How things CHANGE this Year for Bruins | Poke The Bear

How things CHANGE this Year for Bruins | Poke The Bear

Poke the Bear is brought to you by Price Picks and welcome into Poke the Bear episode 356, part of the CLNS Media Network. If you have time, please subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel where you 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 Bruins season. So, please follow along with us over at YouTube. And if you don’t like YouTube, you can again subscribe and follow along over at Apple Podcast, Spotify, where wherever else you get your hockey podcasts. The show is also brought to you by Prize Pix, North America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download today and use code seal to get $50 in lineups when you play just five bucks. Prize picks run your game. My name is Connor Ryan and once again we are joined by the esteemed the ever knowledgeable Ty Anderson of 985 the sportsub. Ty, how you doing? What is going on today? How are we feeling? Uh, Ty, I got to tell you, I’m relieved. I’m relieved the fact that I think we finally have some hockey to talk about next week. Captain’s practice is right around the corner. We can actually talk to to players. We we can stop looking at uh trade rumors. We can start stop looking at what might happen. We’re actually going to be able to see the product on the ice. Again, I don’t know how much you gleaned from my captain’s practice, but it’s at least good one to be back in the building to fire off the back at it tweets once again, but I think even if captain’s practice is a few weeks before like training camp actually starts up, it’s good preview or a good way to kind of get the initial barometer of what this team is going to look like and what what the I think overall mindset of this club’s going to be going into a year where feels like a whole lot’s up in the air. Oh yeah, absolutely. I I think that, you know, you look at captain’s practice, it’s a way to kind of shake off the rust, see guys, see how they’re doing, find out about what their off seasonasons were like. Um, so it’s always good. You know, I think that the crew has gotten bigger from from what I’ve been told. Um, the crew that has been skating at Warrior um this this summer, uh, you’re starting to see guys pile back in, you know, uh, getting ready for the season. Uh they’ve had some some big groups there this summer uh from what I’ve been told. Uh just guys from all around obviously that play in the NHL in other cities, but there’s been a strong contingent of Bruins players that have been skating now for a little while here. Um you know, a guy that I’ve been told has been skating every day is Pavlo Zaka. Um who who has been there at the facility pretty much every day getting the work in. Uh so for a lot of these guys, man, like you can tell like they’re itching to get back. for a lot of them it’s the first time they haven’t had playoff hockey in a in a long time or the first time in their career and so I think to have that excitement um you know it’s there and you’re going to start feeling it now and a lot of guys a lot to prove and you know I I I just I think that energy is always good to you know that captain’s practice just to kind of get a feel for what everything is you know it’s it’s there I would say yeah it’s going to be definitely a different um tone or from what it’s been in the past where as you said Like usually these guys are are still like resting the the bumps and bruises they had from playoff hockey. It’s like every year it’s almost like when we catch up with uh players at captain practice, it’s you kind of have the same mindset year after year. It’s like, yeah, we’re going to be a playoff team. We’re like, you know, we came up short, but we’re motivated to get back. Now it’s a little bit different where it’s like, yeah, we imploded last year. We got a whole new group of guys. Like, what the hell do we do moving forward? And I I think that’s kind of what I’m going to be looking for as far as like the first couple days of captain’s practice is like again I don’t think anyone’s going to be like, “Yeah, man. This is going to be a rough year. Holy shit.” No one’s going to say that. Everyone’s going to say, you know, it’s clean slate. It’s, you know, we think we got a good team here. All the stuff you expect. But I do wonder how much of it is built off of I think what stuck with me during breakup day where instead of it being like man like this this was awful. It was seemed like a lot of like the rallying message was like no like we want to be part of the solution. Like yeah this sucked but like we’re not we’re not we’re not this [ __ ] bad. We’re not the fifth worst team in the league. Like screw this. Like and I I think there is kind of that motivation from what you hear from players who have been doing media tours already uh over in Europe. uh some players that are over here in North America with um like Olympic camps. There’s been a lot of I think media uh coverage the last couple of weeks, especially from just talking to players. It does feel like that is the overall message from some Bruins is like listen, last year is what it is. It sucked. We’re going to be motivated, but also like we’re not this bad, guys. Like we last year was a complete [ __ ] show. Like we’re going to get things back in order. We want to be part of that solution. Easier said than done when you look at the depth chart, right? Again, that’s we’re expecting that kind of tone, but I do wonder just how how much this team does think that they can really take another big step forward or at least write the ship, right? Where it’s like even if again, this team isn’t a playoff team, they’re not going to be getting a top five pick or anything like that. I I think that’s going to be the thing I’m I’m going to keep tabs on for at least to start uh as far as captain’s practice. Yeah. And you know, I I do think that it’s a great chance for him to prove a lot of people wrong. You know, setting the tone of what they’re going to be. Obviously, no Marco Sturm there, but Marco Sturm has been there pretty much every day. I I would say as well, like he has been there. Um, and so I I do think that like this is a chance to reset. It’s a chance to prove it. And you know, people like me, like listen, I wrote in July, I said they’re making the same mistake again. They’re not going to be a good team. Um I I still think they’re going to struggle to score goals, but if you can come in and establish that identity right away like of what you’re going to be, you have a better chance, you know, and and and that was what, you know, I think that we didn’t see last