What will Bruins’ Lineup Look like in October | Poke the Bear

What will Bruins’ Lineup Look like in October | Poke the Bear

Poke the Bear is brought to you by Price Picks. And welcome into Poke the Bear, episode 351, part of the CNNS Media Network. If you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel where we have pretty much daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins with Evan Marinowski, Pucks with Hags. We have you covered every step of the way this brewing season. So follow along over at YouTube. If you don’t like YouTube, you don’t want to see my face. I get it. You can also subscribe and follow along over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever else you get your hockey podcast. The show is also brought to you by Prize Fix, North America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download today and use code CLNS to get $50 back when you play just five bucks. Prize Fix, run your game. My name is Connor Ryan and once again, we are joined by Ty Anderson of 985 the Sportsub. Ty, how you doing? How we doing? Uh, let me tell you, Ty, there’s not a whole lot to talk about right now. There, the off seasonason is pretty much over and now we are just biting time until we get to training camp in pretty much the middle of September at this point. So, uh, not much to talk about really honestly. We have to we’re scrapping the bottom of the barrel, I think, right now in terms of findings. Have to talk about a team that pretty much did all of their moves within the first day or two of July. Mhm. Yeah. I I think that, you know, you look at the roster, um there’s some room for maneuvering, sure, but but you kind of have a rough idea, you know, as to what it’s going to look like, who’s going to be in, who’s going to be out. Um you know, a lot of things can change, obviously, as we both know, but you know, you kind of feel like you you know, 26 contenders, right? It’s it’s how you get down to like 2021 that is going to be what we see kind of transpire here. But uh yeah, it is very boring. I mean, listen, man, I’m writing about NHL Network rankings as if I suddenly care about them. No disrespect to Tony Luffman and the gang at NHL Network, but like I’ve never been like, what what what’s their rankings of wingers, but that’s kind of where we are right now in the NHL offseason. It’s pretty wild. Yeah. Yeah, it’s der. So, I thought in in terms of uh findings to talk about, let’s make today’s episode one big project and look at uh projecting the Bruins lineup to start the season. Uh, I think when you got so many different moving parts, uh, so many guys that are on the roster bubble, guys, we don’t really know what to expect from them, I feel like whatever we both give as our projections might be, uh, horrifically wrong once we get to October 8th against the Capitals. But I do feel like there is a lot of variance or a lot of, uh, decisions that have yet to been made about that roster and what it’s going to look like. So, I think we just go line by line, go through the forwards, defense, and the goalending, which is also pretty interesting. So, uh, starting off with the first line, do you want to go first with what your projection is, or how do you want to do it? I feel like this is the one we might agree on. I I feel like it. Yeah. So, what’s yours? Mine is Morgan Geeky, Elias Lholm, and David Posternok. Same. Look at that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, you want to be a oneline team or you don’t want to be, but uh, this line was just so good to end the year, right? And I know low stakes. uh you were playing out the string, but I thought their results were really encouraging encouraging enough to make me want to kind of dig deeper and see what you have there. And we’ve talked about it on this podcast a lot. Elias Lynholm, you know, I if if he has to be a David Posternok inbed to get something out of him, I’m okay with that because you’re paying him a whole lot of money. So if he if he can produce, you know, because of posternoc and geeky, but still do the little things that you like about him, the faceoffs, the defensive acumen, all that, like I’m okay with that. So that’s kind I think where the best spot is for him to succeed for the 2526 Boston Bruins. Yeah. No, I agree. I I think if that is what if what you saw from them at the end of this past year because like their numbers weren’t just like good, they were like a five on five buffs saw, right? It was like 16 to five or something was the goals. It was something like that that it looked like prime marian berser on pass like I’m not saying it’s the same thing but in terms of like when you look at the natural stat and you’re like oh Jesus like the the numbers were were staggering in favor of the Bruins. So, not a guarantee that’s going to be the case this year. Not a guarantee that Morgan Gigi is a 30 33 goal scorer, but I think when you are the Bruins and if we’re looking ahead of what this season is going to be and what positives can draw be drawn out of it or how this team could be maybe more competitive than we think, I think a lot of it has to rest on that top line. I think we all know David Posnock is gonna be productive, but I I if Morgan Gei can be a consistent 2530 goal scorer and if Elias Lindol, even if he’s riding shotgun, can be like a 60 65 point guy while playing really good defense as well, then you got something there. Doesn’t mean you’re the Bruins are back, but if you’re trying to find the pieces in place, uh