Should Bruins TRADE Korpisalo | Pucks with Haggs

Should Bruins TRADE Korpisalo | Pucks with Haggs

Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast, a proud member of the CLNS media network. Make sure to hit subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel and turn on notifications for when a new video drops on the channel. The show is also brought to you by Prize Pix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code CLNS and get $50 instantly when you play five bucks. That’s code CLNS on Prize Pick to get $50 instantly when you play five bucks. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. All right. Uh, welcome in everybody. Thanks for listening to the 219th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. I, as always, I’m your host, Joe Hagerty. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com. Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership. Get all of my Bruins and NHL writing sent straight directly to your inbox. I also write columns weekly for the Boston Sports Journal and I do a weekly Q&A with the subscribers there. So, subscribe to the Boston Sports Journal at bostonportsjournal.com. Some great stuff there on all the four major pro sports in Boston, including guys like Greg Beddard, Mike Gardy, and a lot of talented others as well. So, definitely check that out. Um, this week we’ll be doing a mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, a Labor Day weekend edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast where I will be answering some of your questions. Um, and we will get right into that. But just wanted to say as hockey gets started, as school gets started, uh thanks for hanging with me over the summer, which uh has been not uh as active uh since July one for the Boston Bruins and uh you know, development camp and and kind of they know what they’ve got. They have their roster. They’re going to look at it in training camp, but it’s been a little slow uh to start this year with a lot of anticipation uh for what we’re going to see when training camp starts. The good news is that uh Boston Bruins captain’s practices will be starting next week. That’s right. There will be a couple of captain’s practices. There will be availability with players. The Bruins players have filtered into Boston. The wheels are starting to go now. There will be captain’s practices next week. The week after that, there will probably be uh the golf tournament and then the rookie training camp uh gets going and the prospects challenge out in Buffalo. And then NHL camp is going to be here before you know it in a couple of weeks. So things are really going to start getting going um at this point now that we’re at the end of August. Uh the the dog days of summer in the offseason are gone. Everybody’s back from their cottages and things are happening now uh in the hockey world and we will be here for it. Um this week not a ton uh Bruins news-wise. They’ve released their nationally uh the national television schedule which I believe had uh 15 games or so, something like that. Uh maybe it was closer to 20, but it was somewhere in the the 10 to 15 to 20 range. Uh the first one will be there uh opening night on the road against the Washington Capitals. Uh I believe that was Wednesday, September 8th, I think. Uh or October 8th, excuse me. Um and there’ll be a bunch of other dates. Uh the Black Friday game against the Rangers on Friday afternoon at the Garden, the day after Thanksgiving will be one of them. uh the stadium series on February 1st against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Braymond James Stadium down in Tampa where the Buccaneers play. That will be one as well. Um so, but there’ll be a bunch of games. The Bruins will be on TV quite a bit. Uh that will give you a chance to complain if uh it’s on ESPN and you have to go to ESPN.com or ESPN Plus to actually watch the game. I’m sure there will be some of those this year. Uh and that trend is not going anywhere. I can tell you right now. We can complain all we want about paying for Nessen, paying for all these other things, and then having to pay these streaming services, but that’s that’s the way it’s going. It’s not going in the other direction. So, if you want to watch the Bruins every single day, you got to have all these different uh streaming services and channels. And you know, I I for one I have them all now because uh I did the right thing for me and I cut the cord and uh that’s something that uh I was hesitant to do. I mean I worked for Comcast for a long time uh when it was part of NBC and Comcast Sportset and all that. Um, so I did not want to do it or I held out on doing it and I wish I had done it a couple years before now that I’ve done it and I just pay for streaming and and have uh I think it’s Fubo and some other stuff. Um, and basically can watch anything that I want. Um, and haven’t missed I think a single thing that I had on cable. So um, yeah, that’s my little aside for right now. But anyway, um, we are going to that’s about it though. the national television schedule. From that, we’re going to jump into the mailbag and answer some questions. Uh, as we know, uh, the Bruins are going to get going soon, so the this stuff is going to start getting real, uh, really quickly. All right. Um, the first uh couple of things I’m going to read are uh reactions to something I wrote uh this past week on Boston Sports Journal where the Bruins got uh the 20th ranking in the NHL pipelines by the Athletic. uh a couple of years in a row they had been dead last 32nd in the NHL in terms of the talent