Jon Cooper Next Coach of the Boston Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

Jon Cooper Next Coach of the Boston Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

Pucks with Hags is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app. Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast. A proud member of the CLNS Media Network. This show is brought to you by Game Time, the best ticket app to get all of your seats for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, everything under the sun. You need tickets, you go to Game Time. Download the Game Time app today and use the code CLNS to get $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right. Uh, welcome uh, to this edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast. This is the 186th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. Thank you as always for listening. Thank you for interacting. Thank you for sending me your questions and still being interested in talking Bruins and talking hockey right now. Uh, with the Bruins season having been over for just about a month, um, Pete Bruins are still going strong, but the Bruins are over. Uh we’re going to do a mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast today. A hag bag episode if you will. Um we will be answering or I will be answering your questions. Um they’ve run the gamut. There’s all kinds of things to talk about with the Bruins right now. Um but we’ll answer a bunch of questions. Uh I’m going to talk a little bit about the P Bruins. Going to talk a little bit about Mike Sullivan and uh the coaching search. Um and uh then we’re going to get out of here in tidy fashion. Uh still some great uh playoff hockey going on. Uh obviously the Celtics are getting ready to crank up with the Knicks. That’s going to be a really fun series. Um the Red Sox tough blow with Tristan Casses uh going down with a knee injury. So they’re hitting rough uh times, but uh you know, still everybody very curious about what’s going to go on with the Bruins. And you know, look, do do I think that there is going to be a lot of stuff happening with the Bruins um over the next, you know, week or two weeks? I’m not sure. Like I I don’t know. I I think they’re kind of, you know, gauging their next step. I think uh measuring six times before they cut sort of a thing. Uh and I think Don Sweeney is going to be deliberate about a lot of the stuff that he’s doing. So, you know, I don’t People want fireworks. people want all kinds of stuff going on right now and I don’t think it’s going to be like that for a little while. I think they are licking their wounds and trying to figure out um what the next move is going to be and and what they’re going to do and where they’re going to go. Uh and rightfully so. Like so so many things went wrong this year that I think they really want to take the time to diagnose what happened, figure out what was wrong and and correct it and and get things going in the right direction and fix it in the right way. Um, no band-aid fixes, nothing like that. So, all right, let’s uh get into it. Um, first off, uh, the Providence Bruins advanced. Uh, we I think we knew that and we had talked about that previously for the first time since 2017 to the second round against the Charlotte Checkers. Uh, they played a game against the Checkers who had a buy in the first round on Friday night and uh, they got spanked pretty good. I think it was a five to one final. They were down two to one really early in the first period. Um Oliver Walstrom scored to make it two to one and then it was all checkers after that. Um so Walstrom continues to be productive and be one of their big guns offensively and that’s been good to see uh that he’s really kind of dominated at the AHL level and been a really productive guy. Um what’s been interesting is that a lot of the young players uh like you know some of the ones you would expect to to step up and be productive uh at the AHL and playoff time and this is like Fabian Lysel right this is his time to shine that’s the kind of guy that if he wants to be a longtime NHL player if he wants to be somebody that’s going to be counted on if he wants to be somebody that is going to be thought of uh next year in in terms of winning a job in Boston if he wants to be in the mix for all these things. Um, he is going to have to show it in these playoffs. And Don Sweeney said it at the end of season press conference that the Boston Bruins are watching very closely what’s going on in these playoffs. And I’ve been to the the P Bruins games and I’ve seen them all there. Don Sweeney is there, Jamie Langen Bruner is there, Adam McQuade is there, um, Evan Gold is there, uh, you know that that I haven’t seen Cam Neely there, uh, but I’ve seen just about everybody else there. uh that’s part of the management team uh that’s involved in a lot of these decisions and evaluating these players and and and hands-on and player development and player personnel sort of getting a read on on and and this is a great time to do it. This is the best time to evaluate these players is in a playoff setting where they’re playing against pretty good AHL teams where it’s a you know a heightened uh pressure situation uh and they’re going to have to show a little bit more Um, and it’s been, you know, excellent to see that and and it’s g it gives them a real the fact that they won and they’re getting another, you know, it’s a five game series against Charlotte. you’re getting at least three games here, three to five games. Uh to continue to evaluate these players in this environment, I think is the perfect way to really get a read on who is going to be able to help them, who is going to push through to the NHL level, who is probably somebody that, you know, they can really start talking about in terms of like maybe a trade prospect or or somebody that could be used as an asset to go somewhere else. I think this is a great time to to figure