that’s very encouraging for what this team’s going to be moving forward. Yeah. And I think like, you know, as the contract ages, we’ve talked about this too, like as the contract ages, you probably don’t want Morgan Geeky being a topline player for your team, but right now he’s a top liner until proven otherwise. And so I I don’t want to punish him because you’re weak below the first line, you know, and so at a certain point, I do want to see if he can drive his own line. Uh given the way that he can skate, the way he can shoot, like I think he can do that. It’s just right now this is the best spot for him. You know, it really is. It works for everybody. Um, and I think he’s owed the opportunity to prove that he is a perennial 30 goal scorer and and I think that’s a great spot. You know, offensive usage wise, like that’s where you want to be, you know, for sure. So, that’s why I’m keeping that line together on top of everything else that we’ve both discussed so far. Yeah. And now going on to the second line. I’m curious to see what your your grouping is. Mine is uh Zaka, Casey Middlestat, and Victor Robertson. Yeah. So, this one’s tricky, right? Uh because I I I think that that is the the natural line to sort of go with. Um I worry though I worry that that line might be a little too periphery, you know. Yeah. Yeah. It at the same time though, right? like you kind of look at what you did with Middlestead last year playing with Lati and Cole Kepky and you kind of go I didn’t really learn a lot about Casey Middlestad last year, you know, and so there’s that part of it. Um I I I I do want to go with this line, but for the sake of an interesting podcast and the sake of disagreeing here, I’m I’m going to go a little bit different. I’m gonna say Mate Blumel, Pablo Zaka, Victor Arbitson. That’s what I’m going to say. Um, Mate Blumel, uh, I’m actually working on a story on him right now. I talked with him the other day. Uh, really has jumped into analytics, right? And he’s jumped into getting off one-times. He’s jumped into the idea of the best shooting angles and how to best utilize his his shot. It worked out last year in Texas for the Stars. And I think giving him Pablo Zaka and putting Pablo Zaka back in the middle. I kind of like that idea, right? And so I want to see if a guy who scored, you know, 73 points, whatever it was in the AHL a year ago, can be a legit top sixer. And I feel like that’s a good spot to put him in. You give him a countryman in Zaka, you give him a veteran pass first kind of guy in Arbitson, and your job is bombs away, baby. So I kind of want to see that. Um, I worry with Zaka, Middlestead, and Arbitson that you have three guys that are going to defer a little bit too much, right? And so I look at Blue Mel as the shooter on that potential line, and that’s where I’m going to go with that for right now. But Blue Mel, second line, left wing. Welcome to Boston, baby. Listen, I like that one. Like I went with mine because I just feel like it’s so tough with like where exactly Middlestat fits in because as you said, like I don’t know how much you you gleaned from what he did last year when you look at his supporting cast. I wasn’t overly knocked over of being like, “Wow, this guy could be a 55 60 point guy like last year off of what you saw,” which was not a whole lot. But, um, I I do like your approach though of like especially this year where there are so many so much, you know, uncertainty with guys outside of that top line. Now is the time, right, to see if any of these guys can pop, right? Like and what better way to do that than give a guy like Bluml an elevated role and see if he if he does well. Maybe he’s check Craig Smith and you got like a 20 goal scorer for the next couple years or maybe he doesn’t pan out. But again, this year where I think you have to leave no stone unturned and kind of throw everything at the wall to find out which guys are going to want to help you this year, but also which guys are going to be part of the solution moving forward. Right. It’s almost like last year, as terrible as it was, you found out like what you have in Morgan Geeky and like yes, maybe he’s not a 30 goal guy, but you know what, he’s part of the equation, right? And like you hope that, you know, even if maybe a couple years from now he gets bumped down the lineup, he can still pull on the rope and be part of what this next cord is going to be. If you’re able to do that this year and you find out whether it’s Blumel or a younger player or anything like that, I think that’d be a positive out of a year where I feel like you’re gonna have to focus a little bit maybe more on the silver linings than the tangible results. I think with the way this season’s going. Yeah, 100%. And and and that’s sort of, you know, that is the the line they’re going to have to walk here. And the greatest challenge with doing that is what kind of minutes are you giving players to prove themselves they can sink or swim, right? Like, and we’ve talked about this at adnauseium here on this podcast, but like you got to give guys the opportunity to prove they belong. And it’s hard to do that if you’re a skilled guy playing eight minutes a night. It just is, right? You need you need offensive zone usage. You need offensive zone deployment. you need to play in the power play a little bit even if it’s second second unit like and so the idea that every player has to work their way up from line four to line two like or to line one like like I don’t hate it in a