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Post by RichHillOntario on Mar 1, 2024 4:46:16 GMT
Lol. But this has been the issue with Toby hating for a while. You war h and you think how the hell does he have a contract and the. At the end of the game, he's +2 with an assist in a 3-2 win. You're sure he gave the puck away 14 times and lost Eleventy million puck battles, so how can that be true? But it is. And someone the front iffice is going hell, we can get a guybwoth these stats over a 5 year period for $3M? What are we waiting for! Man, I hate when you bring logical reasoning into my internal crusade to get his useless self off the club. Sometimes before games, I'll imagine scenarious where he'll be seen as the underinflated tire on the Bruins' Chevy Equinox of a defense: A) McAvoy gets hit from behind into the glass. Grit-less is closest to the incident and does one of two things: 1. Skates towards the offending player, passes him to attend to his defensemate. 2. Does Number 1 while his slightly less timid mates come storming only to jostle said offending player. B) An opposing player cuts hard to the net and runs over a Bruin goaltender. Both players are on the ice as is 48. He applies a mild cross-check to the prone enemy player. C) An opposing player sets up camp on the lip of the crease in front of Boston's net. Grit-less impersonates a horsefly trying to move a rhino while the opposing player gets one, two, three whacks at the puck in front of Ullmark or Swayman who are frantically trying to cover the puck. Stats don't lie but can't they be deceptive? I think I recently read this guy was a + 46 or something last year. What?!? Please tell me that was a byproduct of who he was regularly on the ice with starting with 73 and the goals and scoring chances McAvoy helped to generate. Whatever the expectations are that Bruins management has for this guy, he must somehow be meeting or exceeding them for the GM and President to even consider keeping Matt Grit-less long term.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 12:34:19 GMT
Wtf can Pasta bring back, I understand he scores and is going to be in the hog because he will hit 1000 points in no time. He is a superb +/- player but, he is a fucking numpty and it is getting old. What team would trade their superstar for him. Absolutely fucking none. He makes Esposito look like a defensive genius. He has done nothing to ever say he is better than JT in the playoffs. He can score goals but he doesn’t play with half the heart of anyone. He is pissing me and my rose coloured glasses off. Grizz will never be traded and should he not be signed by DS, he will end his career in the Swedish league should they even sign him I get this once or twice a year with both Pastrnak and Marchand. I've hated the nancy pants dancy stuff they both do. It looks great when it works, but now that the league knows it's coming, they turn it over far more often than they succeed with those moves, and then they're chasing and playing D instead of using their skills in the offensive zone. Last night, as danny points out, Marchand was as guilty as anyone on not being able to get a clear. Tried to skate it out at one point and got got. Maddening. And telling that PP1 wasn't going to get the game winner on that PP. That was PP2. But at the end of the game you look and see 88 has two assists and is even despite the nasty mistake at the blueline and being one of the guilty parties standing around watching Pietrangelo whack at Sway. Somehow he's still a net positive it seems. Brick mentioned this at the end of the game with Pastrnak out there - there are different schools of though on how you close out games and who you use. One of those schools says that you want a guy like Pastrnak on the ice because he makes the opponents think about him getting past them for an ENG. I think there's some of that kind of influence on the opponent in general. They are more cautious against the Bruins because they know at any point Pastrnak has the ability to score. Sometimes he looks like he barely knows which direction to shoot, but when he's hot, he's as good a sniper as anyone in the league. They gameplan for him and he gets their best defensive players in matchups. That makes everyone else's job a bit easier. But man, just like plus/minus? You also have to look at that kind of less tangible minus. His linemates work to get set up in the zone and then he tries to dance three defenders and they have to chase back on a bad turnover. They lose zone time and offensive opportunities and waste a lot of energy just trying to cover for his brain farts. I don't think you could get back anything like equal value for what he brings. But man, do I get the urge to send him out for two punishing stay at home defenseman and a pick.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 12:43:52 GMT
