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Post by SeaBass on Mar 22, 2022 10:58:22 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 22, 2022 11:00:18 GMT -5
Since last summer, Jake DeBrusk has lived with the consequences of wanting out from Boston. It has not been easy. As he signed his two-year, $8 million extension and approached Monday’s trade deadline, the tenuousness of his stay-or-go predicament took its toll.
“It was definitely a difficult day. It’s been a difficult week,” DeBrusk told reporters in Montreal after the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime win on Monday. “There’s a lot of uncertainty and you don’t necessarily know. I think that’s the one thing I’m taking away from it from, past 4 p.m. today. I haven’t felt clarity in three months. I haven’t known if I’m going to go, where I’m going to go or any of that kind of stuff. So, now I know. It’s nice to kind of have that done with.”
The outcome is not what DeBrusk wanted. The 25-year-old’s trade request remained active through the 3 p.m. deadline. The creativity of signing an extension — to eliminate the qualifying offer as a factor — represented the sides’ final course of action to facilitate a deal.
That didn’t happen.
DeBrusk learned the hard way that requesting and fulfilling a trade are separate matters. The former had real-life results, from disrupted sleep to public analysis of what has gone so wrong. The latter required the Bruins and any interested party to agree on a return. DeBrusk’s current employer and any potential future one did not see eye to eye on his worth.
All of that stickiness is now deferred. DeBrusk cannot be traded. He has the security, both financial and psychological, of a $4 million annual payday through 2024. That he had to take a pay cut from his current $4.85 million 2021-22 salary is just another outcome of a public plea to leave.
The best thing DeBrusk could do now is to flush all of it. If you considered his situation in isolation, it is not a bad one:
• He has job security for the next two seasons.
• He is the No. 1 right wing for Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
• Although the Bruins could not secure help up front, the addition of Hampus Lindholm should be robust enough to reinforce their Stanley Cup aspirations.
• DeBrusk’s teammates have no beef with his wish to go.
“I understand the way everything kind of played out,” said Marchand of DeBrusk’s unfulfilled request. “The team’s going to do what’s best for the team. Not what’s best for individuals. If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. Jake’s here. He’s part of the group moving forward. We expect him to be part of the group, compete and work every day, the same way everyone else is expected to. We’ve been going pretty good as of late as a group. He’s been fitting on our line. We’re going to need that to continue moving forward.”
That a trade didn’t happen signals that DeBrusk has work to do to raise his value to possible suitors. He is optimized to do so.
DeBrusk will get opportunities to score, forecheck and compete next to Marchand and Bergeron. The captain and his alternate will demand nothing less. DeBrusk had nine attempts and five shots on net against the Canadiens, second only to Marchand on the night.
DeBrusk will see time on the No. 2 power-play unit, where he could reinforce his point total. He is averaging 1.61 goals per 60 minutes of all-situations play, according to Natural Stat Trick. This places him third on the team behind Marchand and David Pastrnak. DeBrusk has 15 goals through 63 games. This puts him on pace to score 19.5 goals by season’s end, which is not an easy sum to accumulate.
The more important goals, of course, happen after that. He has a history of scoring them, albeit earlier in his career. The Bruins are counting on that happening again.
All of this is to say that by the time 2021-22 is history, DeBrusk has the opportunity of making himself that much more attractive on the trade market. It is up to him. It always has been.
There has been no message that coach Bruce Cassidy has delivered to DeBrusk more — and more forcefully and repeatedly than the winger would prefer — than the reminder of competitiveness. As recently as Monday, Cassidy noted how much of Marchand’s success is due to his willingness. It is usually several degrees of magnitude greater than that of his opponents.
“He’s made it on his second, third, fourth, fifth effort,” Cassidy said. “That’s how he’s gone from an NHL fourth-liner to a regular to an elite player.”
There is always the risk that DeBrusk goes cold for the rest of the run. Then he and the Bruins have a problem.
They will have kicked the can down the road. His market value will remain depressed at the draft, the next waypoint for trade activity. DeBrusk would have to endure dissatisfaction for two more seasons until he gets his opportunity to hit the unrestricted market.
DeBrusk did not get what he wanted. But he has some peace of mind now. Everything is aligned for DeBrusk to produce. Everyone is waiting to see if he will.
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Post by crafar01 on Mar 23, 2022 6:00:49 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 23, 2022 12:27:13 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Mar 23, 2022 13:53:41 GMT -5
Does Harry Sinden sue them ?
