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Post by SeaBass on Apr 28, 2020 7:18:56 GMT -5
The Chicago Blackhawks have fired team president John McDonough, who led the team to three Stanley Cups since 2007.
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Post by fforr on Apr 28, 2020 8:20:53 GMT -5
Gimme the Eastern Conference guys thank you.
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Post by KSJ08 on Apr 28, 2020 8:28:06 GMT -5
It’s all about money for JJ even though his are apparently in control I will never believe it .. I'm just happy he let's Sweeney spend to the Max and he has often exceeded that and team got penalized for it..Remember Harold Ballard?? Yeah or Wirtz before Rocky took over!
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Post by KSJ08 on Apr 28, 2020 8:29:53 GMT -5
I saw this someplace else. Who ya got?? Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid How bout Bobby Orr and David Pasternak
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 28, 2020 9:53:58 GMT -5
I saw this someplace else. Who ya got?? Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid How bout Bobby Orr and David Pasternak I would go with Mario and Sid.
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 28, 2020 9:54:03 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 28, 2020 11:39:15 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Apr 28, 2020 14:42:16 GMT -5
I saw this someplace else. Who ya got?? Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid Wayne and McJesus
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Post by madmarx on Apr 28, 2020 14:45:42 GMT -5
It’s all about money for JJ even though his are apparently in control I will never believe it .. I'm just happy he let's Sweeney spend to the Max and he has often exceeded that and team got penalized for it..Remember Harold Ballard?? Ballard was a piece of work too actually spent some time in jail ..
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 29, 2020 6:10:05 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Apr 29, 2020 11:13:33 GMT -5
We were conditioned early in the pause to be ready for next season to potentially be delayed until some time in November.
Tack on another month now.
As I hinted near the bottom of my column last Friday, the idea of delaying next season’s start until December has indeed been discussed by the NHL with its teams as a possibility, multiple sources around the league confirmed.
The kicker is that the league still hopes to cram in a full 82-game season, even with a December start.
Which would mean – as with the November start scenario – wiping out All-Star weekend, the bye weeks, shortening the Christmas holiday break and basically tightening the entire schedule matrix wherever possible. The result would push the regular season into May and playoffs into July.
Again, as I say all the time during this season pause, none of this is written in stone. It’s just being discussed as a possibility.
But there are two reasons why a December start to the 2020-21 season is on the table:
The length of time it will take to complete the 2019-20 season (if resumed at all). Several team executives that I have spoken with over the past week have said the league has hinted at being willing to go as late as September, maybe even October, to finish off the playoffs for this season. After that, some form of an offseason would be needed, even in a truncated form, before you could start a new season. A lot of teams feel they need fans back in their arenas next season before opening the doors. That’s what they’re telling me. It’s fine to try and finish off the 2019-20 season without fans because 85 percent of the regular season has been played and that gate money has been earned. But by the time the NHL opens up shop for 2020-21 season, most teams can’t even think of starting without fans in the building. Some organizations have told me they would lose less money by simply staying dark. Hence, they’re hoping a December start will be enough time for the world to be in a better place with the pandemic. Will we have a vaccine by then (maybe not)? Will there be medical treatments that help mitigate the threat and allow for crowds to gather again by December? Will massive numbers of tests be available everywhere? Who knows. But delaying next season as long as possible to wait out the worst fo the pandemic is probably a wise idea at this point. The NHL is a gate-driven league. Now, could the league open without fans for a month or so before fans can return? I’m sure that also will be discussed to see if it’s feasible. I’ve had a couple of team executives suggest a January start to next season isn’t out of the cards but a league source told me this week that would be pushing it.
I mean, the 2012-13 season started in January after the lockout but that was just a 48-game season per team and the priority for the 2020-21 season – given the economic pounding the NHL business is going to take over the next year – is to play an 82-game schedule if at all possible. And the players, staring at crazy escrow rates, would be just as much in favour of protecting 82 games next season.
Bubble trouble
The NHL-NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee was scheduled to chat again on Wednesday, which will be the committee’s third (virtual) meeting. I suspect there will be more centralized sites/bubble chatter. Interesting to hear Habs forward Phillip Danault on a media call question the idea of players being away from their families for an extended period while living in the centralized sites bubble.
Again, this is something I asked John Tavares in my Monday piece about his role on the Return to Play Committee and it’s clear the players have raised this issue with the league. This is a situation that warrants monitoring going forward. While going home in between games would defeat the purpose of creating a bubble to keep the virus out, I do sympathize with the idea that three months is far too long for a player to be away from his loved ones. So the question is how can the time in the bubble be shortened? There’s a debate, for example, about whether training camps (which could be two to three weeks in length) should be held in the centralized site bubble or not. One NHL team executive pointed out to me this week, why not have the training camps in each NHL city’s practice facility if health authorities deem it safe? The only sure thing in all of this is more discussions will take place.
The bottom line
I wrote a few weeks ago about why the NHL and NHLPA will try every effort to finish this season. Aside from desperately wanting to award the Stanley Cup after having played 85 percent of the regular season, there’s anywhere from $350 million to $500 million in TV/media/sponsorship revenue to be projected in Hockey Related Revenue if the playoffs can be completed. Now, here’s the question I have: at a certain point, do the costs in staging the games at centralized sites eat too much out of those remaining revenues? There are a lot of extra expenses to pay for, including hotels, medical testing, etc. That’s a question that hangs over all this.
Expanded rosters
The AHL at some point will cancel its remaining season and focus its efforts on figuring out next season. But in the meantime, that’s a lot of NHL prospects without hockey to come back to for this season. Could the NHL allow for expanded rosters if the 2019-20 season is indeed resumed? A source confirmed on Tuesday that the NHL has indeed discussed potential roster expansion for a resumed season but at this point, no decision has been taken either way.
Getting closer to Phase 2
As my colleague Darren Dreger mentioned on “Insider Trading” on Tuesday, the expectation is that the NHL will prolong the self-quarantine period from April 30 to mid-May. After which the hope/expectation is that Phase 2 could start in and around May 15 – the relaxation of the NHL quarantine and allowing players to skate again in small groups at their NHL team facilities. I can’t tell you how badly players are looking forward to this. Being off the ice this long is so foreign to them. They never go this long in the offseason without skating. What will be interesting when Phase 2 begins is whether only some NHL team facilities will be able to open but not all, depending on their regional health situations with the pandemic.
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Post by madmarx on Apr 30, 2020 5:18:08 GMT -5
The sticking point with the Players is once they start up they will be separated from Family for at least six weeks and possibly three months depending on how far the team goes..
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 30, 2020 6:50:42 GMT -5
The sticking point with the Players is once they start up they will be separated from Family for at least six weeks and possibly three months depending on how far the team goes.. I think if you are still playing they won't mind. I think if you have no shot at the playoffs then they will.
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Post by kjc2 on Apr 30, 2020 7:21:08 GMT -5
I always want hockey and playoff hockey whether the Bruins are strong or weak. The Bruins not having a chance to compete for the Cup this year would be devastating. Our window is closing, some of the Bruins best players and leaders are old. We are leading the league and are obviously one of the deepest teams in the league, the boys deserve another kick at it this year... I don’t care how they make it happen, they need to try everything to make this happen.