vacuum but you’re not that team anymore right you’re like starved for you know when you lift up the big rock and you find some cool bugs underneath it like that’s what you want to do you’re trying to find some cool looking bugs right now and the Bruins got to do that they got to lift some rocks here and you got to do that by giving guys you know minutes to to actually prove that they can do something besides muck and grind it up and forche, you know, like if you got a skill guy, put him in a skill role. That’s that’s a that’s a a really novel concept. I know, but that’s how I look at this this upcoming season. Absolutely. You’re hoping to mate me the little roly pololy bugs. That’s when you hit the jackpot. So, you don’t want like a centipede or anything like that. That’s terrifying. It’s true. No, you don’t want that. So, good. Not at all. Uh, when you look at the third line, I I guess you want to lead us off of what you have your third line because I think now that we’ve kind of split a little bit. We’re like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker going the different ways. What does your third line look like right now? Let’s hope it doesn’t end like that. Jesus. I hope not. Yeah, we both got to get in cars after this podcast. That is true. Yeah, I’ll see you over at Gillette. What the hell, man? I am not going to Gillette tonight. For the record, I am not doing that. Um, no. Um, so my third line is kind of a hodgepodge here. like I but that’s that’s sort of this team, right? Like you’re going to have a line that’s going to be like that. Um right now I I I think based on the talk of him and how they view him um given the way they talked about his postseason, I got Mattie Potra centering the third line right now. Um and I have Casey Middlestad on the wing. Um giving them another faceoff option if Potra cannot win faceoffs. Although Middle’s not like a world beater. He was actually above 50% in Boston after the deadline a year ago. But and then Tanner Jano. Um now how you want to dice that all up, you know, who’s left, who’s right, like it might just depend on the role, but but Jano is the space mover or the or the, you know, the people mover for Potra and Middlestad to to craft their magic there. So again, it’s a bit like line two, the line two that that I didn’t want to have where you have two guys that are going to be primarily pass options, but I don’t see I don’t see Fabian Lysel making this roster. I would love it if they did it, but he wasn’t mentioned by Don Sweeney, you know, in the press conference talking about what Marco Sturm can do. Um, I would give every reason I think there’s every reason to play Fabian Lysel here, but I just feel like they’re going to go with Matthew Potra. uh given the way they they raved about his postseason down in Providence and you know giving him sort of a clean slate with a new head coach I think I think they look at this as a potentially sensitive too strong but like you don’t want to fumble him again right and and so I feel like I feel like there’s a degree there they’ve already acknowledged fumbling Fabian Lysel but Matthew Potra they haven’t right and so I feel like there’s opportunity there for him to be the third line center and they’re going to try to craft it so that he can win that job out of training camp. Yeah, I like that grouping too because I feel like you’re whether it’s the second line with like blue or like putting like Padra in that spot with a playmaker like middle stat with the big boy down low, there’s like at least upside there. I feel like mine is like very like like not getting too flashy, but also like not probably inspiring a lot of excitement as to what the group’s going to be. So like mine is Jano. Uh, I’ve got Fraser Minton as a 3C and I’ve got Blue Mel as the third line wing there as like the scoring threat. Again, you can make the case that like Blue Mel is not really suited to like get a good head start with Minton who’s maybe his ceiling isn’t as high offensively at least as Potra and Jano who I don’t know what exactly you’re expecting out of that group, but I do feel like if you’re trying to um put Minton in a spot where he can succeed, I think 3C is where you want to put him. Um, I think you still have an opportunity to give Blue Mill some run there. And I feel like when you commit that much money to Jano and I think that third line, however it pans out, that’s kind of your sweet spot where there’s going to be I think younger players, right? Like it’s going to be one of Minton Apatra and like it could be Blue, maybe it’s Steves, maybe it’s Lysel. I think when you look at what Sweeney mentioned about like having a guy that’s going to make some space, I think Jano is probably more of a thirdline guy for this team right now than otherwise. But uh I’m still not like super committed to that grouping that I have because I also just don’t really know where exactly Potra fits in. Like it’s it’s kind of so tough to look at right now before we get to camp before we see how they do in the preseason like where the Bruins are envisioning him and whether like Minton’s maybe a guy that’s better suited for that third line spot. Yeah, I I think that like you know Minton is such a wild card here, right? Because we’re kind of talking about this team, right? and we’re talking about their current center options and who they have there and whether it’s Middlestad who like Marco Sturm on appearing on Felgar Mass kind of like knocked the idea of Middlestead playing center