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Post by madmarx on Mar 25, 2022 10:33:18 GMT -5
How is everyone doing with Covid in there Areas?
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Post by kjc2 on Mar 25, 2022 12:08:04 GMT -5
How is everyone doing with Covid in there Areas? I’m pretty sure that Atlantic Canada or at least the Maritimes is full of Covid, can’t speak to the Newfoundland levels. Most of the restrictions are lifted and nobody is talking about it but so far most are still wearing masks!
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Post by madmarx on Mar 25, 2022 12:55:23 GMT -5
How is everyone doing with Covid in there Areas? I’m pretty sure that Atlantic Canada or at least the Maritimes is full of Covid, can’t speak to the Newfoundland levels. Most of the restrictions are lifted and nobody is talking about it but so far most are still wearing masks! Most restrictions here have been lifted here as well , masks Monday although I have been asked to wear one in a few stores🤷♂️. Over the last few years I’ve had Covid twice, first was tough second not as bad . Hopefully everyone stays Healthy.
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Post by kjc2 on Mar 25, 2022 18:35:38 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure that Atlantic Canada or at least the Maritimes is full of Covid, can’t speak to the Newfoundland levels. Most of the restrictions are lifted and nobody is talking about it but so far most are still wearing masks! Most restrictions here have been lifted here as well , masks Monday although I have been asked to wear one in a few stores🤷♂️. Over the last few years I’ve had Covid twice, first was tough second not as bad . Hopefully everyone stays Healthy. Yes, hope everyone stays healthy as well. I’m okay if they tell me to get another booster or two but other than that they should just let us go on and do our own thing. Enough of making laws to help us stay safe.
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Post by madmarx on Mar 25, 2022 20:59:54 GMT -5
Most restrictions here have been lifted here as well , masks Monday although I have been asked to wear one in a few stores🤷♂️. Over the last few years I’ve had Covid twice, first was tough second not as bad . Hopefully everyone stays Healthy. Yes, hope everyone stays healthy as well. I’m okay if they tell me to get another booster or two but other than that they should just let us go on and do our own thing. Enough of making laws to help us stay safe. Agree just hoping for some warm weather soon and we’re all set .
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 28, 2022 8:40:42 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 28, 2022 8:42:12 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 28, 2022 8:43:47 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 29, 2022 11:25:35 GMT -5
Even the Boston Pride giving shit to Toronto.
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Post by crafar01 on Mar 30, 2022 6:43:36 GMT -5
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Post by skemack on Mar 30, 2022 10:17:56 GMT -5
Is it troubling though? My take on last night and I did not get to watch the game is that I am glad the game went the way it did. Why am I glad they lost that one? Two reasons...1 the Leafs are now going to be cocky and arrogant now that they beat on the Bruins and this will be their undoing against Boston in the playoffs. 2 The Bruins needed a reality check game as all good teams occasionally do. This game is a reminder that if you do not show up for 60 minutes you will lose and that if you play the game the other teams way and not to your own teams way you again are going to lose. The Bruins have been on an incredible streak since January and I think that this will be a good reality check game for the team. Now if this continues then I will get concerned but I would rather have a few stumble games now then that to happen in the playoffs.
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Post by fforr on Mar 30, 2022 11:04:24 GMT -5
There’s leadership in spades from your 4th line RW, PK guy who brings it every game. Much to be learned from games like this. While Charlie and Lindholm are an awesome pairing, perhaps a stronger backend if they’re apart. The top line has been struggling to score and looking frustrated in the process. Kind of thing that can have a ripple effect on a team. Love to see Bruce give that 4th line RW, PK guy a real chance on that top line.
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Post by KSJ08 on Mar 30, 2022 11:12:32 GMT -5
Hasn't Hall, Marchy scored a few lately?
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Post by fforr on Mar 30, 2022 14:02:43 GMT -5
Hasn't Hall, Marchy scored a few lately? Hall is on 2nd line.
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Post by KSJ08 on Mar 30, 2022 15:51:45 GMT -5
Hasn't Hall, Marchy scored a few lately? Hall is on 2nd line. DOH!!! Ok Jake & Marchy have a scored & didn't bergy when he came back?
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Post by fforr on Mar 30, 2022 16:22:59 GMT -5
DOH!!! Ok Jake & Marchy have a scored & didn't bergy when he came back? Have scored some, seems they haven’t been that dominant of late.