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 30, 2020 8:46:07 GMT -5
The past two decades have been good to the Bruins. They won the Stanley Cup in 2011. They could have grabbed two more titles in 2013 and 2019. The Hockey Hall of Fame will welcome several of the organization’s building blocks when they tuck away their skates.
Yes, there were some bleak stretches in the 2000s and the back-to-back postseason misses in 2015 and 2016.
But the progression of the past 20 years signals more good things to come in the next 20.
Here are the 10 biggest and best moments, on the ice and off, of these past two decades:
10. Bruins promote Bruce Cassidy (Feb. 7, 2017) The Bruins were out of the playoff picture. They were headed for their third straight postseason no-show. It would cost Claude Julien his job.
Bruce Cassidy, brought up from Providence at the start of the season, assumed command, albeit earlier than anyone would have liked. Cassidy’s priorities included increasing pace of play, denying entries at the blue line and keeping pucks near the net instead of using the points.
Two days later against San Jose, Cassidy won his first game as head coach. The Bruins went on an 18-8-1 run to make the playoffs, where they lost to Ottawa in the first round.
Under Cassidy’s leadership, the Bruins have become a consistent powerhouse with elite goaltending, air-tight defense, a dominant No. 1 line and a dangerous power play.
9. Bruins acquire Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell (June 22, 2010) Dennis Wideman was a good two-way defenseman for the Bruins. He was 27 years old, still in the sweet spot of his career.
But the Bruins needed not just a shakeup but up-front upgrades after their second-round meltdown against Philadelphia that spring (when they blew a 3-0 series lead). David Krejci, who was developing into a top-two center, needed right-side help. The Bruins wanted a more complete fourth-line center than Steve Begin.
They got their men via the Panthers. Nathan Horton became the No. 1 right wing. Gregory Campbell settled into fourth-line duty between Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton. They were critical additions to the championship roster.
8. Bruins acquire Tuukka Rask (June 24, 2006) The Bruins had hired Peter Chiarelli as general manager. But Ottawa, Chiarelli’s former employer, wanted its assistant GM to stay through the 2006 draft. So it fell upon interim GM Jeff Gorton to execute the trade for Tuukka Rask, selected 21st overall the previous year. Andrew Raycroft, the Rookie of the Year in 2003-04, went the other way.
Rask, the second goalie picked in 2005 after Carey Price (No. 5), was coming off a strong season with Ilves Tampere. He would not report to North America until 2007. It was worth the wait.
Since Rask became a full-time NHL player in 2009, the Bruins have not had to worry about starting goaltending. That’s a long time.
7. Game 7 comeback against Toronto (May 13, 2013) The Bruins were dead. Nazem Kadri had given the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead at 5:29 of the third period. Krejci even pulled out one of the classic game-over maneuvers: a dejected slap shot into his own net, practically before Kadri even raised his arms in celebration.
But then came the rally. Horton made it a 4-2 game at 9:18. With Rask off for a sixth attacker, Milan Lucic pulled the Bruins within one at 18:38. Then with 50.2 seconds remaining in their season, with Zdeno Chara setting a net-front screen on James Reimer, Patrice Bergeron sent Game 7 into overtime with a long-distance snapper.
Of course, the Bruins were going to win.
In overtime, as Jaromir Jagr missed a shift because of an equipment issue, Tyler Seguin took his spot next to Bergeron. Reimer stuffed Seguin’s short-distance shot, but Bergeron jammed in the winner and the Bruins were off to the second round. 6. Tim Thomas clears waivers (Jan. 10, 2006) The Bruins needed a goalie. Andrew Raycroft had hurt his leg. Hannu Toivonen was unavailable because of an ankle injury. Tim Thomas, the starter in Providence, was next man up. Thomas, 31 years old at the time, needed to pass through re-entry waivers before he could land in Boston.
Twenty-nine teams could have nabbed Thomas for nothing. They all passed. Thomas would go on to win the Vezina twice and claim the Conn Smythe when the Bruins won the Cup in 2011.
5. Home run at the 2006 draft (June 24, 2006) Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom were the first four selections of 2006. By the time the Bruins were ready to pick fifth overall, there was just one choice: Phil Kessel. The explosive forward was coming off a freshman season at the University of Minnesota in which he scored 18 goals and 33 assists.
Drafting Kessel didn’t require much from the Bruins’ amateur scouting staff. They earned their salaries in Rounds 2 and 3.
At No. 50, the Bruins picked Milan Lucic, who had scored 19 points the previous season. In the third round, they picked Brad Marchand, a feisty and mouthy forward coming off a 66-point season.
Fourteen years later, Kessel, Marchand and Lucic have combined for 2,028 points. Kessel (861 points) is the No. 2 scorer from the 2006 class, trailing only Backstrom (927). Marchand (646) is fifth. Lucic (521) is seventh.
4. Claude Julien hired (June 22, 2007) Chiarelli was in a tough spot. After a rotten 2006-07 season, Chiarelli declared Dave Lewis safe for the following year. But with Claude Julien available after New Jersey let him go, Chiarelli changed his mind, turfing Lewis after just one season.
It turned out to be arguably the best move Chiarelli ever made.
Julien entered Boston with a mandate for black-and-white clarity. He told players exactly what he wanted them to do. Julien rewarded good execution. He was hard on players who underperformed.
The Bruins played hard, kept their net free of pucks and transitioned rapidly to offense after they forced opposing turnovers. They made the playoffs in 2007-08, Julien’s first season. This streak lasted until 2015.
3. Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard sign as free agents (July 1, 2006) The Bruins were not always known as liberal spenders. That changed quickly.
With Gorton in the interim GM seat, the Bruins invested $57.5 million in Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard, two of that summer’s most significant unrestricted free agents.
The 29-year-old Chara was allowed to leave by Ottawa, even though he scored 43 points in 2005-06. Savard, 28, had served as Ilya Kovalchuk’s setup man in Atlanta, where he recorded 97 points.
By opening up the checkbook, Gorton locked up a No. 1 defenseman and a No. 1 center. Both have left legacies, especially Chara, the man who has touched multiple generations of Bruins players.
“He’s just been so influential in my career in the way he prepares,” Torey Krug told Bruins fans during a video town hall on Tuesday. “I’m very honored that I could sit next to him in the locker room for as long as I did in the old TD Garden locker room and pick up little things here and there. He’s been a huge influence on my career.”
2. Bruins draft Patrice Bergeron (June 21, 2003) The 2003 draft was a generational class. Thirteen players picked that year have appeared in 1,000 or more NHL games.
Only one of them was not picked in the first round.
Seventeen years later, it is inconceivable that 44 players were selected before Patrice Bergeron. He scored 73 points for Acadie-Bathurst in his draft year. Scouts were already noting his processing power.
The Bruins are thankful the teenager didn’t make more of an impression.
Bergeron made the 2003-04 varsity roster as an 18-year-old. He dominated the AHL the following year during the NHL lockout. The same season, when his country came calling, the 19-year-old lined up with Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry to lead Canada to gold in the 2005 World Junior Championship. Bergeron was named one of the Bruins’ alternate captains in 2006-07 at just 21 years old.
He was just getting started. Selke trophies, Olympic gold and the Cup were in Bergeron’s future.