to like a a slight degree saying like we’ll see what happens. Um but between Zaka Lindholm Castelick like you kind of have a sneaky need for a guy who like can bring some two-way pop right but also without sacrificing offense entirely. and Frasier Minton like projects to be a guy like that, you know? Yeah. Talking to people in Toronto, they said like, “Yeah, he’s actually probably like projects as like a Charlie Coyle type at the NHL level.” And so like does that is that his gateway to getting in, right? And that might come back to like is he playing PK? Is he like what is the usage rate? Right. And so like it he really is a very a really interesting, you know, case study here for the Bruins and training camp. But I just feel like, you know, the Bruins, and this kind of flies in the face of what I’m saying to a certain degree with Mattypra, but like when they have options and they’re still trying to figure out what you are, they tend to use those options, right? And and so like that’s kind of where I’m like I’m wondering if they look at him and go, you know what, we want we want 30 games of you in Providence before we know like fully what you are and what you can be. And so I like them. It’s just, you know, what do they prioritize there? or that third line center spot, you know, given their need for offense, do they double down on, you know, defense first, which would help a guy like Frasier Minton, but like or do they say, “No, no, we need an offensive minded guy. We got to find out what we got, which helps Potra, it helps Middle Stat out of the gate, and then you readjust, you know, in December, right, if things aren’t going the way you want them to go.” Yeah. So, yeah, it feels like there’s a lot up in the air. Like honestly once you get past that first line it all kind of goes to hell in terms of what you know who who are like the leaders in the clubhouse and also just what you want this team to look like because I I like kind of the way your lineup is set where there’s there’s room I think on both the second and third lines for upside whereas I like maybe I’m just so ingrained in like the Bruins and how they’ve traditionally done things of like no slow and steady defense. We’re gonna you know have Minton there. We’re going to do that. We got to have the veterans up top with middle stack. give him another look. Like I think if there’s ever time to branch away from that, it’s after a catastrophic year and going into a season now where you have a bit of a clean slate, but um I don’t I don’t know what exactly their plan’s going to be. But looking at the fourth line, what do you got for your for your final trio of this forward core? All right, so for the fourth line here, I got I have Sean Cari, Mark Castelick, and Mikey Eimon. I I just feel like you give those guys term, you give him more than league minimum, they’re playing right. And and that’s, you know, for a guy like Johnny Beecher, I I’m I’m coming back to saying, you know, why is he here? You know, and I don’t mean that like in a in a in a shitty way. I just mean it in a way of like what’s his role, right? Like you’re giving term to veteran guys that are going to take his job and you know, so like what like what is the what is the plan there for a guy like that? and and is he on the outside looking in to begin the season? It it does feel that way. Um so we’ll see what happens, but I just think that’s probably, you know, you got your you got your two faceoff options. One’s a lefty, one’s a righty. Uh and then you got your pain in the ass. Like that’s a Bruins fourth line in my opinion. You know, that’s that’s their fourth line. Yeah, it’s almost like Yeah, I agree. Like I don’t really know where Beecher fits into the equation other than like injuries popping up, which feels inevitable with some of those guys and the way they play. uh felt bummed out that couldn’t get Husandinov in there, but I feel like he’s a guy that’s also going to get some some looks because I just feel like there’s some more upside there. Like would not surprise me if he’s carves out a spot if he has a really strong preseason because like you you see the talent. It’s a guy that on a team last year where there were so many guys that you you’re watching a full game tie and you’re like, I didn’t see one shift that guy did. Like you you notice Husand when he’s moving his feet. So, right. Um felt bad that he didn’t make my cut here, but he’s kind of I think the first guy up 13 forward of um what he can bring. Like if guys are lagging a little bit, need some energy. I like what he could bring, but I have the same fourth line as you. Uh again, I I don’t think they’re going to uh change the fortunes of this team and what could be kind of a bridge year, but could be kind of a fun fourth line if these guys stay healthy, right? Like I I do kind of like the mix you have there. I think Mikey Eimon’s a a fun player in terms of just pain in the ass. Puts a lot of pucks on net, mixes things up. Um feels like a kind of a good guy to have in the equation here. There’s a lot of guys that I don’t hate like them on the team. I just wish they didn’t like sign so many of them. And also like the term is what the issue is. Like I think we said this before with like Jano. If it was like a two-year $1.25 million contract per year thing, I’d be like, “Yeah, screw it. Yeah, he’s going to be fun to watch.” you know, like it’s just the conundrum is just the amount of signings in the term. But in terms of like the product on the ice, I