all that out organizationally. Um, and I think they will. And you know, some players really stepped up. Matt Potra had two goals in in the game three um, elimination game where they they clinched it against Springfield and and has played really solid hockey throughout these playoffs. I think he has been the best of all those young players and the most impactful and uh, you know, you notice him almost every shift. He’s out there creating plays, making things happen. Um, and it it confirms that that they did the right thing uh sending him down to Providence. So, he had this development time and he had this time that he didn’t really get when they had to rush him to the NHL um to to really build up his game and and and be at that highest level of confidence that he should be at and that his skills say he should be at uh in order to compete and and be a guy that can be an impact player for the Bruins next year. So, for him, it’s been really good. Uh for a guy like Lysel, he has not been uh really all that productive. He’s been a little bit noticeable, but not much. Um it’s been more Walstrom uh has been a scorer for them. Riley Tuy has been a scorer for them. Vinnie Latry has been one of their best players. Um those kind of like veteran players have stepped up and and been really good in these playoff settings. Um but you know and and some of the young guys have been good but they certainly haven’t stepped up aside from Patra into these you know productive offensive roles where they’re leading the way for that AHL team where they really need to do that um at this point in their career for for for Lysel. He should be at that point. He should be at the point where he is dominating these games where he’s uh you know providing offense where he’s one of the best players on the ice. And frankly, I haven’t seen that in in the games that I’ve watched. And I’ll be there Sunday to watch game two against Charlotte. So, we’ll see how that looks. But Padre has been like that. Like, he’s been noticeable. He’s been one of the best players on the ice. Uh I think Walstrom has been a very good player. Uh Lati has been excellent. Um like I said, and and a lot of those veteran guys, you know, like uh like uh Jeffrey Real, he’s been Val, excuse me. He’s been good. Um that whole line has been good. Pit Pitlick has been good. All those guys, the veteran sort of guys um that are a part of this team. Um Ian Mitchell too, excellent. All those guys have been very good. Michael Callahan has been outstanding as well. Um, and I kind of wonder, and I think I mentioned this before, I wonder if some of the hesitation about Yokaharu and bringing him back and signing him is that they want Michael Callahan to stay and they like what he brings to the table and they have helped develop him and um, you know, they they think he’s an NHL player and he’s he’s a not a fancy player at all. He’s a meat and potatoes, bottom pairing, keep it simple, stupid kind of defenseman. And um you know that’s those guys have value you know especially when they’re in entry level deals or or short-term one two-year contracts uh for low cap hits. So uh you know he’s I think he’s been probably the I I think he has been their best defenseman in the games that I’ve watched. Um he’s basically shown that he’s NHL ready. So you know credit to him for that. And DPro has been really good at net by the way too. don’t want to gloss over him or skip him. Uh he is, I think, at this point, really hopped over Brandon Busy as far as um how he’s viewed organizationally um as a guy that might be able to step in. Uh if there’s an injury, if something happens and and they need a goalie uh from the AHL, he would be the guy. Um but bottom line is um good to see them in the second round. you would hope or expect they would bounce back in Sunday’s game two. And you know, we’ll see what happens against a really good team. Like it felt like this Providence team was was pretty stacked with talent. Uh given the young players that came back down from Boston, given the veteran guys that they have, given that they picked up Walstrom um in the middle of the season and he’s ended up on that team, like they’ve got a lot of really top level talent uh to compete with these other AHL teams. So, you know, we’ll see how they they stack up. But I think in some ways it, you know, it’s it’s hard to read sometimes if it says anything good about your organization that your AHL team is winning rather than losing. I think you’d rather have it that way. Uh but are they winning because they got a lot of veteran guys on the rosters or are they winning because, you know, young guys are stepping up and it’s a good mix and it’s a sign of a really good and fertile um prospect system and draft and development system. I, you know, I I think there’s a little bit of that there. I I think can read a little bit uh into the Bruins winning this playoff series and and young guys contributing and you know it being a good mix of young uh young players and veterans. Um you know it’s I think it’s a sign that their development system and that their you know pipeline is step is stepping back in the right direction. uh it will step back even more in the right direction when they get this top 10 pick um in the in the draft and make a selection here based on where they finished and the the lottery selection I believe is Monday so we’ll find out pretty soon uh where the Bruins are going to pick uh likely in that you know five six seven range u but we’ll see all right um let’s get into it uh with one other thing. Uh Mike Sullivan hired by the New York Rangers pretty immediately. This is very uh Jim Montgomeryesque when he was fired by the Bruins and I think didn’t even get a chance to um you know call home and tell his family what happened and all of a sudden he was the head coach of the St. Louis Blues. It was amazing how that happened. It’s almost like they knew it was coming and uh they were