1. Bruins win the Cup (June 15, 2011) The euphoria the Bruins experienced in Vancouver wasn’t just about winning Game 7 over the Canucks. It was the outburst culminating from all they accomplished during that ride: winning three Game 7s, overcoming calamitous injuries to Nathan Horton and Marc Savard, digging out of a 2-0 first-round hole going into Montreal, scrapping like a gang of roughnecks whenever tempers flared.
Perhaps the most rewarding perk was creating friendships that will last for life.
“It’s nice to see we still have a really good relationship after all these years,” Krejci said on a video call on Monday. “That’s why you play the sport, right? You want to create lots of memories and stay friends when you’re done playing.”
Seguin, a rookie, turned 19 that season and was just beginning his NHL career. Mark Recchi was 43 and saying goodbye to his. Between those two, a roster stuffed with talent, heart and perseverance brought the Cup to Boston for the first time in 39 years.
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 30, 2020 9:49:29 GMT -5
The first time Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was cut from a hockey team came when he was 15, when he tried out for the Midget A squad composed of 16-year-olds.
The coach was Murray Kuntz, who played pro hockey, including seven games for the St. Louis Blues in 1974-75. Kuntz was a nice man, Cassidy recalled — though the former NHL defenseman remains bitter about not making the team.
“I was good, but I wasn’t great. I thought I would make the 16-year-old team,” explained Cassidy. “All the 15-year-olds were cut, so I played with all my buddies on the B team.”
He’d get a shot at payback, however.
Cassidy was called up to the team for a holiday tournament in December. It was a big deal to play in the Air Canada Cup, and if your team won the districts, players would receive new pants and gloves, and the team would fly to Nova Scotia for the main tournament. Cassidy’s team eventually lost 3-2 in overtime, squandering their chance at the new gear.
“For me, a poor kid, and our parents really had to piece it together to get me and my brother to play, so I was looking forward to a chance to get new gloves, new pants, and I had never been on an airplane,” Cassidy said. “We lost 3-2 and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m not even part of this team and I was probably as pissed as anybody. ‘There goes my gloves. There goes my new pants and I’ve got to wear my brother’s shit again next season.’ I would’ve had new stuff but had to wear the hand-me-downs.”
At the end of that season, Cassidy and his 15-year-old teammates finally got their revenge against the A team and coach Kuntz.
“We played in a tournament at the end of the year and we beat that A team,” Cassidy recalled with pride. It was an important win for Cassidy personally, helping to set him on the path to the NHL. There were scouts in attendance, and that game helped get him on the radar. Cassidy was drafted and played the following season for a Tier II team at the Junior A level.
“That started my true hockey career,” he said. “So, the decision that coach made to cut me is pretty interesting the way it worked out in the end. I would see him and he’d say, ‘Hi, Bruce.’ He was a nice man, but I don’t think he remembers cutting me from that team.”
Think again.
Kuntz, now 74, remembers Cassidy, and that season, well.
“He was a helluva hockey player when he was a kid and we would bring him up for a big tournament,” recalled Kuntz. “He was such a talent at that age. He was on the lower team and we would bring him up for tournaments with us, because he was better than all the coaches we had on our midget team at that time when he was 15.”
Kuntz said the last time he spoke with Cassidy was when he coached the Washington Capitals, a role he was fired from in 2003. Still, the former coach is happy for all the success Cassidy has experienced with the Bruins.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Kuntz said. “One of the toughest jobs in the world is to coach NHL guys, especially some of the superstars. When he went into Washington, he was young and it was really tough on him, but he really knows the game and he’s done really well in Boston.”
Kuntz was just one in a long line of coaches who helped mold Cassidy into the player and the coach he ultimately became.
Leonard Cassidy never coached his son in hockey. That relationship took place on the baseball diamond, where Cassidy also thrived. His hockey education, however, was left to the professionals.
Cassidy remembers each one and has a story, or two, to explain his experiences with the men who helped develop him as a player.
“I was not really friendly with coaches,” Cassidy said. “I was a good student, and I thought a good hockey player for a while, so I always got along with all my coaches and teachers, but they were authorities, so I separated them. You can’t form a friendship with people of authority; I don’t know why I thought that when I was younger, so I stayed away from coaches other than ‘hello’ and listened and try to do what they asked.
“I never thought I would end up in that profession.”
Cassidy’s path to this point in his life and career has been well documented. A first-round pick (No. 18 overall) of the Blackhawks in 1983, Cassidy was a top defensive prospect whose playing career was cut short by injuries. He was known as a cerebral player, so coaching seemed like a natural progression.
As he moved up the ranks as a player, Cassidy encountered some all-time great coaches. In the OHL, he played for legendary Ottawa 67’s coach Brian Kilrea. Cassidy was the 67’s No. 1 pick in 1982 and after two seasons, he celebrated with the organization’s first Memorial Cup. He registered 95 points, including 22 points in 13 playoff games. He remembers Kilrea as a screamer.
“The thing about Brian was he didn’t try to make you into something you’re not,” Cassidy remembers. “He was good that way – excellent.”
Kilrea remembered Cassidy as quiet, talented and easy to coach.
“Coaching him, I didn’t do anything, because he was so talented,” Kilrea said. “What can you tell a guy that does everything? When he came he could move the puck. He could play defense, so you just sort of let him alone. The one thing about Bruce, he never said a word. I remember we made a trade and got a partner for him, a fellow named Roy Myllari, and when they got together neither one of them would say anything except to each other.
“Bruce was always one step ahead when he played. He could play the game in his head as well as he could with his feet, so he was easy to coach and thank goodness we had him. He’s one of those stories of things working out for the best. Bruce got an injury that curtailed his playing career, and he would have been unbelievable in the National League because of his talent, but because of it he ends up coaching.”
During his pro career, Cassidy played for Darryl Sutter in the IHL. They were together during the 1988-89 season with the Saginaw Hawks and then the following season won a championship with the Indianapolis Ice.
“The thing Darryl was good at was he could always push you a little bit more. Deep down mentally he could get you, but he built my mental toughness, so I’ll give him a lot of credit for that,” Cassidy said.
Mike Keenan’s first season coaching the Blackhawks in 1988-89, Cassidy was up and down between Saginaw and Chicago. In two seasons, he only played a total of 11 games for Keenan, but Cassidy has a few gems about his former coach.
During one call-up, Cassidy met the team on the road and the Blackhawks had lost the night before in terrible fashion. Some of the veterans warned Cassidy of a potential bag skate at practice. When it started there were no pucks on the ice, and then suddenly Keenan jumped onto the ice in full gear and participated in a scrimmage.
“He always tried to keep the players guessing,” Cassidy said. “He did a lot to challenge guys, but I wasn’t there enough.”
Cassidy also remembers one game against the Hartford Whalers at Chicago Stadium when he played only one 47-second shift.
It gets better.
As a lifelong Bruins fan, Cassidy finally had his chance to play at the Boston Garden. It was his only game in that building and he wanted to make it memorable, even though Keenan wasn’t giving Cassidy too much ice time.
“Mike would mumble on the bench and had a lot of too-many-men penalties,” Cassidy said with a laugh.
Cassidy spent the majority of the game on the bench. At one point the Bruins had a 6-0 lead en route to an 8-2 victory. Cassidy wasn’t content to sit idly by any longer.
