Will Bruins’ Top Players BUY IN to a Rebuild? | Poke the Bear

Will Bruins’ Top Players BUY IN to a Rebuild? | Poke the Bear

Poke the Bear is brought to you by Price Picks. And welcome in to Poke the Bear, episode 352, part of the CLNS Media Network. If you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel where you have pretty much daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins meet with Evan Marinowski, Pucks with Hags with Joe Hagedy. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins off season going into the 2526 Bruins season. So, please follow follow along with us over at YouTube. And if you don’t like YouTube, you want to see my ugly face, I get it. You can also subscribe and follow along over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Podbean, and wherever else you get your hockey podcast. The show is also brought to you by Prize Pix, North America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download today and use code CLNS to get $50 back when you play just five bucks. Prize Pick run your game. My name is Connor Ryan and as you can see, we’re riding solo once again for this podcast. Everyone’s at the beach, everyone’s relaxing, everyone’s enjoying their summer vacation. I’d love to be on the Boston Tea Party right now. Love to be on the Yankee Cannonball at my favorite place, Canopy Lake Park. Considering there’s nothing going on, we might hit the point later on in August where Evan and yours truly might be doing a live show from Canopy Lake. Not talking Bruins Hockey. maybe like reviewing funnel cake or something like that because my god everyone there’s not a whole lot to talk about right now. It is the dead time. It is the dog days of the summer for the NHL off season and the Bruins kind of in a wait and see mode right now. There’s only so much you can really kind of glean from the next steps for this team, what the lineup’s going to look like, all these things that I think we’ve already discussed. And we won’t be able to expand upon it or or dive deeper into a lot of the stuff until we get to training camp. You start seeing where these players line up, what Marco Sturm and the coaching staff are trying to do, all those sorts of things. So, we’re in kind of a wait and see mode. So, figured once again it’d be a good time to do another mailbag episode. Once again, our loyal listeners came through on social media, sent a bunch of great questions our way. So, we’re gonna go through five or six for this episode and kind of run through uh you know, what’s going on with this Bruins team, setting expectations for next year, and all that fun stuff. So, I think uh instead of talking more about Kennob Lake or the beach, sunscreen, sunburns, anything like that, let’s just dive right into it. I’ll save all you people who are on the phone or doing like the 5-second skip ahead like usual. We’re not doing that this time. Don’t worry. I got you. I got you for this episode. Enjoy it. Uh, so our first question is from Cameron Manning who sent in along a couple of questions over the years. Uh, Cam asks, “Hey Connor, would love to hear your thoughts on the abundance of middle six forwards on this Bruins team and what do you think could really catapult themselves into a consistent top six role this season? Anyone in particular you have high expectations for?” Thanks, Cam, uh, for the question. Uh, I do agree that there is no shortage of potential guys that could um slot into that middle six grouping. I I think we mentioned this on the last Poke the Bear episode with Ty Anderson going through our different lineups and you know what what to expect next year. I think we all agree look the top line is going to be Geeky uh Lindome Posternok. I don’t think there’s any surprise there. After that it is a complete crapshoot. There’s a lot of different ways you can structure the middle six grouping and even like the fourth line, right? Like my fourth line when we did this exercise last time was you had Castellic, you had Mikey Asimont, uh, and you had Sean Carelli. You could easily like map out a scenario where it’s like a guy like Morat Husen off in that spot as well if that’s a situation. So, um, there’s a lot still up in the air with what that group is going to look like. In terms of forwards who could really kind of catapult themselves into an elevated role, um, because I I’m not going to put like maybe a guy like Victor Robertson in there. I think people expect he’s going to be probably a second line player. And I know he didn’t have the year he had um that he wanted to have last year with Edmonton, but this is still a guy that has five 20 goal seasons, couple of 30 goal years. you kind of know what to expect from a guy like that or you know maybe what his ceiling could be. So I don’t think there’s anything where you’re, you know, you’re in a wait and see mode of what this guy could be because he’s done it before. So I think he’s pretty comfortably put into like a top six role. After that though, it is kind of all up in the air. Um I think a guy like Matte Blume is someone who has a lot of potential. I think if you’re the Bruins and