year, right? We didn’t see the identity, you know, like you you went to camp and you watched camp and you watched the games and you listen to the the coaches and and the players and you were kind of like, what do they want to be, right? because it felt like their visions never quite lined up with with what they needed to be or what they wanted to be. Um, and so now, you know, I do think they’re doubling down on certain elements of of their game that didn’t work a year ago, but right, if you have everyone pulling in the same direction, are the results different, right? And we talked last week about how if you have guys that are are going to be healthy and upright, you’re going to win more games than you did a year ago. And and I firmly believe that. We’re going to talk more about those guys coming up here, but like, you know, I I I think it does begin in camp. I I think that, you know, I go back to that 22 23 season where we showed up at camp, we saw it, we were like, “Oh, they’re going to be good.” Like, they’re going to we might have a wagon on our hands. Yeah. Right. And then you and then, you know, you’re like, “All right, this is like the vibes were good. The on ice product was good.” You know, they were all engaged right off the bat and you kind of knew you kind of knew that you had something there. And so, um, I’m not saying this year’s team is going to win 65 games. Uh, not not even close. But it does, you know, I think I think these things do matter. I think these camps do matter and and how guys show up and, you know, the conditioning, the attitude, everything. Like, it is super important. And so, I think for a lot of these guys that were talking about, it’s a chance for a clean slate, a chance for to find that passion again that it’s hard to maintain when you’re losing games, you know, five to one every night. And so, this is the start. These are the first steps. Yeah. And I I also think like I think the attitude and the tone is something that uh does it directly correlate and translate to results once he get to the regular season? No. But it’s a good I think barometer, right, as to like especially when you look back on how a season is going of like h that was maybe the canary in the coal mine or that’s something where we should have noticed that something was off because I kind of feel like that was last training camp. It’s almost the inverse of what the 22 23 one was where obviously we had the distraction of Jeremy Swamman and that played into it. But there was multiple one of those practices where it’s like you would see them like like not very cohesive like they like weren’t executing in drills like it just felt like everything was off. And it’s like almost like you you see those you’re like ah these guys are pros. They’ve been here before. A lot of these guys have been here for a long time. Like they’ll figure it out. like not everyone’s perfect on a on a drill during a practice, but it did feel like now when you look back on a year where it just feels like everything kind of regressed, they lost their identity. You had a whole lot of distractions. That was kind of the first thing that maybe should have tipped us off there. And so I’m not saying that all of a sudden like they’re going to be, you know, running strict practices or like they’re going to be completely dialed in. But I think having a guy like Marco Sturm in place who is going to be more forceful with practices, setting a higher standard and all those things. I think that’s at least a good way to just set the tone right away because it did feel like last year something was kind of off before the season even started and then by god it got a whole lot worse when the games actually started to matter. Yeah. No, I mean it didn’t feel right uh a year ago. And again, I just go back to, you know, there’s no reason for anybody here not to pull in the rope this year. You know, they weren’t a playoff team. Uh everyone has a contract as far as we know, you know, in terms of like next season. Um you know, unless they bring in a PTO guy, but even then that’s not going to change anything. like like there’s a lot of guys that have something to prove here, you know, and and there’s no, you know, it’s not like it was in 20, you know, 15, 2016 when guys were like, well, we’re still a good team, you know, we we did this, that, like no, they shouldn’t be resting on their laurels anymore, you know, like they they are far removed from deep playoff runs and and Stanley Cup finals appearances like like you are kind of back to square one here, right? And so I think that there’s a lot of guys that kind of have to, you know, get it going here and and I I think that’s what’s going to be most impressive or most, you know, will be telling, I guess, out of the gate with their training camp. Yeah. It’s almost like, yeah, there is I don’t want to say the complacency because I always feel like that is a very negative connotation of like these guys were just screwing around, but I do think like there is more urgency falling on a new group of players to like not just one get the team back in order, have them be a respectable product after how last year was, but also like for each individual player like you had so many guys who got called out, questioned, whether it’s like Swayman, whether it’s the new signings like Zidorov and Lindol, whether whether it’s Makavoy, whether it’s all these guys and before you would have I mean even look at like last season right where this team couldn’t get out of its own way were treading water would win like a game or two then what like they didn’t have a three-game winning streak I think only what once all of last year like middling kind of trudging along and then you’d go to like postgame and like Brad Marshian be like yeah we’re fine it’s like right are you and I’m not saying that to like call out like Marian but I think when you have like this new group one you can’t rest in that lore of like, oh, we’ll be fine. Like, if you’re fine, your captain wouldn’t be in Florida for six years living it up on a actual good team, right? Like, you can’t you can’t fall back on these sort of scenarios now. So, I think it is a new challenge for a whole new group of players. There’s going to be guys going to be thrust into more established leadership roles and it’s going to fall on the guys that were kind of the next players and waiting, right, like the Macka Boys and Poss, to kind of take the reigns. And I don’t think it’s going to be perfect. There’s going to be the growing pains. the results aren’t always going to be there, but I think you look at what kind of the next step of the progression is for this team that’s