner, Pastrnak, Krug is pretty good and potentially adding Koko and Morrow is a pretty good core group to start off with.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

two totally different situations. Kind of impossible to compare. Chia definitely walked into a situation where he had a lot more flexibility to make moves. Sweeney is inheriting what is still a very good team at its core and it has a great culture of winning now, but he's also walking into an extremely difficult cap situation.

 

[Era of Sanity]

Chiarelli inherited a better situation than people realized so probably what Chiarelli inherited.

It's hard to say without hindsight though. When Chiarelli came to the Bruins I don't think there were multiple HFBoards threads nor the consensus in the hockey world was that Boston was poised to win Stanley cups.

 

[kman22]

To say that PC inherited guys like Savard and Chara is a little unfair.

But I think the cap space he walked into was much better and allowed for those moves, so I'd go PC.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Chiarelli did very little in hindsight.

A few tweaks. What any GM can do. Crazy to think we thought he was the best in the business when we won the Cup. Hindsight is 20-20. Sweeney is in a much worse position.

 

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

Sweeney has inherited an aging Z and a team that is in salary cap hell because of Chia and his inability to handle cap management. Chiarelli wasn't left with any these problems he himself helped create!

So Id much rather have the team PC started out with, but I have a lot more faith in Sweeney to steer this current squad in the right direction. Just listening to his press conference was a breath of fresh air. As it didn't seem like he was struggling to answer any questions as Chia always acted as if he was about to get his teeth pulled.

 

[Patrice Krejci*]

We also have Dougie, Krug, Spooner, Pasta, Koko, and Subban now. Not saying all of those will pan out perfectly but 10 years from now who knows what that group could be. I know we have an aging core but we also a few fairly exciting young guns that have a lot of potential.

 

[DKH]

This team is good health and a solid second pairing defenseman from one of best handful of teams in hockey,

Not even close - the difference between porter house and Hamburger

You tell me the core has health next year they are top 4 first round home ice first round

 

[Beesfan]

If you could start over with that core that Chia inherited, you should be able to win at least 2 Cups.

This is the CORE that Chia inherited:

Prime Savard, Chara, Sturm, Thomas. 19-21 year old Bergeron, Rask, Krejci and just drafted Kessel/Lucic/Marchand.

Throw in DRAFTS, FAgency and TRADES that every GM gets to do and you should be winning a couple Cups with that CORE. We look back at the roster that Chia got originally and, yes, they were not that good. But there were some amazing pieces in place --that were the CORE for winning the Cup in 2011.

We have the same CORE today, but now they are much, much older (in hockey terms) and they are all making way more $ than in their youth.

I'd rather start with what Chia had and win a couple Cups.

Thoughts?

In my opinion, Chiarelli brought in Savard and Chara. I'm less sure about the 2006 draft, but I have a hard time believing he didn't have major input considering he had been hired by the Bruins a month before the draft, he just couldn't make official decisions.

 

[GordonHowe]

Not close. Chia by a mile. Inherited a worse club, that is. There was no structure, no winning culture, etc.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

In my opinion, Chiarelli brought in Savard and Chara. I'm less sure about the 2006 draft, but I have a hard time believing he didn't have major input considering he had been hired by the Bruins a month before the draft, he just couldn't make official decisions.

Sure, I think every team put an offer in on those 2 guys that UFA season ---the difference is that Chia INHERITED acres of cap room whereas Sweeney has inherited a complete cap mess.

I would waaaay rather have inherited Chia's situation.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

two totally different situations. Kind of impossible to compare. Chia definitely walked into a situation where he had a lot more flexibility to make moves. Sweeney is inheriting what is still a very good team at its core and it has a great culture of winning now, but he's also walking into an extremely difficult cap situation.

I agree with this 100% and they are, indeed two totally different situations but that doesn't make it "impossible to compare". The questions was, which situation would you prefer. Again, I agree that Chia had "flexibility" and Sweeney has a "very difficult situation" --so I'm guessing that you're agreeing that Chia inherited a better situation?

 

[Three Dog]

I suppose you could make an arguement on both sides, but really my post is in reference to age. I mentioned this once before in another thread, but I constantly read here terms like: "the Bruins aging roster", "much much older", "we need to get younger", etc etc.

Boston:

berg - 29
connolly - 23
eriksson - 29
kelly - 34 (and likely gone)
krejci - 29
lucic - 26
marchand - 27
smith - 24
soderberg - 29
talbot - 31
pasta - 18
spooner - 23

bart - 26
chara - 38
hamilton - 21
krug - 24
mcquaid - 28
miller - 27
seids - 33

rask - 28




Edmonton:

eberle - 25
fraser - 25
gazdic - 25
gordon - 31
hall - 23
hendricks - 33
klinkhammer - 28
Nuge-hop - 22
pakarinen - 23
pouliot - 28
purcell - 29
roy - 32
yakupov - 21

aulie - 25
fayne - 28
ference - 36
klefbom - 21
nikitin - 28
schultz - 24

scrivens - 28





Players over 30: Boston 4 ...Edmonton 4
Players 26 or under: Boston 8 ...Edmonton 10
Players approaching retirement age: Boston 1 ...Edmonton 1


Where is this dillusion of the Bruins being such an old team coming from anyway?


