I am pretty glad that we are looking day to day and not week to week or worse. He looked real bad coming off the ice.
2022-23 Bruins Season
- Thread starter cshea
- Start date
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JYkoYi9_-4
Raycroft went on a sportsnet show and went into some detail about the differences in attitude between Cassidy and Montgomery and how the players are responding. Was an interesting listen.
Raycroft went on a sportsnet show and went into some detail about the differences in attitude between Cassidy and Montgomery and how the players are responding. Was an interesting listen.
That was awesome. Thanks for posting. I almost envy Laffs fans who can get good hockey talk on the radio. Almost.
Is Raycroft somehow still tuned into the Bruins? Sounds like he's intimately familiar with that locker room. I'm confused.
He's an in studio analyst for NESN and also has a Bruins podcast with Billy Jaffe
Yeah, Reilly was with them yesterday but couldn't practice.
When Krejci is ready they'll demote Lauko to clear a roster spot. Then the next domino will be when McAvoy is ready.
When Krejci is ready they'll demote Lauko to clear a roster spot. Then the next domino will be when McAvoy is ready.
Well, it's huge luxury to have Reilly and Zboril available to step in. That's two quality NHL players waiting in the wings. No other NHL team has that kind of depth sitting on a nightly basis. Oh and there's that McAvoy guy who is getting closer.
My initial reaction for Forbort is a broken bone in his hand/wrist. Big picture, might allow them to kick the can on the salary dump down the road a few weeks. Rotating guys in and out of LTIR was a possibility but it requires players actually getting significantly hurt to actually do it wich a) sucks and b) is unreliable and unpredictable.
My initial reaction for Forbort is a broken bone in his hand/wrist. Big picture, might allow them to kick the can on the salary dump down the road a few weeks. Rotating guys in and out of LTIR was a possibility but it requires players actually getting significantly hurt to actually do it wich a) sucks and b) is unreliable and unpredictable.
Yeah. I actually think that both are better players than Stralman. (though that's my eyes talking, rather than any deeper analysis). I do wish there was a way to keep 9 NHL-caliber defensemen around.
It's ironic about the Frobot. At a time when the new system tries to put more of an offensive onus on defensemen, the most defensive-minded one of the group is showing the largest improvement over last year.
Stralman has been bad but probably needs some rope. He's allowing 3.53 xGA/60 which is a full goal higher than the next worst Bruin (Grz 2.53). It's a small sample size though, only 50 minutes TOI. He's only played 3 games and 2 of them were total disasters defensively for the team (Ottawa and last night). The Ottawa game he was thrown in cold because of injury elsewhere and last night was calamity defensively across the board.
He probably needs a few games in a row to get back into rhythym, but if health allows, I'd have a constant rotation between Stralman/Reilly/Zboril on the bottom pair.
He probably needs a few games in a row to get back into rhythym, but if health allows, I'd have a constant rotation between Stralman/Reilly/Zboril on the bottom pair.
Monty said they'll have an official announcement on Forbort later today. Official announcments for injuries are usually a bad sign. Hopefully it is a 4-6 week thing and not a 4-6 month thing.
If I've used the armchair GM tool on CapFriendly correctly, I do believe LTIRing Forbort lets them activate McAvoy without any other cap clearing move, but they would need to clear a roster spot. LTIR would knock Forbort out of 10 games and th earliest he could return is 11/25.
If I've used the armchair GM tool on CapFriendly correctly, I do believe LTIRing Forbort lets them activate McAvoy without any other cap clearing move, but they would need to clear a roster spot. LTIR would knock Forbort out of 10 games and th earliest he could return is 11/25.
I can never get the cap math correct, but if Forbort is a 4-6 week broken bone in the hand, he can be put on LTIR, and McAvoy can be activated without trading anyone?
It seems like these roster limit/cap issues usually work themselves out naturally. Especially with defensemen. You can never have too many good ones.
Edit: or what cshea just said
It seems like these roster limit/cap issues usually work themselves out naturally. Especially with defensemen. You can never have too many good ones.