prepared for it. It’s almost like there was conversations going on behind the scenes. It’s crazy. Who would think that would ever happen? Um, you know, it it seems like, uh, there was an element of that here, too, where uh the the Rangers were highly motivated um and said they weren’t going to be out bid for for Mike Sullivan services and really wanted him as the head coach. And I understand it to a degree. Um, he was an assistant there under John Tortoella. The ownership knows him there. I think there’s a good relationship back and forth. Uh Sullivan coached Chris Drury when he was with the Rangers and they have obviously have the BU connection uh going on as well. So I think there’s probably good trust between the the GM and the coach. Um, and and look, if you’re Mike Sullivan and you’re looking for where you’re going to coach next, I think when you look at the pieces that are in play with the Rangers, sheer talent and what they have on the roster, you would think to yourself like that’s a team that could turn it around really quickly next year. And as a coach, you could say, I know what I can do to get this team competitive again. And, you know, they maybe they just need a different voice than Peter Lavlet. Now, I would say um the ownership situation is always tough with the Rangers. I I just think they have one of the most volatile situations in the league. Um where where the stability isn’t always there. Um, and I think obviously Chris Drury has had a lot of problems with the moves that he’s made and and people griping about it in the locker room and and you know having issues with the GM and doesn’t feel like that there is a lot of you know respect uh back and forth between the the management and the players and and vice versa. And you know that’s a really tough dynamic to change. like I don’t know how Chris Drury is going to change that as the GM when he’s like there’s a lot of hard feelings I think with him uh from some of the players that are still in there and and some veteran players some influential players. So, you know, that there was I think Larry Brooks wrote or hinted that um Mike Sullivan probably wasn’t going to come back to the Bruins uh as as the organization is currently constituted um with the ownership there. And like that’s probably me reading into it. Um it’s the sense I get is that, you know, he doesn’t want to go back to a place where he got fired by the owners there. And and bottom line, I I get that. I can understand that. um even though it’s a different management group, even though it’s a totally different sort of personnel now. It’s a whole different organization, uh the people signing the checks are still the same and and maybe he’s just decided uh you know, at that point, you know, once you got rid of me, I’m not going back and you said you didn’t need me or want me, so I’m not I’m not going to come back now uh if you want me as a head coach. Um and I get that. Like I I can understand that. I I I can respect uh that um stance out of him. Um I honestly think the Bruins are a better situation all things considered uh front office-wise, roster-wise, where the team is, what they have as far as this off season to really supplement their team and and improve it. I just think the Rangers thing is messy. I think it’s not going to be fixed next year. And I think there’s like some dysfunction going on there. And I wonder if Drury is not going to be there for the long haul. Um, just based on how things have gone to this point, you know, and some of the some of the animist that seems to be going on there. Uh, but we’ll see. Uh, we’ll see what what happens. But you can scratch Mike Sullivan off the list after we had talked about him uh fairly extensively um in last episode and and uh you know uh gave it a lot of credence because that’s basically the the name that I had heard the most over the second half of the season when it was clear there was going to be a new coach [Music] um was Mike Sullivan and I see people seem to understand or get that he was definitely not going to be back. Um that he didn’t want to be back and and like you know they were right on and and that leads me to believe like I said that like you know maybe there were conversations going on like well in advance um to pave the way and to you know feel all this out and figure it out because it seemed like fairly quickly after he was fired by the Penguins people knew that he was going to go to the Rangers with pretty good certainty and that it was going to happen. So, it seems like the wheels have been set in motion for a while on that. Um, so, uh, that’s he’s taken off the list. Interesting side note on that, I have started to hear a different name recently and it’s John Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the recently eliminated Tampa Bay Lightning. Um, and there’s a wondering, a sense, uh, whatever you want to call it, uh, a trend, a growing trend that he maybe like Sullivan is kind of runs course with the Tampa Bay Lightning and that they’re going to go in a different direction. Um, if he becomes available, I think he goes to the top of the list of a guy you would want to bring in that brings stability, that brings a structure, that brings a great coaching style. I think he’s, you know, fun to play for and and the players enjoy playing for him. uh and he knows what he’s doing. Um you know, all of the above. Highly respected obviously. I think that’s the kind of guy that could become a real asset um as a coach um as somebody that uh you know could could be the face uh of the sort of decisions that the organization makes that the day-to-day operations uh which is what any coach is. Um that he would be a real asset as far as all that stuff goes. The big question, and this was another question with Sullivan, is are the Bruins going to be willing as an organization to pay the money that it’s going to cost to get one of these high echelon top drawer kind of coaching