“Retool” or a “Rebuild” with Boston Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

“Retool” or a “Rebuild” with Boston Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

Pucks with Hags. Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast. A proud member of the CLNS media network. 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. 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 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 Patriots Press Pass YouTube channels as well. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant, the very instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. I want to welcome everybody in. I believe this is the 194th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. I have with me today the Boston Globes Kevin Paul Dupont and the Boston Heralds, Steve Conroy. Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us. My pleasure, Hags. Yes, Steve. Steve Hags obviously didn’t get the memo that we’re only wearing hooded sweaties. See, I’m always too hot dupes. And I was actually like at my daughter’s school, elementary school, and I just came from there, and it was like wall-to-wall people in the classroom. So, I am actually dying right now. I am like overheating. So, there is no 0% chance I’m going to be wearing a hoodie for this one. But I tell everybody that hags, he’s hot. That’s right. They call me the human radiator. I’m just like running hot all the time. All right. I’m in I’m in the great outdoors, so I got a little a little cozy out here. There you go. You got a nice little breeze going on back there, Steve. Yep. Yep. I’m in the shade. Beautiful. Sipping on a Starbucks drink, enjoying the breeze. Steve was definitely in offseason mode and we love that. Um, thanks everybody for joining us. I’m Joe Hagerty. Uh, you can find my work at joehhat.substack.com. Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership. Get all of my Bruins and NHL writing sts direct directly to your inbox. I also write columns three times a week for the Boston Sports Journal and do a weekly Q&A with the subscribers. So, make sure you subscribe uh to Boston Sports Journal. Uh boys, let’s just jump right in. Uh first of all, we know the Stanley Cup final rematch of last year, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers. Steve, just thoughts on that. I I great matchup was a great series last year. I I really think the star power of like McDavid dryid that that kind of level of star power is maybe the only thing that can overcome what the Florida Panthers bring to the table. And they just it’s amazing to me how many teams they’ve cracked and broken at this point in the Eastern Cup. Whether it’s the Bruins, whether it’s the Rangers, the Maple Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes, like they just destroy every team in the East and leave them broken and sort of like looking for answers. Um, and they’ve done it again with the Hurricanes here. Uh, it should be a great series, but you have to go, I think, with Florida again until proven otherwise. Uh, I don’t know what what Edmonton has done, uh, in these playoffs is very impressive. I mean, people are all over Pete Dbor right now for, you know, you know, the Dallas not answering the bell. And I would be all over them, too, if if Edmonton hadn’t just done that to Vegas. Vegas is a very good team too with a very good coach. Um the thing about Edmonton right now, you’re getting what Conor McDavid and Dry Cidle give you, but you’re also getting uh you know depth contributions, you know, from players like, you know, uh Evander Kane and and um and Ryan Nan Hopkins and they are a very good team right now. And they didn’t give Dallas an inch in the in the defensive zone. you know, Dallas, you know, Edmonton scored a lot of goals by, you know, including the back breaker last night by throwing pucks in into the slot at the net and, you know, the the, you know, the the back breaking goal went, you know, off of uh off a star defenseman into the net. Um, Dallas was was doing tow drags and things like that in the, you know, in the slot and it was just getting poked away. Um, Edmonton, you know, and Listen, Stewart’s gonna can turn to pumpkin at any point here. He almost did last night. I thought that was going to happen. He didn’t. He didn’t. Uh and right now it probably give the edge to uh to the Oilers. I like that Steve’s going with the Oilers dupes. Your your thoughts on this Stanley Cup final series. And I I you know, like I said before, I give the Edmonton Oilers tons of credit. They g they pushed Florida hard last year, harder than anybody else did, I think. And I and then their defense is definitely better than it’s been in the past and Skinner has shown that he’s capable at times. I do really think though the Conor McDavid factor is something that Florida just doesn’t have. They don’t have that kind of game-breaking force. Even though Bararkov’s a great player and he made a great play in the clinching game for them and solid strong player, but like Conor McDavid and Dryidle too kind to a point are just X factors that can’t be accounted for. And I feel like that’s the one thing in play in this series that could put it over the top for Edmonton. But it should be a great series either way. Yeah, I wish I had something in the secret drawer here to to to pull out and and and say something different than you guys are saying, but I can only kind of build on them. Uh, you know, I I felt the same way about Skinner uh Stewart last night. Um, and then to see Jeff Skinner go in and he gets a goal. Uh, you know, there’s there’s a lot I and and Hags, to your point, no one’s got Conor McDavid. I’ve never seen a player like it. This it’s it’s not just the speed, but I’ve seen a lot of guys and most guys, you know, the the heat panels begin to fall off when they get to that that that degree of speed. But man, he just he holds the puck, he makes the play. It it’s phenomenal to watch. So the only the only sort of history reference point I can put on this is watching when the Islanders had won their