Edit: or what cshea just said
From what I can tell this 23-man roster comes in $170,000 under the cap:
Marchand - Bergeron - DeBrusk
Hall - Krejci - Pastrnak
Zacha - Coyle - Greer
Foligno - Nosek - Smith
Frederic
Lindholm - McAvoy
Grzelyck - Carlo
Reilly - Clifton
Zboril - Stralman
Ullmark
Kinkaid
IR: Swayman
LTIR: Forbort
There is some sequencing that may be unaccounted for in the CapFriendly tool. Typically you need to get as close to the cap as you can before putting a player on LTIR so that you get the full benefit of their salary. Since the Bruins are already there I think they can just put Forbort's $3 million on there to add the whole thing to their available pool, but I could be mistaken. As of right now they have $5.4 million of McAvoy's salary available. I think they need to get that north of $9.5 million to activate him. So add Forbort's $3 million, subtract Lauko's $765,000 then either demote Kinkaid or LTIR Swayman too?
They said there would be no math.
I can’t tell whether Fluto is trying to overcompensate for the doom and gloom pieces after Cassidy’s firing, but damn, it seems like he’s either pushing a narrative or many Bruins are all too happy to at least imply that Cassidy was a big part of the problem last year.
Really seems like this has been in every other player focused piece.
Cassidy is crushing it in LV, the players are starting to sound a little mentally soft with this stuff.
Or just a coach that went past his shelf life for his team. Happens all the time.
Forbort out 4-6 weeks after open reduction and internal fixation surgery on his right middle finger, per Bruins PR.
That's too bad, but it could have been worse and gives them the opportunity to build a little more D depth (and Charlie Mac's about to return, too).
Dallas, Vegas, and Boston basically rotated coaches.
Honestly, 3 great coaches, 3 great teams, but 3 better fits now.
Honestly, 3 great coaches, 3 great teams, but 3 better fits now.
Whether it's health, Montgomery, or a little of both -
Uncle Nick has been a stud this season. He's playing faster, he's playing with more confidence, and he's actually been USEFUL out on the ice.
Dude had 13 points in 64 games last season.
He ALREADY has 7 points this season, and most of them (from memory) have been goals/primary assists. Not a lot of cheapies in there.
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588368110679052288?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
And for what it's worth, it seems like his teammates really love him.
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588369393024729090?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588359017838964736?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
Now if only the Bruins could buy Nosek a goal...
Uncle Nick has been a stud this season. He's playing faster, he's playing with more confidence, and he's actually been USEFUL out on the ice.
Dude had 13 points in 64 games last season.
He ALREADY has 7 points this season, and most of them (from memory) have been goals/primary assists. Not a lot of cheapies in there.
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588368110679052288?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
And for what it's worth, it seems like his teammates really love him.
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588369393024729090?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
View: https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1588359017838964736?s=20&t=BuG9mspkF2mi2MXmzRMUYA
Now if only the Bruins could buy Nosek a goal...
Mea culpa....I was totally ready to ship him out of town, as I thought the potential replacements could not be worse and had room to grow. I figured he was good off the ice, but now that he's contributing on it...... Frobot, too. Smith is beginning to look like an odd man out.
It says a lot that they can simultaneously truck the league while still conducting something of a shakedown cruise to assess and address roster issues.
It says a lot that they can simultaneously truck the league while still conducting something of a shakedown cruise to assess and address roster issues.
So.....how good are the Bruins? Is what they're doing sustainable in terms of the goal scoring? Obviously not going to keep a .900 point percentage up, but are they truly an elite team or are they a good team having an unbelievably hot streak?
The Ottawa game shows what happens when teams cash in on the defensive lapses, and the D lapses are still there. They definitely at times just get lost out there when they get under sustained pressure. Plenty of clears from the zone still getting easily stopped. There are plenty of times they are just puck watching and hovering in space and not attacking. Almost all the goals against feel like this (though a couple were just the other guys beating them).
So far they’ve been able to right the ship enough to dominate or grind out wins. The one time they haven’t so far was also a horrible night for their Goalie.
But man. If they keep the D tight, and keep the offense evenly distributed and humming? Crazy ass team to play against.