candidates? And I would there was real question if they were ever going to, you know, Mike Sullivan’s probably going to end up as the highest paid coach in the league. um having been a free agent uh coach when he was fired and having won a couple of cups and having, you know, a wellestablished reputation. Um and I think I I think part of the reason this probably closed as quickly as it did with the Rangers is that uh Dolan and the ownership with the Rangers probably said, “We’ll make you the highest paid coach in the league. Done deal.” And you know, that’s it. That’s all he needed to hear, especially when they knew they might be, you know, bidding with with other Eastern Conference teams like the Bruins. So, I think uh you know, all of that sort of you throw all that into the mix and and the the one question I have, the one big question I have about any of these like high reputation, high caliber, high resume coaches in the NHL coming to the Bruins now is do the Bruins really want to pay a coach that kind of money? Uh are they going to fork over millions and millions of dollars for a coach? um or do they want that investment to be in the players? Um where it seems like, you know, it seems like part of the part of the differences that they’ve had with coaches in the last couple of times that they’ve made moves, it was, you know, when they might have to start really paying a coach a lot of money. Bruce Cassidy now before and Jim Montgomery now. And I think there was a lot going on with Jim Montgomery. I don’t think the Bruins wanted to pay him based on his playoff track record. And I get that. and based on some of the stuff that they had seen uh over the years um just you know not always hitting the right tone I think uh to get players ready to play to address certain situations that were happening like on the ice you know different things that he did it it didn’t always project like he was fully in control of everything that was going on with the Bruins and that he was full this fully confident uh you know coach that that had the answers for everything that was was popping up. Um, but I think it was much more about the playoffs and getting outmaneuvered by Paul Maurice and and you know not not there were some decisions that were really questionable and in hindsight really I don’t think benefited the Bruins and I think that’s at the end of the day um why that stuff why that move was made and why he was wasn’t signed to a bigger contract. But just from a larger perspective, it does seem like the Bruins are not going to be the ones to set the market for a coach, an NHL head coach. And that puts into question whether you’re going to get these top guys, especially the situation that they’re coming in off of last season. I think in order to attract a guy like Cooper, a guy like Sullivan, any of those player uh coaches, you’re going to have to pay them top dollar. Uh in addition to to, you know, wooing them and giving them what they want. All right, let us take a break uh to talk about with the NBA playoffs here and the Celtics getting ready to rekindle the rivalry with the New York Knicks. Now is absolutely the time to dig to dig into the Game Time Ticket app. The app is super easy to use and has tons of great features for sports, comedy, concerts, theater, and all kinds of tickets. Just listen to some of these features. Last minute deals. 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Uh today’s super deal is Monday, May 5th, game one against the Knicks. Loge floor loge floor 14 row A for $595. That is truly a super deal. By the way, I saw balcony seats for under 200 bucks on their amazing deals as well for that game one. So, you can get in the building for less than $200. Uh, second round playoffs. That’s worth it, my friends. So, go to Game Time to get hooked up. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply, but again, create an account and redeem the code CLNS for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right. Uh, and for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. Leave a good review, leave a bad review, tell me that I talk too much when I have Mick on and that I interrupt too much. Tell me that you like my stories about youth hockey and and everything and all the adventures I have there. Tell me what you like and what you don’t like. I can take it. Uh, and for those watching the show on CLNS, enjoying all of this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Rinkside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs because you want that fresh off the presses, just like this Hag Bag Mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. And right now, the great segue, we’re going to go right into uh some of those questions now that we’ve talked about the P Bruins and Mike Sullivan a little bit. All right. Uh this is from NHD David. I think an almost wholesale change at coaching is necessary save for goalie Bobenza and please none of those retread coaches out there now. We need new blood. All right. Well, retread coaches and I wrote about this actually at the Boston Sports Journal. So, go check out bostonportsjournal.com to get uh my take on uh sort of the coaching derby uh that’s going on with the Boston Bruins right now and some of the candidates uh that are involved. Um, but the retreads, uh, John Tortoella is, I don’t think, coming to the Bruins. I don’t think they want Tortoella. I actually think he’s going or the word is that he’s going, uh, to New York with Mike Sullivan and he’s going to be part of the organization there in some form or fashion. After before, uh, Tortoella was the head coach and Mike Sullivan was the assistant under Twitterella when they were with the Rangers uh, the last time together in New York. Uh, now Mike Sullivan’s going to be the head coach and I don’t know if Torella is going to be a president. I don’t know if he’s going to be like on the bench. I don’t know what’s going on there, but