Could Bruins SURPRISE People This Season? | Bruins Beat

Could Bruins SURPRISE People This Season? | Bruins Beat

[Music] Bruins Beat is brought to you by Prize Pix. And welcome into the Bruins Beat presented by Prize Pix. Go use that promo code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. And are presented by Game Time. Go use that promo code. $20 off your first purchase. Game time is back. It’s always game time. And they are back just as sports get really freaking good. And there are a lot of really freaking good games to go to. You can use our friends over at Game Time. You can use our friends at Game Time. CLNS $20 off that first purchase. And of course, we’re presented by CLNS Media. Make sure to go subscribe to Burns Ringside on YouTube. Lots of great stuff. Now it’s it’s getting hot. Captain’s practices this week. Lots of stuff. Podcast. Six podcasts a week between Bruins beat Poke the Bear and Pucks with Hags. Live streams. Analysis, scrums, interviews, all that good stuff. Uh and then if you don’t like looking at us, Connor has a great new haircut, so I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to look at us. I also shaved. I don’t have my Brent Burns beard. Brent Burns beard anymore. Bernsteeen beards. Little tongue twist there. Bears Mandela effect type thing. Uh you can listen to us wherever you get your podcast from. Uh and then obviously there’s lots of other great stuff that CNS does. Celtics all access Patriots press pass that you can go subscribe to on YouTube. I’m Evan Marinowski. It’s Connor Ryan. Connor, what is up? Evan, I’m doing well. Happy to be talking hockey with you again. We actually have some tangible stuff to talk about. It’s a good day. It’s a good week. It was uh it was a pleasure watching the scrums. Usually scrums can be a little boring. Don’t care this time. I’m just happy to have something tangible. You know, I did the mailbag earlier this week and people were getting on me because the headline was like, “Should the Bruins trade David Posternok or whatever it was?” And the irony was it was like a a two-minute long question or whatever. And so I got a kick out of that. Now we got some real stuff to sink our teeth into. Uh, first we had a captain’s practice on Tuesday, captains practice again on Thursday. I was not there. Connor, you were. Um, obviously I imagine it was awesome to be back, but even better, players spoke after, so there were real things to dive into. And we’re going to dive into some of the things here and then some of the things on Poke the Bear, which we’re actually going to record separately. So, we’re going to do both. You don’t want to listen to them back back to back because we sort of dive into both. Um, Nikita Zidorov had some interesting quotes, had some interesting things to say, and I will give Zidorov every credit in the world. He’s very personable. He’s funny. He’s interesting. He’s snappy. He’s everything we want. He gives he gives good stuff. I like uh listening Nikita Nikita Dorov. Um he said an interesting thing. I don’t have the exact quote in front of me, but it was essentially to the tune of um they are reading what we’re writing. They are hearing what we’re saying and they’re using it as motivation and Connor maybe we just need to keep saying it like you know what Connor Bruins are going to suck this year sucks stinks never going to amount to anything maybe if he uses this as motivation it’s going to flip a switch maybe it could actually work so they are hearing it they are listening uh and they’re using it as motivation which isn’t a huge surprise still great interesting to hear him say that but you know what I say good that works hell yeah what’s wrong with that can Can you just picture like all the guys in the room? Everyone’s putting their skates on getting ready getting like the the jitter is before the game and just as Dar sitting down is like did everyone listen to Poke the Bear this week and everyone’s just dead quiet and he’s like I mean why was Evan and Connor talking about canopy like Pog that has nothing to do with the Bruins? Has nothing to do with any of us. What are we doing here? Like I just imagine that’s actually the case. But uh to your point Evan yeah maybe he took his kids to Canoby Lake Park this summer. I mean that that is a that’s probably the best thing that could have come from any of our podcasts without a doubt. Like I mean listen, we’ll have a different conversation if Nikita Zorov tells us he doesn’t like Canopy like pot cuz he’s been listening to the podcast and he disappointed. We got bigger issues than just what plan. Void that contract. Void that Exactly. But uh in terms of you know him talking about uh you know reading what people are saying the fact that the Bruins are viewed as an underdog. He mentioned like they have chips on their shoulders. Yeah. to your point like good. That’s kind of what you want to hear from a team that it’s not to say that I think Nikita Zorov was like making excuses or anything like that of like no we’re a lot better than our wreck show. No, he was like no like we we did not play well. we did not live up to the expectation and the main focus is um you know just getting back into the playoffs and playing up to the standard that both he has set and also I think what the Bruins historically have been which is a team that even if they don’t get over the hump and are winning a Stanley Cup they’re in the mix every single year. That’s kind of what the Bruins are known for across the