in this rebuild to retool. Like, you did the simple but painful thing of ripping the band-aid off in March. It’s you still got a ways to go to get back to being a contender, but now it’s all about this group you have, which isn’t a complete roster, but how do they kind of respond moving forward? It does feel like at least for what we say right now, we’ll see once we get into the locker room again, but it is a motivated group for multiple reasons as to why they want to prove a lot of people wrong in the next couple of months. Yeah, absolutely. And and I I think there’ll be plenty of opportunity um out of the gate, you know, to to show that um because they’re not like how many games you look at on their roster and say, “Okay, they’re the favorite.” you know, like there’s not many teams that you look at right now and say that they are definitively better than that team. And so they should have that underdog mentality, you know, beyond the obvious of guys who are coming off down years. Like there’s only a couple teams that I would outright say right now that they are I think better than, you know, like for me that that list is, you know, it’s San Jose, it’s Chicago, it’s it’s Nashville and and I’d still put them above Philly, but like you know, like a lot of these teams that that they’re kind of in their bracket, so to speak, you know, like like they made moves that might be a little bit bigger than what the Bruins made, right? And so the Bruins are clearly relying on their internal talent to kind of bridge that gap. And so, you know, that’s a challenge for those players. Yeah, absolutely. So, we’ll see what some of the veterans, the established guys say next couple days once captain’s practice gets underway over at Warrior Ice Arena. We’ll both be there for that every step of the way. Uh, Ty, we’re going to talk a little bit more about some established players on this roster. But before we do that, let’s take a quick break here from our good friends over at Prize Fix. This episode is brought to you by Prize Pix. Football is underway, so don’t miss on any of the action over on Prize Pix. The Patriots season is about to begin and hope is riding high kind of in Foxboro. There’s plenty of new faces in New England, but it looks like names like Trayvon Henderson, Stefon Diggs, and Milton Williams are going to be major players this fall. And if you want to make your pick on which players about to go off on the grid iron, you have to go with Prize Picks. Prize Pix is the best place to turn your sports knowledge into cash. With millions of members, Prize Fix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. You just pick more or less on at least two player stat projections for a shot to win up to 2,000 times your money. Run your game all season long on Prize Pix. Prize Pix puts the members first, so all withdrawals are fast, safe, and secure. Prize Pix offers Venmo, Apple Pay, Mastercard, and more for quick and easy deposits into your account this football season. Prize invented the Flex Play, which means you can still cash out if your lineup isn’t perfect. You can double your money even if one of your picks doesn’t hit. And it’s not just football. On Price Picks, you can mix and match player projections from different sports. Combine your favorite football players with players from baseball, basketball, hockey, esports, and much more. There’s no shortage of ways to participate in prize picks. This week, I’m looking at the board and I’m going to cover all my bases. I’ve got Roman Anthony for more than one home run and Payton Tooli going tonight against uh Paul Skins or the Pirates. I got Pton Toi for more than seven strikeouts. And once football season starts up, I’m all aboard the hype train with Trayvon Henderson. I’m taking the rook for more than 1.5 touchdowns in week one against the Raiders. So download the Price app today and use code cls to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS on the Price Fix app to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize fix. Run your game. Shout out once again to our good friends over at Prize Pix. Uh Ty, looking at some of the established guys on this Bruins roster who are either going to be in new situations or uh guys that are coming back from injury. We have a few of them to talk about. Uh one guy, Victor Arbertson, a newcomer, one of the few, I guess you could say, established top six players. Wasn’t really that type of player this past year with Edmonton, but a guy the Bruins traded for. Has plenty of proof. has had a pretty strong resume in the past, especially during his time with uh Nashville. He recently spoke with a few different uh media outlets over in Sweden. I know uh Ronnie Ronquist, which I hope I really pronounce your name correctly, Ronnie. Uh he spoke to to Victor Arbertson and Arbertson mentioned that, you know, he feels like the Bruins are a hardworking team that he thinks he can fit in with. Um you know, he mentioned he wanted to add a little spice to the Bruins in terms of I think that speed and skill that he does have. And I I think for Robertson who you look at what his profile as a player has been and how it didn’t work with a team like Edmonton where I think they’re so reliant on that speed and skill. It was kind of puzzling. But it does feel like he thinks that a team like the Bruins um could be the right fit for him where I think he’s going to get especially the minutes probably on the power play as well who I think really step into a greater role. And so for him it seems like he thinks this is going to be a good fit for him moving forward. Yeah. and he can be, you know, I I think what’s interesting about a guy like Victor Arbertson is that, you know, like he’s got the speed, right? He gets pucks on goal. Um it’s just how is he deployed? How is he utilized? You know, um you saw it last year, like he played a lot with McDavid and Tidle. That’s where he got the bulk of his points with them. Uh wasn’t a long-term fit, but like that’s kind of, you know, where he was most effective. Um being a right winger, like he’s not going to play with posternoc, right? And so can can can he be, you know, a guy who perhaps elevates Middlestad and Zaka or a a Blue Mel type or somebody like that? Like I think what’s really interesting, right, in in that interview, he talks about how he wants to get back to being the offensive-minded player that he was in LA. If you go to his LA in 22 23 where he had like 25 points in the power play a careerhigh I think to this day if you look at who he played with on the power play when getting that production it’s not like he was thriving with an Kopitar and you know Kevin Fiala