Do we trust the Bruins to make the 7th overall pick? | Pucks With Haggs

Do we trust the Bruins to make the 7th overall pick? | Pucks With Haggs

[Music] Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast. A proud member of the CLNS media network. Uh I believe this is the 188th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. Thank you everybody always for listening and uh taking part, sending in questions, all that stuff. I’m your host Joe Hagard. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com. Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership. get all of my NHL and Bruins writing sent straight directly to your inbox. I also write columns three times a week for the Boston Sports Journal and do a Q&A each week with the subscribers. So, go and subscribe at Boston Sports Journal as well. Some great stuff over there. With me this week is the Boston Herald, Steve Conroy. Steve, how you doing, my friend? I’m doing well, Joe. How you doing? Uh, I’m doing great. You know, like kicking back, getting some stuff done around the house, doing a little uh Providence Bruins playoffs. Uh, I was not at the draft lottery uh press conference with Don Sweeney earlier this week uh because I had a prior engagement going on. I don’t know if it was little league or hockey or what the hell it was, but I was doing something else. Uh, but we’re going to get to all that stuff. Before we get into it though, I just want to uh let everybody know that for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast and leave a review and like uh if you do like it. And for those watching the show on CLS enjoying all this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Rankside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the very exact instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. All right, uh let’s get into it, Steve. Um, first things first, uh, your reactions, uh, to the Bruins getting the seventh overall pick. I talked a little bit about it with Mick a couple days ago. Um, I had the sneaking suspicion just based on the way things had gone for the Bruins, right, this entire season and them like getting that final point against New Jersey on the last game of the year. uh that that might end up like coming into play a little bit as far as you know pushing them down a little and it did significantly change the percentages as far as what they could get and where they might land uh getting that one individual point. I will lead into the question though uh with this uh message we got from somebody named Dazzler on Twitter and this is uh I believe the dark side I usually I’ll read at least one dark side question from the fans uh where we got to put it in perspective that there there are some pissed-off fans out there. So I will I will put that disclaimer out there uh before I read this. Joe, does it really matter where we pick? The player is destined to be a minor leager for life. I think that’s way too strong. I feel badly for whoever gets drafted at seven. They are doomed for failure and Sweeney and Neilie will make sure that is reality. Uh probably an angry season ticket holder right there. I will say not happy with this 4% bump, huh? Yeah. No, definitely not. I they I think that fan loved Kevin Paul Dupont’s question in the uh press conference with Charlie Jacobs and Cam Donnie uh if they were going to resend the 4% bump. Uh, but I will say like the number seven overall pick, uh, last 10 years, Clayton Keller, Quinn Hughes, uh, I think it was Mitchkoff last year, like seven, uh, there’s been some misses there, but there’s been some very good players that have been selected at the number seven spot. So, the Bruins, uh, by percentages, not even like taken else anything else into play, have a really good chance, especially in a draft that seems like it’s very center strong. uh in the first round has a chance to get a really good player here and somebody that’s going to help fit their needs, you know, a few years down the road. Yeah, I think Lars Jansen was also number seven, too, wasn’t he? Yes. Uh so, yeah, it looks like they’ll be able to get a center. Um you know, whether that’s the best player available at that point, who knows? Um but after um after Schaefer and Misa it you know I’ve seen a million different you know mark drafts which you know has you know play some some have Hagens at three others have Caleb Deoy at number three. I kind of like Deoy with the you know with his history of winning and all that. Um but yeah they should get somebody who’s good. I you know I don’t think anybody I don’t even think Schaefer is going to be an impact player next year for any team. Right. And you know there’s a couple other names out there that you’ve heard a lot too, right? Jake O’Brien seems to be fast riser playmaking power play kind of guy uh at center that you know some of his skills that he brings to the table definitely would translate and and are things the Bruins need. And there’s also Roger McQueen who I think back injuries back injury scammy. Yeah. Well, I mean that’s the one that is the re the risk, right? That’s the high risk pick if they they go that route. He was uh limited to what was like 10 games this past year because of a back injury. 