you are trying to retool this roster, obviously when you go about that effort, right, it’s, you know, one of the key parts is drafting and developing and landing these blue chip talents um that end up being franchise fixtures for your team. So, you need to hit on like the James Hagens. You need to do all those moves. But for any, I think, team that has a successful retool, uh, you know, rebuild, anything like that, you also need to kind of strike gold and find guys that are, you know, the diamonds in the rough that, you know, not saying that, you know, someone like Gustaf Forsling, who was a waiverwire pickup and becoming one of the best, you know, stay-at-home defenseman, one of the best defenseman in the league with Florida. I’m not expecting that. But if you’re able to find players that um you know weren’t given a good opportunity somewhere else and they become again just steady middle six contributors I think you look at a guy like Matte Blume and by that same extension maybe a guy like Alex Steves another guy who lit it up in the AHL and if you’re able to put one of those guys on a spot where they can thrive and they put a lot of pucks on net um you know Blue Mel is a guy that has been one of the most effective goal scorers in the AHL the last couple years has a great shot. Um, but isn’t also just a guy that’s a onetrick pony, right? Of has a great one-time per se, right? And just hammers it home. Does a whole lot of different stuff. Can join the rush, find soft areas of the ice. Um, and I put him on my third line in my projected uh lineup uh for what this upcoming season could be. But I kind of like what Tai Anderson had for his exercise, right, where he had him in a top six role as being kind of the go-to shot first guy there and putting him in a spot where he can really thrive. And I think if you’re able to get something out of that type of player, and again, I’m not saying that he’s going to be like uh not to once again dial it back to Florida. It’s funny how you always look at Florida as the team as the gold standard because they’ve just been able to build a juggernaut in so many different moves that worked out great for them. But I’m not saying that the same as we’ve said with like Sodorm the defenseman they have where I’m not expecting him to be Gustaf Forsling. I’m not expecting Matte Lumel to be you know Kadhgi or one of these guys that just has potential and then explodes into like a 25 goal top six player for them. Um, but I think you look at what Blue Mill’s skill set could be. If he could be like, again, I kind of draw the comparison of like a a Craig Smith, a guy that meat and potatoes, puts a lot of pucks on net, um, can give you like 18 to 22, 23 goals a season. That’s more than he had last year for a guy that you’ve kind of more or less found off the the scrap heat this uh this off seasonason. So I do think Matte Blue Mel over maybe younger players like Alysel or Potra or anyone else like that. I I think you like the skill set, you like the potential and I think the Bruins as much as you need to lean into like the younger players and I think you want to see like guys like Potra or Minton get opportunities I think they are intrigued by a guy like uh Blue Mel and what he could offer this year. So, if I had to put down one player, Cameron, uh, for a player that could take a big step forward as a middle six winger who could, you know, maybe be a player that even if the Bruins don’t go very far this year or they’re on the outside looking at the playoffs again, Blue Melo could be a guy that you look at and you’re like, “This guy’s part of the equation next year and for the years ahead.” You know, maybe he’s at his peak like just like a third line regular, but better than what you had last year. And if you can become a useful asset for this team, that’s a win as they try to fill out the rest of their roster, especially looking at 26, 27, 28, and moving forward from there. Uh, next question is from Tommy Young, and Tommy asks, “How do you think the Bruins get a true top four right-handed D for the future? I’m looking at Marino, Neck, Schneider all around the deadline, depending on how their season goes. Feels like the draft doesn’t fit their timeline.” Uh, it’s interesting, Tommy, right? Because if the Bruins are uh really really bad, there are a couple of D that are possibly, you know, top five picks, um top 10 picks. There’s uh the player Verhoff, I believe, is how you say his name. Um 64D, really mobile playmaking defenseman who’s I think usually been kind of put right behind Gav McKenna as like, you know, a top two, top three pick in this upcoming draft. I believe he’s going to University of North Dakota. So, I mean, that’s a guy that uh would fit their timeline in terms of like I think that’s a player that is so elite that could make the jump next year to the NHL. Um, but again, there’s no guarantee one that the Bruins are going to have a top five pick. Even if they do have a top five pick, there’s a lot of other uh players in this draft. You got a couple of highly skilled Swede uh forwards. You got Stenberg, who like kind of reminds me