four cups and then finally the Oilers beat them in 80 81 to in ‘ 84. Yep. And I can remember being there and the and the and the balloons at Northlands Coliseum falling on Denny Pot Fanny’s kneeling and the game the game is over. The dynasty is over for the Islanders. So it it could be that this Oiler team through losing last year as that Oiler team did decades ago. Maybe that’s the trans maybe we’re going to see the transition here. But there’s there’s so much to like about both teams and it looks like a sevename series. I I will say that my last point will be if if Dallas was going to beat them last night, they had to land more than 17 shots on net. Yeah. Steve’s point, you know, and whe whether, you know, whether that’s that they lost confidence on Atoner with, you know, the three goals in the first seven or eight minutes there or just lost all their confidence within those three goals. Uh that that was that was a disappointing showing and I think that’s why you see what what to me looked like very frustrated comments by Dbor. Yeah. No def uh no doubt. Um with with Florida in the final, we get a few more games of Brad Marshand. Uh for people locally uh get to continue to watch him do his thing with Florida. He’s really like as the playoffs have gone on, I gotten way more comfortable and is basically, you know, playing exactly the way he would play. It seemed like there was a feeling out process for him very early on with Florida and he’s exactly in his comfort zone now and and what he usually is as a player and is really um meshed well with the rest of that team. um and performed well. One of their better scorers has made some big plays for them. Certainly has has become a leader. He’s one of those guys at the end um waiting with Kachchuck and Barov to you know give everybody else fist bounds when they’re coming off the ice and has really seemed to take a leadership role there as well. Um all that being said, he is still a free agent in this off season. Florida can’t pay everybody. Um he may end up going somewhere else. We’ll see. Um, any percent chance you think at all that he would return to the Bruins? Either one of you. I give it 0%, but either one of you think it’s anything higher than that as far as potentially returning to this team. 1%. [Laughter] Margin for error of 1%. 99% he’s gone. You’re just the slimmest of slim margins. I like that. Yeah. everything, you know, since the time he was traded, you know, the door has been left open, but all the body language, every, you know, every comment has been, you know, a page has been turned on both sides. Yep. Um, and there’s really no going back. The Bruins ripped off the band-aid. It was hard to do, but they did it. Um, and it’s it’s time to rebuild the team. You know, I know they don’t want to use the term rebuild, but it’s a rebuild in my in my uh in my eyes. Um they’ve got some pieces that, you know, you know, other rebuilding teams don’t have, didn’t have, but you know, there’s some there’s some serious holes to fill in the team and psyche to rebuild. Yeah, dupes. Your thoughts on that? and and two what you saw down the stretch I thought after he left was you know guys like Postnak Makavoy to a degree even though he was hurt uh certainly Morgan Geeky you saw players start to fill in the leadership void and start to maybe take control of this being their team I would expect Hampus Lindholm to be one of those guys too uh when he’s back and healthy uh at the start of uh training camp this coming season so you could see the next wave of sort of leaders or players really taking hold of that team as well, which is another part of the whole sort of turning the page thing that you’re talking about. Steve, uh, Dupes, your your thoughts on on Marian down in Florida and any percentage chance he would come back to Boston. Well, I’ve loved it for him, you know, first of all, and to go go down there with his skill set, his experience, everything that we’ve we’ve known to uh that that we’ve watched him develop over these years. It’s fun because he doesn’t have to be the lead dog, right? Um, and and he’s he’s and that said, he’s performed like a lead dog, but you can tell the weight of it isn’t there. The the weight of having to drive the offense isn’t there. And so, you can see he’s having fun. The only the only thing I’ll enter into the into the into the discussion here is we’re all married, so at some point, you know, it’ll be it’ll be I’ll do what my wife wants me to do. Right. Right. It’s a family decision, right? Right. And and and in this case, you know, a lot of that time is just malarkey when when especially when it’s an MLB guy talking about getting 25 million versus 20, you know, 100. I don’t know. The numbers are so astronomical. But in this case, young kids, long career here, great reputation here, all that. I could see this coming down to a viable, you know, I can go to Detroit for three years and make I’ll throw out a number 15 million or I can stay in Boston and make 10 million for those three years. Easy for me easy for me to dismiss five million bucks. But I think for a guy like that, all the taxes, the issues, the legacy, all of it, I I think it I I do think there’ll be a discussion more than a zero or 1%. Is it 8%? I don’t know. But I think there will be some of that that I mean that’s interesting and you’re right. I I you know the fact that his wife is from New England, the fact that they’ve lived here their entire lives, all his kids were going to school here and and comfortable here and all that that is absolutely a factor. But then again, I mean what we saw was a day at the end of his career when he left Boston is his family stayed behind in Boston. He went and played uh elsewhere for a year or two, right? And then finished it out. Yes. and he was seeing his family occasionally, but they were still going to school here, still staying here. And then Charara ends up coming back to Boston. He’s been a figure around here ever since he retired. Um, you know, coaching his kids junior Eagles teams now. I see him at youth hockey tournaments