NHL. So, um, and at this point of the year when you’re still a few weeks from the start of training camp, you’re still looking at, you know, the clean slate and all that stuff. Listen, all these athletes hear a whole bunch of stuff. As much as you hear of like, oh, like these guys don’t care what people say. Yeah, they do. They everyone hears everything. Now that you got social media, I mean, like it’s not it’s not the same thing. But you hear all these stuff about like all these players going on Instagram and getting bombarded with messages. like you can’t escape from social media or what’s being said about you wherever you go, right? That’s just the the climate you’re in, especially as a pro alete. So, if you are a player that is, you know, going into this year already with a lot to prove, already with a lot of motivation, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise they’re taking any sort of opportunity to get more of that motivation and get more of that drive before this year stats because to your point, yeah, I think we’ve said it. I think a lot of people have said, um, I don’t know what to make of this team. I think the the probably the the betting odds, right, are that this is a team that is still probably moving in the right direction, but have a lot of question marks. We don’t know if this is a team that’s going to be playing in the postseason. Hell, there are people who think this team could be in the Gavin McKenna sweep stakes, right? Like there’s so it’s so tough to glean uh what exactly is going to be the expectation for this team, right? Like of course the Bron are going to say they want to be back in the playoffs, but remains to be seen and it falls on the players themselves to prove everyone wrong, right? So, not surprised that Zidorf is getting that kind of motivation and we see kind of what what comes of it. But I do agree with you, Evan, like he is a a gold mine of great quotes uh in terms of I think there’s going to be a lot of great Nikita Zadorov oneliners as the season goes on. Oh, completely 100%. Even when talking about his hole-in-one, it was great. He was like, “You want my credit card number two?” By the way, kind of unfair. I will say this, I’m like Zidorov in that I started golfing postco. Um I I I’ve come within like a few feet of holes and ones on like par three courses. Um but still to get a hole in one like to get an actual holein one within five years, six years of starting to golf, that’s pretty damn good. Like you nonchalant about it. Have you ever had one? No. No. And he was like, “Yeah, like I know it’s kind of a big deal, but like it was it was neat.” Whereas like Evan, let me tell you, I’m not a very good golfer. If I got a hole in one, when you’d ask me every single time, it could be like 20 35. We’re still recording this podcast. We’re on episode 1,487 of Poke the Bea. And you ask me what is up. I’ll be like, Evan, I got a hole in one back in 2030. I’m doing pretty well. How you doing? Like I would keep on talking about it non-stop. So, a little bit of different approach between what happened if I was to get a hole in one and Nikita Zidorov getting one. That was my That was my other biggest thing. I was like, I would do a cartwheel into the water. Like I would do a backflip if I got a hole in one. Like I even just saw before we came on here, Lou Maloney just tweeted that he got his first hole in one and he just went up to the cup, like threw his hands up, everybody’s clapping, he’s hugging people. I would like go insane. Now I guess that’s the difference between us and professional athletes, but uh I was kind of shocked to see Zidorov be so nonchalant and to be like, “All right, you have any like you just going to keep asking me about this?” Like, yeah, I would I’d kill for that if I were him. you want to talk about last season or do you want to talk about getting a hole in one dude? Like priorities. Um he does say the right things, you know, him saying like, you know, hey, we can talk in here all we want. Uh we have to prove it on the ice. And the tough part for him is that’s the next month. The next month is answering those questions, saying those things, saying it’s about what we do on the ice and not really getting a chance to do any of it on the ice because the season doesn’t start for a month. Um I think that’s a difficult thing for him. Um but again, he’s saying the right things and I think it’s the right sentiment to have. I do wonder about him, you know, you know, his own game in year two. I mean, you see it a lot. Um free agents have a tough year one. There’s adjustments coming into last season’s team where you have the Swayman drama, you have the coaching drama at the beginning of the year. Uh you get off like on the complete wrong foot. He’s thrust as be, you know, he’s playing huge minutes without Makavoy, without Lindholm later in the season. Carlos traded. So like look, we got on Zidor off quite a bit at the end of last year. Reality is though, dude was playing heavy minutes and he needs to, you know, he he does need to withstand those. Um, but I get that year one was not exactly set up for him to succeed. I think there is a world in which year two he’s steady. Hampus Lindholm is back. Makavoy’s Makavoy is back. Um, it’ll be interesting to see who they pair him with. I you know Yoki Haru he was with for quite a bit at the end of last season but I don’t think it’s insane to think that Zidorf has a bounceback year. Yeah. And even like I know at the start of the year where