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 31, 2022 11:11:36 GMT -5
Cast your vote... Who is going to be this years 7th player. I would have voted for Haula but he wasn't an option. nesn.com/7thplayer/
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 31, 2022 11:17:09 GMT -5
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Post by kjc2 on Mar 31, 2022 12:58:56 GMT -5
Cast your vote... Who is going to be this years 7th player. I would have voted for Haula but he wasn't an option. nesn.com/7thplayer/12 players on the NESN list go from average to maybe eligible for the player that performed below all expectations. Hello Carlo, Clifton and Forbort. I don’t mind Coyle from the list because last year he didn’t look good and also Frederic, he’s slowly improving. I’m with you on Haula though, he’d be first for me right now too.
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 31, 2022 19:33:18 GMT -5
Cast your vote... Who is going to be this years 7th player. I would have voted for Haula but he wasn't an option. nesn.com/7thplayer/12 players on the NESN list go from average to maybe eligible for the player that performed below all expectations. Hello Carlo, Clifton and Forbort. I don’t mind Coyle from the list because last year he didn’t look good and also Frederic, he’s slowly improving. I’m with you on Haula though, he’d be first for me right now too. I think Forbort has been real good on the PK. Other than that…meh
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Post by madmarx on Apr 3, 2022 20:56:27 GMT -5
I remember this game from when I was a kid my Father called Sanderson an idiot ..
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Post by RascalHoudi on Apr 3, 2022 21:37:28 GMT -5
Geezus! He was a freakin' idiot there wasn't he? And Glennie just carries on....
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 4, 2022 8:34:53 GMT -5
Mike Reilly is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound puck-moving defenseman. Miles Wood is a forward of the same size.
Wood, however, earns his paycheck by breaking bones on the forecheck.
In the first period of Thursday’s game, Wood homed in on Charlie McAvoy. The New Jersey left wing splattered the Bruins’ blue-line alpha dog into the end boards.
Reilly is not designed for hand-to-hand combat against a belter like Wood. Last year, Wood was brave enough to accept a gloves-off invitation from Kevan Miller. The retired defenseman was as tough as they come.
But Reilly was closest to the scene. As coach Bruce Cassidy likes to say, when it’s your turn, it’s your turn.
Reilly felt it was his duty, then, to cross-check Wood and attempt to drive him into the ice. That Wood executed the latter did not matter. Reilly did his job, even if it earned him four minutes in the penalty box to Wood’s two.
Cassidy noticed.
“I saw a guy that wants to get back in and stay in,” Cassidy said.
The thing about Reilly, though, is that Cassidy designated him the odd defenseman out upon Hampus Lindholm’s arrival. Reilly was a healthy scratch for the ex-Duck’s first three games. Lindholm took over Reilly’s old spot next to McAvoy.
Naturally, Reilly disagreed.
“There wasn’t much conversation with us on exactly what you need to do to stay in,” said Reilly. “But I feel like I’m a guy that should be an everyday guy. For me, I think you’re a defenseman first. You’re defending. I think if you can break the team out and get the play going the other direction, I think you’re going to defend less and you’re going to play in the other zone more. It’s going to make your life a lot easier. If you’re able to do that, it’ll be a successful plan a little bit. For me, it’s just digging in and trying to be aggressive, getting on guys quick and (taking) away guys quick. I thought I was doing that before the trade deadline a little bit. Just have to keep doing what I’m doing, I guess.”
Third-pairing competition
April is a month for the Bruins to clear their throats before the playoffs. They aim to win as much as possible. They want to stay healthy.
On a granular level, finalizing the No. 3 pairing is among Cassidy’s top priorities.
It remains to be seen whether Lindholm will open the postseason on McAvoy’s left side. Lindholm will most likely take some regular-season reps alongside Brandon Carlo to give the coaching staff an idea of how they might play together.
But assuming good health, this much is certain: Lindholm, McAvoy, Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk will be the top-four defensemen.
“It looks like the Grizz-Carlo, Lindy-McAvoy — we’re OK if we have to make an in-game switch — so far, that’s worked out well,” said Cassidy.
This leaves Reilly fighting with Derek Forbort, Connor Clifton and Josh Brown for a third-pairing assignment. In all likelihood, it’s Reilly, Clifton and Brown chasing one spot.
Forbort does not skate as well as Reilly. He is not as offensive-minded.