or Adrien Kempe like like no he was scoring with like Kalv with Shawn Dery with Trevor Moore like Philip Deno like he was playing second unit right but he was elevating those guys. He was producing with those guys. And so I think five on five, that’s probably going to be his role is to elevate with guys that maybe are not superstars, but you know, he’s he’s a good one-year gamble. You know, my fear is that given his age, he has a really good year, and then they they kind of buy in on it like, “Come on in, buddy.” Yeah. Like like I don’t know, man. And I look at him as kind of like um this sound I I hate using this term because it sounds like it sounds it sounds like dehumanizing to the player. I don’t mean it that way. He’s like a prime pump and dump candidate, right? Like he’s kind of like you got to you got to sell wabistics, right? Like and it’s just a warehouse, you know? It’s just, you know, some guy’s garage, you know? It’s like I just feel like like that’s a guy that you want to juice up and and you know, if someone wants to get stupid with it and give you a second round pick, like you kind of do that. that’s the spot you’re in right now. And so with a player like him, I like the I like the the profile. It’s just I worry about them falling in love with, you know, bouncing back and and now he’s a part of like your your team when like it might not fit your long-term vision to do it that way. That’d be my only thing because like, you know, they were a good team in 2024, right? You could make the case they probably should have traded JVR. Like they probably should have they probably should have gotten an asset for him and then he got like rusk, right? Like, and then JVR caught like the bubonic plague or whatever and lost like 80 pounds and was a non-factor for you in the playoffs. And so that’s my only caveat with a guy like like Victor Arbertson. I like the profile. Skates well, skates fast, gets shots on goal. It’s just what role is he in and how do you look at that role? And and I that’s my only worry that I have about him because I think he can produce. Um, it’s just he might be more of a pump and dump than he is like a a core piece of your team, especially given his age right now. I think that is going to be such a an ongoing thing and a challenge I think for Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office is like I think as you’re trying to get this rebuild, retool, whatever you want to call it, uh, across the finish line, have a sustainable contending roster that’s going to be in the mix again for the next 10 years, right? That’s the ultimate end goal. It’s about, I think, finding those players that are worth investing in that are going to realistically be part of that equation, right? And so, to your point, like if you’re the Bruins and you either come up just short of the playoffs, maybe you surprise and make make the playoffs as a wild card team, you get balanced, but you’re you’re back on track, you’re back in the right direction. And Arfordson, you know, gives pops 24 goals, helps you out as like a netront guy on the power play and feels like he’s this guy. It is really tempting, right, if you’re the Bruins to be like, “Oh yeah, we’ll give him a four-year deal.” Like four years, like he’ll still be a good player and like he helps us out right now and you’re in that spot too with the Bruins where, you know, and I think we’ve talked about this at Nauseium, but like you you’ve added all this young talent, which is great, and you can stay the course and keep on doing that, but also you have to, especially down the road, the next, let’s say, another year or two, plate the posts and the Makavoys, right? That also you don’t want to be like, “Oh, we took a step forward. we seat expectations, but like you have a trade in him and like we’re just going to get our our draft picks. Like you also have to tow that line of I think when to put your chips on the table and when to identify which guys are worth investing in. It’s kind of like what we talked about with like you know would you want to resign a guy like Iverson who maybe has a good year but he’s an older player or would you want to like be aggressive and try to acquire like Rasmus Anderson who’s 28 who can really probably be a really good player for five years, right? Like I think the Bruins beyond like just hitting on their draft picks, you know, building a a cooler moving forward. It’s about picking and choosing I think which guys you think are going to be part of that winning formula. Like it’s it’s kind of like what you drew from like Morgan Geeky, right? Where if you asked me a year ago be like, “Yeah, he’s, you know, third line guy that you know can help you out. I don’t know if he’s part of the long-term plans.” You got your answer this past year. It’s about finding those guys that now with Mogeeki in place, you have a guy for the next six years that can reasonably probably be like a 20 goal regular guy. He’s going to be pulling on the rope with kind of that next core of players. It’s about finding which other guys are going to be part of that equation. And to your point, Arverson’s a player that even with the production, you got to weigh that. And I think that’s going to be a challenge for the Bruins in terms of just which guys you keep, which guys you sent you pass uh pass along and um just what is the best mix for this team as you’re trying to get back to being a respectable product but also having a sustainable contending team for the next five plus years. Yeah. And so like I kind of look at them and and like I wonder what they view themselves as. Right. Like Right. Like I I I I think it’s a it’s going to be a hard cell for them to to truly dig in on a rebuild, you know. I I think that, you know, I I think the dirty little secret in the organization is that, you know, Charlie wants to win one while the family is still here, you know, and and and it’s hard to do that if you’re constantly trading guys and you’re kicking the can down the road, but it is what is typically best for business, you know. I I I best for I shouldn’t say business, but the long-term health of your franchise. Like you got to kind of go through it, you know, to win it. It’s very rare that you can be in Vegas and just be win now, win now, win now, right? And, you know, still have that vision. I think the worst thing that they could be, and I’ve said this before, is like the mid2010s Flyers, you know, where where they were just spending money, throwing money at guys that were not going to make the difference, but they didn’t want to be a a non-competitive team, you know, and Right. like Yeah. Like, and so you’re going to have to