pipeline, the draft and development talent pipeline. Uh and the way they were doing things with their young players uh and that had drawn a lot of heat uh around Boston from people saying that they were terrible at drafting and developing and they hadn’t produced any players and even the national hockey people think so and the draft nicks and the prospect gurus and all these other people uh the Corey Pronman’s of the world. Well, apparently the Bruins aren’t um as bad anymore as they were, and they’ve improved, and those national prognosticators and uh pontificators have noticed, and now they are the 20th ranked team in the NHL out of 32, which isn’t still isn’t fantastic. It still isn’t something to beat your chest about. Uh but it’s better. Uh and it shows marked improvement. And this is what they said in the overview. Uh recently, Boston was backtoback at the 32nd spot in the pipeline rankings. a couple of years later with some non-late first round picks developing well and especially after drafting James Hagens, the system is now respectable. Outside of Hagens though, there isn’t much in the system that has upper half of the lineup potential. Um, and certainly they were helped by trading for Will Zeers and Fraser Minton at the deadline. uh bringing in some prospects uh as well as the draft picks and then the great draft that they had this past June with Hagens at the top but another a number of strong picks that have really bolstered um their prospect cupboard and the amount of talent that they have which was apparent and we talked about this earlier this week. It was apparent at development camp that they had taken a step up talent-wise. They’d brought in a bunch of really good young players. uh the development camp was much more youthful and much more skilled and much better skating than it had been in the past and that was apparent uh just I was only there for a day and I noticed it and the other people that were there all week noticed it very quickly and and consistently um and that’s what happens like it’s marketkedly different when you see that kind of talent level um filtering in and it’s just a different class and level of player that that’s coming in rather than a lot of undrafted free agent types that you’re looking at to potentially sign a contract. So, you have guys you drafted and you drafted high in the draft class that are coming in with uh skills that some other people don’t have and a lot of other players don’t have. And James Hagens was one of those guys. I think Will Moore definitely was impressive to a level. Um, and there were others. Uh, the kid they drafted from Minnesota that was the uh Cooper Simpson, I think his name was the scoring uh champ in Minnesota in high school hockey. Um, another one that I thought was really good, even their defenseman that they drafted were excellent as well. So, uh, just a really strong crop of talent that came in and and noticeable, um, to the people that pay attention to these things. So the first uh question or reaction uh is from Spongerer on Twitter who says after I wrote uh complimentary things about the Bruins pipeline rankings and them improving. He wrote if Sweeney and Neilie kidnapped you and forced you to write this send the code word I’ll I’ll send help. I had to include that because that’s funny. All right. Yeah. I appreciate that uh that you’re concerned for my safety. Um, but like the point I was making is not that they’ve completely turned around the pipeline and that it’s like one of the best in the NHL or that everything is rosy. That’s not what I wrote or and it doesn’t whitewash what happened in the past either. Um, the point of it is that there’s improvement and that there’s a trend that they’re getting better and uh they’re going in the right direction. And I think it’s notable when uh national media types and the puck uh guru I mean the prospect guru types that that notice this stuff take note of it and um you know change their sort of narrative for that team. I think that’s worth noting and that’s worth writing about and talking about and I think that’s what’s happening here is it’s not completely changed and you’re not going to see all of the sudden this wave of young guys come in this this coming season and change things. But I think you’re gonna see a the fruits of a very strong draft start to uh bear out over the next couple of years, two, three years. And I think it it shows a trend towards them continuing to stock up what they have and build towards that and use that as a priority. And I think these are all good things and these are things to be heartened by and to be encouraged by instead of having it all doom and gloom all the time. Um, but I uh let’s What should I use as a uh a code word? Uh, how about uh the code word will be Applejacks since I’m uh up in Maine and I’m looking at a box of Apple Jacks that my kids were eating for cereal this morning. So, the code word if I am in trouble and I am kidnapped and I need help will be Applejacks. Uh, okay. Sponge. So, if you ever hear me say that from this point forward on the podcast, you know that I’m in trouble and I I need your help. All right. Uh let’s move on to the next one. Uh this is from Mike DS4. Uh it’s okay to hope that it ends being ends up being a strong draft class given where they were picking. Even so, that’s one class named that no one will truly know about until three to five years from now. In my experience, there is no benefit to putting any stock good or bad in a draft from two months ago. Now, Mike DS, I I think that’s fair that uh the grades that are immediately given out after