6’5. Uh big kid uh that’s supposed to be one of those big-bodied centers with a lot of um offensive upside. And Sween’s went and saw him in person. uh which tells you that at least they’re seriously looking at him and they wanted to get eyes on him, you know, if they’re going to even entertain like a risky pick with a guy that’s uh had some injuries and had a big injury this year. Um and Denoy like I I think when you look at him, he screams out to me um like a Jonathan Taves, Patrice Berseron, twoeight type, healthy, solid, does everything well, like kind of the exact mold of what they probably want. you know, he may I don’t he may not be the, you know, the lead dog point producing center, right? But he could very well be, you know, the you know, the the Patrice Berseron to David Cr. And you know, you know, Patrice was kind of surpassed Creeche as the number one center, you know, as the years went on. But I think that was mostly because Creri didn’t have a right wing for a long time or left wing for a long time. Y and uh uh but yeah. Yeah. He’s that guy who’s a, you know, as a scout, you know, described to me, he’s the guy you go you want on on the ice, protecting a lead with a minute left. Yeah. Yeah. No, he’s gonna be one of those players that’s going to be one of your best players. Play in all situations, have trust in him, like smart play. Like it that’s what it feels like uh when you talk to people about him, when you see some of the clips of him. Um Anton uh Fondel, I think is name. Yeah, interesting player as well. And he’s another one that’s a center that, you know, maybe they’re going to move him to wing eventually. Looks like he can really shoot rockets with the puck. um is already playing second division pro in Sweden. Uh so like you put all of these names in there like one of these guys is going to be available for the Bruins at number seven even a couple of them. So, they’ll have chances uh to really uh lock up somebody that could be a center for a long time with that pick with the McQueen one being the only one that I think there’s a lot of level of concern about and uh high upside very high risk pick uh at that point in the draft. um where if it comes down to that that guy is available and they like him you know I I guess the overall all question Stephen we’ve talked about this a lot is just you know now that we know where the pick is it’s number seven now we sort of are getting a little bit more into like the players that might be available and who it’s going to be and who could be there like and and when you look at the you know the Bruins history and I put all of it together like I Kevin uh KPD asked the question about the draft and development and Cam was pretty defensive about it answering it at the end of the season press conference. And there’s there’s evidence for both ends, right? Like it is while it is true that um they’ve traded a lot of first round picks, uh some of it is a crapshoot. They’ve picked at the end of the first round a lot, which is a lot more of a crapshoot than a top 10 pick. Uh they have traded players to other teams that they drafted. Ryan Lingren, guys like that. You know, Vladar left. Like there’s there’s guy NHL players that they’ve produced uh over the last 10 or so years um that didn’t end up playing for the Bruins. All that stuff is true, but at the same time, like they can’t, you also can’t deny they’ve missed on a lot of the first round picks, you know, like Orovakan, Johnny Beecher, and there’s been players, if you go back and look, there are players immediately after they got picked that were very good NHL players, which tells you they missed. Like they were looking at a group of players, they picked that guy when they should have picked the other guys. And you know, some of that is is hindsight being 2020 and some of that is they they missed the pick. Um yeah, where where do you land on confidence level with them making the pick? Where they are draft and development wise? I think they’ve gotten better over the last few years and they’ve continued to distance themselves from the the 2015 draft where they obviously made some mistakes in the first round, but like I, you know, I’m not fully confident that they’re going to nail this in the based on past history. Like I think they should because it’s the seventh overall pick and like you’re picking some very good players at that point, but like you know there’s a part of me that looks at it and says, “Man, if they miss this, like there’s going to be hell to pay.” You know, this is there’s a lot of pressure on them to get this right and to get a player that’s going to be a good productive player, an all-star level player for 10 plus years for the Bruins. Yeah. I mean, they can’t miss this pick. And the thing is, you won’t know if it’s a miss immediately, right? You know, it this is not there there not a lot of guys, at least from from what I can see, there are not maybe any guys in this draft who are going to jump into the NHL next year and and and play a major role. So, you know, on this pick, you’re going to have to have a little bit of patience. U but yeah, they can’t miss it. you know, they, you know, that that 2015, you know, and Cam brought up 2015 without, you know, being prompted, right? I I mean, that’s obvious how how much that that draft has haunted this organization. Um, and, you know, they they went for a defenseman uh with uh uh Jacob Zaboral in that with that first pick. Yep. And he blew out his knee. So, you know, he might have been a player. Um, but they also had Thomas Shabbat who was a teammate of uh of uh of Zabor, you know, in junior that they passed on. Yeah. I’m not going to fully buy into the injuries like derailing Zoro. I just don’t think Zabor was as good as Shabbat. And he certainly wasn’t. He was here below um uh uh um you know all the Proarov, Warenski, Hannne, like all those guys that got picked right before him. He was clearly below those guys. Yes. Everybody you know obviously he was you know they you know sort of the Bruins sort of admitted it by saying that they were you know were trying to move up. Yeah. Um Yep. Uh but yeah, they they can’t miss on this pick and you know that was a Zaboro was 13 and this is seven. So you know they should be able to get a player here. Prize picks are the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America and the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Join over 10 million users and get started today. 