Lol. But this has been the issue with Toby hating for a while. You war h and you think how the hell does he have a contract and the. At the end of the game, he's +2 with an assist in a 3-2 win. You're sure he gave the puck away 14 times and lost Eleventy million puck battles, so how can that be true? But it is. And someone the front iffice is going hell, we can get a guybwoth these stats over a 5 year period for $3M? What are we waiting for! Man, I hate when you bring logical reasoning into my internal crusade to get his useless self off the club. Sometimes before games, I'll imagine scenarious where he'll be seen as the underinflated tire on the Bruins' Chevy Equinox of a defense: A) McAvoy gets hit from behind into the glass. Grit-less is closest to the incident and does one of two things: 1. Skates towards the offending player, passes him to attend to his defensemate. 2. Does Number 1 while his slightly less timid mates come storming only to jostle said offending player. B) An opposing player cuts hard to the net and runs over a Bruin goaltender. Both players are on the ice as is 48. He applies a mild cross-check to the prone enemy player. C) An opposing player sets up camp on the lip of the crease in front of Boston's net. Grit-less impersonates a horsefly trying to move a rhino while the opposing player gets one, two, three whacks at the puck in front of Ullmark or Swayman who are frantically trying to cover the puck. Stats don't lie but can't they be deceptive? I think I recently read this guy was a + 46 or something last year. What?!? Please tell me that was a byproduct of who he was regularly on the ice with starting with 73 and the goals and scoring chances McAvoy helped to generate. Whatever the expectations are that Bruins management has for this guy, he must somehow be meeting or exceeding them for the GM and President to even consider keeping Matt Grit-less long term. I don't think they'll keep him. I don't think they want to pay him at his current rate and I think he's going to take his crazy plus-minus to market. Odds are good in my mind that he's going to be one of those smaller players who seems to last in the league because he goes from one market to the other in two or three year stints for his last decade, and at first they love him because everyone says "he's just so smart!" and they praise the angles he takes and his quick stick and good first passes. Then they see a few too many rhinos swatting the fly away and eventually they sour on him. But he still has attractive stat lines...so someone else brings him in at too much money. I think there's also a possibility he goes to a team that needs him on the PP and thinks he might be a viable plan B QB.
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Mar 1, 2024 12:48:59 GMT
Man, I hate when you bring logical reasoning into my internal crusade to get his useless self off the club. Sometimes before games, I'll imagine scenarious where he'll be seen as the underinflated tire on the Bruins' Chevy Equinox of a defense: A) McAvoy gets hit from behind into the glass. Grit-less is closest to the incident and does one of two things: 1. Skates towards the offending player, passes him to attend to his defensemate. 2. Does Number 1 while his slightly less timid mates come storming only to jostle said offending player. B) An opposing player cuts hard to the net and runs over a Bruin goaltender. Both players are on the ice as is 48. He applies a mild cross-check to the prone enemy player. C) An opposing player sets up camp on the lip of the crease in front of Boston's net. Grit-less impersonates a horsefly trying to move a rhino while the opposing player gets one, two, three whacks at the puck in front of Ullmark or Swayman who are frantically trying to cover the puck. Stats don't lie but can't they be deceptive? I think I recently read this guy was a + 46 or something last year. What?!? Please tell me that was a byproduct of who he was regularly on the ice with starting with 73 and the goals and scoring chances McAvoy helped to generate. Whatever the expectations are that Bruins management has for this guy, he must somehow be meeting or exceeding them for the GM and President to even consider keeping Matt Grit-less long term. I don't think they'll keep him. I don't think they want to pay him at his current rate and I think he's going to take his crazy plus-minus to market. Odds are good in my mind that he's going to be one of those smaller players who seems to last in the league because he goes from one market to the other in two or three year stints for his last decade, and at first they love him because everyone says "he's just so smart!" and they praise the angles he takes and his quick stick and good first passes. Then they see a few too many rhinos swatting the fly away and eventually they sour on him. But he still has attractive stat lines...so someone else brings him in at too much money. I think there's also a possibility he goes to a team that needs him on the PP and thinks he might be a viable plan B QB. Can’t wait to see the bidding war for this pp qb….
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Post by The OC on Mar 1, 2024 13:17:45 GMT
I know Brasseau got some love for his first two games and that line has been better, but that kid is not going to keep the love from Bruins fans if he hits less than Mendoza. There was a cringe worthy moment when he could have ran someone cleanly through the boards and made no contact whatsoever. I suspect this is a factor in his debut at 26. People frustrated because he could be Neely on steroids. I don’t care though, I really like his game.
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Post by fifthline on Mar 1, 2024 13:20:02 GMT
I know Brasseau got some love for his first two games and that line has been better, but that kid is not going to keep the love from Bruins fans if he hits less than Mendoza. There was a cringe worthy moment when he could have ran someone cleanly through the boards and made no contact whatsoever. I suspect this is a factor in his debut at 26. People frustrated because he could be Neely on steroids. I don’t care though, I really like his game. It was late third period and he held up - my take it was coaching to avoid a boarding call. It looked to me that the Vegas player turned his back after releasing the pass setting up Brassass to board him but instead Brass kind of hand checked him as if to say “I know what you’re doing.”