drafts are overblown and uh their importance is pretty much nil because to your point, it takes years for you to figure out who can play, who can’t, who’s going to develop into an NHLer, you know, all of that stuff. It takes years to get to that point. Um, but the one thing I will say is that it’s somewhat okay um to look into these players now and to put a little importance into the draft class now because of James Hagens and because he’s probably going to be playing for the Bruins at the end of this year when he’s done with his season at Boston College. So, there will be impact, tangible impact next season from one of the guys in that draft class. Um, and the expectation is that that’s going to happen. So, I think there is um credence to to calling that impactful draft collapse sooner rather than later. And other guys, Will Moore, the defenseman they drafted, uh, you know, the high school kid from Minnesota that I mentioned, a lot of those other play. Yeah, it’s going to take a while for those guys to develop and become impact players and see their first NHL games. And it’s going to take, to your point, two to three years probably for from when you’ll see a lot of those players. But the fact that they drafted a guy like Hagens who is a impact an impact guy and could be very quickly an impact guy um that changes I think a little bit of the perspective on the draft and how you’re going to look at it. Uh and it allows you to be a little more excited about a really good draft class, a significant draft class from this past year. If they end up getting four NHL players out of this draft class, uh which could be possible, that’s a huge uh hall and that is a great job by them if it ends up happening. And you know, I think you and if it’s headlined by a star, potential star player and a guy like Hagens, then it’s all the better. Like it’s noteworthy. You have to acknowledge that and look at it and say, “Okay, you know, they’re on to something here.” Um I I you know, you don’t want to go get put the cart ahead of the horse, but like they also like, you know, they’ve had a couple of okay draft classes. They’ve have got some players uh that have filtered through you know potra Lorai guys like that uh that are you know beating down the door at the NHL level and you have to acknowledge that as well that I I feel like the last two to three years they’ve started getting better and there’s been an upward trend uh where they’ve made changes obviously and they’ve you know not done the same thing over and over again and it’s starting to bear fruit uh to a degree it’s it’s on a lesser level and to the point um in the summation of of the Bruins pipeline. I don’t know how many of these players have real star potential or top of the lineup potential, but you know, a guy like Hagens does, and at least they have one uh where they had none before. And they have some other players that are probably going to be able to, you know, fill in as bottom pairing power play defenseman, as third line centers, as guys like that that you need those kind of good players, quality players if you’re going to win. um even if they’re not, you know, 30 goal scorers and guys are going to be number one centers or number one defense. So, we’ll see where it goes. But like I just think um there’s legit criticisms of the Bruins certainly and and Cam Neely mentioned this when he kind of went off on a tangent about it uh back on at the end of the season when they were you know the management group was having their press conference. the 2015 draft is always going to put a little bit of a stigma and a little bit of a narrative that the Bruins are lousy at drafting and development because that first round was not good. Um, and they clearly didn’t handle it the right way and it kind of botched it to be honest with you. Um, and it it hurt them. Like I I continue to think that part of the reason they didn’t win the cup in 2019 is because that draft and not getting one of the impact players they could have had in that draft. and that means they have to start a guy like Carson Kman in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals instead of like Kyle Connor or somebody like that. Um, so like there’s legit things you can point at and say like there’s reasons why, you know, and there’s damage done by them not getting the right players in the draft. um in that particular instance and there was a a period a very period of of two to three years where like they missed on first round picks they missed on mid-round players it was you know the the um Euro Vakan’s uh that kind of that era it was a two three-year run where there were drafts and players like that that just like don’t look like NHL players didn’t look like first round picks at the time not sure what was going on there um but uh they struggled And I think they’re out of that and they have been out of that for a few years. And you got to give them credit for that. You know, you can’t keep beating the dead horse of what they did years ago. Uh even when they’re doing things differently and they’re starting to get a positive result uh out of it, you need to acknowledge that and I think that’s what I did. Um and like I said, this particular draft class I think you can treat a little differently because I think there’s going to be an impact player potentially. you know, maybe if the Bruins are uh knock on the door for the playoffs, he potentially might be there for them um at the end of the season uh to help out. And I think that’s that’s very significant. All right, uh let’s take a break here in the uh questions and answers to talk about our friends at Prize Pix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. The easiest, most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Join over 10 million users and get started today. Instead of battling thousands of other players that could be pros or sharks, you simply pick more or less they on two six players st projections and you watch the winnings roll right in. It’s fun and it’s super simple. On prize picks, you can mix and match player projections from different sports. Combine your favorite hockey players and players from baseball, basketball, football, esports, and so much more. You can now win up to 2,000 times your money on prize picks. They also offer Venmo, Mastercard, and Apple Pay for quick and easy deposits into your account this sports season. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code CLNS and get $50 instantly when you play five bucks. That’s code CLNS on Prize Picks to get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. And for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. For those watching the show on CLNS and enjoying all this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. There’s also the CLNS Media Network and Celtics All Access on CLNS, the NBA History Channel, Patriots Press Pass, and the Bruins Ringside YouTube channels as well. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant the exact instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. All right, let’s get back into it. And uh this is a good one. Any chance, which we’ve heard a couple similar to this, but I thought it was worth revisiting. Uh any chance of moving Corposalo? Love to see if we have something in DPro before we lose him. I know his salary is a problem, but if we don’t ask for much back, there’s no sense in having him in a rebuild. Oilers, question mark. And that’s from JF Stanley on our That was from our um weekly Q&A chat at Boston Sports Journal. JF Stanley, um I don’t think there’s any chance of moving Corposalo. You talk about um the salary being a problem. Yeah, the salary is definitely a problem. No question. Um the bigger problem is he didn’t have a great year. Like he had an okay start and then he went in the dumpster along with the rest of the Bruins in the second half. And the problem becomes the Junior Corposalo be based on his performance the last two years doesn’t look like an upgrade over what the Oilers have right now and doesn’t look like somebody that is worth going out and trying to get when he’s not an improvement over what they have in the house. And that’s the problem. The problem is he becomes impossible to trade because you put the performance next to the salary and that makes him untradeable unless the Bruins are, you know, one willing to give up like a first round pick along with him to get some other team to take him. Um because he’s got multiple years left at a pretty good cap hit. Um so I think that’s the practical reason. that’s the the bottom line reason why he’s not going to get traded and he’s not going to get moved is he didn’t play well enough last year that a team like the Oilers is going to you know reach out and try to get him. I think the other part of it too is I don’t want to trade Junis Corposalo because I think Jeremy Swayman needs that kind of veteran guy next to him to push him. I think he needs a partner that is is gonna he’s gonna feel a little bit of pressure. Um that if he plays well enough, he might take some playing time from him. And I think that is uh no reflection on Jeremy Swayman. I think that’s the kind of situation that every goalie does better in a kind of competitive situation. I think it’s where all goalies thrive. Um and I think uh you know this situation is no different. Like just look at where his best seasons have been and when he’s played well. He had another guy next to him that had won a a Vzna trophy before, you know, whether it was Tukar Rasque or whether it was Lena Smar, he had legit very good goalies next to him. Junis Corposalo has been a very good goalie at the NHL level. Um, so he’s capable of doing that as well, especially if the Bruins, let’s say Corposalo plays really well in a game in the first few months of the season, right? And then it’s expected the next start is going to be Jeremy Swayman’s. But then they give it to Corposalo because maybe he threw a shut out and played great. Um then I think Swayman starts to feel the tug of competition there. Uh if he gets a start potentially taken away from him. That’s something the Bruins didn’t do in the first half of last year when Corposal was playing well and it it probably played into him not playing well in the second half. But I think that was a misstep and that’s something that they should have done was leaned into Corposalo a little bit if he was playing really well. And I know they were trying to get Swayman going and get him playing time and and all that after the hold out. And there was a lot of other things that were going on um with that team last year. Hence why they were terrible uh at in the bottom line uh of things. But I think one lesson learned by the Bruins last season was they probably should have played Corposalo a little bit more. That Swayman is probably better with a veteran guy next to him that can push him a little bit and that year two of Corposalo Swayman should be way better than year one was. Uh and if that happens after this year, maybe then you can look to trade Corposalo. I I I don’t I don’t think he’s a tradable commodity until he plays well enough that another team is going to want him. And he didn’t play that