“I thought he said my name, so over the boards I go. I heard, ‘Where the fuck are you going?’ I never looked back. I’m gone,” Cassidy said. “I’m at the Boston Garden and I know he’s not going to play me again, so I’m going out there. I took a spin on the B at center ice and was like, ‘See ya later, boys.’ I’ll deal with it when I get back. I wasn’t typically that guy but we got waxed that game. I remember Ray Bourque slashing me and I was like, ‘That’s OK, Ray, go right ahead.’ I enjoyed my moment around the ice. I don’t think he said anything to me when I got back to the bench because we were getting our ass kicked so bad.”
Toward the end of his playing career, Cassidy was one of the older players in the minors, so he took on the role of mentor to the younger players. He didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the start of his coaching career and the organization took notice.
As a coach, however, Cassidy considers himself self-taught.
“I never really had a guy who was a mentor to me,” he said. “I don’t know if there was ever a coach that made me think about coaching.”
Since he didn’t have any coaching mentors, Cassidy would read coaching books, something he still does today. He’s currently reading “The Teenage Brain: A neuroscientist’s survival guide to raising adolescents and young adults.”
Or, he would reach out to former teammates and friends for coaching advice. His Blackhawks team photos are a who’s who of solid hockey minds, including Marc Bergevin, Bob Murray, Doug Wilson, Denis Savard, Trent Yawney, Eddie Olczyk and Sutter.
When Cassidy retired at 31, it took only 10 days before he landed a head-coaching job with Jacksonville of the East Coast Hockey League in 1996. He was the only coach on staff and the team’s general manager was younger and had little hockey experience.
After two seasons in Jacksonville, he was hired to coach the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL in 1998. Again, zero assistants.
For Cassidy’s one season behind the bench for the Trenton Titans of the ECHL in 1999-2000 he was allowed to hire an assistant, so he brought in Mike Haviland, who would later serve as a Blackhawks assistant coach. Then, as coach in Grand Rapids (IHL/AHL) from 2000 to 2002, Cassidy hired Danton Cole, the current men’s hockey coach at Michigan State University, as an assistant.
Obviously, it all changed when Cassidy was hired to coach the Capitals in 2002. The organization hired Randy Carlyle, along with Glen Hanlon, to serve as assistants under Cassidy, who was only 37.
“Randy definitely helped me, but I was still the head coach,” Cassidy said.
After his brief stint with the Capitals, Cassidy coached in the Blackhawks organization (2004-06) and served as an assistant under first-time coach Trent Yawney for the Norfolk Admirals during the NHL lockout season in 2004-05. Later, Cassidy coached junior hockey for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in 2006-07.
Cassidy interviewed for the vacant head-coaching job with the Providence Bruins in 2008. The Bruins decided to promote from within and named Rob Murray to the position. Cassidy was offered the assistant role.
“Murr was great,” Cassidy said. “We had a pretty good thing going.”
After three seasons as an assistant, Cassidy served as head coach in Providence for five seasons. During his time there, Cassidy learned Bruins coach Claude Julien’s defensive-zone coverage. As a former defenseman, Cassidy understood the importance of layers, so he particularly appreciated Julien’s system.
Cassidy was named an assistant under Julien in 2016, then assumed the top role when the Bruins fired Julien in February 2017.
Cassidy may consider himself self-taught, but now that he’s again at the highest level, he has learned to lean on at least one sage voice for a little bit of wisdom: Harry Sinden.
While coaching in Providence, Cassidy had met legendary the Bruins coach, general manager and team president only once. On the day Cassidy was named the 28th coach in Bruins history, however, general manager Don Sweeney had a question for the newest bench boss.
“When I got the job, Donnie said, ‘Do you mind if Harry calls you?’ I said, ‘Harry Sinden, (Cup winner) in 1970 and ’72, and Team Canada? Listen, he can call me anytime he wants, because I’m going to ask him more questions than he going to ask me.’ I’m a fan. He called, we chatted and he was excellent. I respect him. He’s been in the game a long time.”
The two live in the same Boston neighborhood, talk often and sit down for coffee occasionally during the offseason when Sinden returns from his winter home in Florida.
“We talk hockey and I respect his opinion,” Cassidy said. “He never oversteps his bounds and always answers the phone when I call. It’s been good. Because he’s coached I like talking to him. You talk about coaching a coach, there’s a guy in a roundabout way who has helped me since I’ve been here.”
Since he’s been in the organization for 50 years, Sinden understands the intense scrutiny and media attention that comes with working in Boston. There are few who can relate to Cassidy’s position the way Sinden can.
“I like my chats with Harry,” Cassidy said.
As Bruins coach, Cassidy leads a tight-knit group, everyone working well together and getting along. The entire staff always eats dinner before every game at the rink, whether at home or on the road. Routinely, Cassidy, Joe Sacco, Kevin Dean, Jay Pandolfo and Bob Essensa also dine together on off-days during road trips.
“What I love about our staff, there are no outliers. No one dominates the conversation. It’s a good group,” Cassidy said.
Under his guidance, the Bruins have posted three consecutive 100-point seasons, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 before losing Game 7 to the St. Louis Blues. When the NHL paused its season due to COVID-19, the Bruins led the league with 100 points.
Cassidy has earned the respect of his players and his peers around the league. He’s learned to adapt and have success in an era of younger players and he’s built himself an impressive resume. He doesn’t owe it all to any one coach, but many have shaped his understanding of how to be a successful leader. Now, he wants his players to realize this: “When people get to know me, like these young players, they realize, ‘Wow. His bark is worse than his bite. He cares about his players.’”
Some, admittedly, a little more than others. On top of his Bruins responsibilities, Cassidy is coaching two young players who are just getting started in their hockey careers: his 11-year-0ld daughter, Shannon, and 9-year-old son, Cole.