But Forbort can claim two things that Reilly cannot: size (6-foot-4, 217 pounds) and penalty-killing pedigree.
Forbort is 6-foot-4 and 217 pounds. Forbort’s reach is one of the strengths that has earned him 3:05 of short-handed ice time per game. He leads the Bruins in that category. Only five players leaguewide (Ryan McDonagh, Jaccob Slavin, Mattias Ekholm, Nick Holden, Ben Chiarot) are averaging more.
Lindholm (2:05) will ease some of Forbort’s heavy lifting. He also gives the Bruins two left-right PK combinations if necessary: Forbort and Carlo, Lindholm and McAvoy. For those reasons, it’s a good bet that Forbort has his postseason spot on lockdown.
Brown, meanwhile, has several things going against him. He is the newest addition. Brown was a depth defenseman in Ottawa, averaging 13:59 of ice time per game. He has zero goals and six assists. He is healing from an upper-body injury, perhaps related to the tumble he took into the end boards two games ago, courtesy of Nathan Bastian.
Logically, then, it comes down to two defensemen for one opening: Reilly and Clifton.
Left vs. right
Like most coaches, Cassidy prefers a left-right combination on each pairing. Pivots come naturally. It’s easier to pick pucks off the wall on your forehand. Breakouts happen a hair faster.
It would stand to reason, then, that the right-shot Clifton would be the first choice to pair with the left-shot Forbort. They have played well together. Clifton has the wheels to pursue pucks that Forbort cannot chase down. Forbort can cover for Clifton when his partner chooses to roam.
Clifton, however, is prone to digging himself into holes that widen into canyons. It was no coincidence that Clifton was a healthy scratch against New Jersey. A game earlier, during the Bruins’ no-show performance against Toronto, Clifton didn’t just shoot himself in the foot. He practically blew it off.
First, Clifton tried to compensate for an unlucky bounce off the end boards with a D-to-D pass to Grzelcyk. The turnover led to a Toronto goal.
Second, Clifton thudded a point shot into Alex Kerfoot’s shinpads. Kerfoot went the other way for a solo strike. Clifton could have steered the puck around Kerfoot and into the neighborhood of David Pastrnak, who was lurking around the net.
“Get the puck past the first layer,” said Cassidy. “That’s your first job. The first layer cannot block a shot. The second and third, if there’s a guy behind that guy, sometimes yes, it becomes harder to get it through. Most defenses are like that now. But you’ve got to get it by the first layer. The goal (Curtis Lazar) scored after got by everything into the end boards. Sometimes that’s a more effective shot if you don’t think you’re going to get it through. At least it’s behind the goal line. Maybe we can recover it and play from there. I’m not letting the player off the hook with bad luck on that one. I think your head’s up. You’ve got time. You’ve got to get it by there.”
The following game against the Devils, Clifton and Forbort were out. Reilly and Brown were in as a left-right pair.
Against Columbus on Saturday, Forbort was back in. Reilly was on his right. Reilly played his off side in college.
“If they need me to play the right side, I’m definitely willing to do it,” Reilly said. “I’ve done it before a little bit. I think with more repetition and practicing it, it’ll get better and better.”
The formation did not last long. Forbort and Reilly were on the ice for Columbus’ first goal. Forbort did not arrive in time to deny Sean Kuraly’s entry. Then when Forbort gained control of the puck, he could not clear the zone. Moments later, Justin Danforth jammed in a net-front goal. Reilly had drifted too far to get his stick in the way.
Halfway through the second, Cassidy and assistant coach Kevin Dean switched Reilly and Grzelcyk, partly because the latter had been fighting the puck. Reilly finished the game on his strong side next to Carlo on the No. 2 pairing.
“Putting Mike on the right — it’s been left for most of this year — is going to be a challenge at times,” said Cassidy. “But if that’s the best six, if he’s on the right with Forbort, then we’re going to look at that. I don’t know what that will be going forward.”
Saturday’s 5-2 win didn’t advance the issue much. Reilly played 15:32, the least of any team defenseman. He landed three pucks on net.
It looks like it will take more time to settle the argument.
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Post by madmarx on Apr 4, 2022 11:14:58 GMT -5
Apparently Mike is in the last stage of terminal lung cancer, very sad
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 4, 2022 11:18:26 GMT -5
Apparently Mike is in the last stage of terminal lung cancer, very sad That is not good.
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