all over the place, running marathons, joining the Bruins organization. It could end up being that kind of path, too, where he signs for a few years and they end up, you know, staying in Boston, he goes elsewhere. That would be tough, but it’s certainly uh there’s precedent there uh where where somebody’s done it before. But like I I for me, if I were making that decision, I would be leaning towards what you’re saying, dupes. You know, your your your home is here, you’re comfortable here, you like it here. The peace of mind of all of that stuff is worth a few million dollars, especially when you’ve already made as much money as he has. Um I guess it’s at this point it’s just a matter of getting over sort of, you know, the way things ended where they wouldn’t reach like whatever halfway mark he wanted to go to for his contract and it end up trading him elsewhere. But at the same time, they did him a solid trading him to Florida. They certainly could have traded him somewhere else. And that should have had them ending uh on good terms as far as right now with no bridges burned because they set him up exactly where he wanted to go and and set him up potentially to win another cup. So, they really put him in a good place and did him a solid. Um all right. Uh let’s move on from that. Uh big part of the discussion here, guys. Uh the Bruins coaching uh finalist, head coaching job. Um, the names that you’d heard were Mitch Love, uh, Marco Sturm, Jay Woodcraft, uh, I think it was Fluto that had reported that Jay Leech was one of the finalists as well. Um, so it sounds like they’re down to the last uh few names here. And I we talked about it in the last episode of the podcast cast when I had Mick Mick on and I really felt like a lot of the signs, a lot of the things, you know, about preferences that the Bruins have for certain things in the front office and the way the operation is run and the organization is run. It felt to me like Marco Sturm made a lot of sense for a lot of different reasons. Uh, he knows the landscape. He’s got connections to so many people in the organization. Whether he played when Cam and Donnie were here, he played with McUade who’s in the organization. He played with Trent Whitfield who’s a coach down in Providence. He played with uh he played with Patrice Bersan who’s still around. He played with a Dino Charo who’s in the Bruins front office. It seems like he’s one of those guys that could be in the Bruins circle of trust as far as bringing somebody in that they feel like they can rely on and that they know is a very known commodity. and he’s a guy that understands the landscape in Boston, understands the territory. I think that was one thing that Jim Montgomery didn’t sort of have as good a grasp on when he took over here. And he’s Marco’s got some of the most iconic goals in recent Bruins history. You know, whether it was that game six goal against Montreal, whether it was the Winter Classic winner, um he certainly would bring some emotion to the table with the uh the Stern face that he used to have when he scored goals. You know, he’s an emotional guy. um has had some success in the AHL, has AHL uh assistant coaching experience, and I feel like he’s a guy that makes a lot of sense, but um where did Dupes, what direction do you think this is going in as far as uh who they he may select, who you think the leader is, uh and what their what the Bruins thinking is at this point. Well, it’s kind of which way the wind is blowing. The only name that I’ll add to your list there, and we’ll probably come up with three more as we talk, but Misha Donskoff from from Dallas was he he felt like a leader early and now as of last night, he’s available to talk, so I suspect he’ll he’ll get he’ll come through the door for for his interview. Um, and you can make good cases for all these guys. Marco, I like Marco. He hasn’t had great success as an AHL coach. Y um I have to say if we roll the calendar back whatever it is three years when when Jim Montgomery’s name came up I said really I mean here’s a guy you know he blew up his career fantastically if you will uh and had no connection to this organization that I could trace y and ended up being a really good pick. So I don’t know what I will say at this point in time and I think this is the critical part of this is that this hire very much is going to determine where Neie and Sweeney go. Yep. In terms of their longevity or continued longevity in the organization. Y so that’s really important on him. Yep. And to go back to Steve’s point and I totally agree. It’s it’s very much closer to a rebuild than a reboot. It’s not like it’s an expansion team, but you’re going to have to have a patient, smart coach who can communicate. In other words, not John Tortoella and someone who’s going to be patient with these kids, get them to develop and and bring them along. You know, there there is there’s going to be a lot of on the job training here. The only asterisk I can add to that comment is we really don’t know what the roster is until the evening of July 1st. see what Sweeney goes out and purchases and then that could complion, but I still think by and large it’s going to have it’s it’s a development coach and maybe that maybe that stares it to Leech. Do uh uh Steve? Yeah, you know, with this being the the a more of a rebuild situation, I was okay with them kind of, you know, deciding that some of those na name established NHL guys, uh were probably not right for this situation like uh Peter Lavlet, um you know, th those are guys that you usually bring in when you think you have a team that can win. Yeah, they’re close. And I I I think they’re a little bit away from that. I think they can, you know, just because of the way the league is and half the teams make the playoffs, I think they can compete for a playoff spot, provided they get some, you know, some top six help um in the the free agency. But yeah, I mean, a lot of signs point to uh to Marco Sturm. The only thing that kind of makes me hesitant on on that fact, Bruins are the only team that are