of Philip Forsber. You’ve got um you know a couple of Canadian players, a couple of big power forward wings. There’s Tannon Lawrence who is going to be and he could be a top six center which it would be very fun if the Bruins had like a top six down the down the road that is a BU and BC guy. You know who I’d be you know who you know who I would say has the higher ceiling out of that group. But I I think the Bruins would have a lot of really intriguing options if they have a top 10 pick in this draft. But it’s also not a guarantee that they hone in on a right-handed D if there’s another player they’re really infatuated with. So, I do agree that I wonder as the Bruins are looking at how best to execute this retool on the fly. And that listen, they’ve got a lot of holes. They got a lot of areas that they could use a player or two or three to really bolster their group. I do wonder if they look at right-handed D as a spot where they can assess the market and find out when to strike as opposed to, you know, something that’s, you know, you’re looking for like a legit other top six center. And I don’t know how realistic it’s going to be if you’re able to trade for that or sign one in agency of who’s going to be available. Whereas, I wonder if like if the Bruins are looking for, you know, another scoring wing, they could look at like, let’s say, like Marty Nas as a guy that, you know, maybe if they don’t trade for him, uh, if he doesn’t want to stay in Colorado, he feels like a guy that has a good chance of hitting the open market this upcoming season, uh, this upcoming offseason. And I I think there’s probably a lot of smoke, honestly, between the Bruins and Marty Nes. I think there’s a fit there. Czech guy, good buddies with David Posnock, highly skilled player, a guy that I think would fit into what Marco Sherm is trying to add to this team. Um, and would fit a need, right? Uh, if you’re trying to build out your team for the future, and you’ve got two wings like Posarch and Nas that, you know, you can put on different lines that can drive play that are highly skilled that fit into what the NHL is turning into in terms of just speed and skill. Uh, I think you can address that through free agency, looking at like scoring wings, right-handed D, you might be able to do the same thing of just assessing your options and finding out when to strike. So, it could be someone like Marino, like you said, there could be other guys that hit the market. It’s clear the Bruins need to add uh a right-handed D at some point because that is an area that they could use some help in beyond the fact that Andrew Peak is going into the final year of his contract. Um, and you could try to upgrade that spot. I still love Rasmus Anderson. I think that’s a guy that you keep an eye on throughout this off seasonason. It feels like it’s a given that he’s going to get traded at some point. Um he’s a player that again, maybe you don’t notice him as much because he’s playing out in Calgary and he’s not a flashy kind of player, but he’s someone that I think if you add to a team, you notice him right away of just what his skill set is and how much it just helps not just his own game, but just the overall impact of what you’re trying to build as a team. like Anderson’s a guy that plays a lot of minutes, does the dirty work, does all the stuff that I think is required out of a top four D, but also is uh you know, he’s not a guy that’s going to give you 50 points in a season, but is so good at getting pucks through to the net. Um, and I think you look at this team that still doesn’t have maybe a set in stone answer for whether it’s the power play quarterback or just a way to add more offense to this uh decor. I think adding a guy like that who just has that knack for getting pucks through, creating havoc, and especially where this is a Bruins team that especially this year and it might take a couple years for this to be the case. If they’re not able to generate offense consistent consistently, if they’re not able to have just the high-end skill in place to just, you know, capitalize on the rush or operate at, you know, 18% on the power play, you know, 20%, anything like that. um where they’re, you know, let’s say like a pedestrian power play unit, not top five, but you know, a functioning solid grouping there. If they don’t have that skill yet, I think you need to have guys that can put pucks on net uh and can create a lot of chaos, whether it’s tips, rebound, second chance opportunities. And a guy like Anderson could be a player that, you know, maybe over 82 games, he’s got, you know, six, seven goals. you know, he’s not going to be this guy that’s going to be like a 20 goal kill macard type player, but has a bunch of secondary assists because he just is able to make things happen when he has the puck on his stick and he just knows where to get those shooting lanes. So, that’s a guy I think a lot of teams would really covet him. So, you do wonder if the Bruins would get outbid in that uh sweep stakes for a team that is trying to go to the playoffs. And I think he’d bring a lot of value to a team, but