well last year. well enough for a team to step up and say, “I’m gonna take that guy.” Especially coming off a horrendous year that he had the year before in Ottawa. You know, it’s it’s going to be uh a process uh to build up maybe to trade him uh to build up his profile again and build up his his potential value and then you can move him. The other part of this too with DPro, and I understand he had a really good year in the HL. He was the HL goalie of the year and he was excellent in Providence. He was really good in the playoffs. I saw him play a few games in the playoffs, the AHL playoffs, called the Cup playoffs, and he was good. Um, but the other part of it is that um you can’t put too much importance in DPRO and trying to hold on to him. Uh just think about where we were with Brandon Busy a couple of years ago, right? Uh, everybody was worried about losing Brandon Busy and he’s so valuable and we can’t lose him in waiverss and you know this is so important and you know everything else and look what happened to Brandon Busy. Ends up washing out of the organization. Mike DPro basically fills in and replaces him and becomes the new IT goalie in the Providence that could be the goalie of the future for the Bruins. And we’re talking about a guy in DPro that’s been in a couple NHL organizations now. And and sometimes goalies hit their stride in the mid to late 20s. They can be a late developing position. There’s no question about it. So, I think that is part of it and that could be what’s happening with the DPRO right now. But you also, I think, have goalies that have great years and then don’t have great years and that’s part of the reason they’re in the AHL. And I I don’t think we can make trades and maneuver things around and, you know, do all this stuff to try to protect DPRO from being taken on waiverss. Like, I just don’t think we should do you should do that as as the Boston Bruins. I don’t think, you know, you’re going to risk your depth at the NHL level in a potentially good situation that’s not going to be 1A 1B, but it’s going to be able to push Swayman. I don’t think you do that to try to protect a guy that is unproven at the NHL level. Uh, completely unproven. Uh, I think that’s a mistake and that would be a big- time mistake with an asset. And I don’t think that’s something the Bruins are going to do. So, I I I think there’s a lot of reasons why um you’re not going to see Corpusalo traded and you’re not going to see DPRO be Swayman’s backup and those are just a couple of them. Um so, I hope that helps. All right. Uh this is from Mark Daniels. Uh this is also from the Boston Sports Journal. Greetings, Joe. It seems the 131 defensive scheme has fallen out of favor in the NHL. That’s basically the neutral zone trap. Why? The Tampa Bay Lightning in the early to mid 2010s were pretty effective with it under coach Guy Bush Gibbuche. If not all four lines, is there a line on the Bruins in your opinion that would employ this approach? Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, Joe. That’s from Mark Daniel. Thanks, Mark. I always appreciate the questions from you, my friend. Um, I think the easy answer why we don’t see more of the strict trap is because, uh, players don’t want to play it. It’s not a fun system for players to play. It can be very effective. Um, it can frustrate other teams. It can like lull them to sweep. It can bore them into making mistakes. Like there’s it’s effective, especially if your talent level is not up to snuff. It can be a really effective way to play, but players don’t enjoy it. It’s not a fun system to play. I think you get a lot of complaints about that from the players. You get a lot of not buying into what’s going on and and that can be a danger for coaches. I think it’s hard for coaches to preach that to players and to get them to play that way, especially in an NHL that’s increasingly built on speed and skill and goal scoring and, you know, making things happen. And the v invogue team right now is the Florida Panthers who do not trap and just like for check the living crap out of you and really just like suffocate you with the forche and and beat you into submission with the forche and soften you up that way. And that’s the classic like way to win hockey games. And I think they do a really good job with that. And uh I I think that’s something that a lot of NHL teams want to use as a model and that’s how NHL players want to play for the most part. Uh so I think that’s why it has fallen out of favor and that’s why it’s a tough sell. It’s also really boring for the fans that are paying a lot of money to watch. And I know at the end of the day they want a winning team, but like it’s hard to sell a team that’s just going to trap and try to win like lowscoring games or you know counter strike on mistakes that you’re going to make and that’s their offense. Um is there a line on the team that would employ that? Like I it’s interesting. I you naturally you would say the fourth line would be a line that might you might want to play that way but I I think if it’s a fourth line of like Sean Carelli, Mark Castellic and Mikey Isimont, you you’re going to want them to forche. You’re not going to want them to sit back and trap. Um, you know, maybe if it’s a third line of Fraser Minton and, uh, Jano and, uh, you know, anybody on the other side, whoever it’s going to be, um, regardless of who it’s going to be, maybe that’s a line you could trap with, uh, part of the time. Like, I I I don’t know. I don’t know if Marco Storm is going to trap um and like put teams in the sleeper hole to start, especially