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Post by nitelite on Mar 1, 2024 14:17:34 GMT
When are they going to turn a 3-0, 4-2 leads into a clean win instead of always allowing the other team back in it?! Swayman was good, but he needs to better! The 1st period was their best period since the Vancouver 4-0 win game.
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Post by Fletcher on Mar 1, 2024 14:41:53 GMT
Brick mentioned this at the end of the game with Pastrnak out there - there are different schools of though on how you close out games and who you use. One of those schools says that you want a guy like Pastrnak on the ice because he makes the opponents think about him getting past them for an ENG. I think there's some of that kind of influence on the opponent in general. They are more cautious against the Bruins because they know at any point Pastrnak has the ability to score. Sometimes he looks like he barely knows which direction to shoot, but when he's hot, he's as good a sniper as anyone in the league. They gameplan for him and he gets their best defensive players in matchups. That makes everyone else's job a bit easier. But man, just like plus/minus? You also have to look at that kind of less tangible minus. His linemates work to get set up in the zone and then he tries to dance three defenders and they have to chase back on a bad turnover. They lose zone time and offensive opportunities and waste a lot of energy just trying to cover for his brain farts. I don't think you could get back anything like equal value for what he brings. But man, do I get the urge to send him out for two punishing stay at home defenseman and a pick. I always liked the strategy of having some known options for the last-minute, empty net defense, but then having that shift be earned by whichever guys are showing the best hustle and execution leading up to that point in the game, whether that be your star scorers or two 4th line hustlers. It shouldn't be too hard to shoot into an empty net, given the opportunity, but you can probably tell in the 3rd period who is most likely to have the jump in their skating, and play hard and smart defensively. If Pasta is having a 10-turnover flakey night, he stays on the bench. If Richard is buzzing around and playing smart hockey, he gets that assignment. It's such a joke in Washington right now watching Ovie get every empty-net defensive minute, when he absolutely sucks at coverage and holding the lead, but he just might capitalize on a turnover and get another empty-netter to push along his Gretzky hunt.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 14:58:56 GMT
Brick mentioned this at the end of the game with Pastrnak out there - there are different schools of though on how you close out games and who you use. One of those schools says that you want a guy like Pastrnak on the ice because he makes the opponents think about him getting past them for an ENG. I think there's some of that kind of influence on the opponent in general. They are more cautious against the Bruins because they know at any point Pastrnak has the ability to score. Sometimes he looks like he barely knows which direction to shoot, but when he's hot, he's as good a sniper as anyone in the league. They gameplan for him and he gets their best defensive players in matchups. That makes everyone else's job a bit easier. But man, just like plus/minus? You also have to look at that kind of less tangible minus. His linemates work to get set up in the zone and then he tries to dance three defenders and they have to chase back on a bad turnover. They lose zone time and offensive opportunities and waste a lot of energy just trying to cover for his brain farts. I don't think you could get back anything like equal value for what he brings. But man, do I get the urge to send him out for two punishing stay at home defenseman and a pick. I always liked the strategy of having some known options for the last-minute, empty net defense, but then having that shift be earned by whichever guys are showing the best hustle and execution leading up to that point in the game, whether that be your star scorers or two 4th line hustlers. It shouldn't be too hard to shoot into an empty net, given the opportunity, but you can probably tell in the 3rd period who is most likely to have the jump in their skating, and play hard and smart defensively. If Pasta is having a 10-turnover flakey night, he stays on the bench. If Richard is buzzing around and playing smart hockey, he gets that assignment. It's such a joke in Washington right now watching Ovie get every empty-net defensive minute, when he absolutely sucks at coverage and holding the lead, but he just might capitalize on a turnover and get another empty-netter to push along his Gretzky hunt. You'd think.... Not saying this is the strategy I'd use - I like the idea that you have your default groups but then you also work in guys who are flying that night - but I do see the logic in having guys who are very comfortable with the puck on their stick out there in the EN situation. It's not like you need to be able to pick corners with the shot, but it's little things that offensive players are good at like anticipating possession and bursting to space so that the possibility of an outlet pass is there - or a stretch pass. It's knowing when you can jump on a guy with a tip or a poke check, and at the same time already be racing past him on the break, or being able to calmly stickhandle around someone and make a smarter play than just firing it off the glass and hopefully out. Like most strategies, though, it looks good on paper and lousy if the players don't execute it the way it was drawn up. Ovechkin has 16 goals this year. 7 on the PP and 3 ENG. So he has 6 goals, really, if you figure that he's really only getting the TOI in those other situations because they want him to get a record. At some point, for me, pride would kick in. I would catch someone on the bench in a one goal game rolling his eyes as the coach throws me over the boards to chase an empty netter and realize that my teammates know they've been made a sideshow to my ego and the team's marketing engine. And in the offseason, I might have a frank chat with Leonsis and say I am not comfortable with three years of crawling toward Gretzky, and if I can't contribute without getting big PP and EN minutes, then I'd like to exit gracefully with a nod to Wayne. Then I'd remember they're going to pay me $19M, and I'd have to really think about it. But for a guy who has already earned nearly $140M in salary alone, maybe you can put that high a price on pride?
