How Bruins Veterans Can Restructure The Team’s Culture
Happy Monday everyone. Welcome inside the hockey hub. Uh friend of the show, Jud Serat, back for whatever episode this is. 80some I think. Uh welcome. 84. You know better than I do. Uh the last time Jud, you and I were on the show together, we’ve obviously seen each other since. I had oven problems. Do you remember that? The beeping, the consistent beeping that was going on. No oven problems today? No, nothing. I have a couple of c I have two actually. I’m not going to hold them both up, but a couple of coffees. What do you got? What do you got over there? I got the iced coffee right here. Here’s my other one. And I brew. I even have a tea. Oh, that’s way too strong for me, dude. I could not You know, you know, you call me the hurricane. So, actually, Jud, did you start that nickname, the hurricane, or did Z? Uh, I don’t know. Um, I I don’t know who’s going to take credit for it, but um, you can ask Z. Uh, that’s our executive producer, Brian Zachello. Uh, I think I had mentioned that because you had all this stuff going on all at once, so it was you’re like a hurricane. It’s Hurricane Sophia. It is. And you keep it alive and well, and I actually love it. Every time you see me, you say hurricane. But this this shot is set up nicely, but behind there, there is a uh a hurricane. So anyway, hurricaneing my way into Monday. Jud, so glad to have you on because we haven’t it’s the middle of the the summer dog days of the hockey season or, you know, the the non-existent season, but we really haven’t gotten your thoughts on this show as to all the transactions that have happened since the end of the season. And there have been many. And you and I were having our pregame meeting with our producer Brendan where we wanted to take it. And we’re just going to kind of get your thoughts. So, why don’t you know, I don’t like throwing out a general lob, but one of the one of the big question marks, and we’ve had other guests on the show that we uh we want to talk about is training camp and what that’s going to look like. And right before I get your thoughts, of course, I forgot to mention who our guest is. And we’re going to have uh uh someone from the Boston Herald, Oki as we like to call him, but Steve Conroy, um one of the most faithful, always at every morning skate, is at every practice, participating in all the questions on the road. But Steve Conroy, you guys know him well for following the Boston Bruins. He’ll be on in about 20 minutes. But before we get his thoughts, let’s start with you and wherever you want to take it. But let’s start with training camp. We you and I were saying might be the most interesting one in a couple years. Well Well, just thinking about it in the big picture and and and I was just trying to do, you know, math is not my strong suit, but Sophia, we’re about six or seven weeks away from the start of training camp here for the Boston Bruins, you know, so you start to think about, okay, what are some of the storylines ahead for this team? And and to me, if you think about this team, where they’re at, some of the moves that they’ve made, the draft that they went through, some of the comments that have been made by the general manager, Don Sweeney, uh I I think that there are so many intriguing storylines when it comes to the Bruins, whether that’s individual players or the team as a whole. Maybe uh the only guy who you don’t have an intriguing storyline around because you don’t have any doubts about the way he’s going to perform is a guy like David Posterno who last year in many ways should have been a contender for the heart trophy in the National Hockey League based on the definition of it and it’s it’s most valuable player to your team considering what he was able to produce uh and how he was able to produce considering they were a oneline team. They were out of the playoffs. there was basically one line you needed to shut down and one guy in particular and he continued to score. Um but but the Bruins in general as a whole, they went through a great draft. I think for them they needed to replenish some of the skill and some of the depth in the organization. That’s one of the things that they talked about. But but I also started to think about some of the comments that the general manager Don Sweeney had made at the end of the season, maybe even before the season ended. then leading into the draft. Um, and one of the things that he had talked about was we looked at the opportunities in front of us to change the direction of things without tearing things down. And I think that that’s what the Bruins wanted to to make clear that this wasn’t a total down to the studs rebuild. They were going to keep key pieces in place. David Posnock, Charlie Makavoy, Hampus Lynholm’s going to be back. Jeremy Swayman is still there. um Elias Lynholm starting his second season along with Nikita Zidorov and there were other guys on the roster. So I I think when he looked at the group he felt like they were in neutral. They weren’t moving forward. They weren’t progressing. So this was a way for him to tear some of the pieces down, leave some of the key pillars that are still in the organization and see how they can build it back. Um, and we can start with the draft and getting a guy like James Hagens, uh, who you can upgrade the skill. And maybe that’s a good conversation that we can start just you and I because sometimes it takes a while even for a high draft pick to make the impact that you want in your organization. Yeah, honestly, Jud, we can take it so many places. I definitely want to talk about James Taggins, but when you mentioned that on the call that, you know, we or fans or management probably has a question mark around everyone except for David Passock 88, I really thought about that. I was going through the roster in my head there. I was like, you’re absolutely right. Like we there there is not doubt in the negative sense, but question marks around uh if Morgan Geek is going to keep up or be better or if it’s if he’s going to take a slide down in terms of uh performance. Pavl Zaka, how’s he going to be? He’s been kind of like hot and cold, injuries, health, Mason Laura, is he going to make that jump? Charlie Makavoy, there are so many question marks. And you’re so right. And when I run into fans here, um, Bruins fans in Boston, and there are so many, and every time I get a chance to talk to them, I I love it. But they are always asking like, “What do you think? Are we okay? What’s going to happen?” And I always say if even three or four players got 50% better and and that’s a lot, but let’s say healthier if there was even the health and we saw just a small percentage of improvement in a couple of players last season. I’m not saying