linked to Marco Sturm, you know, and I hadn’t heard any other, you know, team being linked to him. Um, so, you know, I’ I’d like them to get a guy that that other teams want, you know, and I’m intrigued by Mitch Love. Uh, I think he did did a terrific job in Washington as, you know, running the defense there. Had a good record as a uh, you know, an AHL coach. Um, so it’ll be interesting. You know, we’ve heard, you know, we’ve heard the Woodcraft name. Um, you know, I think Pierre Lebron threw out Luke Richardson. I’m not I I I might put him more in the the category of the Lavia Lson, you know, the the the somewhat established guys. He hadn’t have that long of a record, but um I I would put him in in that category. But, you know, my hunch is that, you know, they’re leaning towards Sturm, but I don’t know that for sure. Yeah. No, I’m in the same camp as you, Steve. I it it feels to me like Sturm based on the decisions the Bruins make, based on what’s important to them, based on you, like you said, the importance of them in what Duke said, they’re sort of hitching their wagons to somebody that their future is involved in. I feel like you’re going to bring somebody in that’s a known quantity or somebody that you trust rather than somebody you have no sort of history with or or no real connection with. And I think Marco has so many connections to so many people in the organization that it does make sense on a lot of different levels. My question to you though, Steve, and I would I would pose this to Dupes. You threw Jay Leech’s name in there at the end. Can you really go with somebody that was on the staff, especially the guy that was working with the defense when the And I know they had injuries. I know Hampus was hurt for most of the year. Makavoy missed most of the second half, but can you really put the one of the coaches that was in charge of a defense that was 26th in the league was the worst it’s been in over a decade and and some of the young guys really didn’t have great years either. Um and and you know, Mason Lorai was pushed into a bigger role because of injuries. I understand that. But can you really put somebody that was on that staff a bad season uh a tough defensive year were not good? like a lot of things were going on. Can you put him as the head coach and really have people excited about it? You know what I mean? Like have fans, you know, buying into it or thinking it’s the right choice. I think if it’s between Marco Sturm and Jay Leech and if you go with Jay Leachch, I think there’s a lot of Bruins fans that are going to be pissed and feel like this is the exact wrong decision and feel like this is not what they wanted to hear after the season that they just, you know, sort of went through and bought tickets to watch. And I can understand that uh feeling. um of not being happy about that. And I really do feel like they need to go outside the organization to bring somebody else in um to help elevate this and get it back to where it is. And maybe, you know, Marco Sturm was in the AHL. He’s worked with younger guys. I would assume that he’s going to be one of those guys that could sort of be, you know, a communicator with the young players and could help shepherd things along a little bit. But I I wonder what the reaction is going to be. And I’m sure they probably wonder on Causeway Street, too. uh among the management group in the front office and even the ownership what the reaction would be if it’s Jay Leech who I think is a great guy and an excellent coach and is one of those upandcoming guys but just based on the optics of last year with the Bruins and him being on one of the guys on the bench I’m not sure that’s going to fly you know when when they brought him back last summer to me it had air appar air apparent written all over it just felt like he was the he was the guy in waiting um Yep. But, you know, when it fell off the rails in November, you know, this last season, it was just an unfair uh position to put him in, I think, to, you know, give him his that his first job. Um, so I understand why they go with Joe Sacko there. Um, but you’re right, it it’s a really hard cell. Um, and you know, you pointed out all the, you know, the issues on defense and you know, there were injuries. You know, uh, Mason Laorray is still learning how to be a defenseman. Um, you know, learning how to be a defensive period, never mind learning how to be a defenseman in the National Hockey League. Um, so yeah, it would be a hard cell and you know, that probably shouldn’t be a deciding factor in this, but kind of is. Yeah, dupes. Uh, and you referenced Jay Leech a little bit at the end as being a guy, you know, with this being a sort of, you know, a retool as they want to call it, a rebuild, whatever. And I do think like in the NHL these days, especially with the salary cap space that they have, it could be like a two-year rebuild out of the Washington Capitals where if you make a lot of really good decisions, you know, you could be fighting for the playoffs next year and then a couple years from now things could look a lot better than they are right now, especially if you hit with this uh seventh overall pick in the first round. Um your thoughts just maybe expound a little bit on Jay Leech if you think he’s the right decision if you think that’s you know something that’s going to fly with Bruins fans. Uh where you what what would happen in your mind if you’re looking into this and Jay Leech’s name the next coach? Well, I have to say none of these names excites me. You know, your your comment about Sturm and and fans being upset if it’s not Sturm. I I don’t and maybe I’m reading this wrong. Well, I think they’re probably going to be upset if it’s Sturm, too. I got to be honorella like you know somebody that they know a known quantity like I’m sure they’re not going to like Sturm either but I think Jay Leech would be a very unpopular decision that’s I’m to the point now I’m to the point now with the fandom that if they brought in Scotty Bowman that they find that’s just that’s just the way it is right