if the talent level isn’t up to snuff. I don’t know what he’s going to do. Um he may try to do some of that and it may be a modified trap. Might not be a 131, but it might be a modified neutral zone look. Um it’s kind of like what the Kings did uh that he’s going to employ in the beginning. And I think a lot of it depends on how the team looks in camp and and how they feel like they’re they’re going to do going into the season. Um, you know, we’ll see. But I think I I would think it’s not going to be one line playing that system if they’re going to play that way. I think they would buy in as a team and play that way. Um, and you know, try to win game win lowscoring games if that’s what they’re going to do. I just I I have a hard time seeing posture neck um really locking down in a neutral zone trap. And you know, some of the Bruins players, I’m not sure if that’s going to be long term something that would be sustainable if they want to play that way. Uh maybe, maybe not. You know, maybe they trap five on five and then they draw penalties and they do their damage on the power play and maybe that’s part of the plan. Uh we’ll see when when things get going. It’s hard to tell right now when we haven’t watched them skate. We haven’t even looked at line combos or, you know, defenseman pairings or anything. And I think we’ll start to see that stuff over the next couple of days, for the next couple weeks, I should say. Uh, and things will be a little clearer at that point. All right. Uh, DJL Sports, can you suggest three storylines worth following this season? Feeling despair about this team? I don’t mind a bad team, and I admit this team isn’t that bad, but I want a team that is developing something for the future. Not seeing much of that, but maybe missing something. I do think they’re developing for the future. I think this is a year where there’s going to be a bridge element to the season. That’s why they’ve brought in some of the gritty sort of like physical players, high effort players that they’ve brought in. Guys that are going to hold places until um other players are ready to step in. Victor Arbertson’s in the last year of his deal. I’m not sure he’s a long-term guy that’s going to be here. Um, you know, so I think there’s some pieces that they brought in that might not be here for for a long time. Obviously, Jano got signed to a 5-year deal, but I think they envision him protecting Hagens and these other young guys as they come up. And I think that’s something you absolutely have to have and you really need on your team. Um, so three storylines worth following. I think the number one and most important one is the rebound of Jeremy Swayman, the bounceback season, which everybody’s anticipating. Um, if he can bounce back, I think the Bruins are in good shape. You know, bottom line, if the defense stays healthy, if Makavoy and Lynholm stay in one piece, and if Swayman bounces back to be what he’s been in the past, I think the Bruins are going to be much better than people think they’re going to be. I think they’re definitely going to be playing meaningful games in March and April, and they’re going to push for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. I firmly believe that um if those particular things happen because I they still have David Postnak. They still have some talent that I think can, you know, make for a pretty good power play with Steve spot uh drawing it up. And I I think, you know, you’re gonna have probably one or two players that are going to pop and and surprise a little bit and uh help more than you think. And I I think that would uh turn into an encouraging season, not filled with despair, but filled with encouragement about this season and what’s going to happen beyond that when they start adding some of these young pieces to what they’ve already started to build. So, uh but it all starts with Swayman. He has to be excellent. he has to benefit from uh being in a full camp, having you know everything um going right from a confidence standpoint and a preparation standpoint and him just going into the season and playing the way that his talent dictates that he should. As long as he does that, I think he’s going to be fine. Um number two is the power play. Um I think Steve Spot is a very good coach. I think he’s a good power play coach. I think he’s going to the players are going to listen. he’s going to have a mandate to come in and improve things and make changes and do whatever he needs to do. And I think the players are going to have to go along with that. And that could mean um using Posnik as a decoy a little bit um more than in the past. Uh and that could include having Lori on point at the number one power play um instead of a guy like Charlie Makavoy. I think there could be changes like that in things where they’re thinking outside the box um in order to uh get improvement and things that weren’t work working before. And I I think that’s something to be encouraged about. Like it was there was it was an ultimate bummer last year when they went on special teams and they just got worked by the other teams both the penalty kill and the power play. It’s impossible to win in the NHL if your special teams are terrible and they were dreadful on both ends. So, I think the power play and that really coming back online and being very good is something to also feel excited about and feel like that’s going to be a big component uh in this team coming back. And uh the third thing uh storyline worth following the season that I I mentioned was Boston College. Go watch some BC games and feel encouraged about