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Post by dannycater on Mar 1, 2024 15:04:34 GMT
Finally, other teams seeing the value in Gryz...
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Post by dannycater on Mar 1, 2024 15:07:50 GMT
When are they going to turn a 3-0, 4-2 leads into a clean win instead of always allowing the other team back in it?! Swayman was good, but he needs to better! The 1st period was their best period since the Vancouver 4-0 win game. Sway has been okay since All-Star Game...do not like him with leads late in games...but then Linus isn't helping his own cause either as far as giving up some bad goals...Went from 2 best to 2 guys who, I realize are better than most others, but both need to be shutdown in 3rd periods. No more of this giving up the late goals and 3rd period goals---yes, I know the B's d and forwards also need to be better in that period...but you expect your goalies to once in a while not cough one up...I was not convinced Vegas wasn't going to score until it was 1.2 seconds left in the corner...then I thought, clock please run out!!! That's me now at end of B's games...waiting for the Florida Playoff skate to drop.
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Post by dannycater on Mar 1, 2024 15:12:01 GMT
I know Brasseau got some love for his first two games and that line has been better, but that kid is not going to keep the love from Bruins fans if he hits less than Mendoza. There was a cringe worthy moment when he could have ran someone cleanly through the boards and made no contact whatsoever. I suspect this is a factor in his debut at 26. People frustrated because he could be Neely on steroids. I don’t care though, I really like his game. Richard wasn't dropped for performance btw...It was his last option paperwork. Had he played this game, the B's would need waivers to send him down and they afraid he would be claimed. So if he returns, he is then out of options and must stay on roster. I think they want him to be an option if Lauko, Brazzer can't do enough or if someone gets injured.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 15:14:29 GMT
When are they going to turn a 3-0, 4-2 leads into a clean win instead of always allowing the other team back in it?! Swayman was good, but he needs to better! The 1st period was their best period since the Vancouver 4-0 win game. That's a tough assessment after that game, though. Recent games, I agree, but those four goals? First goal, maybe you say he should have done more to just get his body in front of that puck just in case the bunt was coming. It certainly was a floater coming across, so he had some options - even playing it like a soccer keeper on a corner kick and coming out to catch it before it dropped low enough for a bunt. Maybe. I'd have to look at the replay again, but that's a bit of a fluke even if he could have played it a bit better. The next goal he was hung out to dry, but I suppose you could criticize his rebound control for allowing a shot from a bad angle to produce a free puck in the crease. Freeze it, or keep it to the side or even behind the net. Tough because physics - angle of incidence and angle of reflection etc.. Third goal, he gets beat by Amadio. That's the epitome of a high danger chance - pass from behind the net to a guy wide open in the slot - but he had a chance to make the save and got beat. Stephenson's goal was a roof daddy. No way I blame him on that one. Three of the four were massive defensive breakdowns. So I guess saying he needs to be better means that they need him to do more to cover warts in defensive coverage at the moment.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 15:19:22 GMT
There was a cringe worthy moment when he could have ran someone cleanly through the boards and made no contact whatsoever. I suspect this is a factor in his debut at 26. People frustrated because he could be Neely on steroids. I don’t care though, I really like his game. Richard wasn't dropped for performance btw...It was his last option paperwork. Had he played this game, the B's would need waivers to send him down and they afraid he would be claimed. So if he returns, he is then out of options and must stay on roster. I think they want him to be an option if Lauko, Brazzer can't do enough or if someone gets injured. Literally the last thing that will keep me up at night going down the stretch and into the playoffs - what if they lose Anthony Richard on waivers!? Boqvist, however, needs to stay in the lineup. In 26 games, he's now got 10 points and he's +10. If he played at that pace for the full 82, he'd be over 30 points at the end of the year. Better than Gregory Campbell's best year in Boston. He's been really, really good lately.