that’s true uh and again I go back to to the the Jim Montgomery hire I I was saying really huh what and so he was a good hireer so I think a lot of it And we we we can’t even guess what this is. I think a lot of it is when they get the body in front of them and they listen to him and talk to him. I think they I think that has to be a lot of it. Uh and and and to and to Sweeny’s credit, he got he got Bruce Cassidy right. Y he got Jim Montgomery right to a degree. I think he got Joe Sacko right. Yeah. I mean, you know, g given how the product eroded under him in terms of roster talent and and injury, I I think Joe did a damn good job. I don’t think he’s I don’t think they’re going to retain him, but I think he did a damn good job for who he is, what he got, the the the point, the fans, everything. I I I give him great credit. I I I will say yes. Uh I I think Leech gets tainted by the year. And again, that just just shows you how how whimsical these or capricious these winds can blow. You know, not only did I think he was the air apparent like Steve when he came back, I thought he was the air apparent for two or three years ahead of that. And I was surprised to see him go go off to Seattle, but I think that was a good move. Uh whether that’s proven right or not, we’ll see. So, I I will say from a very selfish standpoint, and the fans don’t care about this, but I know I’m sure you guys can relate to it, is I sure would like a coach who and and I’ll I’ll bring in Hitchcock for this. Not not that I’m looking for them to hire Ken Hitchcock, who really gets into it, gets gets into the job, gets into the media thing, can talk it, wants to talk it. And and frankly, part of my motivation for wanting that is Neie and Sweeney don’t say boo to a goose anymore. I mean, you know, there’s there’s so much here to talk about, you know, franchise over hundred years old, some rich history, and instead we just get we get it’s it’s like they’ve got mumbilitis. Talk it. Talk it. Get out here and talk the sport. Talk your team. Uh yeah, some of it some of us are going to give him some agitation now and then, but that’s just part of it. If you can’t take that, then really you shouldn’t have the job. Give it back. Get into it. A lot of people didn’t like Neely pushing back on me on the the comment about the draft. I’m okay with that. Yeah, make make your point. I’ll make my point. And you know what? Nobody’s going to die here. Talk the sport a little bit. Dupes, I just wish you were miked up when uh Cam called you over to the principal’s office after the press conference was over so we could have heard that discussion, too. Yeah. Yeah. There wasn’t much to that. It was kind of It was kind of just a repeat. But I’m okay with that. I think we’re all, you know, nobody’s calling anybody uh a criminal here. Yeah. Just, you know, this is this is the way I see it. You don’t see it. Hey, we move on. That’s, you know, I I totally agree with that. That’s why I love Bruce Cassidy here. Yes. He he said things that just like people were like, “Oh my god, he said Tuka had to make the save.” You know, and it’s like obviously he had to make a save and and I go back to Dbor last night. You can you can quibble over whether he should have pulled the goalie or not, but you know, hey, you know, the season is on the line. You got to do something here. The team didn’t show up, right? That that’s why I made the comment I made about Jim Montgomery maybe not understanding the terrain he was getting uh the environment here because it was jarring when he replaced uh Bruce Cassidy how different they were as far as talking the game as far as talking to the media as far as the way they answered questions the way they approached criticizing players like all that stuff. And I understand that part of Montgomery’s mandate coming in was to be nicer, uh, softer edges, like not be as critical of the players as Cassidy was because that was part of why they made the change. But I also think it was just short, not, you know, and I just don’t think that’s Montgomery’s personality to really be expansive with his answers and to really, as Dupes is talking about, sort of draw you into the conversation. and and you know there was I can’t I couldn’t count how many times we were talking to Bruce Cassidy about things and he would answer questions that we hadn’t even asked but wanted to ask because he understood what we wanted where we were going he got the the whole big picture of it and he understood all of that uh just intrinsically instinctively he understood all that and could answer those questions without even being asked where with Montgomery it was kind of like pulling teeth a lot of the time uh to get I thought I thought he got he got quickly better, you know, that first training camp. I just don’t think personality either, though, Steve. You know what I mean? I don’t think he was really a salesman, so to speak, or or one of those guys that was going to be really overly sort of loquacious with his words, you know? I just don’t think that was him. Yeah, I I I was okay with with that part of part of it. You know, I you know, that first training camp, you could tell he was very very tentative. Didn’t want to say the wrong thing about any players. And then, you know, he didn’t have to because they won 65 games that year and it was all, you know, rainbows. Um, but, you know, he eventually, you know, got it, I think. Yeah. Yeah, he did to a degree. I agree. But I I you know, there were he he you could tell he would stop himself where Montgomery where Cassidy would keep talking. Montgomery had a governor on where it was like doom, done, answer the question. I’m stopping. I’m not talking anymore. Yeah. Um, and that that kind of didn’t go away and and he didn’t probably didn’t want to get himself into trouble and I understand that, but like I think to Dupes’s point, you want to have somebody that’s going to almost sell the game a little bit or be part of the entertainment uh with the coach and the personality and answering the questions and and you know, the the whole grand picture of it. I I just think that’s what people want here, not only fans, but media, but everybody. That’s kind of the expectation here uh to be part of that. And we’ve had a lot of coaches like that over the years. So, um, all right, let’s take a break for a second. Uh, I want to let 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. 