what you’re seeing there and what you could see on the ice in a in by the end of this year and over the next couple of years in Boston. like James Hagens is a storyline to watch this year in Boston playing for the Eagles and very likely signing with the Bruins after his college hockey season is over and jumping right into the NHL. I think that’s very uh much something worth being excited about and worth uh going and watching some BC games and and getting encouraged by like I think that is and it’s not just him. It’s Andre Gassau. It’s Oscar Chelvic. It’s Will Moore. It is um um there’s a defenseman I can’t remember his name. uh cost uh Costinsky maybe. I can’t remember his name. I’m gonna have to look it up. Um and Dean Lerno, another first round pick that’s on that team as well. They’re going to have like I think six players on Boston College that are Bruins prospects. And that is excellent. That is well worth be going to Chestnut Hill and going over um to the Heights and watching some hockey games and seeing what the future’s going to look like while they’re still playing in college. especially Hagens who should be a dominant player at the college level this year and should be really fun to watch and then envisioning how he’s going to fit at the NHL level and what he’s going to look like with the Bruins. I think those are very much things to be encouraged by and not to despair about, you know, really when it comes down to it. I think there’s a lot there should be a lot of optimism with this Bruins team. I think they’ve figured out the long-term like maybe two to threeyear plan to turn things around. I think they are very much looking at the Washington Capitals as a model. Uh when they hit rock bottom and traded away Orlov and Hathaway and all those guys to the Bruins a few years ago and now look where they were this past season. They got back in the playoffs and they look like they’ve got a really good structure in place around Ovetkin. So they did it the right way and I think the Bruins took note of that and said we we can do the same thing. And I think they’re in the midst of trying to do that same thing right now, which would tell you that, you know, this year might be a little bit of a a stretch for them to make the playoffs, but I think they’ll be competitive and I think they’ll push to to the end. You know, it could be a coin flip whether they get in or not. And it’s too difficult to say right now whether they will or not, but I think they’ll be in position to at least go for it and try to get it. And I think that’s encouraging. Uh but I think next year they could be even, you know, better obviously and uh they’ve got a lot of cap uh space going into next season with a a loaded draft free agent class and then Hagen’s coming online as well. You’re talking about adding a serious influx of talent where they could make a big jump uh next season. Uh not this coming season, but the season afterwards. So uh that’ll be interesting to watch as well. All right. Uh let’s take one more. Hi Joe. Way too much, way too early to be discussing this, but it is the off seasonason. Wonder if Mason Loride took a look at his plus minus numbers and now will be skittish and less aggressive in trying to improve his offensive zone play. The reason he is here is because he can push the puck and does have good offensive instincts. I hate to think the new coaching staff will try to tamp that down and dull his game to where he’s just another body trying to protect the house and win a 2-1 game. Who do you think would be a good D partner for Lai where he can continue to develop his offensive instincts while knowing he’s got a D partner that can cover him? Even Klo Julian knew that he had to live with some of Tory Krug’s weakness early in his career to benefit from his elite offensive creativity. Lowry is by no means in the same class as Tory Krug. But I’m hope still hoping that they don’t muzzle Lai too much as he has a lot to offer offensively. And that’s from KJ Forbes 77. I think this is a good question and I actually this is something I had talked with Mason Lai about quite a bit um or at least a couple times um towards the end of the season and I don’t think there’s any danger of him becoming less aggressive or skittish with the puck or less uh thinking about making plays or less looking to move the puck up the ice. I just think that’s his in his DNA. I think at this point he knows what he is. He knows what he can do when he’s at his best. He knows what he’s best at as far as strengths as a player and what he’s not as good at. And I think he’s and Tory Krueger was the same way. He felt like his he was at his best when he had the puck and they were playing offensively and they were not trying to play defense. And the same thing with Mason Lorai. I I think with him it’s a it’s a couple things. It is um time and place, game management, knowing when to take risks or when to, you know, uh pinch on certain situations and knowing when not to. I think that’s part of it. I think part of it too is his plus minus really took a beating last year after Lynholm and Makavoy got hurt and he was pushed into playing 20 minutes a night, playing a top role, playing against the other team’s best offensive players, doing stuff he wasn’t ready for where he get he’ll get sheltered now. I think the best place for him in the lineup is with uh Andrew Peak. And Andrew Peak is a stay-at-home guy. they can cover for him defensively and I I they’ll be as a bottom pairing will be in much more favorable situations and I think it’ll be a much better go for him playing with peak and