don’t know if they’re going to be winning all these games, but like they’re going to be fun to watch, I think. Yeah. And and to your point, you know, like you want to get a guy like in there, right? like you you 100% do, but but how do you make that happen if the lineup also has Frasier Minton andor Matthew Potra and or Casey Middlestad andor Matte Bluml? Like you kind of add it all up and you’re like, “All right, not a lot of space for for these guys, especially if they are, you know, similar kind of players, right?” And and so again, it comes back to sort of like what is the idea? What is the idea of this team, right? like are they a team that is going to have overwhelming production from their top line again and try to carve out, you know, some dribbs and drabs here of of of other production? Or are they going to say like, “No, no, we need to have like a like a beefed up middle six here in terms of offensive power because we know we’re going to have hammers on the fourth line and production at the top line.” Like, we got to see how that looks, right? It does feel like they’re going to opt for being more, you know, two to one, three to two kind of games. But for a guy like us and a guy like Lysel for that matter, like if they are looking for secondary pop, like there’s some pretty good options to bring up. It’s just it’s just do they get the opportunity and and how does that all shake out for them? Yep, absolutely. So, a little bit different between our two groupings, but I I like yours a little bit more in terms of the upside there, especially in that middle six group. I we just it’s the story that you wrote, you know, back back when you sat down with Marco Sturm last month. Like it’s a story you wrote of how like they’re gonna have to get creative and find ways to squeeze offense out of out of this lineup. And so you got to give guys some roles and minutes that maybe you’re not super comfortable with, but you know that they have a higher ceiling offensively than guys like Shawn Carelli and Tanner Jano who are not bad players. like it’s not like an indictment against them, but they play a very specific role and offense is not that primary focus for them, right? And so if you sign those guys, but you deploy them like they’re scorers, that’s where you run into that’s where you run into problems, right? And so for the Bruins, it’s about what we’re talking about, right? It’s about finding ways to deploy guys in seemingly unconventional ways versus their career to date, but you believe in their ceiling and the fact they can rise their ceiling. So there’s that part of it as well. Yep, absolutely. So, we’ll see what ends up happening once we get to camp. 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All right, Ty, looking at the defense. Uh what do you have with your first D pairing? This is really difficult for me because I I I I want to go in a certain number of directions here, but I’m going to stick with what feels like the most obvious. I’m going to go with Zidorov and Mackoy being the top pairing here. I I just feel like this is what they envisioned when they first signed Nikita Zidorov. Um, this is a a situation that maybe allows them both to, you know, alternate who’s activating, who’s being the stay-at-home guy. Uh, they can both be hammers. They can both make good decisions with the puck um and surprise teams when they do activate through the through the neutral zone. So, I’m going to go with that. I I think that’s probably, you know, you got you got MO coming off a major injury, right? And and same with your best left shot D. I don’t know if you want to put those guys together out of the gate. So, I’m going to say with Zidorov and Makavoy is my top pairing out of the gate. Yeah, I was tempted to do the super loaded top pairing of Lindholm and Makavoy, but I feel like you’re you’re just spreading yourself way too thin further down the group. Uh, I do like Zidorov and Makavoy. I’m going to go a little bit of a risk here, but I’m going to go with Makavoy with Lurai just because it’s more of the fact that I don’t really know where to put Lori elsewhere because like uh him with Peak was not good. It It’s been actually very very bad. You look at the numbers. I have him up here. Lauren Peak, 596 minutes of five and five ice time together over the last two years. Bruins have been out attempted 644 to 523. Yikes. And also been outscored 34 to 21. Not great. And I think also you look at like um how well Zador and Yokiharu have done over this past year. Again, small sample size, but seems like they gel pretty well. I think it’s almost like by default I’ve got Laura with Makavoy. like I don’t feel great about it because I think there’s a lot of risk involved with Lurai and just how much you know he can take a step forward defensively because you need that that top pair to be humming along. You need him to uh move the puck with authority, you know, not put Makavoy in tough spots either. But I feel like that’s probably the most logical place for right now at least with what my with what my deep pairing is. Totally fair. It’s totally fair. Um I I do I agree with you that like I would like to put Lind home with Mackoy. I think that is your best option. But I do think like both guys got to get their feet wet, right? And both guys got to sort of get back to, you know, feeling good about their game before you do that, right? And that and that’s, you know, I always think about how teams will stack in the third period, right? Like you watch the