it would have been a completely different team. Um but even that is is going to be some help and we’re of course expecting for a lot more than just a couple players to step it up. So, even if you’re getting Jeremy Swayman back on his game, if Charlie Makavoy wasn’t injured and was able to contribute, if Hampus Lynholm, if if Elias Lynholm started having or had a season like he started having at the end a lot earlier, then you’re looking at at least a different not an outcome, maybe the playoffs wouldn’t have happened, but just things would be different. And that’s like the bare minimum that we’re expecting to happen. Now, you have these new additions. So, I don’t feel like it’s doom and gloom, but of course, and and a lot of the fans are kind of saying like, “Oh, we’re not going to make the postseason.” Yeah, maybe not for a year, but there’s so much potential on this roster, but of course, it could go either way, right? There was potential with the the acquisitions that with Zidor and Eliz Lynholm and they didn’t go as as expected. Uh, so we’ll just have to see, but I just think there’s there’s a lot of hope. Like, this isn’t, you know, a complete, like you said, tear down and we’re going to miss the playoffs for a couple seasons. like if if even a couple of those players start playing to their level of expectation, we’re looking at a at a um much better outcome this season. Well, that’s certainly what you hope for. Uh there was a general manager who’s still in the league who had mentioned this was a long time ago uh that he had said just because you bring back the same players, you don’t necessarily get the same result and that can be good or bad. But that’s one of the things to think about when coming to this team. But I’ll throw it out to you because one of the things that that that came to my mind and and we had mentioned this a little bit in our production meeting. What’s the biggest storyline for the Bruins 6 weeks from now when they start six or seven weeks from now when they start uh training camp? What is the biggest story for the team? I’ll throw it out to you. Yeah, I mean that the thing I I feel like there hasn’t been like Jud there are so many headlines. new coach, no captain, re reviving this culture that hasn’t exactly, you know, gone away, but you know, took a tumble for sure. Uh, youth like is the trade for Brandon Carlo Fraser Mitten, is that going to work out? Matt Potra, how’s he going to look after, you know, counting? You’re counting. Exactly. Fabian Lysel, that that’s a big one that, you know, we’ve been sitting on for a long time. He got a bit of consistent play at the end of the season. Is Jeremy Swayman gonna be the Jeremy Swayman that signed that massive contract? Who’s going to be the backup? Like there are so many angles. And then of course free agency, the the pieces you acquired. Uh what is that going to look like? Is is a for me a huge one is Elias Linho and Paval Zaka? I want to see more from them to beef up the the top six. Um but I don’t know like is there the biggest story line? Is there one in your mind? uh uh probably right at the top and it’s something that uh you know Brick has talked a lot about and I know you’ve mentioned it too as well Sophia that how do you rebuild back the culture because if you think about it the last remaining piece of that culture from the 2011 team was Brad Marshian so there’s nobody left so how do you build that back and you had mentioned that there’s no captain and you know we can certainly discuss whether you think that there’s going to be uh someone who wears the seat this year. I don’t know if necessarily that’s going to take place and and Marco Sturm was asked about it if he needs to have a captain and and and it sounded like he demured on the whole topic. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bruins go without a captain, but how do you reestablished that, you know, and I I I think that one of the things that that the GM Don Sweeney had recognized is yes, they understand that they’ve made some sizable changes to the core group. So what does it look like now? Because for about more than a decade, the Bruins and their culture was the envy of the National Hockey League. So how do you either recapture that or form it uh in a similar way that you can get some similar results? So what does that look like with the veterans who are now remaining? David Posnock did a tremendous job, I thought, leading by example after the trade of Brad Marian. He did it by the way he played, by the way he practiced and talking to guys as you did uh as well with so many guys in the room just how much that he offered behind the scenes to help a lot of the players. Uh does that mean that he has to be the captain? Not necessarily. But who also helps him uh to be able to do that? I I I think that the first thing that we’re probably going to talk about is a guy like Charlie Mackoy. How do you reform what was the envy of the National Hockey League? And from that, because that’s essentially your foundation and then start to win again. And to me, the second biggest story for this team was maybe the biggest mystery of last season. They have to be able to defend again. That was their identity. It It’s not necessarily about toughness, and yes, it’s a part of it, but it was about being a stingy team. And I think that I I don’t know how you felt, but I I I think that was the biggest surprise for me. I I don’t know that I necessarily thought that the Bruins were going to be a prolific offensive team. I think you were hoping that they were going to be able to score goals and the power play uh that we talked about ad nauseium last year was a disappointment, but they had a hard time defending and other than maybe one month after the coaching change last year, um they just couldn’t seem to be able to recapture that. So to me, that’s the second biggest storyline. And it would seem to me, assuming that you’re healthy, that a lot of those pieces are there. You talked about improvement. Jeremy Swayman, I would expect that he’s going to be a lot better than he was last year because he’s going to go through a full training camp because he doesn’t have a contract negotiate negotiation hanging over his head. And I think if the Bruins are able to start to reestablish some of that leadership group, some of that core and start to defend, then to your point talking about, you know, talking about the Bruins with fans as you walk around here in Boston or here in New England, then I think they have a chance to at least make things interesting late in the season. Yeah. You know what? I I uh in terms of just captaincy and leadership, I don’t think there’s going to be a rush. Like I know at the start of a couple seasons ago um management announced Brad Marshand