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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. I mean, I also like with Lorno, like I I’m, you know, people want to jump all over that pick and already say that they missed on that one or that guy’s going to be a bust. Like one year into it when he’s 19 years old, he was playing for a loaded Boston College team. And I think he falls under the radar or under the heading of like exactly the kind of players you’re talking about where it’s going to take a few years for that kid to figure out who he is, what he is, how to be successful, like just grow into the player that he’s going to be. And I think the Bruins knew that when they picked him. I think they knew that he was kind of raw and it was going to take years for him to turn into whatever he’s going to be. I mean, you know, Hagen’s had a good season at BC, but I think he didn’t have the the dominant season people expected him to have because he was playing on a loaded team that had a ton of really good players. Uh he’s only like one puck to go around. And I think Lo was playing in a role where you’re not gonna you weren’t going to necessarily see him turn it up the dial offensively either. So, like I’m not gonna like get all over them and jump, you know, pile on with Learno. I think he’s a guy that I want to see a little bit more this year at Boston College and see how he develops. Uh, and see what he looks like at development camp before you really like make a determination. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, you know, it’s it’s almost a miracle that he didn’t score a goal, you know, off off his backside or something, right? um you know cuz I I watched you know maybe a handful of BC games this year and he seemed to be around it a lot. He seemed to be you know you know hunted pucks pretty well. Um it was a big jump for him going from that level that he was playing uh at in you know prep school in Canada um to division one college hockey. Um so I’d like to give it another year before we say you know they blew that pick. Yeah. And and you know, I think he also like I think he had to recalibrate too. Like he’s a confident kid coming out of practice where he dominated and like he I don’t think he I don’t think he quite appreciated how big a jump he was making. No, I don’t think I don’t think he did, but he was already counting how many years it was going to be that he was going to leave BC when we were talking to him after the draft. In the back of my head, I was saying like he has no idea what he’s headed into at Boston College of Hockey East. uh especially as a younger guy and like honestly like the the one thing I came away from watching him at development camp is he definitely had skill. There were times he could like turn it on a little bit and you would see it and puck possession wise he had a pretty good shot. Like there would tools there that were definitely good, but like I didn’t like his compete at development camp. I didn’t like, you know, that he was giving up on drills before the whistle at times that he wasn’t like playing all, you know, there was certain things he was doing like he would disappear for stretches when he was doing like scrimmages and the threeon-ree stuff and things like that. That’s the stuff that like needs to change. like he he needs to become much more and and that can be like something that happens I feel like with guys that are that big too like where it comes a little easier to them and they’re you know they’re used to just physically dominating kids that are way smaller than them and maybe even at times being told to to go easy on kids that are like a foot shorter than them you know when they’re playing against them where like that kid needs to like dial it up all the time now and realize that it’s a whole different level of expectation and he need the everybody he’s against now is really good and needs to go full balls to the wall the entire time. Yeah. Yeah. It’s uh Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see where he’s placed uh in the BC lineup coming up this year. Um and like I said, he needs to turn it on a little bit, you know, to be but you know, I give him another year before we say he’s a bust. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um all right, let’s get into uh Providence real quick. Um, I don’t know how closely you’ve been following it. Uh, but they’ve they were down two nothing. They won and Ryan Mujinell kind of challenged them a little bit like he wanted to see them start playing like a man after they lost game two in Providence, which is pretty strong. Um, but like I like that Mujinell kind of says what he’s thinking and isn’t afraid to to challenge guys when they need it. And they responded. Uh, they won game three in Charlotte. Riley Tuy had a couple of goals. He’s actually one of the leading scorers in these playoffs. Um, so and it’s funny when you look down the list, it’s a who’s who of you know guys with NHL experience uh all the way down the line just like those veteran uh AHL types that are now down there. Uh and Tuy was in there. Um but like you know it’s been a good I think it’s a good development thing uh piece for for the young players and and a lot of them I think some have done well. I think Matt Potra has been very good. Uh some have not. Ryan Fabian Lysel I think has one point in like six games and I I think some of the stuff that Mujanel was saying after that game too was was directed a little bit towards him. I think it was towards a lot of the young players or in general as a group. Um but I think you could see it most with Lysel like he can he’s a guy that I think at this point we can make a determination on even though he looked okay at times like in garbage time at the end of the regular season in the NHL. uh when you put him in a situation the age where it’s high intensity against really good players motivated on the other side and it gets a little physical like you just he just disappears you don’t really see him at all. Yeah. Is this his first playoff? He’s been hurt the last couple years. I think yeah he was hurt last year, right? Yeah. Yeah. I think he was hurt the two years. Y um but yeah, I mean this is this is a growth experience for him. Um, we’ll see if he gets all gets to the other side of it. I guess, you know, I haven’t watched the games I’ve been watching that, you know, the Stanley Cup playoffs. Y um, but it sounds like Minton uh has been a strong player for them, you know, just maybe not he he may not be a top six guy, but you know, a good solid player. Yes. Uh, and it was very telling to me like the a lot of parallels uh that Don Sweeney was making between Minton and Charlie Coyle uh at the end of the season when he was talking about Minton and I think that’s the expectation they have for him is kind of a third line center sort of does some of the small detailed work important though to winning uh that Charlie Coyle does and Mittton’s a guy I noticed it in the game of the games that I watched in Providence and I think it was the same in game three in Charlotte takes a lot of the Dzone faceoffs, especially late in the game when it’s important that they win them. And you know, there there’s certain situations that he’s getting put into that are high leverage, high important, that tells you there’s a lot of trust there. Uh that he’s going to get the job done and that he knows how to perform in those situations. Uh so I think that all of that bodess well for him like getting a a long look at the NHL level next year and him, you know, playing a role with the Bruins. Uh because they certainly know they need to find somebody that’s going to fill that Charlie Coyle role as as a third line center that’s dependable that can pop one in every once in a while. Isn’t like electric, but like is just a solid player. Yeah, I’d like to see them find somebody who can replace the the Patrice Berseron and David Cr. But yeah, you’re right. You’re right. That one’s a little tougher to replace, isn’t it, Steve? Yeah. Uh yeah, he he doesn’t strike me as a kid who will take anything for granted. No. Um, so, you know, I was impressed by him, uh, you know, in his time, a very short time with the Bruins. Um, I thought he might stay all, you know, for the whole season down Providence, but I’m glad he got a a taste of, you know, playing in Boston. Um, but yeah, you know, he’s a, you know, he strikes me as a a good guy who’ll be able to kill penalties, do all those little things that, you know, the unglamorous, you know, parts of of the game. Um, but we’ll see. You know, a guy who’s who is good on his details may, you know, find a scoring touch. Um, so, you know, you know, I don’t want to put a, you know, a ceiling on him and say that, you know, no, he’s a third line center, but, you know, we’ll see. He’s, you know, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him. Yeah. And, and I think he’s going to be one of those players. I think even Joe Sako alluded to that a lot that like he puts himself in the areas where good things are going to happen. You know, he’s a tough kid. doesn’t mind going to the front of the net and going into the slot area and battling to get there and like all that stuff is going to translate especially if he’s playing with good players uh and good wingers if he’s playing center that’ll translate into some offense for him. I don’t think he’s like a dynamic line driving sort of center though like probably not that kind of a guy but that’s okay like you don’t always need that especially if they have talented wings. Um let’s take a break real quick. I will say before we go though that um Potra I think has been very good. Like he’s he’s generated a lot of offense. There’s been ups and downs with him, but I’ve really liked him and liked what I’ve seen. I didn’t watch the first game uh against Charlotte, which I guess he was a minus four, so I missed a game where he was like rough and and not good at all. It’s a good Charlotte team. They’ve got uh a bunch of guys uh that that have NHL pedigree. So, it’s it’s a good challenge for them. But I think Potra’s been good and given me no reason to think uh he’s not gonna be a part of the NHL picture next year. And the other guy that I’ve really like and