I think like the Bruins really just couldn’t get, you know, into some sort of traction, couldn’t get into a groove. And I think he was kind of slow out of the gate. A lot of penalty issues, which is kind of what you expected, but there was a lot early on. I think the fact that Bruins also just had a dreadful year with special teams didn’t make it any easier that a lot of times he go to the penalty box and puck would end up in the back of the net. But I do think kind of as the year went on like I’m not saying this guy was he was like a game changer down the stretch because obviously and something to his point he was like I don’t really care how I play because we still didn’t make the playoffs. So maybe I could have scored 30 goals and it would have changed how we did like you know that was kind of his overall mantra. I thought kind of as the year ended for a guy that was on a team that did not have a lot of talent, did not have a lot of uh, you know, steady top level NHL players alongside him, playing a lot of heavy minutes. I thought he actually played pretty solid for what like his role should be, right? Like I think as a physical player who can move the puck, I think maybe better than some people expect. Um, a guy that can generate some offense. Uh, I thought he was pretty good. Like again, plus minus should not be the barometer, right? But he was what a plus 25 on a team that was like dreadful all year round. I remember I remember seeing that stat in the last like month of the season and being like wait what? And that is that is why plus minus is flawed. I mean, that’s why like again, plus there’s a lot of poke um you can poke a lot of holes in plus minus, but there’s also a side to it where it’s like, well, it’s, you know, yeah, it’s a sad and and again like a guy that uh was with Yoki Haru who at the end of the year for a team that was giving up a whole lot of goals, not scoring a lot, uh the Bruins were still outscoring opponents, I think it was 12 to five at five on five play with over 200 minutes when that pair was out there. So, bit of a unique kind of grouping there. It’s not one you imagine like I think if you’re a Bruins fan of like this is a team a group you build your decor around but it worked last year and so if you’re able to have those two guys together again and they work well and play off each other well and so off his as advertised I think you kind of saw that in that game against the Panthers right where he beats the bag out of Sam Bennett and he’s got the crowd going like as much as you know he’s not a perfect player and again not a lot of players are like flawless I think you can see what a Galaxorf can do on a winning team to kind of help you uh you know be a tough out. And I think maybe it’s going to be another year or two until the Bruins are legitimate contenders or or just a playoff worthy team again. But I think for right now, he’s a good veteran player to have that’s going to have a high standard, going to be vocal, wants to help this team get through this period. But I also think there’s still a lot of value he can bring to this team even in a couple years down the road where he’s still a really key piece on what you hope is going to be an improved decor in the next couple of years. 100%. And I think you need him to be that guy. That’s the thing. You really need him um to be that guy. Before we get into another defenseman who uh spoke on Tuesday, uh this episode is brought to you by prize picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on prize picks, being right can get you paid. Don’t miss any of the excitement this season on prize picks where it’s pretty good to be right. It’s really good to be right. Football is upon us. As we record this, Thursday Night Football is just a few hours away. And again, there are a lot of intriguing players this season. I am bullish on Drake May. I am taking him uh for more passing yards in week one. Um I also like Trey John Henderson a lot. I like him for more rushing yards. Uh, I do think they’re going to have a big offensive week against the Raiders and just overall in those first couple of weeks. Uh, and I think that’s a a good route to go if you want to go outside of New England. If you’re not a Patriots fan, Josh Allen, more passing yards is always a good one to get in on. Uh, so I highly recommend those uh, three. And Prize Pick is simple to play. Just pick more or less on two to six player stat projections. And if you get your picks right, you can cash in. Price with their users first, so all withdrawals are fast, safe, and secure. Price fix offers Venmo, Apple Pay, Mastercard, and more for quick, and easy deposits into your account this sport season. And don’t worry, Price Pix also offers injury reboots. If one of your players leaves the game in the first half and doesn’t return, Prize Pix will not count it as a loss. I This has happened to me. I can I can promise you, I can tell you this is how it works cuz I’ve been like, “Oh no, this person’s hurt. This person is out.” out. I forget exactly who it was, but it did happen to me this summer and I was all good. It went right back into my account and I was ready to go. So, download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup prize picks. It’s good to be right. It’s good to be right. Like Brady used to be in the huddle when he’d like Yes. the sides of his helmet. It’s good to be right. Brady was right quite a bit. Um Charlie Makavoy spoke and on uh Tuesday and he uh talked about how, you know, he’s