uh before the start of the season Marco Stern made it clear that he’s heard a lot about Charlie Makavoy David Posnock but he doesn’t know them. So he’s like uh we’re going to see what you know I heard they’re great leaders but let’s see. So I don’t think there’s going to be any rush there. To your point about how David Posnock led the team on the ice and in the locker room. Absolutely. And as someone who had a chance when I came back from my leave, I was kind of reporting for a little bit to get my feet wet. So I was around the room a lot more than I am when I’m hosting. And for me, you know, I had this gap. I had the summer that was a gap and then I had this gap of like six or seven months where I hadn’t spoken to David Posnock. And in that, let’s call it a full year almost, I was like, “Oh my god, like he’s different. He is different in this room.” And maybe especially I started right after the trade deadline. So, you know, Marshian was gone. Maybe it maybe he took a bigger jump even after the trade deadline, but what David Pastino used to be like, and that was also because Berseron and Charara and Marshian would step up and Nick Felino would step up and and answer the questions when the Bruins were kind of in a slump or not playing their best. He was kind of the he I mean he would he would come out and and he would be requested and he would do his due diligence, but what I was noticing is he would volunteer. Like he’s like, “I’m talking to the media. I’m coming in.” He wouldn’t rush. He wasn’t like, “Okay, are we done these scrums?” He would get asked the same question over and over again from away reporters or whatever. And he was he had this patience and almost like this fatherly protection figure of being like, “I’m the guy. if you have questions about what’s going on and I know it’s not looking good right now, come talk to me. Charlie Makavoy didn’t have a chance to do that because he wasn’t playing and so I don’t know how he would have handled it. But I really saw that from David Posternok and I’ll say really quick in the um in the end of season pressers. Charlie Makavoy did get to come out and and talk. And I’ve already said this on the show, but I was in awe about what I saw in him, too. And there was this absolute like this frustration and this fire inside of being like, you know, it’s like quicksand. It can slip so quickly. Like he he came into this room when it was fantastic and and and the record setting season and like he’s not saying it’s been an easy run, but he’s he’s had a good time with the Boston Bruins. And then all of a sudden it just slips so quickly and you can tell that he was like absolutely not. Like I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn’t fall apart and to uh instill or install whatever he learned. And he said that they were immediately this was at locker cleanout already in communication with Charara with Patrice Berseron on how to how to do that. And not I just want to be clear not in the sense that oh I need your help like help me. They’re capable but more just guidance. Can you guys can you guide us into you know what we need to do to the to the new players that come in whether it’s phone calls or taking them out for lunch or making sure their kids or their partners are taken care of XYZ. So I feel very confident that those two guys it’s going to be an uphill battle but they are taking this more seriously um or just as seriously as the play on the ice. So, I I’m I’m excited about that and and how that shapes out as opposed as as for excuse me, the defensive side of the game. We had Paige Capistran on last week. She uh former Nesso employee, former Boston Pride player and now is broadcasting for the Ontario Range. So, she had a year or maybe two, but she had a year with Marco Sturm and she was talking about how awesome he was with her. Uh when she had questions about the game, they’d sit down and talk. he’d help her with her broadcast, but he was uh very very preachy on how defense and how he needs his teams to be very very strong uh defensively and that that’s going to be his key in in what he needs to get out of the Bruins as well. And so that’s going to be a huge focus on h on his of his, excuse me. So I’m very encouraged by that. Um and we’ll see how those two things get addressed. Well, obviously he’s got a lot on his plate when it comes to uh his first season as a National Hockey League head coach, but but Sophia, I wanted to sort of circle back uh when you were talking about Brad Marshian and Charlie Makavoy and and maybe just reach back just a tad into the season that that we just wrapped up. Um that I I I think there were so many issues that were revolving around the Bruins. uh you know and part of it was that that a guy like Brad Marshian needed a little bit of help uh around that leadership core. But I think the other thing that made it difficult for a lot of people to help around there is that it it’s hard to help when your game is not necessarily in order. it’s hard to lead and even a guy like Brad Marian had talked about it if you remember now he was coming off at three surgeries um but let’s just use him as an example and and he had I I remember sitting down for a conversation with him in Dallas talking about this and he talked about how difficult it is for you to lead or be a captain when your game is not where where it needs to be. Um and I think that that was part of an issue that cropped up for the Bruins last season. How does it present itself this year? Um, okay. We haven’t really established, well, who is that centerpiece? I don’t know if there’s going to be uh I think we talked about it. There’s not necessarily going to be a captain. There could be, but I don’t know if there’s necessarily going to be. So, who are the three people, four people, five people, and who’s that secondary tier of leadership that’s going to help that group along? And I I think that they’re going to have to do it by committee until something or someone emerges at this point. Um, you know, and as far as uh how to defend, you know, I think if the Bruins are able to do that, again, they’re going to be in every single game. They have they have a lot of the personnel in place that will allow them to do that. I think Jeremy Swayman’s going to be better. The Decore, assuming that they’re healthy, they should be better. I think one of the thing that’s going to help and one of the things that maybe we can talk about when it comes to Marco Sturm, whether it’s systematically or or what he’s saying to these players behind the scenes or on the bench, uh is that the Bruins need to have the puck more. That’s an issue for them. Um you know, fine if if you want to dump it in, where are you dumping it in? Are you dumping it into a spot where you can get it? Now, you’ve