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Post by Lord Markwart on Mar 1, 2024 15:47:57 GMT
Boqvist has been a revelation. Love his skill set and attitude. I thought he would be another Bjork at first but he has proved me wrong.
BrAZZers has also been good; he's been really smart with his decisions and instincts to be in the right place. The Boqvist goal does not happen imo if he is not crashing the net and fanning on the centering pass. Their goalie had to respect this leaving an open net for Bo in the slot.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 15:57:55 GMT
I should go back and find the conversation about Monty's coaching for this, but when I look at the team's stats for the year, there are a number of things that really stand out.
Heinen has 11 goals and 22 points, and he's +7. Not bad for a guy who had to sign a PTO. We know the Denver history and blah blah, but he's gotten a lot out of a guy who was an afterthought in roster construction.
Boqvist as above. He's produced like this before in NJ, but I think they had higher expectations. Sometimes, he looks like a guy who fell just outside of the first round. He was the 10th best Euro Skater in Central's rankings in 2017. That was a pretty solid year for Euro skaters - Pettersson, Heiskanen, and Necas were ranked ahead of him, along with other guys who went first round like Lias Andersson (7th) Kostin (31), Liljegren (17), Vesalainen (24), Branstrom (15)...and of course, Vowels (18). He's had some pretty sweet finishes. Who knows? He's the same age as Brazzeau and younger than Jake and Heinen.
Geekie's now at 0.55 points/game. They put faith in his offense coming if he got the chance and it looks like they're finding it.
Freddy is third on this team in scoring at ES, ahead of Marchand, Zacha, McAvoy.... He's +13. He's now officially a player teams will wish they had drafted in the first round - the kind of player teams are hoping to get when they burn high picks on guys like Lawson Crouse, Michael Mcleod (minus the criminal charges), Jake Virtanen or Milkshakes Ritchie. He just goes out an plays - no more worrying about what his role is.
Zacha's having the third best offensive season of his career, just behind the career high he matched last year.
This is Charlie Coyle's best offensive season ever - eclipsing his previous best by a significant margin. He's 6 points off his career high for points with plenty of time to blow by it.
Add this to getting a great start out of Pooter before injury started to take a toll, and from Lohrei - especially since he had some time to fine tune in the A - and some good signs from Richard and Brazzeau....
He came in with the rep as a guy who gets players to improve and develop, especially young guys. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou in Stl; Heiskanen, Robertson, Hintz in Dallas. I'd put this into the conversation about the coaching carousel, too. Some coaches are good in-game tacticians. They have a great feel for how to manage the players, their energy, the flow of the game. Some guys are good at culture - I think Torts and Tocchet are both in that camp. They go in and build a culture of accountability. Some guys are great at helping players realize their potential. Coach em up! Julien was really good at that if you look at how many guys played their best hockey in Boston and under Claude.
No coach is elite in all of these aspects. It's like being a Richard winner and a Vezina winner at the same time. You look for the guy who does what you need most, and when that changes, you find the next guy. Culture is good? Super. Young guys are developing, you're seeing continuous progress from your early prime guys? Great. Time to bring in the tactician so that you get the most of those things game after game.
The Bruins haven't needed a culture coach since Julien (and Chara, and Bergeron, and Recchi). They have needed a teacher in the last couple of years because they haven't had the luxury of high picks, and almost the entire team has turned over in a few years. Pastrnak is the wiliest of vets who isn't a short timer on small money or Brad Marchand. That's crazy. Someone had to make sure they got the most out of the talent they were able to put together, and it seems like Montgomery's good at that. But the Bruins have never had a great tactician behind the bench. Cassidy was partly that, but he got outcoached on more than one occasion, including in 2019.
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Post by MrHulot on Mar 1, 2024 16:57:04 GMT
Wtf can Pasta bring back, I understand he scores and is going to be in the hog because he will hit 1000 points in no time. He is a superb +/- player but, he is a fucking numpty and it is getting old. What team would trade their superstar for him. Absolutely fucking none. He makes Esposito look like a defensive genius. He has done nothing to ever say he is better than JT in the playoffs. He can score goals but he doesn’t play with half the heart of anyone. He is pissing me and my rose coloured glasses off. Grizz will never be traded and should he not be signed by DS, he will end his career in the Swedish league should they even sign him Whenever I hear an interview with Pastrnak, I am reminded of Doofinik Hašek, another primadonna from Czechia, and just as (un)comfortable with the English language, even after ages in the States. People can make excuses, "some folks are just not good with foreign languages", I don't quite agree. Some folks just don't know the meaning of the word "effort".