raring to go, been, you know, rehabbing basically since March. He is fully healthy. Uh lots of things he did this summer that he hadn’t in previous summers. Said it felt like a college summer, which is true. College, you’re off in, you know, at the latest, early April. Most people are, you know, somewhere at the end of February or mid-March. Had a long time to mull things over. Has a kid now and everything. I was actually uh our sisters both graduated St. Anselm on the same day I think. Yeah, because one graduation St. Anselm is tiny. Um so we both went through that. It was a crazy experience, you know. God, my god, graduations, you know, incredible. Um but uh one thing that I kept going back to listening to Makavoy and leadership question obviously came up. We’ll touch on that uh later or we’ll touch on that another time, but is there a big season coming for him? because even at the beginning of last year, he was he was good, but I don’t think he was great in his uh in how good he can be. Um I wonder with all of this rehab and uh you know, just the motivation coming off last season and sort of getting off on the right foot this season, brand new head coach, first time head coach. Is he due for a bounce back? Like are we sitting at the end of the season kind of how we talked about Postock last year where it’s like well he’s not going to win MVP but he has a legit case for it where it’s like maybe the Bruins aren’t great but he has a really good season and we’re like not saying he should win Norris but he deserves some love. I think there’s a I’m not saying that’s going to happen. Wouldn’t shock me though if it did. Yeah, it’s going to be a really interesting year for him in terms of I think just getting his game right when he’s, you know, last year was almost like Charlie Makavoy’s season was a microcosm of the entire year where it just felt like wasn’t getting into a groove and then just all hell broke loose, right? Like no one expected like injuries happen in hockey. I don’t think people expected like the Minnesota Wild to screw up his shoulder with like with how like the everything went downhill for him with, you know, Four Nations and everything like that. Like wasn’t able to get into any sort of rhythm, wasn’t able to help out the team down the stretch there. And it was frustrating for him obviously. This guy that spent multiple days at Mass General because he literally had like an infection in his shoulder. So yeah, uh I think the fact that you know it’s going to be a clean slate this year should help him out. But I also I’m curious to see what like Marco Sturm and the Bruins do in terms of finding out like the best role for him. And this is a guy that’s played a lot of heavy minutes in the NHL has been an elite defenseman in this league before. But I also wonder like you know how do they change his approach? Is he still going to be like the power play one quarterback? Are they trying to put him in a different spot where it’s almost like you start with like four nations and I I don’t know if it’s the right example because that team just had so many talented players on their blue line that Makavoy could kind of be more of that physical like Rover type player, but I almost feel like that is where he’s at his best when he’s just playing like a physical simple game. He’s moving the puck. He’s not tasked with being like the offensive generator. I don’t think it’s ever going to be his game, nor like should we expect like a 60point season incoming or anything like that, right? But I almost feel like as the Bruins are kind of reshuffling their approach, having him be that kind of allpurpose but like Rover physical type defenseman is how you can kind of best get the impact out of his game. But maybe that’s just me saying that’s what I think his best role is. But maybe that’s not feasible with how this team is structured right now. if they’re able to get another stud defenseman in the draft or something, maybe that changes. But I think this year is going to be key for him in terms of just I I think as the Bruins are this year just trying to write the ship and get back on the right track. I almost think like Makavoy is kind of the same approach, that same example where I think for him, get back to playing 70 plus games, get back to playing your game, playing a physical brand that makes you such a unique, impactful player and then just build off of that I think is what his approach needs to be this season. I think the problem with him and with that is he makes the money he makes and the role he has on the team and being the number one defenseman and I think you look at like just internally obviously Charo you know when he was here number one defenseman he was producing offensively um this is an unfair comparison but like Bour and like when you have your stud number one defenseman even in you know today’s NHL look around the league the guys that we match Makavoy with you know obviously and Again, this is also unfair. Mar, Hughes, Fox, um, Heiskinan, Yosi, Hedman, like those guys all produce offense. And I agree with you that I think to this point in his career, we have not seen Makavoy be a driver of offense the way that a lot of those other guys are. But it sort of comes with the territory. And that’s what I do wonder like if there is that side. I don’t know if we’re ever going to I I don’t think we’re ever going to sit here and say he’s a phenomenal power play quarterback. That’s exactly he it’s one of his strengths. But I do wonder