got some personnel that can maybe do that. Uh, I think one of the things, you know, just to kind of back up a little bit and talk about some of the offseason moves, I think one of the things that that Donnie Sweeney has talked about, whether it’s this this off season or last offseason, is that he wanted the Bruins to be a better fourchecking team. Okay. Well, you have to be able to to put pucks in spots where you can get them and then you have to win battles to get them back. Does some of the personnel that they brought in, whether that’s Tanner Judau or or Mikey Asamont or Shawn Cari, uh Victor Arvdson to some extent, did those guys help you be able to do that? Yes, in theory. But I think if the Bruins are going to be able to I if if they wanted to defend better, they have to have the puck more often. And that will be a key for a guy like Marco Sturm. And yes, if you have the puck more often, you’re going to have better opportunities to score, but you’re also going to be more adept defensively. He’s got a lot that he’s got on his plate, whether it’s how they play or what it’s like behind the scenes. Honestly, Jud, listen, I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have an entire show to dive into this because I want to respond, but my response isn’t short enough uh before we need to send it to break. So, that’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to send it to break. We have Steve Conroy coming up, but pause that thought because I have a lot uh to say about it. And you brought up a little earlier James Higgins. I really want to address the youth. Like I want to talk about Fraser Mitten, James Higgins, um Matt Potra, Raven Lysel. Like I I I really want to dive into that because you can go either way. And uh I’m glad I’m not making these decisions, let’s just say. But uh we’ll get your thoughts. We’ll continue to talk about this Bruins upcoming season and what was in the offseason. But we got to send it to break and we’ll be right back with more after this. And welcome back to the hockey hub. Jud and I had to pause our conversation and thoughts on this Bruins training camp this season. That will be that was uh because we have Steve Conroy waiting in the queue. We’re just setting up a shot. He was a little upside down for a second there, Jud. Uh but we’ll bring him in. So we’ll bring him in shortly. But Steve Conway, writer of the Boston Herald, he had a great article uh that discussed goalies. And that’s something that’s obviously one of the when you were counting one of the big topics, one of the big storylines with the Boston Bruins. So, we’ll get to that with him uh whenever we are ready with that. But Jud, like I like I said, there just so many directions that we can take this uh this conversation, this whole podcast, and I’m just glad to have you back after not being on the show for hiatus to get your thoughts. So, Steve Conroy is ready. Steve, welcome on to the show, The Hockey Hub. You are perfectly aligned. Perfect. You’re not upside down anymore uh on the camera, but for those fans who may not know his face, you definitely have read his words in the Boston Herald. And you had an article come out recently about the goalie situation. So, we’re going to talk to you about that. But, I wanted to start just by also giving a bit of a behind the scenes. Um, fans who watch the press conferences, who watch morning skate or practices may not know this, but you’re always the first guy to ask a question. And if nobody asks about the goalie situation, you’re the guy to make sure to get that question in. Is that an undue pressure at this point? Cuz it feels like it’s your it’s it feels like it’s your title right now. Do you feel the pressure is down? I don’t I don’t I don’t know how that how that develops, but I guess people just wait for me to ask the first question. I don’t know. I don’t know how it developed, but it it has turned into something. I guess it did. Everyone’s silent. You know, whoever the coach is when it was uh Bruce Cassidy, they’re all looking around, but we all just wait for you and then you kick things off. So, people need to know that that you’re starting off every scrum uh with the hard-hitting journalism and then again asking about goalies, but but you’re here with us now. And uh let’s just start with like your general thoughts on on the direction of this team after all the moves that have been made in the summer. Yeah, I mean I think you know some people have already said this but I think it’s the moves they made you know they weren’t able to you know you know hire you know three different uh you know top six you know forwards. They they just couldn’t afford to do that. So what they did, at least what they’ve tried to do is to address the competitive competitiveness of the team that, you know, had kind of gone on hiatus a little bit last year and you saw it with blowout losses and, you know, giving up goals and bunches and, you know, that just wasn’t, you know, Bruins hockey. Um, so they added guys like uh not only Tanner Jano, you know, who’s a, you know, who drops the gloves, but also competitive guys like Isimont, Mikey Isamont and um and uh Sean Carali, who we all know. So before we go further, like your nickname is Oki. Um, so you know, apologize, you know, I’m going to end up calling you Oki instead of Steve Conroy, you know, or Steve at this point. But Oki, when it comes to uh I guess let’s go individual players because you know as Sophia and I were talking about before you came on, there’s so many intriguing storylines surrounding just about everybody except a guy like David Posternok. Which player presents the biggest story heading into training camp for the Bruins and really the season? H well I guess it starts where all go all hockey starts. It starts in the net. Um because you know they’ve missed the playoffs I think three times in the past 18 years and each of those years you know goalie was a big story uh two years when they missed it back to back they didn’t have a you know the a competent backup for for Tukaras and they end up missing the playoffs in the last week of the season both those years. Uh and last year of course you know you know they you know Swayman you know started late and and never really you know found his game. Um so that that starts there. Um another place uh I I think it’s going to be interesting is Mason Laurai. You know you know hopefully if everybody stays healthy he’s going to be slotted you know where he’s supposed to be slotted on on that third pairing. and and you know he’ll he’ll see some you know some times when you know he’ll be bumped up in the lineup when when they need a goal. Um but you know he won’t have to face you know you know topline pairings or second line pairings uh the way he he