Brunay has been good on the back end um and continues to get better. I like him a lot. They need they need something. They need some filler, you know, somebody who’s ready to to jump in. I like him a lot more now than I liked him like the beginning of the year when I’d seen him in the past. Like I think he’s much more well-rounded as a defenseman now. Michael Callahan is really good at the HL level and looks like he’s going to be a guy and maybe this is why they kind the Bruins aren’t like all in on bringing back Yokaharu or haven’t been like completely enthusiastic about it yet is that they feel like they want to keep Callahan and have him as like either a bottom pairing guy or a seventh defenseman next year and that he they feel like he’s kind of earned a spot because like he was solid in Boston obviously you know no frills meat and potatoes stay at home kind of Yeah, but like he does that and even a little bit more at the HL level and looks like one of the best players every time he’s out there. Certainly the best defenseman for Providence and kind of looks like he’s NHL ready. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t I don’t see him as a top four guy. Um maybe he’s a guy that, you know, when the game is on the line and you need you need, you know, a solid stay at home defenseman, maybe he can play that role. Um but as a regular top four guy, I’m not I’m not sure he’s he’s that guy. But, um, definitely I think he could be, you know, a third pairing guy and and certainly a 17 man. Yeah, no question. Uh, all right, let’s take a break real quick. For those of you listening to the episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And for those watching the show on CLNS and enjoying all of this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Rinkside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. All right, let’s u move on to the next topic. Um, this is a question from Flashdog 88. Are there any of this year’s playoff head coaches that may become available that would interest the Bruins? D’Vor, Cooper, Bednar, etc. And I a ask that question or or read that comment while also like giving the updates of Joe Quinnville hired by the Anaheim Ducks, Mike Sullivan hired by the New York Rangers, uh David Carl not leaving the University of Denver and staying in the college ranks. Um Rick Tockett is a name that’s out there and and interesting. Um, and I think, you know, he played with Cam and Donnie, and I think he’s kind of he could qualify for that like circle of trust that I think they’re going to want to have with whatever coach they hire. I feel like this is going to be somebody they’re not going to bring in somebody necessarily from the outside as much as I think they want to have somebody that there’s a level of trust with, uh, and a level of confidence with and kind of is is sort of part of the Bruins way of doing things. And I think, you know, Taka could be an interesting guy in in that regard. Um, what do you think makes the most sense at this point? And who do you think are the strongest candidates knowing that they’re still, I think, pretty early on in the uh in the search process at this point? Yeah, I don’t think Pete Dbor is going to be available, but I think there could uh there could be somebody on on Dbor’s staff that they could be interested. That’s Misha Donskov. Um he was um you know you know was assistant on on uh Bruce Cassidy’s staff when Vegas won the cup. Um has you know Donald you know you know succeeded at pretty much every level. Um he’s he’s an interesting uh name and he um Don Sweeney had him on his staff for the four nations u team for Canada. So, that’s obviously a a name to uh to look out for. Cooper, I don’t know if he’s going back to Tampa, but something tells me he’s not just leaving Tampa to become a free agent, you know? I think he he kind of has his would have his landing spot already set. How loud, Mike? Yeah. Yeah. Um so in Bednar you know they you know they already said the Christmas file and all already said that VNAR is coming back. Um so you know in talking you know he’s obviously a wellrespected guy. You know there was a you know I don’t I don’t know if he could have you know eased the situation any better in Vancouver between JT Miller and Elias Patterson. Who knows? I mean, I don’t that’s so rare that there, you know, there’s a situation where where two guys just can’t make it work, can’t figure it out. Um, and I can understand why JT Miller would be frustrated with Elias Bison because I, you know, I’ve seen so many times when Vancouver has come to town and he’s just been a ghost person. Um, so yeah, you know, maybe, you know, he he could have done a better job of easing, you know, you know, you know, finding a way to to make that work, but you know, it didn’t. U, but, you know, he’s had some success elsewhere. Um, he had a little success last year in Vancouver. Um, so I I had thought that, you know, he was either a Pittsburgh guy or a Philly guy to me to me. But, you know, we we’ll see. Any anybody else? Marco Sturm is another one. Marco’s another name. He’s he’s a guy that I think has paid his dues. Yeah. NHL assistant. He’s done a really good job with the Kings AHL team in Ontario. He is another one that would be in the Bruins circle of trust having played for them and you know having played with a lot of the guys that are you know that won the cup in 2011 and you know has a connection to to the the people running the organization now and I think that I