make those harder decisions, but you know, how do you weigh if Arbitson is as successful as he envisions himself being? Do you have the guts to to trade that guy? You know, I think last year was easy for them. Last year was an easy decision. You know, they just didn’t have it. They gave it many tries and it felt like every time you were ready to be like, “All right, here they go.” They’d get their asses kicked or they’d have another gut punch of a loss. You know, I go back to that, man. The vibes are really high when they beat the Rangers in that game in Boston where Posrock had what I think he had a hat-tick, I want to say. Did he? He did. Yeah. Four goals maybe or something. He It was classic pasta game. Yeah. And you’re like, “Oh my god, they should be the Rangers.” And the Rangers got JT Miller, you know, that like this this looks like a this wow, they could be off for the races. And then a week later, you know, Vegas kicks their dick in basically like with a bunch of goals, you know, late in a period, you’re like, all right, never mind. You know, like Cassidy was like, I want them to know it was me. Yeah, that’s what it was. I mean, it was just like so, you know, like last year was easy, right? But like if they’re in it and you got a bunch of guys that are pending UFAs that are playing well, but you realize, hey, we’re going to be out in the first round or second round, like do you have the stones to make that kind of trade? I I I just wonder. Um and so that’s where a guy like Arbitson might be, you know, kind of stuck in the middle here and and you know, what do they do from there? It’s just I I wonder like who he plays with. I wonder how they view their second line. I think he is on their second line. Um, but you know, can he get back to being a guy who, you know, I’m kind of asking him to do two I’m asking him to do two things at once here. I want him at five on five to elevate his linemates, but also thrive on the power play and be, you know, play well with Posternok and Lindholm. And so, it’s a weird spot, but that’s where they are right now as a franchise. That’s why you that’s why you acquire a guy like Victor Arbertson right now after the year he had, right? Like Edmonton’s looking to clear cap space. you have cap space. Okay, now you’re weaponizing it. The ultimate goal there should be that you flip that guy for a greater draft pick than the one you gave up down the road, right? Like that’s why you acquire that kind of player. It’s just can you do it? Can you put that guy in positions to elevate the draft stock? And then do you have the stones to trade that player, right? I mean, hell, like what if like a team is desperate? What if like having a great year? he’s on pace for 27 goals or something and a contender like a true contender gives you their first for him. got three first round picks. Like, right, that’s not bad for again a guy that you kind of brought in and just off of the cast space he had. Like then I don’t know how realistic that is, right? If it’s all a sudden you trade him for a second when he’s having a year like that, then I’m sure you have a lot more people being like, but still that’s kind of the the tough calls you have to make for a team that wants to be back being a contending team. But like those are sometimes the gut punch moves you have to make if it leads to greater results than a year or two. Yeah. And and that’s where I am right now. Like I I I do feel like you cannot maximize an on the-fly rebuild or retool without being a little bit cutthroat. And and so you have to make hard decisions. You have to listen on guys that you’re like, “Well, we like what he’s doing, you know, but but is he here long term?” You know, anyone who’s not bolted down, I’m listening on. I think my list of guys I’m not trading is a pretty short list. It really is. It’s like it’s it’s Swayman, it’s Makavoy, it’s Posternok, and James Hagens. Like that’s kind of it for me, honestly. Like like that’s kind of where I am right now. Um, you know, now now there are guys that I I prefer not to trade. Um, but that’s kind of my untouchables list right now if I’m the Boston Bruins. Yeah. And I think that’s kind of has to be your approach as this team just kind of tries to find its footing. And I think especially just find out what kind of team they have because if you ask me right now, I couldn’t tell you. I don’t even think the Bruins really know until you get to the start of the regular season. So it’s almost going to have to be a read read and react thing as to what those next moves are going to be. Um Ty, we’re going to talk a little bit more about another player who’s looking for a bounceback year. But before we do that, take a quick break here from our good friends over at the CLNS Media Network. Again, if you have time, please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. We have daily content between Poke the Bear, Bruins V with Evan Marinowski, Pucks with Hags. We covered every step of the way this Bruins season. Following follow along with us over on YouTube, please uh hit the notifications button to get all your daily content right when you log into YouTube every morning. Uh and also, if you don’t want to go on YouTube, you don’t want to see my ugly face. I get it. Don’t worry about it. You can also subscribe and follow along over on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever else you get your hockey podcast. And also, it’s not just hockey over the CNS Media Network. We have Patriots Press Pass. We have Celtics all access. The whole crew over at CNS Media does a great job in terms of giving you daily content, whether it’s looking at the Celtics and their offseason. Bobby, Noah, everyone else over at the CLS Group does a great job keeping you updated every step of the way for a Celtics team that’s going to be going through kind of like the Bruins, a little bit of a bridge year, a year in transition for that club. But you wouldn’t tell it. You wouldn’t be able to discern that based on the way that uh that crew has been covering that team. Same with Patriots press pass. They’ve be covered every step of the way this season from training camp to practices to the start of the regular season right around the corner. So please follow along with all of our different channels on the CL media network. And again, Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. Please hit that subscribe button. Uh Ty, one more player we want to talk about. Hampus Lindome was over in uh I think it was Milan, Italy was like the the NHL’s European media tour. So, they brought all the brought all the euros down to Italy for that. Um, which always feels like a pain in