Penguins during their heyday and if they needed something, they’d put Gino and and Crosby together in the third period. Uh Dry Zidle McDavid obviously in Edmonton. Like I like the idea of of stacking that in the third period, right? You don’t have to do it for for 25 minutes, but if you can overwhelm a team in the third period and have them play nine minutes of a 20-minute period, it’s like, “All right, I like this.” Like, this might this might break a dam, you know? And so, um, yeah, I don’t love what I’m doing here. Like, yeah, I don’t I don’t feel that great about this decor as a whole. There’s just a lot of things where I’m like, “I guess.” Yeah. No, exactly. Um, and so I I think I think your uh your top pairing is more likely, right? And and it comes back to what you hope, you know, you hope that Makavoy is now good enough to babysit and to elevate a player ceiling much like Char did. You know, Char in his heyday was was helping bring Johnny Boychuck along and then Johnny Boychuck became a top four defenseman. you know, the later a the later stages of Charara, he was helped bringing along Kevin Miller and Zack Trotman and guys that you’d be like, who’s this guy? But like he could hang with Charara, right? And so that could be the the challenge now for a guy like Makavoy. I just don’t know if it’s out of the gate after missing, you know, 35 games, whatever it was a year ago. And so that that’s where I, you know, I love the idea. I think that’s going to be the more likely pairing. It’s just do they want to do that out of the gate? That’s what I that’s be curious about. Yeah. Uh, so my second pair I got Lynome with Peak and I think that’s honestly just more of a default thing than anything. I really don’t know how much I’ve seen of Peak and Lindome together. Um, there’s obviously question marks of just lint and how that knee is going to be. I think when you look at guys who are going to decide or or factor into how strong this team’s going to be, you got that top line, you got like what a guy like Middlestack could do and I think Lindome on the back end is going to be critical. Um, and so I think kind of more by default also because I just like Sudorov and Yoki Haru together that that is kind of just my deacto second pair. And you just hope that Lyn Holm is able to regain what he was before that knee injury because that first six weeks of the the year last year before he went down who’s arguably probably their most impactful skater I would say. Yes. Um I I would agree the second pairing. Oh, sorry. I don’t know if I was trying to find some numbers, but I but m now my computer’s just playing audio. Um, you got you got Wayne Knight just sitting down here. I I do. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. You got Matt Dolph the offici cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Alex Bar gets eaten by a velociraptor. I’ve already written this all screenplay. It’s great. I’ I’d buy in. It’s Yeah. Jurassic World uh 90 Sports Up Edition. Um, no. Um, I am going to go with Lyn Holm and Peak as well. Um, and and and really I’m doing this because I was trying to find these numbers and I couldn’t. They had a good game against I think it was Tampa. Like I wanted I don’t know if it was two years ago. I think it was two years ago. Yeah, had to be because it was uh it was Lindholm was walking around and playing. Um, and and I thought they had a good game and so I kind of want to go back to that, right? And you know, I I think it a lot that’s going to free up Lindholm to do more offensive minded, you know, thinking, plays, activation, all of that. And that’s when he’s at his best, right? Like, you know, talking to him after um the 24 25 uh 23 24 season, like he acknowledged like it’s tougher when you’re getting a lot of Dzone run, right? And you’re not playing in the offensive zone a lot. and he kind of, you know, he wouldn’t outright say it like he he’s a he likes being a complete defenseman, so like he didn’t mind it, but you could tell like he wants a bit more rope to make plays offensively and I think that if you have a strong safety net behind him and Andrew Peak, like I think that gives him that opportunity. So, I’d want to explore it. Um, again, in case you can’t tell, I’m not overly in love with any of my pairings right now. Like I I’m I’m very much in the discovery of a new defensive system, a new defensive structure that I I got to see how it all plays plays out. But I want to get Lindholm playing a bit more offensively. And I feel like putting him opposite a stay-at-home guy like Peak who doesn’t feel comfortable shooting the puck and making those kind of plays, I I think that’s the way to do it out of the gate. Yeah. No, I agree. Um, and then my third deep pair again by default, but if you’re just looking at anything kind of the same mindset as like the top line playing well less here, I think Zadorov, who I think kind of played well down the stretch anyway, but Ham and Yokiharu seemed like they jelled pretty well. 273 minutes. Yeah, 273 minutes to five on five ice time last year, outscored opponents 12 to five. Kind of Yokiharu kind of reminds me a little bit of like when he’s found the right partner. It’s kind of like when Grizzlik is in a good spot where he’s like doesn’t make any fleshy plays, gets the puck, moves it, gets out of the way. And I think if you got maybe more of a puck dominant defenseman or a guy that’s maybe more dynamic like a Zidorov or like Makavoy when you make that comparison, I think it it