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 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 Patriots Press Pass YouTube channels as well. And 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, this uh we’re going to answer a couple of questions here. This is from Jay Matrono on Twitter. Hags, you think Boston should sign Sam Bennett for 10 million a year? Who does he play with in Boston? Geeky Pasta question mark. If so, maybe he produces points to be worth it, but I don’t know, man. 10 million for a player should expect he can do it himself if needed. Don’t think he does that. Uh, Steve, A, do you think uh, Sam Bennett as a free agent is worth 10 million a year? And B, do you think there’s any chance he would sign with the Bruins? I feel like it s it seems to me like he would either go to the Maple Leafs or stay with Florida. I don’t know if Boston’s ever going to be a consideration uh, for a guy like that. I’m Bruins fans would absolutely love him if he was here. And I think he might be worth 10 million a year to Boston uh, to bring him in just because of the way he plays and who he is as a player. But how do you feel about Sam Bennett as a free agent? Uh if he’s going to cost 10 million, and it might, I think the only team that’s, you know, it would be good for would be uh Toronto because I think that’s an overpayment. But, you know, assuming that Toronto is going to lose Minor um and maybe even Tvarus, I don’t know, but I think Tvarus would sign up, you know, a hometown, you know, contract to stay there. Um you know, I think he would be a culture changer. I don’t, you know, he doesn’t seem like a rahrrah guy or or or that kind of guy. Uh but, you know, they have enough to get into the playoffs. You know, he would help them get over the hump in the playoffs. I think if you need him to to, you know, drag you through an 82 game season and get to the playoffs, I don’t think he’s your guy. He’s just I think this was the first year he had, you know, 50 points. Um but you know he’s obviously a tremendous tremendous playoff performer. He has been these past three years. Um he made a you know he was hurt early on in the first series against the Bruins and he completely changed it when you the Bruins were up 3-1 and he came in you know I think in the third or fourth game of that series. Um so you know it’s it’s it’s a tough call. I if I were the Bruins I would pass on a you know 10 million eight sevenyear 10 million contract. If I was a Leaf, I would not pass on that. Yeah, I Well, Toronto obviously and um was it Brad Tree Living was saying the DNA needs to be changed with that Maple Leafs team yesterday and before he said that and he’s absolutely right. They are way overripeh for a DNA change and he would certainly do that. You know, the the Bruins culture was not great last year. It to me uh and needed a change of some kind like that. And I think he would be worth it to Boston potentially for what he would bring as far as that goes too. And you all of a sudden have him and Zidorov uh in the same lineup. And I and I agree with what you’re saying. You’re not bringing him in to carry you during the regular season to be He’s not a one. Not a one seat. Not at all. But he’s a guy that would make you extremely tough to beat if you get into the playoffs if and when you get there. having him and Zidorov I think would make them a a formidable intimidating team and getting back to sort of you know how they had success how they won uh when they won in 2011 how they’ve been sort of the culture had been traditionally here so I think all that stuff is interesting that is a lot of money but then again the cap in the next two three years is going to go over 100 million so maybe 10 million a year doesn’t seem like as much uh two or three years down the road um dupes your your thoughts on uh Sam Bennett that price tag and and where he might go and if the Bruins might be a fit. Love the love the player, love what he brings. Uh would never pay him 10 million a year. Uh 10 million to me, you you you got to produce the points. Steve’s point about and that and that might not be fair, but that’s how I see it. Uh I I want a guy I you know, I want I want Kachchuck for 10 million a year. That’s what I want. I want a guy who’s got all that brass and puts it puts in the points and stands up to everybody and causes a lot of grief, you know, front to back. So Brady or Matthew? Yeah. Well, Matt, I’ll take Brady. Thanks. I’ll take Brady at 8 million. So it it’s and again attractive player. I don’t know if he’s if he’s as attractive out of where he is now. And I think that probably means if if I’m thinking that way, he may be thinking that way. And then I I have find it very hard to believe that Zit ZTO will let him go. That said, July one it gets crazy. Maybe Detroit says, you know, we’ll give him 10, 11, 12 million a year. I think Detroit would be a place that’ll that will court Marshian to because that’s kind of what that lineup needs, right? they they need some some guys who drool a little. Uh and and that’s what you get from there. So, not for me. I’ll pass there. Uh I I I also I I also really wonder about Toronto getting another $10 million forward. Uh I I would be looking to say, you know, something, we got a lot of classy forwards here who can put the puck in the net. Let’s let’s find some other. And I know that’s exactly what Bennett is, but not not at that money for me. To your point, Kevin, of him staying in Florida, this is a situation where the tax situation in Florida could help, you know, could really turn the, you know, uh, the tide in the Panthers favor, you know, because, you know, 9 million in in in Florida and not having to sell your house and all that versus 