the ass, but I guess it I guess if you’re in like Sweden or anywhere else, it’s it’s like flying to like Atlanta, right? It’s not it’s not too far, right? It’s like just a quick little Southwest flight down to Milan, Italy, I think. So, not not too too bad for that. But, um, Hampus Lome spoke to a couple different groups, but also discussed uh the upcoming season with Elliot Freeman as part of the 32 thoughts podcast. had some interesting quotes. Uh, one of them was looking at last season, watching kind of the team from afar. He said, quote, “I felt like watching the games, it was hard to really see what our identity was.” Yikes. That’s not great. Uh, he also mentioned that looking at this team moving forward, obviously he’s motivated to get back now that he has a clean bill of health. Um, he said he’s hasn’t had any restrictions skating, but said, quote, “People are going to underestimate us, but I’m very optimistic. I think we’ve got some good things ahead of us.” Um, I think kind of hearkening back to what we mentioned at cap like with captain’s practice and the tone these guys are going to set. I think it does come back to like the identity and I think you look at just where this team was last year. It almost feels like I’m sure you never get a player to say it on the record, but it’s like most of them are just going to say last year was a [ __ ] show. like every like I’m not viewing that as like a a thing that was inevitable or something that is going to carry over into like a four or five year downturn. It could, right? If guys continue to get hurt, stuff like that. But I do wonder if these guys think like between like the goalie situation and the coach and like everything getting flipped on its head like [ __ ] that. Last year was such a [ __ ] show that they don’t even want to like view it as something like that. Um, I wonder if you think that’s just what their overall approach is. Now, you can’t rest on that. I’m like, “Oh, we’re just going to show up and like we’re healthy. We’re going to be good.” But I do wonder if that’s kind of their their overall sentiment of what last year was that it wasn’t this inevitable the Bruins were going to have to pay the price eventually to get like a top five pick or something like that. It just feels like everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong with that team last year. Yeah. I I mean, you know, I was speaking to a player um at the end of the year and and you know, there are certain guys you have relationships with that you can just kind of be very candid and be very honest and open and you know, my my question was what the [ __ ] happened? Like what happened? Like how do you go from what you were a year ago to this? And there are obviously things that happen. There are guys that leave, you know, whatever. What? But like what happened? And you know, the player told me like, you know, it felt kind of obvious that they didn’t have enough and that they didn’t they didn’t have the means to to get better, so to speak, like and you know, I asked about Montgomery. I asked about that and and I said, “Did you feel like everyone was pulling in the same direction?” And the answer I got was no that no, didn’t feel that way. And and what I was told was, listen, he’s human. You know, talk about Montgomery. People are human. When you don’t have security and no one’s playing well, everyone feels it, right? And that is what was said to me is that you could tell the locker room was tense because Montgomery’s uncertainty and his and his frustrations uh with the lack of a contract, with the lack of perhaps belief from above, um it was a factor, right? And there were there were a lot of players and this is another conversation I had with somebody else in in the organization. There was a lot there were a lot of players that, you know, felt like they were getting thrust up into a spot where they couldn’t really win, you know, like there were guys that were saying, “Cool, I like this opportunity I’m being given, but like I can’t be this guy.” Like, and if you want me to, like, we’re going to run into a wall at some point because I’m not I’m not that player and I can’t be that player, right? And so, you know, you want guys that believe in themselves, but I think everyone last year kind of knew that they were dealt a really shitty hand. And after a while, you start looking at it and going, “Okay, we can’t overcome this. We don’t have we don’t have the knowhow. We don’t have the experience. We don’t have the personnel. We don’t have the coaching staff.” And there were players, and I mean, I’m sure you picked up on this as well, like there were players that realized the job that Joe Sacko was given was not a fair job to Joe Sacko, right? And so that all leads to that that identity crisis that you’re talking about and guys not knowing what they are, not knowing who they should be. If you have a bunch of fourth liners and now they’re playing second line, third line, it is a world of difference in the NHL to be asked to do that, right? Like you can you can be a really good fourth liner, a really good secondary scorer, but when you’re put in the first line, second line, you do look around and go, “Oh god, I’m facing the first pairing now of a playoff caliber NHL team. This is not the same as what I’ve done my entire career.” And guys will either rise to the challenge or they will fail to meet it. And I feel like the Bruins had too many guys that failed to meet it but also realize in the back of their mind they can’t meet it. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And when you don’t have when you don’t have the belief, you know, in yourself and not not to knock anyone for not believing in themselves, but like it is a big ask for a lot of those guys. And I think that was a massive thing that led to all these things that Hampus is talking about. Yeah. It almost like if we go we both got an email from NASA being like, “Congrats guys, like you’re going to the moon. We believe in you.” Like no, I don’t want to do that. Like, hey dude, if Bruce Willis can get up there with his with his minor crew, then we probably would also we would we’d also die. We would I’d be there’d be four seconds of me being like, “Oh, oh, that’s I’m gonna be an assh Oh, this I’m not qualified for this.” No, this email sent to the wrong guy. I’d be it’s Ryan O’ Conor who’s working over at like at Penn or something like that should be getting this email, not me. Yeah. No, I would be I would be the Russian dog going to space and just dying up there. That’d be me. I That’d be me. Like, but I I do think that there was that like there were multiple players that were