Dolfan1034 said:
lol yeah I remember going up to the Montreal area, and some other areas around Canada, for a couple tournaments, hockey was everywhere. There was a rink like ever 10 miles, it was crazzy!
Yeah, the playoffs are great, it's not looking good for the Panthers, the max pts. they can get is 91 and the only team they can catch is already at 85, not good!
I think Boston made a mistake trading Thornton, Sturm is good, but he is no Joe Thornton, idk how he's doing lately, but last time I remember he wasn't so hot. But they seem to have a decent goalie in Tim Thomas, but he has his good nights and his bad, his is pretty unconsistent.
The offseason of the lockout the Bruins forwards were:
Joe Thornton
Sergei Samsonov
Glen Murray
Brian Rolston
Mike Knuble
Michael Nylander
Some impressive names there. That is a HELL of a lot of talent on your top two lines. Add to that list a couple of great young forwards (Bergeron and Boyes) and effective role players (Axelsson, Isbister, Green).
That is arguably the best group of forwards in the National Hockey League.
Mike O'Connell decided it would be a good idea to be "ahead of the curve" and clear roster space and cap room by resigning NO ONE.
Letting Rolston, Knuble and Nylander walk for nothing, even though Knuble and Rolston both DEARLY wanted to stay should have gotten him fired. They could'nt take the lowball offers O'Connell offered them and still look at themselves in the mirror. Letting those three players walk basically took a second line off the team for NOTHING in return. Instead of showing O'Connel the door they let him steer the bus off the cliff.
Still, the season starts and they have Thornton, Samsosov and Murray. A very effective top line. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes are playing prominent roles as well. O'Connell filled in the rest of the forwards by OVERPAYING for Zhamnov, Fitzgerald and Dave Scatchard. Annoying but acceptable.
He totally ignored the defense though.He let their best defenseman Nick Boynton sit while they aregued about $150,000.00 a season knowing that the defense was a wreck.
Well, Andrew Raycroft got hurt and the team had no experienced backup goaltender. Nick Boynton finally showed up but that did not hide the fact the team had NOTHING on defense and no goaltending. This is when O'Connell started to panic.
He traded the teams best faceoff man and best defensive forward (Dave Scatchard) to the Coyotes for a defenseman. Good move? It would have been if had not acquired David Tanabe. An offensive defensman who has NEVER been good in his own end and had been run out of two other cities because of his total lack of ability to play in his end of the rink.
That move failed and the team stagnated. They needed a shake up. Fire the coach? No, Mike Sullivan is your guy. The rumours were swirling that O'Connel would get the axe. He needed a big move that might push the team to the playoffs and save his own ***.
He calls the Sharks. They are struggling and need a change.The conversation starts out with Sergei Samsanov. Maybe he can get Brad Stuart. He's thinking he can fleece Doug Wilson. Wilson knows O'Connell and KILLS him.
Instead of SHOPPING Joe Thornton, letting the teams that would be interested in him get into the fray, getting a legit offer. He gets a decent young defenseman, a 3rd line winger and a 13th forward for a guy who could win the damn scoring title.
The Samsonov deal is almost as rediculous buty I don't want to blab all night (he says after writing a 10 paragraph diatribe.)
The Bruins will continue to be a laughing stock until Jeremy Jacobs dies or sells the team. They should be a flagship franchise. They are the definition of what happens to a team and a franchise when bad ownership runs wild. Ask Chicago Blackhawks fans how they feel about this same topic. Proud franchises being runinto the ground.