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Post by Fletcher on Mar 1, 2024 16:58:42 GMT
Ovechkin has 16 goals this year. 7 on the PP and 3 ENG. So he has 6 goals, really, if you figure that he's really only getting the TOI in those other situations because they want him to get a record. At some point, for me, pride would kick in. I would catch someone on the bench in a one goal game rolling his eyes as the coach throws me over the boards to chase an empty netter and realize that my teammates know they've been made a sideshow to my ego and the team's marketing engine. And in the offseason, I might have a frank chat with Leonsis and say I am not comfortable with three years of crawling toward Gretzky, and if I can't contribute without getting big PP and EN minutes, then I'd like to exit gracefully with a nod to Wayne. Then I'd remember they're going to pay me $19M, and I'd have to really think about it. But for a guy who has already earned nearly $140M in salary alone, maybe you can put that high a price on pride? This pretty much reflects my feelings on Ovechkin these days. I understand the ego drive of the greatest record in hockey, and the many people that whole-heartedly want him to pursue it, but I would think there would be some sense of indignity in reducing a team sport to a personal conquest at times (and watching the next generation of young talent in Washington miss key PP minutes that they deserve as they seek far more modest contracts and accomplishments). I'm sometimes not sure that the Russian players are indoctrinated with the selfless/team-first doctrines of hockey that perhaps the farmboys of Western Canada are, but still, you would think some uncomfortable self-awareness would emerge at some point.
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Post by sandogbrewin on Mar 1, 2024 17:00:05 GMT
I don't think they'll keep him. I don't think they want to pay him at his current rate and I think he's going to take his crazy plus-minus to market. Odds are good in my mind that he's going to be one of those smaller players who seems to last in the league because he goes from one market to the other in two or three year stints for his last decade, and at first they love him because everyone says "he's just so smart!" and they praise the angles he takes and his quick stick and good first passes. Then they see a few too many rhinos swatting the fly away and eventually they sour on him. But he still has attractive stat lines...so someone else brings him in at too much money. I think there's also a possibility he goes to a team that needs him on the PP and thinks he might be a viable plan B QB. Can’t wait to see the bidding war for this pp qb…. LoL see how sheltered Grzelcyk was and regret the signing. But playoff Grizz is coming. And we all have to take a bite out of a shit sandwich.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 17:52:25 GMT
Ovechkin has 16 goals this year. 7 on the PP and 3 ENG. So he has 6 goals, really, if you figure that he's really only getting the TOI in those other situations because they want him to get a record. At some point, for me, pride would kick in. I would catch someone on the bench in a one goal game rolling his eyes as the coach throws me over the boards to chase an empty netter and realize that my teammates know they've been made a sideshow to my ego and the team's marketing engine. And in the offseason, I might have a frank chat with Leonsis and say I am not comfortable with three years of crawling toward Gretzky, and if I can't contribute without getting big PP and EN minutes, then I'd like to exit gracefully with a nod to Wayne. Then I'd remember they're going to pay me $19M, and I'd have to really think about it. But for a guy who has already earned nearly $140M in salary alone, maybe you can put that high a price on pride? This pretty much reflects my feelings on Ovechkin these days. I understand the ego drive of the greatest record in hockey, and the many people that whole-heartedly want him to pursue it, but I would think there would be some sense of indignity in reducing a team sport to a personal conquest at times (and watching the next generation of young talent in Washington miss key PP minutes that they deserve as they seek far more modest contracts and accomplishments). I'm sometimes not sure that the Russian players are indoctrinated with the selfless/team-first doctrines of hockey that perhaps the farmboys of Western Canada are, but still, you would think some uncomfortable self-awareness would emerge at some point. That's a funny sentence. The players from the communist country don't get a team-first mentality as well as kids from farming communities! Not wrong....just funny.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 17:57:46 GMT
Can’t wait to see the bidding war for this pp qb…. LoL see how sheltered Grzelcyk was and regret the signing. But playoff Grizz is coming. And we all have to take a bite out of a shit sandwich. I'm not convinced we do. Health permitting: Lindholm-McAvoy Lohrei-Carlo Forbort-Wotherspoon Grz. And I don't think that's just wishful drinking. I can see Montgomery prioritizing Wotherspoon for what he brings on the PK, and Lohrei for what we saw last night - making the PP2 more dangerous. I think Shattenkirk has a shot to push him further if they need more help scoring from the back end.