like, “Hey, man. Happy I’m getting this chance, but uh not sure what you want out of me here.” Like, like it was a real thing for a lot of those guys. Yeah. And so, it does make a really interesting situation where you look at just the amount of guys that should bounce back, but then you also weigh it with like the clear flaws that are on this team, right? That it’s why it’s so tough to like right now like definitively say what kind of team this is. And I feel like we’re on the same wavelength of like they should be better, but I don’t think they’re a playoff team. And I’ve seen this kind of posed for a couple different groups already. But where do you fall in terms of like what do you think is more likely? The team is like a lottery like top seven pick again or more likely they like are a wild card playoff team. Like not you can’t like look at like the in between. Maybe you’re getting the 14 pick but you miss the playoffs or something like that. like what do you think is more likely between the two extremes there for what this season could be? Yeah, I think they’re in it. I I think they’re contending for a wildcard spot. I I I don’t believe that the Eastern Conference is that loaded. I I just don’t I I I don’t think that Detroit um is all that impressive. I don’t think that Montreal, even though they made the playoffs, like they don’t really scare me. Uh like who’s their goalie? like who who who’s their goalie right now that that you’re looking at Montreal going oh god can’t like seriously um you know and and Buffalo’s Buffalo and Detroit yeah like like I and then you you look beyond that like the Rangers I think should be better the Blue Jackets are kind of a wild card you know like they could like they have enough young talent that they might take that next step but like what’s the situation yeah um you know Pittsburgh is is old u Philly what are they like Islanders, what do they like? So, you got quite a few teams that are kind of, you know, not too far away from the Bruins or the Bruins are not too far away from them. You know, going back to what we talked about last week, if the goalending is goes from an 892 to a 9005, like you’re going to win more games, right? And and if you can score more on the power play, you’re going to win more games. And if if Lindholm can be the Lindholm you got for two months, you’re going to win more games. So, I do think that they’re a wild card contender. Um, do they get there? I I don’t know. But end of their year is really hard. But dude, it’s brutal. I think you showed it to me and I was like, “Good god.” Yeah. But it’s going to be awful. You know how awful would it be? I’m sorry to cut you off. If like is like goes into like late match and they’re like in the like they’re in like a wild card spot and you’re like this team is exceeding expectation. We got Hagen’s coming here too. And then they just get punched in the mouth repeatedly. They get a bastal hit over their head over in April. Like it’s it’s that schedule is brutal. Yeah, it’s totally possible. Especially because like like I saw that happen in real time in 2015 and 2016. You know, I was covering those teams and I witnessed it. They were in it and then they fell out of it and then, you know, they’re they’re picking middle of the first round. And, you know, I’ll never forget the absolute joke of, you know, watching the draft lottery in 2015. The Bruins had like a 0.5% chance of getting the number one overall pick, but you were watching because it’s McDavid and and Eel and you’re like, there we go. And it’s like, no, they’re picking 13th, you idiots. You know, like that’s where they were. Um, but you know, like I I do think they they will be in the mix. I just I can’t for I can’t foresee them being as bad as they were a year ago. Like like people I think I think people greatly underestimate how hard it is to build a team that bad. It’s just it’s really hard to build a team that bad. Now, the obvious caveat here is like, yeah, if Lindol and Mway are hurt again and Swayman still sucks, then yeah, but like I don’t know if all three of those things going to happen again. Like the odds of all three of those happening again seem kind of low in my opinion. I I think if you discount like the injuries if if again we’re not saying like, oh, they’re not going to be a top five worst team. Well, if Pasta, god forbid, gets hurt or one of these guys, then yeah, that changes the thing. We’re talking I think just like if this team is what they are right now with like the clear flaws on like especially up front on this roster, but you don’t have injuries, there’s so much that you just look at like the baseline of what this team should be. That’s not a top five worst team in the league, right? I think that is how things have to go. Like could they bottom out? They absolutely could if injuries do sprout up. But again, I feel like what they most likely are are a team that is playing some meaningful hockey in March and you maybe make the playoffs, maybe you don’t. But I think they’re so much closer to making the playoffs than being a unwa like also as miserable as last year was and my god like the first four or five months were so painful because it just feels like you would see them start to feel like they were getting into some sort of momentum and they would win two games in a row and then lose four or they’d lose two after that like they couldn’t get out of their way. It was frustrating. before the deadline they were still like what six points out like and then they the day after the deadline they were two points out of a playoff spot. Yeah. Like they were a single win out out of a playoff spot. I think just when you look at how last year was like such a miserable season and all that sort of stuff that I think people thought like they were just unwatchable all year and they weren’t fun to watch all year. Like they that was a rough season to go through but they were not dreadful. We weren’t talking about James Hagens in like December being like, whoa. Like that. That’s not what this team was. Like to really be horrifically bad. You have to have either a whole lot go uh wrong or you have to have just a abhorrent roster. And like this team is not perfect. They’re not abhorent. Like you still have a 50 goal scorer. You still have a lot of really good defenseman. You got a goalie in Jeremy Swayman who had a miserable year but has also had four years before that of being a pretty damn good guy like goalie. Like your team is not that bad to like right now look at this team be like yeah get the Gavin McKenna watch going. I don’t think we’re going to be looking at this team in November and being like yeah