I think that’s a guy you really keep an eye on is Rasmos Anderson, especially if he does hit the open market too down the road. um he is a player that I think fits a lot of what this team needs and as they you know this is a Bruins team that is one of the youngest groups in the NHL I think where you have such a big youth movement underway you can add like the one or two 29 30 31 year olds if it thinks she puts you over the top right it’s kind of like when Evan was mentioning a few weeks ago about you know people look at what freedoms are going to be available and like our Tammy Panaran is what gonna be 34 going on 35 five, I believe, when he’s a free agent. There’s no guarantee the Bruins sign him, but you can look at that as being like, well, this guy is going to be here for three, four years. Like, is he going to be part of the equation? Probably not. But he helps you out for the next couple years. I mean, maybe he helps put you over the top or at least bridges that gap as you wait for, let’s say, like the Will Zeers and these other players to develop and step into roles as well. Um, I think as you are the Bruins and you’re trying to build a successful, sustainable team, I, you know, if you have that foundation in place and your young guys especially look like they are going to be the real deal, you you’re then afforded, I think, that opportunity to kind of sign those bridge players that can carry you from one wave of talent to the other as well. So, we’ll see how that kind of plays out. And I think Anderson, even if he’s not a 24, 25, 26 year old uh defenseman just entering his prime, I think he’d add of a lot of value to the Bruins if you are able to get him. So, that’s a guy I’d definitely keep tabs on uh going into this upcoming season of where he does end up. Uh we’re going to talk a little bit more about uh the Bruins and what their next plan’s going to be, especially for next off seasonason. Feels like a lot of Bruins fans are already looking at next off season and what this team can do to maybe build off of whatever promise they show this upcoming year. But before we do that, let’s take a quick break here from our friends over at Prize Fix. Prize Fix is the best place to turn your sports knowledge into cash. With millions of members, Prize Fix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. You just pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win up to 2,000 times your cash. Run your game all season long on Prize Pick. Sign up today and get $50 instantly when you play just five bucks. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Things show hey will get more than three hits. Maybe Garrett Crochet for more than seven strikeouts. 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I think you see the promise with that player and the the young core they’re building here. I think they would rather move on from like guys like Veronov and a lot of other players before they move on from a guy like Van Tilly. So I don’t see that being the case. Everyone looks at Jack Eel as the the white whale, the the guy that is the missing piece. Again, an older player, but if you’re the Bruins and you have a guy like Jack Eel, who’s a legitimate hot trophy guy, uh 80 to 90 to 100 point centerman, plays a ton of minutes, great two-way guy that has really thrived, I think, in that spot under Bruce Cassidy. Um he’s just everything you want in a uh a franchise center, right? Uh you got the local connection here, Massachusetts guy, BU guy, all that good stuff. And if you signed him to eight-year contract and James Hagen’s the real deal and you got that one-two punch, you’re set. Is maybe they don’t they don’t become a legit contender next year as you let more young guys come into place and develop, but you’re on the right track. You’re right back where you need to be. And if guys like Swayman and Makavoy and Lindome and all these guys do their pot and you sign a guy like Eel, then you’re you’re good. You’re on the right track and you can just add kind of around the rest of that core. That being said, I just don’t see it being the case. I don’t see Jack Eel leaving Vegas. I think they’re still poised to contend for the next couple of years. Every time you look at Vegas and it feels like they’re going to hit a cap crunch or something like that, they get, you know, they don’t get bailed out, but they get out of it. They they wiggle themselves out of it. You still have Mitch Mner now on that team. I think I was going to put up numbers with him or whoever he’s really with. Um, that is a team that I think is just poised to contend. I think players like playing there. They like uh their gigantic uh mansions in Henderson, Nevada, which is a lot easier to get a gigantic place there than it is somewhere in Boston, I’d rather probably have a gigantic mansion out in the desert than a little seapport condo. That’s just me. But, uh, I just feel like as much as it’d be really fun for Eel to hit free agency and the ties would be obvious, especially if the Bruins were to take a step forward this year and, you know, they paint the picture of a team that is on the comeup