10 million in Toronto, you know, that kind of levels the playing field. Sure it does. The the one interesting thing about all this I guess is as we enter a you know period the next few years where the salary cap is going way way up. Is Florida a team that can afford to spend $100 million on uh players salaries year in and out year out and be a team that’s going that high um with with their salary cap? Are they going to be one of those teams that’s going to spend every last uh nickel and dime that they have where Toronto, you know, is going to be able to do that? The Rangers are going to be able to do that. The Bruins, you would expect are going to be able to do that and I know Florida’s obviously in in a golden age down there and they’re doing really well, but are they going to be able to continue that uh consistently for a long period of time? That’ll be interesting to watch. But I I think you’re right, Steve. I think the tax thing is a big deal to the players and the amount of take-home money that they have uh in those situations. And you know, he’s part of a winner right now. They have a fantastic thing going there. you know, that that’s going to be a selling point, too, to stick around and see how far they can go and what kind of a dynasty they can build there. Yeah. I I don’t I don’t think it’s had much to do with Florida and Tampa being as good as they have been over the past five or six years, but the potential for it to help is there. No doubt. Um, all right. Uh, here’s another one from Bobby Rotundo on Twitter. Uh, it’s great that Swayman and a few other Bruins performed well in the World Championships, but let’s not get carried away. Many teams that were supposed to compete in the World Championships were in the play playoffs while the Bruins are sitting out just because they suddenly excel means zip. All right. I don’t think it means zip. Uh Jeremy Swayman 7-0. Uh good numbers. Um played well in in the final game, the the gold medal game. Uh looked really good, I thought. Um Nason Lori was solid at the beginning of the tournament, didn’t play towards the end. Uh Andrew Peak played throughout. I thought played really well. David Posternneck and Elias Lynholm were I think the top two scorers in the entire tournament. Elias Lynholm, for my money was, you know, great and it was it was good and encouraging to see him play that way uh for team Sweden in his home country and it continued what I thought you saw towards the end of the season with the Bruins where he had stepped it up, seemed to be healthy, confident, like up to speed, all of that. He carried that right over into the World Championships. And you know, there were some players missing for sure that were still in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but I think there was still enough high quality, high caliber players there. I mean, Sydney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon were there for Canada. They had a like every team had good players. Sweden team was stacked. That win that the US had against Sweden was quality uh in that tournament. Um and and they Swamman was the guy and and played really well down to the end. Um, Steve, uh, Steve, what how much do you take out of those performances in the world championships as far as encouragement, as far as like using that as a springboard to next year? Lindholm and Swayman are the ones that I look at and say you have to feel uh more optimistic about them bouncing back and being much better next year after watching their performance in world championships. Yeah, you know, let’s not get carried away with it, but yeah, it was a good step forward. Uh Sway had one iffy game where where uh he gave up four in the third period to allow no no way to tie it and they luckily they went US won in overtime but after that he was he was pretty damn good and you’re right they you know that that Swedish team was stacked that they beat in the in the semifinals and then the Swiss team maybe it’s not stacked but you know they play you know that international game where they pack that pack the middle and they make it really hard to score and you know they they beat a lot of good teams on their way to the gold medal game. Um Lindome is another another one that is you know encouraging you know coupled with the way he finished up his season. Um and there is a history of of guys you know when they sign a big you know a big deal with a new team to not have a great first year. Um, you know, they, you know, um, when the, uh, Bruins signed a slew of guys, u, Nosk was one of them, Forba was another one. They weren’t all that good in the, in that first year, that that next year when they won 65 games, they were huge contributors to to that team. So, there’s there’s some precedent there that, you know, that Lindome could can turn it around and be a solid player. You know, I don’t know if he’s a true number one center. Um, but you know, it is promising that he’ll be better better to start the season. That’s for sure. Dupe Dupes, how much do you take out of uh World Championships in in the way some of the Bruins players perform, especially ones that I think are going to be key uh next year to the fate of the team and and how well they do. Well, I think I think Pastor Knack’s going to get his 100 points whether he plays for the Bruins or whether he plays for the Rangers or whether he plays for Seattle or he’s that good. Y uh so I I don’t I don’t I don’t kind of get any read from that other than good for pasta because he’s a good guy and he plays hard and and none of that surprised me. Lindholm, here’s my concern. Uh the ice sheet was 15 feet wider. Uh if if you’re telling me the NHL rinks are going to be 15 ft wider, you don’t have to fight for in inside ice, you know, all of that, and you’ve got you’ve got an enhanced roster with a lot of skill and they can playmake, then then I’m more encouraged by what I saw. But I’ve got to see over the course of 82 games, guy shows up and he was hurt. Let’s let’s not forget uh shows up healthy, wants it, fights for the puck, gets in there, fights