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 30, 2020 9:50:53 GMT -5
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Post by kjc2 on Apr 30, 2020 15:47:24 GMT -5
The past two decades have been good to the Bruins. They won the Stanley Cup in 2011. They could have grabbed two more titles in 2013 and 2019. The Hockey Hall of Fame will welcome several of the organization’s building blocks when they tuck away their skates. Yes, there were some bleak stretches in the 2000s and the back-to-back postseason misses in 2015 and 2016. But the progression of the past 20 years signals more good things to come in the next 20. Here are the 10 biggest and best moments, on the ice and off, of these past two decades: 10. Bruins promote Bruce Cassidy (Feb. 7, 2017) The Bruins were out of the playoff picture. They were headed for their third straight postseason no-show. It would cost Claude Julien his job. Bruce Cassidy, brought up from Providence at the start of the season, assumed command, albeit earlier than anyone would have liked. Cassidy’s priorities included increasing pace of play, denying entries at the blue line and keeping pucks near the net instead of using the points. Two days later against San Jose, Cassidy won his first game as head coach. The Bruins went on an 18-8-1 run to make the playoffs, where they lost to Ottawa in the first round. Under Cassidy’s leadership, the Bruins have become a consistent powerhouse with elite goaltending, air-tight defense, a dominant No. 1 line and a dangerous power play. 9. Bruins acquire Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell (June 22, 2010) Dennis Wideman was a good two-way defenseman for the Bruins. He was 27 years old, still in the sweet spot of his career. But the Bruins needed not just a shakeup but up-front upgrades after their second-round meltdown against Philadelphia that spring (when they blew a 3-0 series lead). David Krejci, who was developing into a top-two center, needed right-side help. The Bruins wanted a more complete fourth-line center than Steve Begin. They got their men via the Panthers. Nathan Horton became the No. 1 right wing. Gregory Campbell settled into fourth-line duty between Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton. They were critical additions to the championship roster. 8. Bruins acquire Tuukka Rask (June 24, 2006) The Bruins had hired Peter Chiarelli as general manager. But Ottawa, Chiarelli’s former employer, wanted its assistant GM to stay through the 2006 draft. So it fell upon interim GM Jeff Gorton to execute the trade for Tuukka Rask, selected 21st overall the previous year. Andrew Raycroft, the Rookie of the Year in 2003-04, went the other way. Rask, the second goalie picked in 2005 after Carey Price (No. 5), was coming off a strong season with Ilves Tampere. He would not report to North America until 2007. It was worth the wait. Since Rask became a full-time NHL player in 2009, the Bruins have not had to worry about starting goaltending. That’s a long time. 7. Game 7 comeback against Toronto (May 13, 2013) The Bruins were dead. Nazem Kadri had given the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead at 5:29 of the third period. Krejci even pulled out one of the classic game-over maneuvers: a dejected slap shot into his own net, practically before Kadri even raised his arms in celebration. But then came the rally. Horton made it a 4-2 game at 9:18. With Rask off for a sixth attacker, Milan Lucic pulled the Bruins within one at 18:38. Then with 50.2 seconds remaining in their season, with Zdeno Chara setting a net-front screen on James Reimer, Patrice Bergeron sent Game 7 into overtime with a long-distance snapper. Of course, the Bruins were going to win. In overtime, as Jaromir Jagr missed a shift because of an equipment issue, Tyler Seguin took his spot next to Bergeron. Reimer stuffed Seguin’s short-distance shot, but Bergeron jammed in the winner and the Bruins were off to the second round. 6. Tim Thomas clears waivers (Jan. 10, 2006) The Bruins needed a goalie. Andrew Raycroft had hurt his leg. Hannu Toivonen was unavailable because of an ankle injury. Tim Thomas, the starter in Providence, was next man up. Thomas, 31 years old at the time, needed to pass through re-entry waivers before he could land in Boston. Twenty-nine teams could have nabbed Thomas for nothing. They all passed. Thomas would go on to win the Vezina twice and claim the Conn Smythe when the Bruins won the Cup in 2011. 5. Home run at the 2006 draft (June 24, 2006) Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom were the first four selections of 2006. By the time the Bruins were ready to pick fifth overall, there was just one choice: Phil Kessel. The explosive forward was coming off a freshman season at the University of Minnesota in which he scored 18 goals and 33 assists. Drafting Kessel didn’t require much from the Bruins’ amateur scouting staff. They earned their salaries in Rounds 2 and 3. At No. 50, the Bruins picked Milan Lucic, who had scored 19 points the previous season. In the third round, they picked Brad Marchand, a feisty and mouthy forward coming off a 66-point season. Fourteen years later, Kessel, Marchand and Lucic have combined for 2,028 points. Kessel (861 points) is the No. 2 scorer from the 2006 class, trailing only Backstrom (927). Marchand (646) is fifth. Lucic (521) is seventh. 4. Claude Julien hired (June 22, 2007) Chiarelli was in a tough spot. After a rotten 2006-07 season, Chiarelli declared Dave Lewis safe for the following year. But with Claude Julien available after New Jersey let him go, Chiarelli changed his mind, turfing Lewis after just one season. It turned out to be arguably the best move Chiarelli ever made. Julien entered Boston with a mandate for black-and-white clarity. He told players exactly what he wanted them to do. Julien rewarded good execution. He was hard on players who underperformed. The Bruins played hard, kept their net free of pucks and transitioned rapidly to offense after they forced opposing turnovers. They made the playoffs in 2007-08, Julien’s first season. This streak lasted until 2015. 3. Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard sign as free agents (July 1, 2006) The Bruins were not always known as liberal spenders. That changed quickly. With Gorton in the interim GM seat, the Bruins invested $57.5 million in Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard, two of that summer’s most significant unrestricted free agents. The 29-year-old Chara was allowed to leave by Ottawa, even though he scored 43 points in 2005-06. Savard, 28, had served as Ilya Kovalchuk’s setup man in Atlanta, where he recorded 97 points. By opening up the checkbook, Gorton locked up a No. 1 defenseman and a No. 1 center. Both have left legacies, especially Chara, the man who has touched multiple generations of Bruins players. “He’s just been so influential in my career in the way he prepares,” Torey Krug told Bruins fans during a video town hall on Tuesday. “I’m very honored that I could sit next to him in the locker room for as long as I did in the old TD Garden locker room and pick up little things here and there. He’s been a huge influence on my career.” 2. Bruins draft Patrice Bergeron (June 21, 2003) The 2003 draft was a generational class. Thirteen players picked that year have appeared in 1,000 or more NHL games. Only one of them was not picked in the first round. Seventeen years later, it is inconceivable that 44 players were selected before Patrice Bergeron. He scored 73 points for Acadie-Bathurst in his draft year. Scouts were already noting his processing power. The Bruins are thankful the teenager didn’t make more of an impression. Bergeron made the 2003-04 varsity roster as an 18-year-old. He dominated the AHL the following year during the NHL lockout. The same season, when his country came calling, the 19-year-old lined up with Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry to lead Canada to gold in the 2005 World Junior Championship. Bergeron was named one of the Bruins’ alternate captains in 2006-07 at just 21 years old. He was just getting started. Selke trophies, Olympic gold and the Cup were in Bergeron’s future. 1. Bruins win the Cup (June 15, 2011) The euphoria the Bruins experienced in Vancouver wasn’t just about winning Game 7 over the Canucks. It was the outburst culminating from all they accomplished during that ride: winning three Game 7s, overcoming calamitous injuries to Nathan Horton and Marc Savard, digging out of a 2-0 first-round hole going into Montreal, scrapping like a gang of roughnecks whenever tempers flared. Perhaps the most rewarding perk was creating friendships that will last for life. “It’s nice to see we still have a really good relationship after all these years,” Krejci said on a video call on Monday. “That’s why you play the sport, right? You want to create lots of memories and stay friends when you’re done playing.” Seguin, a rookie, turned 19 that season and was just beginning his NHL career. Mark Recchi was 43 and saying goodbye to his. Between those two, a roster stuffed with talent, heart and perseverance brought the Cup to Boston for the first time in 39 years. Bergeron was drafted 45th in the 2003 draft and ranks 4 in scoring out of that group. He sits behind Eric Staal, Getzlaf and Perry.
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Post by SeaBass on May 1, 2020 11:27:00 GMT -5
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Post by nfld77 on May 2, 2020 21:44:05 GMT -5
I think Vaak is ready now. Chara McAvoy Carlo Lauzon Clifton Vaak Gryz I would be ok with this. Would prefer Krug with Carlo... I agree which makes me wonder,who's out for next season? Maybe no one because there's a really good chance we're gonna lose a good D;man to Seattle.. Lol, maybe I'm the only one but I still have hope that Zboril is a late bloomer and will eventually turn into a puck moving PP specialist. I know there's alot of wishful thinking going on between my ears..