playing in you know 15 to 16 minutes a night maybe more if he gets a lot of power play time but but you know limited five on five looks uh where you’re not going up against the other team’s best players best offensive players and I think that’s going to help him immensely and tremendously and I think that will allow him to build confidence and build back to what we saw a couple of years ago. And and I think that’s a big part of what we saw last season was him pushed into something he wasn’t really ready for and couldn’t handle as adeptly because he’s uh he was pushed into a big role that uh you know they have other defenseman, better defense, better all-around defenseman um that are there to c that are there to shoulder that and handle that when they’re healthy. And that’s a big part of the Bruins if they’re going to have success is those guys being healthy healthy to not push guys like Lori into bigger spots upward in the lineup. But getting back to your question and uh I don’t think he’s going to be skittish. I don’t think he’s going to be less aggressive. I think he’s going to play exactly the same way. I don’t think he’s the kind of player that is going to lose his confidence and is going to have an identity crisis as to who he is or what he is. I think he understands he’s not a defenseman that’s going to slug it out around the net all the time and and if he’s doing that that’s not where he is at his best. The other thing though that’s interesting to me is that at least he’s got some tools that Krug did not have. He’s like 6’3 6’4. He’s a goodized kid. Like he can he’s got the size and strength to be able to win some of those battles and at least survive where Krug did not. Krug would get bullied and pinned around the net. Same with Matt Grizzlick when they got around the net. they were a liability and they would consistently get uh you know worked over if they got anywhere close to the net uh and if opponents could get them there and trap them there. So Lori I think can survive and as he gets older and more experienced and and wise to technique stick technique different uh positioning things like that he’ll be able to survive those even better than he does now and some of the mistakes in his game will be rounded out and some of that confidence will you know be back. Um, I also think his role in the power play could tremendously lift his confidence and elevate uh his profile and and how he views himself and his confidence with the puck and making plays and all that stuff. And I think he will get an elevated role on the power play. And I think he will be a featured player uh on the power play and he should be. I think he’s got the talent to do that. No doubt in my mind. So um yeah, I think it’s a legit very good question. I I think it’s something that with all young players, you’ve got to be concerned a little bit about their confidence level and um you know whether if they have a tough stretch or a tough season if that’s going to impact them long term. But I do not see that with Lorai. I think he’s a guy that I think is going to bounce back really well. and I still have a lot of belief in him um as a defenseman and as a guy that maybe could still develop into a top four guy um with the right partner in the right situation once he really gets going offensively and sort of you know rounds out some of the the risks and some of the things that he does uh with the puck that end up backfiring on him. um as well as just, you know, plain oldfashioned work and and rolling up the sleeves and getting the work the dirty work done in the defensive zone that all defenseman have to do from time to time. But I I think the the potential is there for him. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. Um and it’ll be uh interesting to see how that plays out. He’s a key guy, I think, um based on his power play acumen, uh to see what he does in training camp. And I’m going to be watching very closely uh a guy like Mason Lorai once the Bruins do get to camp. All right. Uh thanks everybody for listening. That’s another episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast that you’ve been listening. A proud member of the CLNS media network. Make sure to hit subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel and turn on notifications for when a new video drops on the channel. The show is also brought to you by Prize Pix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code CLNS and get $50 instantly when you play five bucks. That’s code cls on prize picks to get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. All right, thanks everybody for listening to this week’s episode of the Pucks with Hacks podcast. We’ll be back next week where we’ll be talking about Bruins captain’s practices. That’ll be very exciting. Uh and anything that’s developing from there. So until then, uh take it easy, enjoy the start of hockey season right after Labor Day and we’ll see you there. [Music]

Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty answers all of the final questions of the summer for the Bruins as they get ready for captain’s practices next week.

0:00 ⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
2:37 Bruins 2025-26 National TV Broadcast Schedule Released
5:00 The Athletic ranks Bruins No. 20 in NHL Pipeline Ranking
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17:45 Any chance of Korpisalo being traded?
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28:28 Bruins storylines to follow this season
34:44 Who would be a good partner for Mason Lohrei?
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