uh he did last year. Um where else uh we’ll see where Elias Lindholm’s game is. you know, in retrospect, you can tell that he had a back injury to start last season because he was very, you know, slow to join the battle. He did not play like he had played what when he was at his best with Calgary. Um, but he got he improved as the year went on and we’ll see where his game is if he can be that topline center uh in between Posanak and and Morgan Kiki. But oki, one of the names that you did not mention was a guy like Charlie Mackoy and some of the quotes, you know, I want to get to one of the quotes that he had mentioned and and it was right after uh he started to make his first public comments coming back uh from the shoulder injury and the infection and obviously he never even finished the season after the Four Nations tournament and and he talked about that injury. It costs me my sanity in a lot of ways, but when it comes to the leadership group and you talk about, you know, Jeremy Swimman, obviously it’s and it’s a really appropo point when it comes to the way this team defends, I you know, isn’t a guy like Charlie Mackoy when it comes to the way they defend and the foundational core of this team uh and what the leadership is like, wouldn’t he be the biggest story? Well, he’s one of them. The the I will stick with Swayment as the be the biggest story. Okay. When your your$8 million goalie is is sub900 save percentage. I think I think that’s where you focus on right now. Um but yeah, I mean all these guys, you know, Hampus Lindome, he you know, he’s basically missed the entire season since November with a with a knee injury and he had a you know, a fairly major setback that cost him the season. um that that’s a big story. Um it’s it’s they’re all over this this roster. Well, I want to take it a step further, Sophia, if you don’t mind. Uh because the other thing that gets talked about a lot uh and the Bruins are going to be challenged, I think, to score offensively. But one of the areas that they were really hoping to improve was the power play. That’s part of the reason that they brought on Steve Spot uh as a veteran assistant to help a guy like Marco Sturm in his first season as a National Hockey League head coach. But you would expect, I would think, Charlie Mackoy is going to be that defenseman on the number one power play unit or he’s going to get the first crack at it. And if that power play unit is going to be more successful, he has to be an integral part of that. Yes. No question about it. And and part of that is uh is something that, you know, people have hopped on his whole career, which is to be short be more shot ready. Um he’s he’s a little hesitant to let it go. Um uh there were times last year where he where he did try to shoot more and we’ll see if the the Bruins as a whole will be more uh you know we’ll look for a little more uh quantity over quality as opposed to quality over quantity because that was you know a big deal with this team last year in the last couple years. Yeah, that was a very big story line and I believe Marco Sturm addressed it a couple times as well. You know, one thing that since you’ve come on, Jed and I were also talking about the big story lines. We didn’t even mention with you is like you had coach the culture. Like there is just so much with this team which makes our job as reporters really exciting. Like I’m very excited for training camp. I’m really excited to see the intensity. Uh I missed it last year, but of course I was up and aware and and and after the season was over, you know, people talked about how it just wasn’t the training camp that you should have preparing for a National uh hockey league season and and having a good season with all the question marks and the intensity and all that. So, this is going to be really good and especially guys fighting for roster spots. Um, which let’s be clear in your article, I just want to address that because it it just came out, but in your article, Jeremy Swim is not fighting for the roster spot. He’s the number one, but there are two guys now that are going to be competing for that official backup uh spot or if you want to call it the 1B. This is definitely more of like a a backup role when Jeremy Swayman’s number one. But tell us what you learned about Michael uh not excuse me, DP Pro. Tell us what you learned about DPro, who’s 26 years old, so he’s not super young, and uh is really like this might be his chance to really establish himself in the NHL, and I bet he’s not sleeping on it. Yeah. Well, I you know, he’s got a two-year deal, uh- which is, you know, one-way deal, um which is good for him. Um you know, it’s going to be interesting to see it, you know, how much time he’s able to get in in uh in preseason. There only six games. I I know that people complain about how many preseason games there were, but this is a season where the Brewers could probably use one more of those. Um because there are a lot of guys that that you want to take a look at like the Blue Mel kid that you know David Pastanac basically recruited to to come into the organization. Um, but this is uh he’s an interesting guy and and if he has a good good training camp I and and Corvisalo has a good training camp, you know, who do you look to trade and who has more value? Um because three goalies just don’t work. And if you send I I would bet you could get Corposalo through uh through waiverss, but I’m not I’m not sure you can get the uh um DPO through waiverss because he’s only making 800 800 grand and and Corposalo is at at three something. Um so I think you could get Corposal through through waivers, but I I don’t I don’t think you can get uh get DPHO through it unless he has a really bad camp then then you know maybe maybe teams don’t bite on that. Um but it it’s it’ll it’s an interesting situation for the team. Let’s play that forward though. Uh let let’s say that um they send Corposal on to waiverss uh or make him uh available in a deal. What sort of value does he have based on the time of year that we’re going to be talking about? Because you would probably attempt to send him down sometime between the middle of September um and the start of of the National Hockey League season, which is October 8th. That’s also a time where NHL teams will try and sneak players down uh into the minors and and take a gamble that everybody likes what they have or or maybe they’re up against the cap and they can’t necessarily make a move. But what type of value does a guy like Corpusal have in late September, early October? Yeah, I I’m not sure he he has a lot, but you know, there’s a there’s a team in Edmonton that has just about everything. But, you know, but the goalender and they’ve only got about $3 million, you know, allotted to the