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Post by nfld77 on May 2, 2020 22:29:08 GMT -5
We were conditioned early in the pause to be ready for next season to potentially be delayed until some time in November. Tack on another month now. As I hinted near the bottom of my column last Friday, the idea of delaying next season’s start until December has indeed been discussed by the NHL with its teams as a possibility, multiple sources around the league confirmed. The kicker is that the league still hopes to cram in a full 82-game season, even with a December start. Which would mean – as with the November start scenario – wiping out All-Star weekend, the bye weeks, shortening the Christmas holiday break and basically tightening the entire schedule matrix wherever possible. The result would push the regular season into May and playoffs into July. Again, as I say all the time during this season pause, none of this is written in stone. It’s just being discussed as a possibility. But there are two reasons why a December start to the 2020-21 season is on the table: The length of time it will take to complete the 2019-20 season (if resumed at all). Several team executives that I have spoken with over the past week have said the league has hinted at being willing to go as late as September, maybe even October, to finish off the playoffs for this season. After that, some form of an offseason would be needed, even in a truncated form, before you could start a new season. A lot of teams feel they need fans back in their arenas next season before opening the doors. That’s what they’re telling me. It’s fine to try and finish off the 2019-20 season without fans because 85 percent of the regular season has been played and that gate money has been earned. But by the time the NHL opens up shop for 2020-21 season, most teams can’t even think of starting without fans in the building. Some organizations have told me they would lose less money by simply staying dark. Hence, they’re hoping a December start will be enough time for the world to be in a better place with the pandemic. Will we have a vaccine by then (maybe not)? Will there be medical treatments that help mitigate the threat and allow for crowds to gather again by December? Will massive numbers of tests be available everywhere? Who knows. But delaying next season as long as possible to wait out the worst fo the pandemic is probably a wise idea at this point. The NHL is a gate-driven league. Now, could the league open without fans for a month or so before fans can return? I’m sure that also will be discussed to see if it’s feasible. I’ve had a couple of team executives suggest a January start to next season isn’t out of the cards but a league source told me this week that would be pushing it. I mean, the 2012-13 season started in January after the lockout but that was just a 48-game season per team and the priority for the 2020-21 season – given the economic pounding the NHL business is going to take over the next year – is to play an 82-game schedule if at all possible. And the players, staring at crazy escrow rates, would be just as much in favour of protecting 82 games next season. Bubble trouble The NHL-NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee was scheduled to chat again on Wednesday, which will be the committee’s third (virtual) meeting. I suspect there will be more centralized sites/bubble chatter. Interesting to hear Habs forward Phillip Danault on a media call question the idea of players being away from their families for an extended period while living in the centralized sites bubble. Again, this is something I asked John Tavares in my Monday piece about his role on the Return to Play Committee and it’s clear the players have raised this issue with the league. This is a situation that warrants monitoring going forward. While going home in between games would defeat the purpose of creating a bubble to keep the virus out, I do sympathize with the idea that three months is far too long for a player to be away from his loved ones. So the question is how can the time in the bubble be shortened? There’s a debate, for example, about whether training camps (which could be two to three weeks in length) should be held in the centralized site bubble or not. One NHL team executive pointed out to me this week, why not have the training camps in each NHL city’s practice facility if health authorities deem it safe? The only sure thing in all of this is more discussions will take place. The bottom line I wrote a few weeks ago about why the NHL and NHLPA will try every effort to finish this season. Aside from desperately wanting to award the Stanley Cup after having played 85 percent of the regular season, there’s anywhere from $350 million to $500 million in TV/media/sponsorship revenue to be projected in Hockey Related Revenue if the playoffs can be completed. Now, here’s the question I have: at a certain point, do the costs in staging the games at centralized sites eat too much out of those remaining revenues? There are a lot of extra expenses to pay for, including hotels, medical testing, etc. That’s a question that hangs over all this. Expanded rosters The AHL at some point will cancel its remaining season and focus its efforts on figuring out next season. But in the meantime, that’s a lot of NHL prospects without hockey to come back to for this season. Could the NHL allow for expanded rosters if the 2019-20 season is indeed resumed? A source confirmed on Tuesday that the NHL has indeed discussed potential roster expansion for a resumed season but at this point, no decision has been taken either way. Getting closer to Phase 2 As my colleague Darren Dreger mentioned on “Insider Trading” on Tuesday, the expectation is that the NHL will prolong the self-quarantine period from April 30 to mid-May. After which the hope/expectation is that Phase 2 could start in and around May 15 – the relaxation of the NHL quarantine and allowing players to skate again in small groups at their NHL team facilities. I can’t tell you how badly players are looking forward to this. Being off the ice this long is so foreign to them. They never go this long in the offseason without skating. What will be interesting when Phase 2 begins is whether only some NHL team facilities will be able to open but not all, depending on their regional health situations with the pandemic. Sure, I have the perfect solution to finish the 2019-20 season. Newfoundland has only 2-3 cases the past 3 weeks, even restrictions were lightened Wednesday past and for the 1st time since this shit began, we seen our grandkids which was ever so awesome. Therefore, with no fans attending and NL being safer than most places, play the games here..At minimun, they could complete the regular season. BUT one problem in the way..No one is allowed on the island, just Nflders returning home from work. But considering we're talking NHL here, I'm sure Premier Dwight Ball would make some sort of exception.. Of course another problem would be finding rinks that have NHL regulation size{I guess}.. I really dont know if Im serious or not, certainly typing without thinking..lol
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Post by nfld77 on May 2, 2020 22:41:14 GMT -5
I'm just happy he let's Sweeney spend to the Max and he has often exceeded that and team got penalized for it..Remember Harold Ballard?? True, but it just seems like he can't help himself in other ways with his money grubbing. For example, he was the last owner to do anything for his employees when this quarantine shit show started and if the what I read was correct, it wasn't on nearly on par with what other clubs were doing. I try not to wish hateful things on others, Karma will always come back on you, but with people like him, it's hard not to. Crafar, brother I'm sorry if I sounded like a JJ supporter, cause I'm not..His cheapness to the regular Joe is precisely what I fucking hate in people. I bet I gave away more than he did and I have never been a person with a pile of money, especially past few yrs on disability..My wife have said many times,"It's no good for you too have money or anything else cause you would just give it away".. I dispise people who have lots of money and treat their workers the way he does..
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Post by crafar01 on May 4, 2020 6:01:06 GMT -5
True, but it just seems like he can't help himself in other ways with his money grubbing. For example, he was the last owner to do anything for his employees when this quarantine shit show started and if the what I read was correct, it wasn't on nearly on par with what other clubs were doing. I try not to wish hateful things on others, Karma will always come back on you, but with people like him, it's hard not to. Crafar, brother I'm sorry if I sounded like a JJ supporter, cause I'm not..His cheapness to the regular Joe is precisely what I fucking hate in people. I bet I gave away more than he did and I have never been a person with a pile of money, especially past few yrs on disability..My wife have said many times,"It's no good for you too have money or anything else cause you would just give it away".. I dispise people who have lots of money and treat their workers the way he does.. No worries Newf, after all these years on this board, I knew where you stood on JJ.