ends up working out pretty well. So, uh, again, not in love with any of these D pairs, but at least that’s one where you have some evidence over 270 minutes of like that could work. So, that’s my that’s my third pairing. Yeah. And by default, my third pairing is Mason Lorai and Henry Yoki Hararu. I think Yoki Haru, as you alluded to, you know, kind of steady Eddie back there, you know, like he’s going to make the right plays. He’s got good timing. Um he’s very fluid. I think he’s a safe defenseman um in terms of like his risk versus reward and how he weighs that. And so I think if that’s your third pairing, you know, you can you can kind of augment how they’re utilized um so that they’re not getting hemmed in their own zone. Whereas I think, you know, if you keep peak with Lorai, like well, you want to put Peak in the defensive zone. So you’re going to have to put Lori in defensive zone. And so I feel like Yokiharu allows them to sort of really craft, you know, how that that pairing is is put out there and putting them in advantageous situations. And so I think that uh that’s where I would go for that third pair. Yep. Yeah, I I agree. I still don’t feel that great with these deep airs, but that’s what they have. So there still feels like they’re still missing a defenseman or two, but that is a a podcast for another day, I would say. Ty Rasmus Anderson watch begins. I know it’s it would make make a whole lot of sense. Uh we’ll move on to the goalies now, but before we do, just want to once again shout out the CNS media network. If you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. We have daily content between poke the bear bruins with Evan Marinowski when he’s not doing the wave at Fenway Pucks with hags. We have you covered every step of the way this brewing season. So please follow along over on YouTube and wherever you get your hockey podcast, Apple podcast, Spotify, all that good stuff. And also shout out to the rest of our CLNS media network channels. Whether it’s Patriots press, Celtics All Access, uh they have you covered every step of the way. Whether it’s Patriots going to the preseason games now, Celtics, kind of like the the Bruins don’t have a whole lot going on, but like man, the Celtics all access team has pretty much daily content out uh going into another Celtics season. So, please follow along with all of our different channels over on the CLNS media network. Uh Ty, I think shout out by the way to uh Bobby Manning who does a great job uh covering the Boston Celtics. I mean, the Celix beat I I’ve always I I firmly believe this, right, that like you certain beats at certain points in our history have like a really impressive young group of writers that are like you’re like, man, they’re good. The Celix beat right now feels like that beat in my opinion. Feels like there’s like five or six five or six people who like they are at everything. And it’s like, again, a little word word of wisdom to anyone who wants to get into sports journalism. People notice when you show up at these things, even from afar. So, no, Bobby, Noah, uh there’s a whole bunch of young Celix riders who are put in like work every single day. So, definitely shout all them out. They’re doing all a great job. Uh Ty, uh I think for a goalies, we all agree who the number one goalie is going to be. You hope he’s a little bit better than he was last year. Uh but beyond Jeremy Simon, who’s your backup? My backup is Michael Dpietro. Yeah. I I I just feel like if you try to wave Michael DPro out of training camp, I am telling you right now on August 8th, the Edmonton Warriors, yes, will claim him. They will claim him. I’m telling you right now, you know who’s probably not going to get claimed out of training camp? Yonas Corposalo. And you know, you’re going to save some money by doing that, which is going to allow you, I think you could regardless, but like it’s going to allow you to bank away daily cap space. you’re probably going to carry three healthy scratches up front or or I’m sorry just on like skater wise because you you don’t want to lose off. You don’t want to lose uh Beecher for nothing if you can help it. So, I feel like, you know, this is a money-saving move similar to Nick Felino perhaps opening night, you know, up in 2023, but like or 2022, sorry. Um, but like I just feel like the numbers game and the math, it makes the most sense to to try to wave Corposal. And if someone takes him, cool, the contracts off your hands, but I don’t know if anyone’s going to claim them at $3 million. And so, I would save the the, you know, the you free up the what is it 1.8 eight and change basically, you know, by doing that. And that’s what I would do. Again, this is a year where you got to explore, you got to find out what you have. And I think, you know, a player coming off the AHL VZNA essentially, you know, and being an AHL first team all-star goalender, like I want to see if that guy can play. And so I’m gonna do that out of the gate because I think that math-wise you owe it to yourself to to not, you know, risk losing him to waiverss after investing all this time into developing him. Yeah. Uh my original when I wrote the story for BDC, I had Corporal Solo because I feel like I just went with the kermogyny like this is we’re already what’s going to happen. I’ve just again have been beaten down by so many like training camp battles and stuff like that that end up not being anything. Even look at like Brennan Busy last year. And again, I think all a lot of