the word is that he’ll be headed to the big apple in the blue shirts with Mike Sullivan. So, that’ll be interesting to see what capacity he serves there. But it it’s it is funny to think about that both Sullivan and uh Tortoella kind of just you know uh towards the end sort of you know were were on the Wayne with their organizations and kind of were you know didn’t seem like all that un uh all that worried about getting uh fired from the their jobs and maybe you know they knew at the in the back of their minds that this was a possibility and that they were going to be able to do this together in New York. Um, so that that’ll be interesting to see how all that shakes out and to see how things roll out with them if this indeed was something that they had either talked about, discussed, kind of thought might be a possibility, whatever. Uh, but as far as that, you know, the the retread comment, Tortoella, I think, is going to the Rangers. Rick Tocket, uh, you know, interesting one because he’s got connections uh with the Bruins. He played here. He played with Cam Neely and Don Sweeney uh when he was with the Bruins. Um but you hear maybe he’s going to go to the Flyers. Um you know, it’ll be interesting to see what he decides to do and where he lands. Um but I, you know, I wouldn’t like hate or totally discount him being a guy that could come to Boston, um and be sort of that steadying veteran presence. uh of some of the names that are out there. I think he makes a little more sense than Peter Lavolet would than than John Tordella would. I think Mike Sullivan would have made a lot of sense, but obviously he’s not coming back. I think that’s about it for the retreads. Um you know, I think there’s a few other uh names out there, but not anybody I would say is a strong candidate at this point uh to take the job. guys that have had um multiple NHL jobs before that you would almost, you know, view in that category. I do think there will be some coaches that were involved in the uh last interview process when Jim Montgomery got the job that will probably be considered again. I’m thinking um I’m thinking Greg Cronin uh who was let go by the Anaheim Ducks after the last two years who definitely interviewed and was was a candidate, a strong candidate. um for that Bruins head coaching job. Thinking of David Quinn, um a guy that I think is well respected by the Bruins management. Uh and you know, obviously knows the landscape in Boston. Um and has tons of NHL experience, which is something I think that would be attractive to the Bruins. Now, he’s coached eight seasons, I think it is, in the NHL and the HL. His playoff, his teams have made the playoffs twice in those eight years. He’s had some really rough seasons as a head coach. So, I think that factors into it as well. Um, you know, I don’t know that David Quinn, even though I like him personally and I think he’s a good coach and he’s a good hockey person. Uh, and he was he was Charlie Makavoy’s coach at BEu, uh, going back. So, he’s got some history there as well. Uh, but I don’t I that one is not, I think, gonna excite the fan base. if it was, you know, somebody like David Quinn, uh, somebody like Greg Cronin, they’re not going to make the fans like stand up and shout with excitement, but I think they could come in and be very good, you know, caretakers slash coaches that could get things back on the right track um, with the organization after last year. Uh, you know, and I I think they’re proven commodities, put it that way. So, I I think there would be some safety involved in making those selections where I I don’t, you know, I don’t know if the Bruins view this as the right time to really take a a a huge risk and, you know, go way outside the curve uh to bring in somebody um you know, that’s innovative, somebody that isn’t expected uh you know to to get a chance, somebody that would surprise people. I don’t know that they want to do that. I think there’s there is some element of bringing in somebody that is going to, you know, stabilize the situation, uh, that would be attractive to them. So, uh, but as far as wholesale coaches, um, look, I like Chris Kelly a lot. I think he’s a wellrespected, uh, veteran guy. Obviously, he won a cup here. I think he should still be in the organization, and I, you know, would be perfectly fine with him still being a coach on the staff. Um, Joe Sako, I would be absolutely good with him being the associate head coach, especially if you’re going with somebody that doesn’t have a ton of actual NHL experience on the bench. Is more of like a college coach kind of guy. Uh, I I think he did the right thing. He was a good good organizational guy by uh stepping in and taking the interim job and and kind of you know taking a hit for the team, taking one for the team knowing that it was going to be tough and and obviously it was even worse than that when the trade deadline hit. So, if he wanted to stay and he wanted to stay on the staff and and and continue in his job as associate head coach, I would love and truly respect the Bruins if they kept him on. Uh because I think he’s just a good person, a good hockey guy, and he did a great job and he should be rewarded for that being put in a tough position and making the best out of it. I really respect the job that he did um in the second half of the year. So, uh wholesale changes, not so much. Um, but the thing is you bring in a a you know, if you bring in a head coach that’s got clout, that’s got leverage, that’s, you know, going to bring a little excitement, that’s got a little going on, they’re going to want their own people. And that’s when you start to talk about, you know, house cleaning or different coaches, what have you. if they bring in somebody like, you know, that’s out there and available and and isn’t, you know, there’s not a lot of chatter about them getting another job, head job. Um, you might be able to, and this might be something