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 6:26:58 GMT -5
Gonna be a good watch.
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 6:27:57 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 8:04:03 GMT -5
These past two decades have been pretty good to the Bruins, as we recounted yesterday. But with the good inevitably comes the bad: There have been some below-the-belt losses in the last 20 years. Some awful trades.
The darkest moments, however, involve life-changing injuries. The Bruins have been too familiar with hockey’s concussion issues. Two of their brighter stars experienced them firsthand.
10. Tim Thomas declines to visit the White House (Jan. 23, 2012) Everything looked ordinary when the defending champions reported to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to celebrate their championship from the previous season. But one player was missing: the Conn Smythe winner.
Several hours later, Tim Thomas, via Facebook, posted his reasons for declining the invitation. The federal government, Thomas wrote, had grown out of control.
The Bruins knew about Thomas’ intentions beforehand. They didn’t agree. The White House ceremony stood for the teamwork required for the Bruins to win the Cup. Thomas presented himself as an individual by not attending.
9. Dave Lewis’ hiring (June 29, 2006) Dave Lewis had a pedigree. In Detroit, as Scotty Bowman’s lead assistant, he helped the Red Wings win three Cups in six years. He had a reputation as the gentle soul on the Detroit staff.
So when first-year GM Peter Chiarelli decided to turf Mike Sullivan and bring in an experienced coach, it looked like a logical choice to select Lewis and his winning history.
The Bruins did everything but win in 2006-07 under Lewis’ watch. They went 35-41-6, adrift in just about every way.
Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard, their big-ticket 2006 purchases, couldn’t do enough to pull along their new club. Patrice Bergeron offered no indication that four Selkes were in his future. Veterans such as Brad Boyes, Paul Mara and Wayne Primeau, who would all be traded, didn’t do enough to merit staying in Boston. The Bruins became a punchline for repeatedly being caught with too many men on the ice.
Lewis signed a contract for four years. He lasted only one.
8. Squandering a 3-0 series lead against Philadelphia (May 14, 2010) Things looked good for the Bruins. After dispatching Buffalo in the first round, Boston won the first three games of Round 2.
But in Game 3, Mike Richards clobbered David Krejci in open ice. Krejci broke his wrist. It might not have been a coincidence that the Bruins’ third win was their last.
With Krejci unavailable, the Bruins could not do enough to hold off the Flyers’ four-game revival. Even in Game 7, when the Bruins scored the first three goals, they collapsed under Philadelphia’s pressure. Simon Gagne netted the power-play winner after the Bruins were caught for too many men following a mix-up between Marc Savard and Vladimir Sobotka.
Philadelphia advanced to the final, losing to Chicago.
“It was devastating when you go through something like that,” Mark Recchi said on The Athletic’s “Perfection Pod.” “The year before, we lost a tough series against Carolina and thought we could have a real good opportunity there. To have that happen was devastating.”
7. Signing Alexei Zhamnov (Aug. 3, 2005) The 2004-05 lockout was over. The NHL was back open for business.
The Bruins, under the guidance of president Harry Sinden and GM Mike O’Connell, believed post-lockout roster upgrades would be plentiful. So the bosses declined to re-sign 2003-04 holdovers such as Mike Knuble, Michael Nylander and Brian Rolston.
But the players the Bruins thought would be available ended up elsewhere. Peter Forsberg signed with Philadelphia. Mike Modano re-upped with Dallas. The Bruins were left to scour the secondary market.
With few alternatives, the Bruins signed Alexei Zhamnov, 34, to a three-year, $12.3 million contract. The center would play in only 24 games for the Bruins (1-9–10) before suffering a career-ending ankle injury. The Bruins went 29-37-16 that season, prompting the organizational turnover that would lead to the ousters of O’Connell and Sullivan.
6. Trading Tyler Seguin (July 4, 2013) Tyler Seguin was supposed to be a top-line right wing for a long time. On Sept. 11, 2012, just before the start of the lockout, the Bruins signed Seguin to a six-year, $34.5 million contract that would become effective in 2013-14.
Seguin never made it there.
By the conclusion of the season in 2013, the Bruins had grown weary of Seguin’s flickering on-ice competitiveness and raging off-ice lifestyle. Chiarelli calculated that these issues would cause Seguin to fall short of his projected ceiling. So Chiarelli traded Seguin, Rich Peverley and Ryan Button to Dallas for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow and Matt Fraser.
Seguin, moving back to center in Dallas, exploded for a career-best 84 points as a first-year Star. He has since established himself as a hands-down No. 1 center.
None of the players the Bruins received in return remains in Boston.
5. Trading Joe Thornton (Nov. 30, 2005) The 2005-06 season did not begin well for the Bruins. By Nov. 29, following a 3-2 loss to New Jersey, they were 8-14-5.
That night, Joe Thornton lost a last-minute faceoff to John Madden. Alexander Mogilny promptly netted the game-winner.
The following day, O’Connell traded Thornton to San Jose for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau. Thornton scored 92 points in 58 games for the Sharks. His 125-point total between the two clubs led to the Hart Trophy.
4. Losing Game 7 to St. Louis (June 12, 2019) The Bruins were one win away from the Cup. They brushed aside the Blues in Game 6, 5-1. Zdeno Chara was settling into a rhythm after breaking his jaw. The Bruins were coming home against a rookie goalie.
Jordan Binnington proved he was no newbie.
The St. Louis goalie turned back all 12 of the Bruins’ first-period shots. Meanwhile, Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo gave the Blues a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. Pietrangelo’s goal was the backbreaker, scored seconds after Brad Marchand’s ill-timed decision to go off for a line change.
For the second time in six years, the Bruins watched their opponents hoist the Cup at TD Garden. They have yet to overcome the pain.
3. Randy Jones cross-checking Bergeron (Oct. 27, 2007) At 16:07 of the first period, Randy Jones made a decision that almost ended Patrice Bergeron’s career. The Philadelphia defenseman cross-checked Bergeron into the TD Garden boards. The force of Jones’ blow dropped Bergeron to the ice, where the center lay flat on his back.
Taken off the ice on a stretcher, Bergeron was diagnosed with a severe concussion. Headaches, sensitivity to light, fatigue and nausea were among his symptoms. Not only was the 22-year-old’s career at risk, but his quality of life was in question, too.
Bergeron’s symptoms eased to the point where he was able to resume solo on-ice activity. But the alternate captain did not play again that season. The following year, Bergeron suffered another concussion, this time when he smacked into future teammate Dennis Seidenberg, then playing for Carolina.
It was not until the 2009-10 campaign that Bergeron returned to his previous threshold.
2. Trading Ray Bourque (March 6, 2000) The playoffs were not in the Bruins’ cards in 1999-2000. Ray Bourque, who had made the postseason in each of his first 17 seasons, was looking at an idle spring for the second time in four years.
He had enough. Bourque wanted to chase the Cup.
The Bruins granted Bourque his wish, albeit in an altered fashion. The Montreal native wanted to stay in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia was among his preferred destinations. Instead, GM Harry Sinden sent Bourque and Dave Andreychuk to Colorado for Brian Rolston, Sami Pahlsson, Martin Grenier and a 2000 first-rounder.