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Post by bookboy007 on Mar 1, 2024 18:00:17 GMT
Can’t wait to see the bidding war for this pp qb…. LoL see how sheltered Grzelcyk was and regret the signing. But playoff Grizz is coming. And we all have to take a bite out of a shit sandwich. On the first part - Gostisbehere continues to be a terrible liability even as they continue to shelter him. He puts up a lot more points and is their top scoring D on the PP. But he can't play D. He's -14 on the same team where Olli Maatta is +18. There are all sorts of D who get sheltered as much or more than Grz who are out there because if you use them correctly, you can get some use out of them. He's far from the worst.
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Post by chappy28 on Mar 1, 2024 18:43:31 GMT
I should go back and find the conversation about Monty's coaching for this, but when I look at the team's stats for the year, there are a number of things that really stand out. Heinen has 11 goals and 22 points, and he's +7. Not bad for a guy who had to sign a PTO. We know the Denver history and blah blah, but he's gotten a lot out of a guy who was an afterthought in roster construction. Boqvist as above. He's produced like this before in NJ, but I think they had higher expectations. Sometimes, he looks like a guy who fell just outside of the first round. He was the 10th best Euro Skater in Central's rankings in 2017. That was a pretty solid year for Euro skaters - Pettersson, Heiskanen, and Necas were ranked ahead of him, along with other guys who went first round like Lias Andersson (7th) Kostin (31), Liljegren (17), Vesalainen (24), Branstrom (15)...and of course, Vowels (18). He's had some pretty sweet finishes. Who knows? He's the same age as Brazzeau and younger than Jake and Heinen. Geekie's now at 0.55 points/game. They put faith in his offense coming if he got the chance and it looks like they're finding it. Freddy is third on this team in scoring at ES, ahead of Marchand, Zacha, McAvoy.... He's +13. He's now officially a player teams will wish they had drafted in the first round - the kind of player teams are hoping to get when they burn high picks on guys like Lawson Crouse, Michael Mcleod (minus the criminal charges), Jake Virtanen or Milkshakes Ritchie. He just goes out an plays - no more worrying about what his role is. Zacha's having the third best offensive season of his career, just behind the career high he matched last year. This is Charlie Coyle's best offensive season ever - eclipsing his previous best by a significant margin. He's 6 points off his career high for points with plenty of time to blow by it. Add this to getting a great start out of Pooter before injury started to take a toll, and from Lohrei - especially since he had some time to fine tune in the A - and some good signs from Richard and Brazzeau.... He came in with the rep as a guy who gets players to improve and develop, especially young guys. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou in Stl; Heiskanen, Robertson, Hintz in Dallas. I'd put this into the conversation about the coaching carousel, too. Some coaches are good in-game tacticians. They have a great feel for how to manage the players, their energy, the flow of the game. Some guys are good at culture - I think Torts and Tocchet are both in that camp. They go in and build a culture of accountability. Some guys are great at helping players realize their potential. Coach em up! Julien was really good at that if you look at how many guys played their best hockey in Boston and under Claude. No coach is elite in all of these aspects. It's like being a Richard winner and a Vezina winner at the same time. You look for the guy who does what you need most, and when that changes, you find the next guy. Culture is good? Super. Young guys are developing, you're seeing continuous progress from your early prime guys? Great. Time to bring in the tactician so that you get the most of those things game after game. The Bruins haven't needed a culture coach since Julien (and Chara, and Bergeron, and Recchi). They have needed a teacher in the last couple of years because they haven't had the luxury of high picks, and almost the entire team has turned over in a few years. Pastrnak is the wiliest of vets who isn't a short timer on small money or Brad Marchand. That's crazy. Someone had to make sure they got the most out of the talent they were able to put together, and it seems like Montgomery's good at that. But the Bruins have never had a great tactician behind the bench. Cassidy was partly that, but he got outcoached on more than one occasion, including in 2019. Sounds like it's time to trade high on Coyle in the offseason (kidding, not kidding)
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Post by chappy28 on Mar 1, 2024 18:55:27 GMT