goalending position. So, if I’m Edmonton, I take a chance on somebody. Um, so, you know, what what they’re willing to give up, you know, who knows? Maybe they just wait and hope they put they put one of those guys on waiverss and they snatch him up. If you if that does happen and there’s trade bait and and this could happen um for the Bruins, we I guess we’ll have to see. This might be an easier question to answer after training camp, but if things were perfect and you had your way, like what position are you filling in that trade? If you could get exactly what you what you needed, what position would you be uh would you be looking for in that trade with the with the for a goalie? Yeah, I mean, I I don’t think you’d get a number one center. I think they’re still looking for a number one center. I think they they hope they have it in the future with James Hagens, but I would imagine he’s going back to BC. That would be the smart move, I think. Um, but I I’d be happy to get, you know, a top six wing. I’m not sure if they can get it, but, you know, that would be, you know, something they they can certainly use. I’d be very interested and I haven’t had this conversation. I don’t know if you have uh how how much contact they had with a guy like Nikolai Eers uh before he ultimately signed in Carolina. I think that was one of the guys um who you could have targeted that would have helped in a number of different ways. Left shot, top six player, winger, speedy, skilled. Um, you know, so I I’m guessing that one of the guys that you’re talking about would be someone analogous to a guy like Nikolai Eers. Um, you know, and whether or not the Bruins are going to trend if they can make a deal to upgrade themselves down the middle. I guess when you were when you were talking about that a little bit, the name that that popped into my head is what is going to h how do you project training camp and the start of the season playing out for a guy like Casey Middlestat who was essentially acquired to be a guy who could play in your top six down the middle. Not necessarily number one center, so maybe at best a number two center. How does he project and what is the story around him coming into his first full season as a Bruin? Yeah, that’s that’s where he’s slaughtered right now as second line center, but I’ve heard I’ve heard Marco Sturm say, you know, maybe he’s a wing. So, I don’t think they’re they’re completely sold on on Middletown as the number two center. Um it’s going to be very interesting to to see u what becomes of him if he becomes available in a trade. uh if they decide to move him for somebody, if they if they uh they look at say a Matt Potra or even a Frasier Minton and say this kid is something more than we thought he was. Um and they and they make Middle Stat available for for maybe maybe a wing or or whatever. Um but it’s it’s going to be interesting because like I said, they I don’t think they’re completely sold on him being the the number two center. Steve, just to pivot a little bit, I was just thinking about it as you were answering that question. Um, I’ve I’ve joined the Bruins in 2019. We all know the success they’ve had since then. And in terms of regular season, excuse me. Um, for me, in my short time, six years, this is like the the most question marks I’ve had around training camp. But I was just thinking for you and your coverage, when was the last time you felt this way about a team of like it could go so either way? like there are so many directions uh and it’s so unpredictable in terms of who’s going to make the roster performance-wise. Is Morgan Geeky going to be as good as he was last year? XYZ, when was the last time you felt like the Bruins had a similar training camp with all these question marks? If you can if you can remember, uh it may go back to when uh the year that uh that they uh put in a lot of rookies. Uh the year they uh with De Brusk uh 2018. Uh yeah. De Brusk. Um, who else? Makavoy was coming back for for his first full year. He played in the playoffs the year before. Um, Carali they were bringing up. Um, so Hean Yes. Yes. All those guys. Um, so that was a year where where you were really concerned about where they were going. But they also still had Char, they still had Berseron, they still had Grchi. Um, this one is is a little different, you know. I I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be trading their number one draft pick if if I was them at this point. Yeah, I would think, you know, when it comes to Hagens, because, you know, I know Sophia, you had brought him up uh you know, even before uh the segment that we started with Oki uh and maybe Oki, I’d love to get uh your thoughts as well. You know, I would think best case scenario for a guy like James Hagens is that he plays the the full season uh with Boston College, signs, and then joins you at the tail end of the regular season. But but the other thing I think about is even if he’s able to do that and and that would certainly be a positive for the Bruins, you know, it I I I guess I’m I’m tempted. You don’t want to put so much weight on a player like that uh coming into an organization to be a savior because it could it takes a while to get your foothold especially as a skilled player in the National Hockey League. Yeah. I mean, he Mlin Celibbrini might have been the the most complete player I’ve seen come out of college as as a teenager and go into an NHL team and and what did he do for the for the San Jose Sharks? Did he did he change their fate at all? Not much. No, it takes some time. Um, so yeah, and I don’t think and Hagens did not have the the kind of year that a Celibbrini had um as a freshman. He’s a little younger than Celibbrin he was, but you know, there needs to be some patience here with with this kid. He he may be his his ceiling may be as a number two center. Who knows, right? You know, and the numbers that I think about because one of the names that gets associated with a guy like James Hagens is Jack Hughes. Now, Jack, the year that he came out, he was first overall, but his numbers, now remember, he was an 18-year-old. And I’ll give you these numbers because it’s just an example of how long it can take. So, the first year he comes out as an 18-year-old, 21 points in 61 games. Um, then at 19, 31 points in 56 games in that shortened season. At 20 years old, that’s when it started to kick in for him when he had 26 goals, 56 points in 49 games for the New Jersey Devils. But there are a lot of guys uh I think of a guy like Matty Beneers when he came out and he was a higher pick coming out of the University of Michigan um for Seattle had a great when he came out I think he had maybe like nine or 10 points in his first nine or 10 games in the National Hockey League. Won the Rookie