and I don’t know if we’re going to see it this year because I don’t know I don’t think the forwards the forward core is good enough to where like he’s rack you know racking up assists and a secondary assists and like they’re just you know he’s one pass breakout and they’re going down you know they’re speeding past defenders on two ones. Like I don’t think this is the year for that. I do wonder when we see it but again I think it goes back to like what I was saying which like they are going to be a defensive-minded team this year. Um he’s a huge part of that. Um, is he so good defensively that we’re like he deserves more love than he’s getting? Like maybe his point total isn’t great, but it’s like, holy crap, look at that one minute sequence of him killing the penalty there, or look at how, you know, he he navigated that breakout or whatever. That’s sort of my thing. Um, and he’s healthy enough that that shouldn’t be far-fetched. Um, that that that shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. And you have a coach like Sturm who’s very defensive-minded. Um I I do wonder if like you know we see a we see a bounce out of him this year. That’s what I keep going back to. Yeah. And I think just what makes him such a unique player. That’s why like you see I think his value raised and where the team USA missed him in Four Nations, right? Is that like there’s few players that can be as mobile as he can be can play those minutes can contribute on offense like Yeah. You’re right. He’s not a Macau or a Quinn Hughes but is like a guy that when healthy can be a 45. Yeah. Exactly. But like can be like a 45 55 point guy which if you can play those minutes contribute that way offensively and also hit like a freight train which is not what a lot of other defenseman with that skill set can do that’s where he becomes such an impactful player. So, I think for this year where I don’t know how feasible or realistic it’s going to be for him being this offensive juggernaut from the blue line, but if it ends up he ends the year and he’s got most importantly 75 plus games played, over 22 minutes of ice time, 40ish points, and he’s playing a really sound defensive game. That’s sort of feels like a building block franchise type defenseman that you have in your in your group. And I think for him, even if the Bruins maybe don’t make the playoffs or they’re they come up just short there, getting his game back in order and playing the way that makes him such a unique player is what the Bruins should have as their priority for that individual player going into this year. It’s a very positive episode. Like it’s we’ve had a lot of negativity over the last year. Uh the Hagen stuff was very positive, but even this summer, you know, people uh someone asked me in the mailbag earlier this week, you know, uh 90 points over or under, and I was like under. It’s like sad, you know? It’s like can’t do that every episode. We’re going to get to another really positive topic here in a second, but you know, this is it’s funny, Connor, like Makavoy is back right now, right? Makavoy is back. You know who else is back? Who? Game time is back. Let’s go. Game time is back, baby. And they couldn’t have come back at a better time. College football season is back as well and it’s one of the most fun times of the year. Tailgates, hyped up crowds, and incredible finishes. The downside though can often be the process of getting tickets, cues, annoying login screens, and prices jumping at checkout. The Game Time app, though, gives the advantage back to fans. It’s the hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. It’s incredibly easy to use and the game time guarantee means you can trust you’ll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price. Plus, fees are always included. So, what you see is what you pay. Also, it’s the start of the NFL season and you can go to the Patriots opening game against the Raiders on Sunday. As of right now, Thursday, there’s a deal for $148 tickets. And if you want, game time will pick the best possible deal for you with game time picks as they decide which seats are the best value. Following weekend, Red Sox host the Yankees in what will be a pretty huge series and you can get in Friday’s game for as low as $164 and that’s a week out. Game time also has deals in the leadup to the actual game time. So, Friday comes around, Friday afternoon, you’re like, you know what, it’s really nice outside. I want to go to the game. Game time is your place. Take the guesswork out of buying college football or any sport tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code CLNS for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download that Game Time app today. Very happy Game Time is back. It’s this time of year when you make those impromptu decisions or if you have kids and they’re like, “Daddy, can can we go to the Red Sox tonight, game time is the place for it.” Of course not. You got to go. You’ve got to go. Once the kids ask, there’s no um there’s no going back. So, uh very very very happy that uh Game Time is back in the fold. Uh and it leads me to this, Connor, in terms of being positive in this episode. As I was uh listening to the uh uh player scrums from the last from last week, I keep thinking like, is there a chance they’re good? Like, and and I know that sounds really disingenuous. We’re back, baby. We’re back. Like, they it and I’m not I’m not just Nikita Zorov is listening to this is like, good point, Evan. Good point. I I I