Wtf can Pasta bring back, I understand he scores and is going to be in the hog because he will hit 1000 points in no time. He is a superb +/- player but, he is a fucking numpty and it is getting old. What team would trade their superstar for him. Absolutely fucking none. He makes Esposito look like a defensive genius. He has done nothing to ever say he is better than JT in the playoffs. He can score goals but he doesn’t play with half the heart of anyone. He is pissing me and my rose coloured glasses off. Grizz will never be traded and should he not be signed by DS, he will end his career in the Swedish league should they even sign him I get this once or twice a year with both Pastrnak and Marchand. I've hated the nancy pants dancy stuff they both do. It looks great when it works, but now that the league knows it's coming, they turn it over far more often than they succeed with those moves, and then they're chasing and playing D instead of using their skills in the offensive zone. Last night, as danny points out, Marchand was as guilty as anyone on not being able to get a clear. Tried to skate it out at one point and got got. Maddening. And telling that PP1 wasn't going to get the game winner on that PP. That was PP2. But at the end of the game you look and see 88 has two assists and is even despite the nasty mistake at the blueline and being one of the guilty parties standing around watching Pietrangelo whack at Sway. Somehow he's still a net positive it seems. Brick mentioned this at the end of the game with Pastrnak out there - there are different schools of though on how you close out games and who you use. One of those schools says that you want a guy like Pastrnak on the ice because he makes the opponents think about him getting past them for an ENG. I think there's some of that kind of influence on the opponent in general. They are more cautious against the Bruins because they know at any point Pastrnak has the ability to score. Sometimes he looks like he barely knows which direction to shoot, but when he's hot, he's as good a sniper as anyone in the league. They gameplan for him and he gets their best defensive players in matchups. That makes everyone else's job a bit easier. But man, just like plus/minus? You also have to look at that kind of less tangible minus. His linemates work to get set up in the zone and then he tries to dance three defenders and they have to chase back on a bad turnover. They lose zone time and offensive opportunities and waste a lot of energy just trying to cover for his brain farts. I don't think you could get back anything like equal value for what he brings. But man, do I get the urge to send him out for two punishing stay at home defenseman and a pick. The thing about creative players is that they need to be free to create. It's no difference than the brilliant passing of Marc Savard who had eyes in the back of his head, but at the same time, there are going to be times where a guy takes a chance and it doesn't work out. Marchand was the same way, and can still be now, but the same thing that drives us crazy as fans, is also what makes them great. They have the confidence to continue to be creative, under pressure, with the game on the line. For both of those guys, it works out more times than not. That's not to say their coaches shouldn't be reminding them of good "game management" like they preach to the rest of the team though. All the talk of "trade Pasta!" is absurd in my opinion. Pasta is on the road to being an all time great Bruins player and idiots see him blow a zone clear and want to trade him for a bag of pucks. It really is just stupid. Ray Bourque played here for 20 years and never won a cup. Bergy 20 years and won 1 cup. Both of those guys played a lot of playoff hockey that didn't go their way and that doesn't make them any less great than they are. Pasta is in the very top tier of NHL talent, just a smidge away from the "generational" players like Crosby, McJesus, and Bedard. After those three, there are about a dozen or so other guys in that next tier that are on the level of Pasta and could even be mentioned in a trade for Pasta. Most of them that we'd want are also the face of their respective franchises and aren't going anywhere. Perhaps the ONLY person that I'd ever even conceive of the notion of trading Pasta for would be Draisaitle, and that's assuming contract parity is somehow worked out as part of that arrangement. Otherwise, people need to stop their bitching. Right now, it's just a tired rant by bitter old men. Pasta has 3 points and we lose in overtime, trade Pasta! We beat the reigning cup champs in a hard fought game that finally did NOT go to overtime, trade Pasta! It just makes no sense. Frankly, Pasta is one of 3 or 4 players on this team that I would not consider trading. Pasta, McAvoy, Swayman, and I'll throw Pooter and Lohrei in there because they are cheap and cost controlled for a while. Everyone else is on the table for the right price. Even Marchand, for say 2 firsts and a high end prospect.
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Post by nitelite on Mar 1, 2024 19:23:53 GMT
LoL see how sheltered Grzelcyk was and regret the signing. But playoff Grizz is coming. And we all have to take a bite out of a shit sandwich. On the first part - Gostisbehere continues to be a terrible liability even as they continue to shelter him. He puts up a lot more points and is their top scoring D on the PP. But he can't play D. He's -14 on the same team where Olli Maatta is +18. There are all sorts of D who get sheltered as much or more than Grz who are out there because if you use them correctly, you can get some use out of them. He's far from the worst. You gotta remember book we don't give 2 fawks about "The Ghost" & his problems in his own end. That's Arizona's problem to deal with. The majority of Bruins fans want Grizz gone! I don't think if all they got was some hockey tape in the dea, most of us would be pretty happy that JM wouldn't have him as an option to put out there under any circumstances & I'll be very ok with that scenario! I'd rather they used anyone that's in their system & I could live with watching them making mistakes instead of watching that stupid fawk anymore! He's as useful as an ashtray on a fucking motorcycle!
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