The deal paid off for Bourque. In 2001, the Avalanche won the Cup. Colorado captain Joe Sakic barely lifted the trophy before handing it off to Bourque.
Bourque’s achievement in Colorado wasn’t the painful part for the Bruins. It was the realization that their captain had little chance to pursue the Cup by staying in Boston.
1. Matt Cooke knocking out Marc Savard (March 7, 2010) Marc Savard was defenseless. He was whipping a shot on net.
Matt Cooke didn’t care.
As Savard followed through on his shot, Cooke approached from the blind side and drove his left arm into the right side of the center’s head. Savard pinwheeled to the ice. He was diagnosed with a concussion. Savard stayed in Pittsburgh overnight and returned to Boston the next day.
Savard missed the rest of the regular season. Doctors cleared Savard for a postseason return against Philadelphia. He scored the overtime winner in Game 1.
But Savard’s game was compromised by then. On Jan. 15, 2011, Savard recovered from a crushing blow from Deryk Engelland. Seven days later, Savard took the final hit of his career. Ex-teammate Matt Hunwick, then in Colorado, decked Savard and left him with a concussion. The Bruins shut down Savard for the rest of the year.
That summer, Savard reported depression among his post-concussion syndrome symptoms. He had six seasons remaining on his seven-year contract. While Savard was on long-term injured reserve, the Bruins acknowledged his career was basically over. No doctors would clear him for a return.
Savard suffered concussions before and after the one delivered by Cooke. But that was the one that triggered his decline.
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 8:12:55 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 8:51:46 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on May 4, 2020 9:04:40 GMT -5
Not loving this idea.
Neither Torey Krug nor the Bruins know whether their eight-year relationship will extend beyond this season. The prospect of a Black-and-Gold extension, no sure thing under normal conditions, may be even cloudier given the flat post-pandemic salary cap being discussed by the league’s highest powers.
The Bruins will be diminished if Krug, arguably the NHL’s best power-play quarterback, secures employment elsewhere. But Krug’s departure would clarify their hands-off list for Seattle. The expansion draft remains on schedule to take place in June 2021. Each team puts its players in three categories: protected, exposed, or exempt as first- or second-year pros/unsigned draft picks.
The Bruins would use the 7-3-1 model to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie, like they did in 2017. As Vegas came calling, the Bruins protected forwards David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner; defensemen Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller and Krug; and goalie Tuukka Rask.
This time, here’s who they’d most likely protect, expose and possibly lose at each position:
Protected forwards (7) Patrice Bergeron Anders Bjork Charlie Coyle Jake DeBrusk Ondrej Kase Brad Marchand David Pastrnak The No. 1 line shows no signs it is headed for a significant drop in production. As such, you can forget about Marchand, Bergeron or Pastrnak having to house-hunt in Seattle.
Coyle is the expected successor to Krejci, who will be unrestricted at the end of next year. Coyle could be a long-term center for DeBrusk and Bjork on the No. 2 line.
Kase, one of the newest Bruins, can be a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season. The right wing will be 25 years old. Barring injuries, Kase should be in a productive segment of his career.
Protected defensemen (3) Brandon Carlo Matt Grzelcyk Charlie McAvoy McAvoy will be completing Year 2 of his three-year bridge contract. Carlo will be restricted and due for a raise. They are long-term right-side building blocks and going nowhere.
Grzelcyk isn’t as dynamic as Krug. But he can distribute the puck on the power play.
Protected goalie (1) Tuukka Rask Rask’s contract will expire after 2021. He will be 34 years old. But based on his Vezina-level performance this season, Rask projects to have several productive seasons left in his equipment. It would make sense for both parties to come to an agreement.
The remaining players are divided into three categories. Some are exempt as first- or second-year pros/unsigned draft picks, some are officially exposed in order to satisfy minimum requirements, and the remainder are simply unprotected.
Notable exempt players Jack Ahcan John Beecher Curtis Hall Kyle Keyser Jakub Lauko Oskar Steen Jack Studnicka Jeremy Swayman Urho Vaakanainen The above would all be first- or second-year pros or unsigned draft picks. As such, they are exempt from selection.
Exposed players The exposed players must satisfy certain requirements, ensuring that there are viable veterans available for Seattle to select — in this case, that means:
1. One defenseman who’s played 40 NHL games the previous year/70 the previous two years combined.
2. Two forwards who’ve played 40 NHL games the previous year/70 the previous two years combined.
3. One goalie under contract in 2020-21 or restricted at the end of 2020-21.
Forwards (minimum 2)
Anton Blidh Chris Wagner Blidh will be restricted after 2021 and eligible to be exposed if he signs a short-term extension before then. Blidh will be 26 years old. He projects to be a career fourth-liner.
Wagner will have completed the first season of his three-year contract.
To be exposed, Blidh and Wagner will have to meet the minimum games-played requirements.
Defenseman (minimum 1)
John Moore The veteran is signed through 2023 at $2.75 million annually. It is the only questionable deal on the Bruins’ books.
Like the forwards, Moore will have to play in at least 40 games next season or 70 total games over the previous two to be exposed.
Goalie (minimum 1)
Dan Vladar Vladar will be restricted at the end of 2021. He’ll be 23 years old.
So by exposing Moore, Blidh, Wagner, and Vladar, the Bruins would satisfy their minimum requirements. There are still other players available for Seattle to select, however, including: Peter Cehlarik Connor Clifton Trent Frederic Brendan Gaunce Cameron Hughes Joona Koppanen Karson Kuhlman Jeremy Lauzon Brett Ritchie Nick Ritchie Zach Senyshyn Wiley Sherman Jakub Zboril Who goes? So where does all this leave the Bruins in terms of possible losses?
Given their ages and fourth-line ceilings, it’s unlikely that Blidh or Wagner would be selected by Seattle. Moore’s term, salary and projected performance would not make him an attractive expansion candidate. Vladar has one abbreviated AHL season of very good performance on his resume. It’s not enough to project whether he’s the real deal or a work in progress.
Up front, Trent Frederic would be on Seattle’s list. He would be a third-year pro and not exempt from selection. The left-shot center had eight goals, 24 assists and 148 penalty minutes at the time of the AHL’s suspension. The Bruins are happy with Frederic’s development.
Other possibilities include Nick Ritchie and Karson Kuhlman.
On defense, Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon fit the expansion profile: young, inexpensive, tough, room to grow. Clifton will be 26 by the time of the expansion draft. Lauzon will be 24. Both will be coming off the first seasons of their second deals. Jakub Zboril, restricted after 2019-20, could be on Seattle’s radar if he continues to develop.
No team likes to say goodbye to young centers. The Bruins match this criteria even more keenly given the pending exits of Bergeron and Krejci.
If Frederic develops into a consistent third-line NHL center next season, the Bruins could place him on their protected list. Either Bjork or Kase would be the likeliest casualty.
But Bjork, who has yet to play a full NHL season, could grow into a second-line wing. The Bruins thought highly enough of Kase to part with their 2020 first-rounder.
All of this makes Frederic, at this point, the most likely Bruin to switch coasts.
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Post by kjc2 on May 4, 2020 11:11:58 GMT -5
Yeah it looks like it’ll come down to losing a really good player this time around. Donny could always make a deal with Seattle and control who he loses.
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