of the Year award and then took a step back for that Seattle team. So, I guess where I’m trying to go with uh here is listen, I think it’s great that the Bruins are able to add a guy like James Hagens to the organization, but it may take a while and it may require some patience to get there. Yeah, no question about it. Uh, you know, he’s and you go to Jack Hughes and they’re I think Hagen’s just a little bigger than Jack Hughes is, but Jack Hughes has already taken a lot of wear and tear on that body right now. And I would not I would not subject James Hagens to to professional hockey at this point in his in his physical maturing. Steve, uh, and speaking of maturing, I just want to add in, you obviously had a chance to be there around development camp, but I found him very, uh, pleasant, easy to talk to, confident with reporters. Uh, and that was nice to see because sometimes it takes a while and is part of the adjustment. But I do want to talk about the youth movement because Jud and I kind of left it on that before we had to send it to break. Like I’m just so curious to see how Matt Patra, Fabian, Lysel, Fraser Mitten end up looking. Uh I remember how excited I was in pre-season preseason games when we were still trying to figure out if it was PWA or whatever how to pronounce Ma Matthew Potra’s name. Um but you know he had these like cerebral plays and these no look passes and we were like oh my god this is amazing. And then obviously now he’s he had an injury and then took some time to develop. Is this the training camp that at least for Lysel and Patra is I don’t want to say make or break, but is this is this one of the most important ones of their lives? For Lysel, yes, I I I definitely think so. He’s he’s got an uphill battle right now. I you know, he showed some flashes last year when he was able to to come up and play. Um but, you know, they were they were few and far between. He’s obviously got some skill. Um he made he did make one one play that that really stood out in my head and I can’t even can’t even think again who it was against. But um he’s got skill. He does not have size. Uh he has a hard time getting into the inside of the inside ice. Um so this is a very important year for Lysel. Um I’d like to see him, you know, maybe get to a warrior uh in Brighton, maybe a little earlier in the off season, you know, sometime in August, but I don’t know what his schedule is. Um, and Matt Potra, I think I’d still be pretty patient with him. Um, but, you know, he’s he’s shown a little more than um than what Lysel has shown so far. He’s got to, you know, learn to avoid the big hits and, you know, uh, things like that. You know, he’s not the not the fastest guy in the world. Um, so he’s got to he’s got a few things to learn, but I I’d still be pretty patient with with Potra, but Lysel, it’s it’s getting on. Do you think Patra can play wing? I don’t know. I don’t know if he has the size to do it. Um, I would think he probably can. It’s, you know, usually centerman, you know, they’re centers because they were always the best player on all their teams growing up. Um, and there’s so many so many guys, you know, come in as center and get moved to the wing like Phil Kessle, you know, he came in as a centerman and he was quickly moved to the wing. Um, and uh, so yeah, I I think he could probably play it. You know, he’s got to learn to, you know, to maybe take a hit or two from the from the big defenseman pinching down, but um, I think he probably could play it. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out for him, Sophia, and and Oki. Uh, you know, heading into training camp, where he’s slotted. Um, you know, I think Oki make a good point. Uh, when it comes to Patchro, because he’s a little bit younger. Uh, I think that he has a little bit more leeway than a guy like Fabian Lysel, even though the age difference isn’t dramatic, but I think just based on the experience that Lysel has had playing some pro hockey, that it’s probably about time that he needs to make an impact. Um, you know, whether or not a guy like Patrick can play the wing. If he’s able to do it, it’s certainly good for the Bruins because it gives him a little bit more versatility. uh he certainly has the willingness uh to go win battles uh along the wall. Whether he’s able to stand up to that, that’s that’s another matter. Um you know, you can certainly do it. That’s a skill. Uh listen, a guy like Mitch Mner is not a big guy. Um but he was able to figure it out. And there are plenty of guys as an example. Um you know, you want to use Patrick Kane as an example. Um Patrick Kane’s not the biggest guy. He certainly got stronger over his career. Um he was never a guy who was slotted as center, by the way. Um, but if he’s able to learn that, I think that’s good for the Bruins because o otherwise, if he’s really a centerman, you’ve got a log jam down the middle. Uh, because if Fraser Mitten essentially projects to be a guy like Charlie Coyle, well, that’s a third line center. Uh, and maybe a second line center if if the case may be. Okay. So, where does Potra fit uh down the road if that’s where you see a guy like Fraser Mitten? So those are I think when it comes to some of the youth Sophia and Oki that we’re talking about those are some of the things that we think about and there and there was another quote from Don Sweeney and I’d love to get your thoughts on that that the improvements now have to come from within. I’m sure he’s talking about everybody on the roster but I think when when we’re having this conversation it’s got to be about some of the young players that are emerging in this organization. Absolutely. I mean, you know, the Minton, I think, is an interesting guy because he seems like a very, you know, smart player and is he smart enough to to maybe play above, you know, the the skill level that he has. uh you know you know Patrice Berseron you know probably wouldn’t have won win wouldn’t win many foot races if you’re going around and around in a circle but if the races to the boards to get a puck he’s going to win win more than his share right so you know is he a guy who can who can you know think the game better than his opponent you know is he going to find ways to to get that puck and can he you know can he be can he play above his various skill levels. Um, I I think he’s an interesting player. You know, I I wouldn’t want to put put a a ceiling on him to say he’s just a third line center. I think he’s an interesting player. I think there are a lot I I would agree with you. I can’t wait to see a little bit more Fraser Mitten. As we started this this segment with you, Steve, a lot of interesting storylines, lots of question marks. would love to have you back on maybe midway through training camp or after