I don’t want to buy too much into what they’re saying because of course they’re going to be motivated. No team is going to read them be themselves being ranked 21st in the league and be like, “Yeah, they’re right. We suck.” Like that’s no no professional athlete is going to think that. But I think when you look at like no as of now, no drama like they had last season. You have the new coach, you get the new coach bounce. Swayman has a full camp. Makavoy is fully healthy. Like are we being too negative about them? Are we underelling them? I don’t think we are. I think on paper I think on paper we are calling it like it is. But I don’t think it’s insane that they could exceed expectations and compete for a playoff spot all year. Like I I don’t think that they will. I don’t think that they will. I want to say that. But if they did, I wouldn’t be stunned. Like I saw the other day I think it was Chicklets debated like are the Bruins closer to being a playoff team or being closer to uh getting Gavin McKenna? And I think it was like Ryan Whitney and Mike Grenell were like, “Oh, McKenna, they suck.” And then I think Yandel was like, “Oh, playoff team.” I don’t know. I like it wouldn’t stun me if they were competing and made the playoffs. Again, I can’t say it enough. I don’t think they will, but they do have some things going in their favor. Yeah. It’s when you look at like where the Bruins were and like the entire year was very frustrating, right? They couldn’t get any sort of momentum on their side. They couldn’t win more than two games in a row it felt like. But before like they traded guys to the deadline and like blew everything up and then just it all went to went to hell, right? They immediately plumbed down the standings. I believe they were like two points out of a wild card spot when they finally like put the white flag up. Like they were pretty bad for most of the year and they were still a three or four game win streak away from being in the playoff picture. Like it shows you how hard it is to actually be a completely dreadful team. And this is a group that like again they’re kind of almost like how I view the Patriots this season where I think the consensus is like they’re going to be in the they’re going to move in the right direction. They’re going to get their their in order. They’re going to be a respectable product and they’re going to kind of like how we’ve said before with the Bruins. You end the year being like, “Oh, like I I can’t wait for the next season.” And I think like the Bruins, I think that’s kind of what our mantra has been of like where we’ve said probably aren’t going to make the playoffs, but they could be playing meaningful hockey in March, right? They could be a team that, you know, is right outside the playoff picture, which is frustrating, but a lot better than what they were last year. And yeah, like there’s very evident flaws for this team and there’s a lot of question marks. We’ve talked about what the lineup is like outside of the the Pastanok Lindome Geeky line. We’ve talked about where the secondary scoring is going to come from. We talked about the depth issues. We’ve talked about Jeremy Spamman and what to expect from him. But if you want to flip that that argument, right? Like you have Jeremy Spamman who has been a really good goalie all except for this one year where he wasn’t there for training camp. He had the contract dispute. The team in front of him was also terrible. All went wrong. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to expect him to bounce back and be one of the better young goalies in the league. Once again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to expect a defense that has Charlie Makville and Hus Lindholm back is going to be better. And yeah, like I think the questions over the scoring depth and all that stuff is very valid. But also is a group that has David Posnock and some of these other players also going to be what are they 27th, 28th in power play again? Like what if the Bruin what if Swayman and the defense is just a little bit better with their guys being back and the Bruins are 18th in the power play percentage. Yeah, they could be in they could be in the mix, right? Like that’s not I’m not saying that all a sudden Geek’s got a 40 goal season and Tanner Jano is going to have 22 goals and beat the crap out of everyone and you know Matt Bluml’s got a 27 goal season in coming and all this stuff’s going to work out. know, but I think when you look at like the rational take of guys that are coming back who have an established track record and what I think are reasonable expectations, it makes what was a very bad team into a team that could be in the mix. And maybe that’s the best way to put it. And I know Bruins fans want maybe more of a declarative stance as where we think they’re going to be. But if you’re if that happens for this team, then yeah, I think they’re going to be moving in the right direction and they’re going to be taking steps forward. And that’s kind of what has been our stance. So I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility at all to say this team could be in the mix and maybe we are underrating them because I don’t think it takes maybe this this going to bite me in the ass, but it doesn’t take much to see what this team could do to get back to being a respectable product that is playing meaningful hockey in March and April completely. doesn’t mean they’re gonna be in the playoffs, but like but it means like they can