I was curious, so I browsed the remaining teams rosters.... Of the 4 teams remaining fighting for the cup: The Ducks 9 guys active over 30, NYR 9 guys over 30, TB 8 guys over 30, Chicago, 11 guys over 30 (one of which is 40 and still playing a productive role).... by this "way too old" standard, none of them have any business being there.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I agree with this 100% and they are, indeed two totally different situations but that doesn't make it "impossible to compare". The questions was, which situation would you prefer. Again, I agree that Chia had "flexibility" and Sweeney has a "very difficult situation" --so I'm guessing that you're agreeing that Chia inherited a better situation?

Well one thing that *does* make it impossible to compare is that we can analyze Chia's situation with the benefit of hindsight. Knowing what we know now then yeah I would prefer to inherit the team that had Bergeron, Lucic, Krejci, Marchand, Kessel, etc. all before their primes as well as prime Thomas, Chara, and Savard.

But for all we know guys like Dougie, Krug, Spooner, Pasta, etc. could all break out in the next few years and carry the team to a cup in which case 8 years from now we'll be saying Sweeney inherited a great core. So it's kind of hard to compare the quality of the players each guy inherited. the only thing you can compare is the financial situation each guy walked into and to me Chia had it easier by far. The landscape of the league has changed quite a bit too. Not only does Sweeney have a tougher cap situation to deal with, but he's also taking over during a time where it is very rare to find an elite player in the UFA pool, let alone two top players like Chara and Savard.

 

[Baddkarma]

Chia is going to draft McDavid, on that alone he wins. Forget that he screwed our cap and gave Seguin away...Be ware EDM...

 

[DoubleAAAA]

To say that Chia "started" with Savard, Chara and Rask is a pretty intellectually dishonest assertion. At the time Krejci was just another prospect, so until we see what Spooner, Pasta, Koko etc turn out to be its tough to say they'are or will be any greater or lesser than what Krejci was when PC took the wheel.

Bergeron, Boyes, Murray, Sturm, Stuart was about all that was worth anything heading into the off-season when PC was hired.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

AH yes, another thread where Chia had nothing to do with Chara and Savard. Can't get enough of these.

 

[Tampbear]

I would much rather be in Sweeney's situation, I believe he is but a good defenseman from being a contender. Chara should have a better year, we have an abundance of good forwards. If he can dump Kelley and Seidenberg and get an upgrade on D we look like a really strong team. We are up against the cap but we don't need much to be a contender, just a couple of creative trades. Heck even return to full health over a long summer and further development of a few prospects could have the team looking strong again.

Injuries were not given proper attention this year, Krejci was out or not himself the entire year, Chara didn't have enough time to recover and train over the summer and couldn't make up for it playing through the year. We still had the development of Spooner and Pasternak and the addition of Connoly who could be a big piece to our team with a training camp and full year. I just don't see the dire situation for Sweeney, the Bruins were terrible when Chiarelli was hired.

 

[Salem13]

Not sure if it was Chia or the Bruins but for some reason there were no good deals coming our way.

We offered a glorious ransom for Chris Stewart and were declined... then he went for a second round pick.


Something was sour?

 

[Gargyn]

This team is good health and a solid second pairing defenseman from one of best handful of teams in hockey,

Not even close - the difference between porter house and Hamburger

You tell me the core has health next year they are top 4 first round home ice first round

you keep saying this but no team has full health all year...the best teams overcome injuries. its an early excuse. injuries or not, this team will be a bubble team all year. the columbus blue jackets had the most injuries, the team was missing key components and when they started getting healthy, they went on a tear. the jackets will be in the playoffs next year. so who is going to miss and who can the bruins bounce? going to be very very tough and i keep saying, they miss again. i just dont see who the hell is going to score goals on this team. weak offence, aging, slow defence with zero transition. and claude. for a little bit, then no claude.

 

[KnightofBoston]

Not sure if it was Chia or the Bruins but for some reason there were no good deals coming our way.

We offered a glorious ransom for Chris Stewart and were declined... then he went for a second round pick.


Something was sour?

What a disaster that would have been

11 points in 20 games with the wild and 2 assists in an important playoff series. Bleh

 

[ThorntonFightClub*]

Chiarelli did very little in hindsight.

A few tweaks. What any GM can do. Crazy to think we thought he was the best in the business when we won the Cup. Hindsight is 20-20. Sweeney is in a much worse position.

Chara, Boychuk, Seidenberg, McQuaid, Ference, Horton, Recchi, Kelly, Peverley, Kaberle, Seguin, Thornton, Campbell, Paille from the Cup team were all Chia guys. 6 defenders and 8 forwards

Want to try again?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

For those who think Chia inherited a better situation, consider what that team "accomplished" before Julien became coach.

A 76 point season with Tim Thomas in goal. 29th in goals against. Bergeron -28, Chara -21, Marco Sturm -24.

The addition of Chara & Savard improved the team by 2 points, though they lost more games than the previous season. The team Chia had that first year lost more games than all other Bruins teams since 1967, except for 1997 Tank for Thornton team.