for his space inside ice to use the uh the Cassidy term. I didn’t see much of that. Now, whether he didn’t whether he didn’t couldn’t do it because of his back, whether the season went bad or whatever it was, I didn’t see enough of that. And I can’t get that gauge from the world championship because it’s a different game. Now, Steve and I both met with uh Swayman on whatever day it was, two or three days after he came home. And my feeling there was this was the guy, and we’ve all been there. This was a guy who needed a laxative, a big dose of laxative. And I think that’s what it did for him. I think he went, he just played played on instinct, felt good about himself, left the rink feeling a lot less weight in the belly. Y and and and I think that I you know whether it was the gold medal, whether it was a 0.66 goals against percentage, a 999 save percent, whatever. I think it did him good that way. And I think they the way he was talking, he’s going to stay in town here. Yep. He’s g he’s gonna he’s going to work. Um I I felt good about that. not the gold medal, just the attitude and and could see by the end of the year his attitude. Not not like bad guy attitude. I don’t think he know whether kne whether he knew was he was his ass from first base. I don’t think he did. No, I I at the end describe it as like a tense sort of like thing going. He was feeling tension. You could tell towards the end of the year there there was a tension there that usually wasn’t there with him. and he was trying to sort of like fake it till he made it sort of like pretend like it wasn’t there or whatever, but you could see that it was there for sure. Yeah. Yeah, it was. Yeah. He was absolutely, you know, forcing the positivity towards the end of the season and it was pretty clear. I mean, every Rome was burning around him and and you know, he it was he was looking on the bright side. Um, but yeah. Yeah, as Kevin said, we talked to him and he was he definitely felt like a weight was lifted that it kind of reminded him that he’s a good goalie. You know, um he didn’t feel that uh you know, he was doing anything technically wrong. It was more the mindset that he had. Um I don’t know enough about the goalending to to agree with it, but um but yeah, I mean, like I said, it was a good first step for him. Can you guys believe uh on a side note that it had been over 90 years since US Team USA had won the World Championships? Like that I found astounding that it had been that long and just that, you know, the the level of program that they have. And maybe it speaks to a long period of time where guys didn’t want to go over there at the end of a season and they didn’t get the best players that were available uh to go and play in that tournament, but it it speaks to them wanting to play now. And also, I just think the level that Team USA is at as far as cranking out really good players that are dominating at international competitions. Yeah, I I was I I talked to Worovski just before he that I think it was the day before he flew out and he said it 1933 and I I I really was takenback by it. Y there is a there is a one little caveat there which is in 1960 they won the gold at Squa Valley in the Olympics and that was recognized in those days. they recognize that as as the world championship as well, but that’s, you know, that that’s splitting hairs to a degree. The last time they played in the tournament and won it was 1933. So, uh, yeah, again, gi given where given where USA hockey and I started covering the league when there were only a handful of Americans in the league, uh, gi given how it’s developed, uh, the national program out of Michigan, all of that, you would have thought at least they’d be in the silver and gold, you know, the silver mix, right? But they haven’t been. Yeah. And it’s funny at the at the uh Four Nations at the end of it, uh Dylan Larkin kind of called out some of his countrymen for not going over to play in it. And you know, I I I’m thinking it was uh aimed a little bit at um Ta Thompson. Um and you know, he was there and he you know, thank goodness he was there. He scored the winning goal. Yeah. The winner. Yeah. And I mean, for a guy like that, like why wouldn’t you, right? if you’re on the Sabres and you’re not tasting playoffs and it’s a year in year out thing like that like and that’s your best chance to win and have that kind of a moment like he did in in overtime like that’s that’s what it’s all about. Um great shot too like he’s a he’s an fun player to watch. But that for me was really interesting. Um, and I it just continues, I think, to back up uh to Dupes’s point, the creation of that US national team development program, the ADA model for coaching American players, like all the stuff that USA Hockey is doing to build the program and and continue to to push it to bigger and better and greater things. You can see it. The proof is in the pudding that they’re getting deeper into the national tournaments, winning them, dominating other teams, and producing all this NHL talent. and it just continues to to build on itself. So, that’s been really uh interesting and fun to watch. Uh but that was a really entertaining World Championships. Uh and hopefully it springboards into a great Olympics next year. Um Kevin, Steve, thank you very much for joining us. Everybody else out there listening to this 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 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 Patriots Press Pass YouTube channels as well. And please, please, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. Dupes, Steve, thank you very much. Thank you. Always advice. Thank you everybody else. We’ll see you at the press conference next week. [Music]

Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty and guests the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont and the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy talk about the path back for the Boston Bruins, and who might be the best head coach to bring them back.

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