that’s attractive to them is being able to dictate to that coach a little bit who’s going to be on his staff, how it’s going to run, how uh, you know, how much influence the front office is going to have in certain decisions or things that are happening um, on the bench, all that stuff. Um because I think there is a desire for it to be a collaborative process uh between front office and management and the coaches. U so I think all of that factors in and it’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end uh when they get to a point where they have somebody they really want uh to bring in as the coach. All right. Um why wasn’t Zidorov a hit? He led the team in plus minus for what it’s worth and did exactly what we thought he would. He was exactly as advertised. I would have liked to have seen Lynholm with 10ish more points, but sort of the going rate for free agents today because the drafting and development hasn’t it sucks. They put I and I think that’s too strong. I wouldn’t say it sucks. They are going to have to overpay their free agents and that’s from SJM1613. Um, I mean, look, not just the going rate for centers or free agents, it’s always the going rate for free agents because free agents, free agency is inflationary. Um, you’re always going to overpay for free agents. You know, you’re whenever you have to go to free agency for anything, you’re going to pay um top dollar for usually less than, you know, less than what you’re paying. you know, you’re gonna overpay in a lot of instances. And I think that’s Elias Lynholm. I think he’s a second third line center and you paid him like a first line center uh because you had to go to free agency. And I think the lesson here, and I’ve talked about this before, is that um you’re not going to be able to get a 1C in free agency. You’re not going to be able to get a a topline center, a guy that’s going to come in and kind of replace Patrice Berseron in free agency or really even in trade. I think it’s it’s going to be hard to get a player like that and trade. I think you really need to draft and develop that kind of player. You either need to like get lucky in the second or third round and hit on you know David Crerache and Patrice Bersam with both second round picks or you know get get that player with this top 10 pick that they’re going to have in this upcoming draft and that’s how you get that kind of a player rather than go through free agency. And I think your point is well taken about Zidorov. I think by the end of the year he was the player they thought he was going to be expected to be. Like the fact that he was plus 22 or whatever it was on a team that had a minus 50 goal differential is mindboggling. Like I don’t know how you do that. Uh but it like on some level that speaks to the job that he did. You know plus minus you can argue all day long how relevant it is, how how important it is, like how much it really means. But if you’re that much of an outlier with your plus minus in a good way when everybody else is minus and and min, you know, you got one defenseman that’s almost a minus 50 and in and Mason Lorai, that tells you a lot about the job that he’s doing when he’s on the ice and and how, you know, tough he’s making it for the other team to to score and also just like how many good things are happening when he’s out there. And um, you know, I think it’s easy to read that. You don’t need a bar graph. you don’t need some fancy stat to tell you that he’s had a good season, that he’s been a good player if that’s happening. Um, and and I’m okay with a lot of the penalties he takes, too. Like, he, you know, gets the other team looking over their shoulder, gets them intimidated, gets them uh to not take as many liberties because they know he’s going to be there to make them answer for it. Like, I think all that stuff is positive and something the Bruins needed. And I think it’s something also that really becomes a big factor in the playoffs. I think he’s going to be an even more effective player in the postseason than he was during the regular season for the Bruins. So, um I I do think, you know, he ended up being an effective player and a good player for the Bruins. The the problem is that the first half of the season they really struggled and that I think controlled the narrative and that really um you know made it seem like uh they missed and they were you know bad players and that uh they were free agent flops or whatever you want to call it. um when in reality like they both turned into pretty close to what you thought they were going to be. But it was the fact that it was a really slow start for the both of them and that they didn’t really get going until the second half of the year and by that point the season was over and they traded away players and you know all that stuff. Um, I think that colors the opinion on them and I, you know, it’s going to set them up to have really good second years and and for the expectations to be up and for their confidence, frankly, uh, to be up after the way the season ended for them. But, you know, they signed big contracts, so they’re always going to have that expectation. Um, and fair or unfair, that’s just the way it is. And, uh, you know, they they don’t mind having the money in their bank account. So, like it’s, you know, that’s part of the gig. Like when you sign a big contract in free agency, there’s going to be higher expectation. That’s just the way it goes. And it’ll be like that for whoever they bring in a free free agency this time around. Um, all right. Let’s get to the next one. This is from Tuc Tuckmar. I am on the island of thinking Sweeney may not be perfect by any stretch, but he deserves one swing to write the ship. He had one team in the finals that gagged on home ice and another with the most points ever and his top player with a chance, Brad Marshian, with a chance to dispatch the Panthers in round one. But alas, he gagged also. Doing that in