and are trying to add that talent. I just don’t see it being very realistic. I think he’s going to resign with uh, Vegas. kind of feels like the dry cidle conversation last year where we had a lot of fun in July and August and September early on talking about Dry Cidle and him free hitting free agency and then I think it was like the first day of camp resigns with Edmonton. I feel like Eel is going to be the same situation. I don’t know how realistic it is for the Bruins to like add a top six center through free agency or something like that this upcoming year. My I think most realistic thing is you try to find a big fish that’s like a scoring wing, throw some money at a player like that and you know maybe signing one of those players isn’t the missing piece or the final piece or you know help solve the missing equation for what this team needs. But again I I feel like a guy like Marty Nes checks a lot of boxes as to what this team would want, what this team needs in terms of scoring and skill. And again, if you’re able to you you check that thing off your to-do list of adding another high-end, you know, 35 goal 80 point winger like Marty Nes, I think it makes a lot of sense for the Bruins. So, if I had to guess right now, knowing full well that the free agency pool is going to get a lot uh more shallow moving forward, and you don’t know what’s going to happen or where the Bruins are going to be or anything like that, if I had to make my one prediction, I would say that Marty Ness to the Bruins in free agency, I think, will be my my pick for right now. And if it ages poorly or I’m completely wrong, feel free to yell at me next summer when we uh revisit this and all these bold predictions. Uh we’re going to move on to our next question. which is from JD DIP17 who asks, “Which Bruins could be potential trade deadline sell-offs? Do you think the Bruins will look to sell as much as they did last year if they’re out of the playoff picture again?” Uh, thanks for the question, JD. Uh, in terms of how aggressive they would be, let’s say the Bruins are looking at another top 10 pick, uh, I would fully expect them to like once again sell off pieces. I don’t know if it’d be as aggressive in terms of like I think you look at the team last year they had a lot of guys that were you know one two years away from free agency. You had a lot of established players and you also had a team that had not sold in years. So, I think you had a lot of pieces that you could have moved off, right? So, yes, you had the Fredericks, the guys that were going to be pending free agents, but if you’re able to move on from a guy like Coyle and Kylo, um, and like obviously Brad Marshian, I don’t think the Bruins are going to have anything as seismic as that this upcoming season if they do do another fire sale, right? Like I don’t expect David Posnock to be moved. I don’t expect Makavoy or Hampus Lindome or someone like that. Uh it’s not anything that I feel is going to be a shock in terms of if they sell when you look at the usual suspects of who might be on the move. Um so I look at obviously I think a guy like Pavle Zaka is going to be actually a pretty hot commodity for this team if they do put him out of the open market. A guy that’s signed to a very reasonable deal under you know under five million signed for another season. And I think he’s just one of those players that, you know, he’s not the flashiest guy out there, but I think a lot of teams that are in the playoff hunt that are looking to round out their group with like maybe that elusive like third line player that could really kind of complete their middle six grouping and plays a responsible game, I think Zaka can fit the bill there. So, I think if the Bruins are looking at another rudderless year or a year where they’re in the tank and are trying just to maximize this retool rebuild by stinking it up for a couple years and getting some really high-end prospects out of it, I think you get something really good for Zaka, especially at the deadline. If you hold out there and you try to get the best value, we’re not surprised if a team gives you a first and a good maybe prospect or a good young player for a guy like that, especially when you factor in his contract. So, he makes a lot of sense. You’ve got the usual suspects of guys that um you know are pending free agents. So Andrew Peak, if he’s not part of your equation, would I think help a lot of teams that you know you see a lot of players uh that are you know second pair, third pairing especially that teams are desperate just to round out their group with. And I think Andrew Peak, not the flashiest guy, but it’s a lot better than what is usually the case where guys that are big and tough and physical but aren’t that great like Joel Edmonson, some of these players that go for crazy prices. I think you get something pretty good for Andrew Peak. Like you get two seconds or something like that. If you end up moving a player like that um at the deadline, Arverson makes a lot of sense if he has a productive year. He’s a pending free agent. a lot of teams would use that speed and skill, especially if he looks like he can kind of write the ship from where he was with the Oilers uh this past year. Um, you know, maybe it’s a goalie, maybe it’s like a guy like Corposalo uh if you know there’s a spot where he’s doing well, but you still want to see if he can move that contract. Um, we’ll see what kind of comes of it there. If he’s a guy that Michael Dp pro beats him out for a spot and he’s down in Providence, I wonder if the Bruins are just throughout the year keep tabs to see if a team would want to take a guy like Corposalo. Uh even if it’s for next to nothing, but if it gets him one in a spot where he can go into the NHL because I think he’s still an NHL goalender, but also gives you just a little bit more cap relief. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case as well. But I don’t see it being a situation where uh the Bruins are going to move off like franchise pillars uh at the deadline. Again, if you asked me last year, I’d be like, Bruins aren’t trading Fred Marshian. What are you talking about? So, a lot can change, but I think those are the most likely guys. And obviously, if the Bruins exceed expectations and they’re looking to add and they’re trying to get an Anderson or, you know, like an Alex Tuck or someone like that, then we start going into the opposite of like which young players then could be up for grabs. I don’t think the Bruins are moving James Hagens, but I feel like the Bruins fans, if they are better than expected and are looking like a legitimate team that is already on the comeup, uh, a lot of these young Bruins players, I think people have already gotten pretty infatuated with could be on the move as well. But that is a discussion for another day. We have to see how the Bruins look going into this season, how they’re holding up, especially once we get to the springtime, which is a long ways away. Um, again, thank you for the question, JD. Uh, we’ll have one more. We have time for maybe one more question, but before we do that, I want to once again give a shout out to the CLNS media network. If you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. We have daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins Beat with Evan Marinowski, Pucks with Hags. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins season. So again, follow along over on YouTube, subscribe to our channel, Bruins Rinkside, sign up for notifications so you get the latest videos right as they drop. And if you don’t like YouTube, you can still subscribe and follow along over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever else you get your hockey podcasts. And shout out to the rest of the CLNS Media Network. We got Patriots Press Pass. We have Celtics All Access. Both those teams do an unbelievable job of keeping all you Boston sports fans updated every single day with mountains of content. the amount of stuff that, you know, we uh the CNS team puts out from Patriots training camp to breaking down games after uh preseason match ups at Gillette Stadium where they’re recording videos at 1 2 a.m. giving you up to the minute uh updates of how the team looked to the Celtics and you know as much as the it’s been a painful offseason for the Celtics the way that that team has been covering uh the Celtics and what their next steps are which guys could take big steps forward this upcoming year it’s awesome to see just the work put in and the content available to die Celtics fans so please if you can subscribe to the entire Cennis media network we have you covered every step of the way throughout this upcoming Boston sports season. All right, let’s wrap up with one last question. And we have one from Ryan J7800. And Ryan asks, “If this season is another in the tank by Thanksgiving, do you think David Posternok will seriously consider a trade request? And if he asked for one, what would be the fallout?” Thanks for the question, Ryan. Um, I don’t expect to uh after like let’s say by like November, ask for a trade request. I think if you have the Bruins, you have to tow the line. And I think be very forthcoming uh in your communication with guys like Poserno and Makavoy of you know if this is a team that is going to go through some growing pains and that’s something that I think Marm mentioned to me in the story I had of like this team’s not going to be a finished product. They’re going to be a work in progress. There’s going to be games where you know maybe they win ugly. There’s going to be games where maybe they play well but they just don’t have the horses to get those two points. You might have some of these games where you’re trying to find silver linings. I think if you’re the Bruins and you’re Mako Sterm, you need to kind of stress that to the Bruins top brass, these guys that are the franchise fixtures of, you know, we’re invested in, you know, getting this next chapter, this next generation of Bruins players up and running here. We’ve got a lot of good young guys in the system and we’re on the right track. You guys got to bear with us here as we kind of get through this spot. Um, and I think it falls on Sturm and his