be a hard out again, which I I when you look at what Sweeney mentioned at the, you know, during Fregency of them being a hard out, I think people immediately heard that like he thinks they’re going to be like a playoff team, like this really physical group. I’m like, no, I think he just wants them to be more competitive, not get like their doors blown off every single game like you saw last season. And I think you see what they’ve what they’ve added, what they’re expected to get back, and how they want to play. I think there’s a formula and a blueprint for them to at least adhere more to I think what their approach was last year which is winning those 2-1 type of games. Like I I think they’re at least moving in the right direction. I agree and that’s why like you know we have them down. We certainly have and rightfully so. But there is that part where it’s like everything went wrong last year. What if everything goes right? What if everything goes right this year? Or what if half of the things go right? That’s what I think. What if half of it what what if just Swayman and Lindholm and Makavoy are all playing to their level that we’ve seen them do years before, years and years. You’re competing. You’re competing for a playoff spot. And the other thing you have to consider is as good as the Atlantic division is on paper, you know, some of those teams are going to not be great. And you know that a lot of those teams are young and are prone to be inconsistent. JR’s model had Montreal like last, which I again I don’t know. I I think he said it didn’t um incorporate Demid off because Demid off came in like as a rookie at the end of the season so there wasn’t much to go off of. But still like these are young teams with holes in them that are inexperienced. Makavoy, Postronox, Swayman pretty experienced. So there is there like I you’re right. We’re not taking a definitive stance which is annoying to people. But our point is we’re we are showing you both sides. We’re showing we’re saying hey look we focused a lot on the the the bad side what could you know the worst case scenarios what if that doesn’t happen because I do think like you know statistically speaking water finds its level and water should find its level with guys with like like a couple of Makavoy Has Lynhomem Elias Lindholm Jeremy Swayman Morgan Geeki uh you can go Nikita Zorov like Mason Lai all these guys Marco Sturman’s head coach And so I think that’s why there is that part of me that’s like what if they are good? What if they like they what if all the motivation does work? We should just have our podcast be like they suck all year. Like they’re terrible. Yeah, they won 10 in a row. They stink. Nikita Zor off. Oh my god, dude. Learn how to shoot a puck. You stink, brother. Like we just got to keep doing that all season. And if that works, that works. Um, fun reminder also make sure to go subscribe to Bruins Ringside on YouTube. Hit the notifications button. We have stuff coming throughout the season. And as you all witnessed throughout the off season and after the draft and free agency, things get kind of thin. Content didn’t stop. We kept churning. Obviously, if you don’t like watching us, if you’re like, man, Evan and Connor Hags, they’re not I don’t like looking at them, which I don’t know why you could say that. Hags was on TV for years. He’s a beautiful man. And Connor, I think you and I like to think we look pretty good. But if people don’t, the RZ face. Yeah. You know what? You doing it is is one thing, you know. Yeah. Yeah. But But uh make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast from. Uh and then obviously there’s a lot of other great content at CNS. Uh Connor, what can the people look forward to from you doing the RZ face over at the globe and Boston.com? Yeah. Well, hopefully I’m not doing that over at the globe.com, but just doing the whole like 50 questions like what’s Matt Potra going to do? I’m just doing this. There’s nothing like no actual substance. No. When you go on boston.com and the Boston Globe, you are going to get great content as we cover the Bruins every step of the way this season. Starting with training camp, looking at lineups, roster battles, all that good stuff, and carrying on all the way into March, April, maybe. The Bruins do exceed expectations. We will see you on that. But yes, you can read all my stuff over on those two sites. And if you want to follow me on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, you can conory_93. Go do all that. That’s Conor Ryan. I’m Evan Marinowski. You Bruins beat listeners have a great rest of your week.

On this episode of Bruins Beat, Evan Marinofsky and Conor Ryan break down Nikita Zadorov and Charlie McAvoy’s comments from this week and what to expect from them. Plus…could the Bruins be good? 

⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
0:00 Intro
1:57 Zadorov’s comments
12:33 PrizePicks
14:25 McAvoy’s comments
22:25 Gametime
24:27 Could the Bruins exceed expectations this season?
32:30 Subscribe to Bruins Rinkside!

💰 Prize Picks – https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!

🎫 Gametime – https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!

———————————————————————————————————————————
Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins’ credentialed insiders Mike “Trags” Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe “Haggs” Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.

For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1