a five-year stretch with no top 10, maybe top 20 player in the league ain’t nothing. Is there any chance he could self scout and realize he is good at NHL trade evaluation and poor at drafting and get in someone with pedigree to get the miners somewhere close to where they need to be? couldn’t can’t just keep drafting S C’s who are projected energy players need to start hitting on players who can contribute in the next year or two. Whoever the new coach is, let him have a say in what has to happen in remaking the road. Um, good points here. Uh, doing it saying that they did it without a top 10 player in the league when David Poster scores like 50 goals on the regular. Um, he’s a top 10 player in the league. like you know they’ve done it with a top 10 player in the league. Um and you know Patrice Berseron, Brad Marian a few years ago they were in definitely in the top you know certainly Marian was in the top 20. He was one of the best left wingers for a long time. So they had good players. It’s not like they were doing it with without great players. The problem has become that the great players got old and they have not been able to replace the great players. And that’s really what the issue is. Like you want to talk about they didn’t weren’t able to do it with these top players. No, they were and now they can’t replace them. And that’s part of the reason that things are going downhill is they haven’t adequately replaced Zadoara, Patrice Berseron, David Crerachche um since they all left and uh retired. And uh you know that’s that’s a big issue. And I I I do though agree to a to a level with what you’re saying about the drafting and and knowing your strength and and you know, maybe bringing somebody in to to complement the draft uh part of the equation. Um you know, I mentioned before the players selected right after Johnny Beecher at the top of the second round who are, you know, very good NHL players. Shane Pinto, one of them had a great playoff series against the Leafs as an Ottawa Senator. um versus Beecher, who doesn’t even look like an NHL player. Um you know, look at there’s a and I I wrote about this um look at the three-year stretch from I think it was like 200 3-6 or six to eight, I forget exactly what it was. There was a three-year stretch where they took David Crerachche, Christopher Stig, Vladimir Sabodka, Milan Luchich, Phil Kessle, Brad Marshian. Like, and that’s, you know, I think the only firstrounder was uh was Phil Gessel, and he was a top pick. He was like a top number six pick or whatever. Um, but aside from that, like they hit on a bunch of good players. All those guys played at least 500 games in the league and they were all good players. Uh Versteig obviously did it elsewhere, but like the Bruins have not done that. They have not had a two or threeear stretch where they have like hit on a bunch of productive players in the second, third, fourth round like that. Um that’s they need to start doing that. You know, they need to have a stretch where they really hit on a bunch of these players. Um, and maybe we’re in the midst of that. Maybe Potra is one of those guys. Maybe we’ll look back and and say now, you know, this coming year is one of those, you know, lynchpin years where they draft a bunch of players and set them up for the next 10 years. But like that was the perfect example where some of those players went on to other organizations. They got assets in exchange for them. But drafting that draft where they got Luchich, Marshian, and and Kessle set them up for 10 years. you know, they had set the organization up for 10 years with what they already had. Uh, it was a huge draft. And, you know, that was back in the Jeff Gorton days, I believe, when he was evaluating players and part of the the draft process with the Boston Bruins. So, uh, you know, that’s that’s where they are. They need somebody to be that guy um to really push them towards drafting these players and have an eye towards these players that are going to turn into highc caliber NHL players and set them up. You know, that’s really what it comes down to now. And you know, if they can’t find that guy, if they don’t have that guy in the organization, um then I think they’ll be a new GM in here in the next couple years. uh if they do have that consensus and have those people in the organization and believe that they, you know, are on the right track with all that, they will hit in this draft and they will be fine. Uh it may take them a year or two, but I think we’ll know pretty quickly um whether they’ve really hit strongly on these players and and I say that, you know, with I like Lori, I like Botra, I like what they’re doing with these picks. Um and I think they’re starting to, you know, mix in those guys. Um it’s just tougher sledding right now uh because they’ve lost some of the you know the high-c caliber guys uh from their their roster and even more now after that trade deadline uh fire sale. But good good points there. Um all right, one more. Uh besides signing free agents, do you see the Bruins pulling off any bold moves? Trade a core player this off seasonason. Jay Marvelous. Um, look, I I think the one core player that you have to look at trading potentially is Jeremy Swayman. Um, you know, you’ve only got a limited amount of time until his trade uh protection, no trade protection kicks in. So, now would be the time to do it if you’re going to do it. um it would be tough to do because his value was down and you know he’s coming off a rough season um with all kinds of stuff swirling about him, the contract negotiations, everything else. So his value is going to be low. Uh, but you also are going to have teams that I think are going to need goalending, are going to be dire need of goalending. And, you know, you I think you should at least see what is out there, especially after you got a first round pick, Castellic um, and Corpusalo for Lena Salmark. You know, um, if you