just to you know kind of the answer some of the questions uh when we get to observe training camp which starts in Jud you you did the count six weeks is it something like that six weeks maybe about seven middle of September yeah it’s sneaking up on us but for now uh we do have to pay some bills Steve so we’re going to let you go we’re going to send it to commercial thank you for joining us we’ll have you back on again in September have a great rest of your summer Jud you and I will be back to answer some fan questions We’ll see everyone after this. Thanks, Sophia. Thanks, Jud. Welcome back to the Hockey Hub. Sophia and Jud here with you going over all things uh Bruins. Obviously, that’s what this show is about. Uh it’s called Hockey Hub. Uh Jud, we have like four minutes, so not that long, but we want to get to fan question and comments. I’m kind of going to combine and I want your thoughts cuz you are on our show. I’m going to combine two. I’m going to read a comment and then there was a question in in in there in another uh from another fan, but this one coming from Brian Burgie or Bergie on Tanner Jano’s contract. He says, “Tanner Jano is a Marco Sturm guy and there were over 10 teams who wanted him in their locker room. What if the cap hit was $2.9 million? Would that make things more palatable? Sweeney has knocked it out of the park since the deadline. I trust their judgment.” So, that’s a comment about Jano and I want your thoughts on this because we have B Bruins 88 who says uh he’s talking about the wing for the Bruins. I would slot in Jano Mitten and Lysel on wing. Um, sorry, Mitten and Lysel on wing. Personally, I like Tanner. I think he can excel with some offensive talent around him and he can protect the young talent so they can do their thing without intimidation. So instead of posing a general or a specific question, let’s just get your thoughts on Jano and what these two fans are talking about in this acquisition. What did you make of it? Well, let’s first talk about I think um that he brings up a great point when it comes to the contract. I think a lot of times when we look at players, we look at them through the lens of their contract. How much money are they making? How long are they signed for? And I think for a lot of people uh and even some former Kings people that I talked to, I think that they were surprised uh maybe not necessarily with the amount of money that he was making, but how long the contract was. Uh and I I think for a lot of people when it came to a guy like David Crerache, I think they were also surprised about the amount of money that he was making. But I don’t think there’s any question that you got the value that you wanted out of a guy like David Crerachche based on the number. As far as Jano and how much he can help, he’s going to make everybody a lot taller. He’s going to give some of those young players more room and time out there on the ice. But I think what remains to be seen is can he move up from a fourthline spot, which was essentially where he was with the Kings. I think they tried to move him up unsuccessfully. I think Tampa tried to do the same. Can he somehow recapture some of his offensive success that he had early in his career? If he’s able to do that, then the Bruins have a value signing. Yeah. Uh, excellent points there. And honestly, I’m going to throw one more at you because you you nailed that and you wrapped it up really quickly. Just give us your thoughts on Nikita Zidorov. Scott Morsy 8915 talked about his careerhigh plus minus plus 25. Uh he was on the ice for just 76 of 271 goals the Bruins gave up and you know he had a lot of criticism. So he’s defending him here saying like yeah right that’s not a bad that that doesn’t seem like a bad year. I joined late. Um, and I I’m not using that as an excuse, but I got to know him in in the room and he definitely has a big personality. Uh, that’s what I took away from most of it, but what did you make of his year and and his upside for this coming season? So, I think Zidorov um and yes, he is a b big personality uh within the room and and certainly on the ice. I I think it took him a while to find his space with the team uh and to find out exactly where he was sliding. Then all of a sudden you experienced all sorts of injuries and then you experienced even more changes at the trade deadline. So that changed things around. He should have a more consistent partner this year assuming that there’s health. Uh I think that there’s a greater understanding of what his role is and what’s expected. Uh assuming that Hampus Lynholm is going to come back and play the way that the Bruins are hoping that he plays. he’s going to be slotted in a very different way than he was uh at times certainly in the second half of the season. He was a consistent performer and I don’t think that the Bruins especially because you bring in just to dovetail back to Tanner Jano I don’t think the Bruins need him to be a guy who’s out there looking for a a scrap every night. I think they want him to be a nasty presence on the blue line and if uh the opportunity presents itself then he need needs to make his presence felt. Uh but I think for him it took him a while to find his niche. I think that he’ll be able to deepen that niche once this season starts. Totally agree. Year two is going to be a lot better for him than year one in my opinion. John, one more commercial break. We’re going to be back to wrap up the show. We’re talking swag. Brewin swag or an essence swag after this. Welcome back to the show and goodbye because we’ve got 20 seconds. Jud, thanks for being on. I just wanted to promote we’ve got Nessen swag. We’ve got the Hockey Hub podcast swag that you guys can now get and wear. Just go to nessenwickedwearables.com. T-shirts, not for just for this podcast, but all the ones we have on uh this show. Jud, I’m sure we’ll be talking to you again soon. Thanks for being on our show, everybody. or you and everybody. We’ll see you on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. for another episode. Have a great one, Jud. See you soon. See you.
With no team captain & a lot of new faces, the Bruins will have to rely on veteran players like David Pastrnak & Charlie McAvoy to help restructure the culture of the team. Sophia Jurksztowicz & Judd Sirott break down how the Bruins can reimagine the team’s culture to once again by the eve of the league like it was during the Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron era. Plus, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald joins the show to discuss the biggest Bruins storylines as they gear up for the 2025-26 season.
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1 comment
you want to 'restructure' the team, FIRE SWEENEY!! THIS TEAM SUCKS!