So far they’ve been able to right the ship enough to dominate or grind out wins. The one time they haven’t so far was also a horrible night for their Goalie.
But man. If they keep the D tight, and keep the offense evenly distributed and humming? Crazy ass team to play against.
They are a good team on a hot streak. It's obvious this is unsustainable, but you got a group of guys that love playing together and are having fun. Could be a special year.
Let's not forget that age is a factor and the inevitable injuries will come. Enjoy it for now.
Regarding the bolded, can they stave that off with some sort of load management a la the NBA model? Or does that not work in hockey as will given line combos/chemistry/etc.
Load management only works so well when you catch a slap shot in the ankle. It can probably help with muscle injuries but hockey’s an inherently more violent game than basketball in addition to the randomness that pucks and sticks can bring.
It's harder to do in hockey due to roster size, the salary cap, and roster management. Between the start of the season and the trade deadline teams are only allowed to carry up to 23 players at a time, provided they have the cap space. Teams dress 20 players every game so teams really only ever have a maximum of 3 extra skaters for any given night. Most of the times the 3 extras include already banged up players who aren't injured enough to be placed on IR (for example Craig Smith and Jeremy Swayman were 2 of the 3 Bruin "healthy scratches" last night, neither truly healthy).
When they get past the deadline the roster size rule goes away and teams can carry as many players as they want on the roster provided they have the cap space, but the wrinkle is teams are only allowed 4 recalls from the AHL between the trade deadline and the AHL affiliates season ending.
Got it. Thanks for the insight. Hockey is probably the sport I watch most throughout the season, but know the least about whet it comes to the roster management/salary cap stuff.
I would also say they are elite. There's some shooting/save percentage stuff that is unsustainable and will regress but the foundation is there. They are a 55% xGF% team right now. Defense has been top 5, offense top 10. Both should get better as they get McAvoy back and settle into Monty's system.
Other teams will also get better too
It does seem like a weird year where there are a bunch of ok teams and then a few really good teams. So far at least
Agreed, and thanks for the data. They’re going eventually go through a cold streak — injuries, mid-season doldrums, etc. — but boy are they banking points at the start of the season.
They haven't had McAvoy all season which I don't think can be overstated. He's probably their best and most important player after Bergeron. They've also missed Marchand, Grz, and Krejci for varying amounts of time. They're doing this despite dealing with a lot of injuries. It could always get worse with regard to injuries, but it's more likely than not going to be better.
They racked up plenty of wins and had some major hot streaks under Bruce.
I think it is easy though for people to appreciate the underlying facts right now, where the teams under Bruce were getting a lot of lower-value shots 5 on 5 but crushing it on the PP and in defense while Monty has the team riding the highway to the danger zone whenever they have the puck.
I think it is easy though for people to appreciate the underlying facts right now, where the teams under Bruce were getting a lot of lower-value shots 5 on 5 but crushing it on the PP and in defense while Monty has the team riding the highway to the danger zone whenever they have the puck.
Fully admit the team is way more fun to watch and the results speak for themselves.
However, there are multiple ways to skin a cat (or is it a chicken)
How often do assistant coaches stay after an offseason head coach change? Sacco, Essensa, and Kelly (I’m sure there are more) are still with the team post-Butch.
Essensa is a lifer, so no surprise there. It's not uncommon for other assistants to stay, or leave. There's really no standard.
Depends on their contracts. Kelly and Sacco's contracts included 22-23. I believe Essensa agreed to a new contract in the offseason (not sure if he signed the contract before or after Monty became the coach but definitely after Butch was fired).
Essensa seems to have had a lasting effect on Ullmark’s game. He is much more quiet in his movements and seems much more in control. That could also be a product of his familiarity with the team and his comfort level, but having quality goaltending helps when your team is pushing it in offense so much.
To me, the biggest change watching them is how fast they play. Last few years I felt the regular season was misleading because of how slow they looked at times. Now it seems they are just flat out skating teams. It’s been very fun to watch.
To me, the biggest change watching them is how fast they play. Last few years I felt the regular season was misleading because of how slow they looked at times. Now it seems they are just flat out skating teams. It’s been very fun to watch.