could get good value for for Swayman, uh, I think you would think about it. You’d have to think about it. And I, you know, organizationally, um, I think you also need to think about like given how negotiations went with him, given what happened, given how it all played out, you know, do you want to send a message to to other players that that that’s not how we do business and if you do do business with us like that, we’re going to end up trading you and you’re not going to stay here, you know? Do they want to send that kind of a message? I don’t know. Um, in this day and age, I think it’s harder to do that. I don’t think it’s the same league that it was with Harry Syninden when he would definitely do that. Uh, if it came to that, um, you know, it’s not as old school anymore. It’s not as kind of old testament vindictive, uh, with that kind of stuff as it is. It seems like stuff gets forgiven a lot more and forgotten about. And you’re also like with the no trade protection and some of the other stuff, you’re kind of stuck with these players sometimes. But in this particular situation, I think they’ve got a window if they want to trade him. And now would be that window. Nowish would be that window. Um, but you know, I don’t see how you could take on a lot of the money from the contract. I don’t see how you could do that. I don’t see how you could give him away for pennies on the dollar. I think the much better sort of play scenario is um to expect a rebound year and know that the pressure is on him. uh and the expectation is on him to be much better and that he will be much better with a full training camp with an offseason to clear his head with, you know, maybe people that he had disagreements with aren’t in the room anymore. Maybe they are. Who knows? Um but I think all that stuff uh measures up to him being highly motivated to be much better next season. And I still believe in the kid. I still think he’s a very good goalie. I still believe in the talent. I still believe in the makeup. I think he’s a young uh person and player that’s maturing and and figuring it out on the fly. And I think this was a really difficult year for him. The expectation, the contract, the way things played out. I’m sure some of it is not what he expected or anticipated or in hindsight, maybe there’s some things he would have done differently. Will he ever admit that? I don’t know. But I think if you probably had a real honest conversation with him, there are some things that he wish hadn’t happened or had gone differently than they did. Um, and you know, who hasn’t had those experiences in life, especially when we’re in our 20s, you know, like that stuff happens frequently. So, uh, I all that being said, I I think you explore what you can get for him in a trade. I think that’s the one person you look at as a bold move and potentially doing it. But I think the much more likely scenario is they’re banking on him to bounce back. They think Corposalo will play a little bit more. Um certainly they they could look to trade Corposalo too. I just don’t think there’s going to be a real market for him either. Um so what you would look to is play Corposalo a little bit more. Make it more of an allmark Swayman situation where they’re maybe not playing equal, but Corposal will end up playing more than 25 games. And I think that would be good for both goalies. I think that would benefit Swayman for sure. And I think, you know, you’re wanting to get a situation where SW Corposal is playing well and he’s pushing Swayman uh for that playing time and really getting into a good sort of comp competitive situation uh like he’s always had when he’s been successful. So, I think that’s the way it’s going to end up playing out, but I think that’s the player you would look at and potentially have a bold move uh if you wanted to make one. But, uh, I think they’ve done enough, uh, bold moves for a while. Uh, trading their captain, trading Charlie Coyle, who, by the way, how about that video of Nathan McKinnon like barking at him on the bench. Man, McKinnon, I’ve heard like that he there’s an interesting dynamic out there where it’s like Nathan McKinnon’s rules for basically everything with the Colorado Avalanche. So, like I’m not sure how healthy that is and maybe that’s why the abs they have that one cup but they may not win another one because that I don’t know if how functional that actually is. Everything runs um through Nathan McKinnon. But that’s an aside for another day. I like the way Charlie Coyle handled it though. He just kind of had a smile on his face like, “Yeah, whatever, buddy.” Yeah, keep talking. Um all right. Uh thanks everybody for listening. We’re going to wrap that up. That’s it for the hag bag mailbag. Um, as always, uh, thank you to Game Time. We love Game Time. Uh, download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply, but again, create an account and redeem the code CLNS for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Um, and for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And for those watching the show on CLNS, enjoying all this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to Bruins Rinkside YouTube channel. Please also please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on your interwebs because we all love new Pucks with Hags podcast videos, don’t we? Speaking of that, this is the end of this Pugs with Hags podcast video. Thank you very much for listening. Thanks for all the questions. Uh we’ll catch you next week after I’ll give you the rundown on the Providence Bruins game I’m going to on Sunday. Uh in the meantime, take care of yourselves, have fun out there, and we’ll see you at the ring. [Music]

Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty talks about the Sullivan hiring with the Rangers and the P-Bruins playoffs, and answers all of your Bruins questions in the Hagg Bag mailbag.

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