like if McKenna’s there like I don’t know if you split them up with pasta or I don’t think we’re having those conversations. A lot can change, but I just don’t think on paper right now this is a team that’s you’re gonna be start looking at the top five picks and and start projecting who’s going to fall to who once you get there uh in June. I mean, people forget, man, they had a 10ame losing streak. They had a 10ame losing streak. Like, do you know how insane that is to to go on a 10-ame losing streak? Like, that’s that’s bananas, right? If they even win, you know, let’s say they win four of those games, right? Let’s say they win four or you know what, screw it. Let’s say they win three of those games during that 10ame losing streak, right? They still would have been five five or six points out of a playoff spot. Like, yep. So, if they don’t lose 10 games in a row, they’re going to be in it. Like that that that’s just how the that’s the nature of the league that this is that the NHL is where you have 16 teams that make it and you’re going to have teams that, you know, rise and fall at the deadline. You know, I I just think that again, just people just grossly underestimate how difficult it is to be a true bottom feeder in this league. I think people also forget how I don’t think this part of the apt word, but how impressive that tank was at the end of the year of like just completely bottomed out and also like a lot of other teams started like getting hot, right? Like Buffalo ended the year pretty well. Seattle started winning games like a lot like the stars align to get them in the spot to even have like a potential top five pick like between them moving all those guys getting the picks to then losing all those games other teams further down the standings playing well to then having James Hagens fall on your lap at seven after you kind of got you kind of got screwed over with how the lottery went. Uh the Bruins have had like a horseshoe in their pocket like the last like couple of months honestly of how things have kind of worked their way. So, I think people do forget like last year was not fun for most of it, but it didn’t get truly dreadful. And you can even say dreadful isn’t the right word in terms of them maximizing a a lost year to to view that as just how the entire year went. Like it was an impressive downturn once everything did kind of bottom out. Yeah. And and you know, you had Montreal in there and Montreal had to rattle off what, like seven or eight wins in a row at one point to get themselves back into it. Like it we did so many shows or not even shows but like we would cover a game together and we would scoreboard watch and we say damn nobody wants that final wild card spot. Huh? You know Columbus would lose when they were in the position to take advantage. Montreal would and then Montreal got hot. And so I I just feel like the Bruins will find themselves in that sticky middle ground. And I know that’s not ideal because like you’re really not all right. What do you what are you playing for? 10th overall pick or getting your doors blown off by the Panthers in round one? like right I think that’s where they are right now and that’s where they’re going to be. I just think that so long as you have Posternok and so long as you have a healthy Makavoy, a healthy Lindholm, a Swayman who is a better than what you saw a year ago, you’re going to be in it, right? I I think that’s where, you know, unless the wheels totally fall off, they are going to be in the mix for a playoff spot. I’m not saying they’re going to be in the mix for a top seed, but I do think I’ve said it, ceiling is third place in the Atlantic, you know, and I think more likely a second wild card, but like they I just think they’re they’re their spinal cord is too strong. You know what I’m saying? like like it it’s just when you have a 110 point guy and you have a a a top top 12 defenseman in the NHL and you have a goalie who’s been considered a top 10 goalie in the past like it’s similar to when they had you know Berseron Marian Charara and Rask you’re like okay as long as you have those four guys like you’re you’re gonna you’re you’re going to be in it. Yeah. Exactly. So we’ll see what plays out. It’s all gonna start next week once Captain’s practice gets underway over at Warrior. Ty and I will both be there. Uh Ty, beyond uh your daily reports from uh Warrior Ice Arena. Where else can we read you stuff? Where can we hear you on the airwaves? All that good stuff. Uh 98 FA Sports Hub. I was like, where where am I? Where am I? My brain just shut off for a whole second there. Um, no, I I will be hosting uh I believe on Monday on Labor Day uh myself and Matt McCarthy 10 to two. Um, you can find me there. Find me at the podcast uh Sports Hub Underground. Myself and Matt Doof. Um, you can also just find me, you know, walking around the city of Boston. If you see me, say hi. Just don’t throw anything at me. That’s all I ask. Um, it’s always rude. I always hate when you see that. When when you show up to war, you got like a big tomato on your face. Like, and it’s always Porter who’s doing it, too. That’s that’s the messed up part. He’s like, “It’s homegrown.” I’m like, “I don’t care.” Yeah. It’s like it’s a driveby biking. Yeah. I don’t want that. I don’t want a tamil hitting me in my face, dude. I can’t have that. Um, so yeah, that’s where you can find me. How about yourself? Yeah, you can read my stuff over at boston.com and the Boston Globe. We have you covered every step of the way this brewing season, starting off with training camp, which very excited to have that get underway pretty soon. You can also follow me over on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, Connor Ryan_93. Ty, thank you once again for talking hockey with us. Again, this episode is sponsored by the CNUS Media Network. Please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel as well as our other channels, Patriots Press Pass and Celix All Access. Show is also brought to you by Prize Pix North America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download today news codes to get $50 in lineups when you play just five bucks. Prize Picks run your game. Again, this was episode 356 of Poke the Bear. You fans have a great rest of your week. [Music]

In this episode of Poke The Bear, Conor and Ty discuss Boston’s upcoming Captains Practices, Viktor Arvidsson’s fit in Boston, and uncertainty regarding Boston’s outlook this winter.

Poke the Bear is Presented by:

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

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

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