It was a busy morning on Toucher & Hardy, with a heapin’ helpin’ of Bruins deadline talk on the menu, complete with a side of Pats.
We started with the Black and Gold bright and early. Jim McBride of the Boston Globe is the one you hear in the top clip. If you were listening to the show this morning, you also heard plenty of audio from Monday’s press conference with Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney. As McBride wrote in the Globe, Sweeney believes the Bs won’t be “as aggressive and active” between now and Friday’s NHL trade deadline. But he is considering giving the team a “bump” if the right deal or deals comes or come across his desk in the coming days.
Toucher and the show translated that for everyone this morning. The Bruins are playing beyond the modest expectations both the pundits and the front office had at the beginning of the season. They have a good shot at making the playoffs. Sweeney is looking to help them get there by rewarding them with some deal-swinging. But, as McBride pointed out, the team still needs healthy bodies to get out on the ice night after night. So the expectation is that draft picks and prospects–not players–will be sent out for any players that might come in.
Bruins Deadline Talk, Pats Offseason Chat
As we did this morning, we’ll now turn our attention from the NHL and the Boston Bruins to the NFL and the New England Patriots. Chad Graff of The Athletic zoomed into the show during the 8:00 hour. The timing is key: 4:00 this afternoon is the deadline for all tag-related activity in the NFL. Because of this, we expanded the conversation to include other teams and players. What’s the future of QB Daniel Jones? And will QB Tua Tagovailoa land a starting job this offseason? Chad thinks he will, but can’t guarantee he’ll keep it.
Graff joined Fred, Hardy, and Wallach in addressing the primary needs of the Patriots this offseason. Should they use their late first round pick on an edge rusher or an offensive tackle? Echoing yesterday’s conversation with Mark Daniels, the issue of Will Campbell came up again. The Patriots are certainly better off this offseason than they were, say, five years ago. But they still have positions of need that will have to be addressed with free agency on the horizon. Chad went through and ranked those positions in a recent column that you can read here.
Bonus BoSox
For those with an eye on Ft. Myers, there’s your Red Sox spring training update. It comes courtesy of Boston Globe beat writer Tim Healey, who checked in with us from Florida. You can read his most recent spring training report here, which is pitcher-centric. That was the case with our conversation with him on Monday as well. We dug into Sox starter Ranger Suarez and his ability to buck the high-velocity trend that’s been so prevalent in MLB in recent years. Check it out in the clip above, and listen live to Toucher & Hardy weekday mornings from 6-10.