really think that’s going to be a part of it like I think it’s and you mentioning Don Sweeney working with the guy at Four Nations like there’s going to be some kind of connections there like that I think for the next guy that they bring in. Um, and I think part of it might just be like, you know, um, the way things sort of worked out with Jim Montgomery, who was a guy that was kind of on the outside and not really a known quantity. I think wi with a lot of the people running the show here is is I I think over time maybe they, you know, felt like they wanted something different than that and and they were maybe surprised by some things or or, you know, weren’t on the same page with a with everything. And I feel like they want to bring somebody in that there’s a a a free flowing understanding of who they are and what they’re all about before they get here. Yeah. Yeah. And that’s I mean that that’s part of doing your due diligence. You know, you have to be comfortable with the guy that you’re bringing in. Um and you know, it certainly seems like like Donco would would be that guy with with Sweeney having already worked with them at the Four Nations. Yeah. Um, so we’ll see, you know, and I would imagine that that Donskov is would be a fairly hot commodity. Yep. And there’s going to be some competition. What do you think about um, you know, some of the the the people in the organization now? Do you feel like there’s any chance that any of them would get the gig or that they should go outside of you know Jay Leech, Ryan Mujinell, you know, assistants on the NHL staff, you know, Joe Sako being a part like all that stuff. It feels like to me they need to go outside of that to bring somebody in, somebody that they’re connected with, somebody they have trust in, somebody they want for the job, but I’m not sure bringing somebody from the current, you know, group that they have in the organization would would be the right move. Yeah, that might be a tough sell um after the season that they had. Um it wouldn’t shock me if one or two of those guys stick around on the staff. No. No. And I don’t think it would be a bad thing. Yep. Um, but yeah, I do think that that the pro this to me where they are right now screams, you know, that they should get a a young coach who’s going to grow with some of the young players that, you know, they’re going to have in this uh on this lineup for the next few years. Yeah, no question. All right. Uh, this one is from Green Highlander, and this is an actual a Boston Sports Journal Q&A question, but I liked this. Uh, so it’s two-parter. Um, can we all finally acknow and I’ll we’ll do go one question at a time. Can we all finally acknowledge that Monty is a fine coach in the regular season, but wilts under the pressure of the playoffs? And like look, six on five goalie pulled situations were an issue with the Bruins the entire time he was here. The entire time he was here. It was a huge issue for the Blues this year during the regular season. It was a big issue obviously for the Bru Blues in that game seven. And the these are the reasons why the Bruins were very hesitant this and like the too many men on the ice penalties that they would take and some of the chaos that seemed to be happening on the bench. Like there was different things that you saw and getting out maneuvered by Paul Maurice in the two series that they played against each other. Like there was different things that you saw with Montgomery, especially under the playoff pressure like Cooker Micro Microscope that didn’t that didn’t inspire confidence that that there was going to change and that they should invest in him in a long-term situation with the Bruins because there were problems there. There were concern areas that just weren’t fixed. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, let’s face it, the, you know, he was one spectacular David Pass in that goal from, you know, getting fired before the at the end of last season. Yep. Um, you know, that would have been two years in a row where they where they, you know, blew a 3-1 lead. Yep. Um, yeah. I mean, I I think Montgomery is a is an excellent coach who needs to who needs to get over this hump. I don’t know if he’s going to get there, but this is this is a block that he that he’s got to get past. And you know, I don’t know what, you know, he did wrong what he does wrong on the uh on uh on these situations. Maybe, you know, in Boston, maybe he didn’t use David Pasteneck enough on the six on five. Yeah. But I mean, having a goal scorer on the ice, you don’t you don’t sell out for an empty net goal. But those guys seem to have a knack for being able to find that empty net. Um, they do. And they also have like a different level of confidence, I think, with the puck in those situations. Yeah. You know, some other guys do where they’re just panicking with it as soon as they get it and, you know, either fight into like somebody on the other team or like whatever, you know, like There’s a different level I think with guys like that. We all love the guys like Derek Forbot who who who stand there and take, you know, shots off the off the face and all that, but it’s not good strategy to be a shooting gallery in a sixon five, you know, that’s that’s not the object of it. You want to end the game. Um, and you know, he just his teams just have not been able to do that. and and and some of it I don’t know is uh X’s and O’s, Steve. Some of it I think is also sort of the poise of the coach in