staff to kind of get that message across. We saw how much miscommunications and maybe setting unrealistic or uh bad expectations going into an off seasonason can blow up in the face of let’s say the Red Sox Raphael Des right you don’t want that situation where it just feels like everything implodes. Nor do I think like a guy like David Post as much as he wants to win after you know one year from hell and maybe a bridge year of him being like I’m out. um if the Bruins show no signs of taking, you know, steps forward and all the guys they sign don’t look like they’re part of the winning uh equation, if like the younger players in the system are all having bad years, maybe that changes the complexion. So, a lot has to work in the Bruins favor. Uh but I also think if they can get that message across to a guy like David Posterno, um I do think that he is the kind of guy that is all for buying in for the next couple years. Uh, again, if we’re in 2027 and the Bruins are the Sabres and just keep on getting top five picks and they’re not panning out or they’re not playing winning hockey, then I think that changes. But I do think a guy like David Posnock um, you know, has has patience for, you know, being part of this next generation uh, of Bruins uh, contention and being part of that next contention window. It, you know, as much as like this past year was I think a shock, right? And no one expected it to be that bad. If you I think you asked most these guys that were here for you know the Berseron years, the Char years, it was going to be inevitable at some point of when the the floor was going to kind of uh drop out and it was this year. So now it’s all about being part of the solution for it. And it feels like again everyone says the right things during breakup day. No one’s ever like, “Yeah, this team sucks. I want out of here.” But it does feel like a lot of guys as bad as this year was are going to go going into next year pissed off and wanting to be part of the equation. the solution for what this team’s going to be. And even if that doesn’t mean that next year they’re got a 100 points in the standings and right back at it. But if we get to match in April and like you see the progress being built or you see a team that you know you’re identifying one or two guys that feel like they’re going to be part of the next group, right? If Blue Mel looks like he’s a middle six player, if Fraser Minton looks like your future 3C, if Matt Potra looks like he can stick, if Mason Lauri can kind of iron out uh you know some of the the flaws in his game, looks like a capable top floor defenseman, then you feel like you’re building something. And if you can add in a guy like James Hagens who maybe has a great year at BC, if Will Zeers is a couple years down the road but has a good year at North Dakota, like guys like Posnock and these types of players who keep tabs on what’s going on around them of these younger players can see, you know, what the big picture is. Again, I think it falls on Sturm and his staff to map that out to these players and making sure that they buy in and are part of the equation or and are especially kept in the loop of the ups and downs and sharing those frustrations. But, um, I can’t see a situation right now where I think if the Bruins start off slow or it’s another really tough year, if Posanox’s like, “Yeah, get me out of here. Get me to Florida or something else like that.” I don’t see that being the case for now. We’ll see. And if I’m wrong, Ryan, you can once again, you can dunk on me if that ends up blowing up in my face. Uh, so this was our latest mailbag episode. I again want to thank everyone for sending along these questions. Um, and again for anyone who has not already, please uh subscribe to all of our various channels on the Cennis Media Network, whether it’s the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel, whether it’s Patriots Presass, Celtics All Access, we have coverage every step of the way uh throughout all these respective seasons with daily content, videos, video breakdowns. Um, we have you covered throughout this upcoming season. So, please subscribe to the various CNS media networks. And once again, shout out to our good friends over at Prize Pix. Download today and use code CLNS to get $50 back when you play just five bucks. Prize Pickics run your game. This was episode 352 of Poke the Bear. You fans have a great rest of your week.

In this mailbag episode of Poke The Bear, Conor maps out potential trade chips on Boston’s roster and maps out the worst-case scenario if Boston’s stars ask for a trade this winter. 

0:00 ⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
2:30 Thoughts on abundance of middle six forwards
8:10 How can the Bruins land a top four right-handed defenseman?
15:45 PrizePicks
17:22 What will Bruins 2026 offseason look like?
21:40 Which Bruins could be potential trade deadline sell-offs?
26:23 Subscribe to Bruins Rinkside, Celtics All Access, and Patriots Press Pass!
27:48 Could Pastrnak request a trade by November?
32:34 Thanks for watching!

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