it falls on DPro. If he can really stand out during camp and make the decision that much tougher for the Bruins, then you like where he’s going to be at. I think I’m going to switch though and go with DPro off of what you said in terms of like just the the the choose your own adventure like, you know, book, right, of like, all right, well, if you wave DPro, he’s gone. If you wave Corpusalo, he’s still going to be here, right? And if that is like someone’s getting waved, barring a trade or anything like that. So wouldn’t if you’re just looking at asset management, you’d rather keep the younger guy up here who is still going to be here if he’s on the roster as opposed to something else. So again, I think a lot of it comes down to how Deep Pro does. If he struggles or Corposal struggles, then I feel like it’s pretty cut and dry. But if it is close, I’m bracing for Corposal. But I feel like for the Bruins now we have to figure out one what you have in the younger players and two like which is what scenario is going to be where you’re going to have both guys in the system still. It’s probably by keeping DPHO up and Corposalo down in Providence. Yeah. And we have to acknowledge too that last preseason Corposal was nails. You know he was he had like a 936. He had like a high danger save percentage I think was almost perfect. I I want to say he he stopped all but one high danger chance. And so and and you compare that, you know, Busussy was a 900 and so you’re like, “All right, well, if you lose him, I mean, he lost the gig, you know, whatever.” And so you have to account for that as you said, like if if DPro has an 875, you’re like, “Oh, you didn’t you didn’t rise to the challenge.” But I feel like this decision might be more financial than it might be more financial and circumstantial than just raw data, right? And so I if you want to ride if you play the odds and you say okay no one’s going to grab Corposalo because he’s make he makes too much money for too many years right and you wave him he goes unclaimed you give DPro five starts in October November you know the first two weeks the first five weeks of the season you’re gonna kind of have a feeling as to how good of a goalender he is right if he’s overwhelmed not ready for it and you’re like oh we need to get the actual backup back up here like you’re you’re going to be able to do that right and you may be may be able to do what you’re talking about, right, where if he starts out the year 02 and two with an 890, is he getting claimed? I don’t know. But like, you know, like that’s probably the best way to have both guys in your system if you want to do it that way. And then, you know, then you see what happens. But it was um it it you know, you do the math, right? Like if you trade Corposalo at half retained, you’re saving a little bit more than you would by just burying him in the minors, right? there’s less dead cap, I think, um, on your books. I’d have to do the math, which is not great doing that live on air. Um, but like I just feel like financial and circumstances are going to determine what they do here, and that’s why I’m going DPH. Yeah. No, I agree. Yeah, that I just think the asset management makes the most sense. So, uh, that’s our lineup. It’s probably going to be very wrong once we get to October 8th, but that’s what we have right now, at least. So, this was a a fun exercise, Ty. Um, before we let you go, where can we read your stuff? Can we hear you on the airwaves? All that good stuff. Well, you can hear me on the airwaves this Sunday, August uh 10th. Yes, 10th. Pinsky. Yeah. Uh you’ll hear me there uh 2 to 5:00 PM, I believe. I got to double check on that. Oh my god, I’m a mess right now. Uh myself and Matt Dollof, the Sportsub Underground is going above ground, so we got a pool now. So, uh you can hang out with us. Uh we’ll be doing that. Uh also 95portsub.com, uh the Sportsub Underground podcast as well. Um yeah, so that’s where you can find me. How about yourself besides Shal cuz uh have fun with that buddy. Oh, I’m literally looking at the traffic reports. It is dower. Uh you can read my stuff over at boston.com and the Boston Globe. We have you covered every step of the way this Bruins season. You can also follow me on Twitter, Axe, whatever it’s called. Uh Connor Ryan_93. Uh this was episode 351 of Poke the Bear. Again, shout out to the CNS Media Network. Please subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel, Patriots Press Pass, Sol Access, all that stuff to get regular content for all your Boston sports teams. And also, once again, shout out to Prize Pix, North America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download today and use code CLNS to get $50 back when you play just five bucks. Prize picks run your game again. Episode 351 of Poke the Bear. I’m Connor Ryan. That is Ty Anderson. You fans have a great rest of your week. [Music]

In this episode of Poke The Bear, Conor and Ty give their predictions for which lineup Marco Sturm will roll out on Oct. 8 in Boston’s season opener.

0:00 ⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
0:54 Dead zone of news
2:06 Projecting the Bruins’ lineup to start the season
2:51 First line
5:42 Second line
10:42 Third line
17:14 Fourth line
22:19 PrizePicks
23:53 1st defensive pairing
28:01 2nd pairing
31:01 3rd pairing
33:07 Subscribe to Bruins Rinkside, Patriots Press Pass, and Celtics All Access!
34:42 Goaltenders
40:02 Thanks for watching!

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