those situations or his determination or the way he’s addressing the team or the way he’s acting on the bench. Like I think there’s some element to that when it keeps happening over and over again that I think there’s some element of tightness on the bench carrying over to players being tight on the ice and especially as it perpetuates and as it you know happens more and more it becomes a bigger weight and I think there’s something to that as well like I think there’s been instances where like it seemed like his teams were too tight in the playoffs and you know that’s that comes from somewhere that doesn’t come out of nowhere. Yeah. Well, I remember when they were up 3-1, they were might have been a little too loose and then they got too tight. Yes. Yes. Uh Yep. So, yeah, I you know, I don’t have the answer as to why he’s failed. You know, whether it’s his demeanor on the bench, you know, he’s maybe he’s a little highrung. Um and you know, that works in an 82 game schedule obviously because he’s had some he’s had phenomenal success in the regular season. Um, but yeah, I mean, he just he needs to get over this hump. He needs to figure it out. And I I you know, I I think he does so well in the regular season, he will get chance he will have a lot more chances to do this. Yep. And and if he’s going to do it like St. Louis is the kind of team he’s going to do it with because that that’s the roster is tailored to the way he wants to play. Um, you know, there’s a lot of offensive skill there. there’s a lot of playmaking that like, you know, short passing, puck possession, the way he wants to play. I think there’s a lot of players on that roster that will flourish and and will continue to do well um with the style that he likes to employ. Um it’s just a matter of whether that works in the playoffs or not, you know, and it it hasn’t to this point. Um all right. Uh the other question, a lot of the teams drafting ahead of the Bruins are young. What do you think of offering a package centered around Hampus Lindholm to acquire one of the higher picks? The history of players returning to pre-injjury form is far from guaranteed. The Bees can use this additional cap space for the upcoming season. I mean, I think that’s interesting. I don’t think they’re going to do it because I think a lot of the what they’re hoping is for a bounceback season and and that’s what they’re expecting I think to a large degree is that they’re going to bounce back from last year if they make the right moves, make the right acquisitions, you know, have some really good decisions in a really good off season. And Hampus Lynholm and Charlie Makavoy being the two pillars on the back end, I think are a big part of that. I mean, they were the I was a little surprised by this, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. It seemed to me when we would had the the end of season uh breakup day with the players, there was a lot of mention from a lot of different players, especially the influential ones about how important Hampus Lynholm was as a leader and how important like they they were going to rely on him to be one of the leaders of this team. And it almost spoke to me of like he’s going to get a letter next year based on the talk and and what I heard. Um and I found that interesting. I found that very telling. But like I found a little surprising as well. Well, totally. But um he’s a he seems like a a nothing seems to bother him. He reminds me a lot of Joe Thornton. Yeah, go with the flow kind of guy. Like Yeah, totally. I I but maybe they need a little bit of that. I don’t know. Uh, the one thing I will say though is I think there is some level of concern with a guy that had an injury, had a reinjury, and I know they talked about it just being a screw that was irritating the area, all that stuff. But I think there there’s got to be some level of concern uh going into this year about unknown with that player uh since he didn’t come back to play. Yeah. The problem is you’d be one, you’d be selling low on him. Yeah. Because everybody knows he’s coming back from a major knee injury. Yep. and two, they’re are excuse me, they’re already down a top four defenseman after trading Brandon Carlo. Um, so obviously they think they’re going to compete this year, you know, you know, assuming that they land a couple of guys in free agency that will help couple of wings. It looks like they’re targeting um, you know, that they’ll be able to compete. You know, we’ll see. You know, I think they should be able to compete for a playoff spot, but it’ll go right down to the, you know, right down to the wire because I think they have a lot of holes. They definitely do. And and there there’s a hope there’s a lot of hope involved. There’s hope in bouncing back. There’s hope in Swayman bouncing back and being the player that he was before and that, you know, everything has been sort of addressed or fixed in the locker room that might have been going on. like all of that stuff I I think is there there’s a lot that has to go right for the Bruins uh to be in the playoffs next year. I think they’re bounc they’re they’re banking on a lot of it happening and a lot of it could happen and should happen. Um but you’re really not going to know until they get out there and start playing games and and they’re put back into that pressure cooker exactly how everybody’s going to fit. Like I, you know, I think in hindsight you could say that Elias Lynholm and and Nikita Zidorov both turned out to be the players you thought they were going to be, but it took them a long time to get there. And it took a lot of learning curve and, you know, wins and losses and mistakes and a lot of stuff happening that that, you know, impacted the season negatively before they finally got there. And that that happens whenever you bring in big free agents that are expected to play a big role that it can take them a while to get used to the system, the players they’re playing with, everything. Uh there’s a curve there. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the interesting thing is is the back injury with with with Lind Holm. How much did that, you know, really affect him? He was on the ice. Okay. So, you give him some leeway, but not all that much. Y um so that’s a that’s a big thing if he can come in and play like he played towards the end. It’s has it wasn’t spectacular. It’s wasn’t you know anybody’s idea of a line driving firstline center. No. But he was good. You know he you know he allowed that he helped that line you know do what they needed to do to be a real first line. you know, you got two two shooters um in in Pastanak and and Geeky. Um and he facilitated he, you know, was was the defensive conscience for for both of them and, you know, allowed them to do their thing. Anybody um that you like in particular as far as the the free agent wingers that that might be available? There’s obviously the big names, guys like Besser and Martyr. Um and I know there’s one other one I’m forgetting right now. Eers. Eelers. Thank you. Um, any any of uh anybody in particular you like or uh gravitate towards? I mean, I don’t know if if I I I don’t think the Bruins would be all that attractive to Monner. I don’t know. He’s, you know, he’s rightwing. He’d be, you know, on a second line behind David Pastag. Yep. You know, and he probably looks at this line and says, “Who who’s going to be my centerman here?” Yeah. Um, so that seems like a pipe dream, but money is money and the Bruins have it right now. Um, and he would be a guy that, you know, I wouldn’t hesitate to to throw the bag at. No. Because, you know, he’s been a been a, you know, a terrific player and for some reason he’s been he’s been the fall guy for the that core four more more often than not, you know, with the fans up there. Um, so I don’t know, you know, maybe if they make a run, maybe, you know, it becomes a kumbaya moment up there and everybody wants to come back. So maybe he never gets to never get a free agency. I remember a few years ago, you know, everyone was, you know, waiting for Steven Stampco to become a free agent and then, you know, two days before uh, you know, free agency starts, he he resigned. Yeah. Not not this last deal, but the the the deal before that. Um, so it’s it’s kind of tough to bank on that. Um, but Eers is a good guy. Besser, um, I don’t think he’s a real firstline guy, but, you know, he he’d help. Um, but, you know, there are players out there. I don’t know if they can, you know, really totally rebuild through free agency. No, they definitely can’t. They need to find some goal scoring though. That’s for sure. Yeah. Yeah. De Brus Kevin left two years ago and and Marian gone this past season. that that’s a lot of offense on the wing that you’ve lost in the last two years that you definitely need to replace. And and the Mner thing, like you’re right, he definitely would be the second line right wing. But if you’re a team like the Bruins that’s having a hard time finding legit top six uh centers to replace the centers that you had, you just may have to do it a different way and have line driving right wingers on each of your top. Yeah. And Marner is that guy. He is the line driver. Yep. Yeah. It plays a lot like a center just like Posteneck. They you know they wing technically but they they do a lot of center-l like things uh once the puck is dropped and you know it’s it’s all once once it’s over the offensive blue line they act like a center. Yes. It’s all the rage these days Steve in USA hockey when you take the coaching clinics that they like to talk about positionless hockey now. That’s what it is. Positionless hockey where once it’s dropped everybody can play everywhere. You got forwards covering for D. You got wingers playing center. All that stuff. It’s all about free flowing creativity uh when they’re teaching the young kids these days. So, as Don Sweeney says, they’re looking for a guy who needs to evolve offensively. Yes. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s find some evolving offensive players. All right, Steve. Uh thank you very much for joining us. Let’s also remind you that you’re listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast and we ask you to subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And 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 Rinkside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interweb. Steve Conroy, thanks for joining us. Awesome. Thanks, Joe. Everybody else out there, thanks for listening. We’ll see you at the ring. [Music] Hey, hey, hey.

On this episode of Pucks with Haggs , host Joe Haggerty and the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy discuss the Bruins getting the 7th overall pick, who they might be looking at for players and what names the coaching search could be turning toward. There’s also talk about what level of confidence there is for the Bruins to hit this first round pick.

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