Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast Episode 345 The Last Bruins Hockey Talk of the 2023 Calendar Year

Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast Episode 345 The Last Bruins Hockey Talk of the 2023 Calendar Year

[Applause] what’s up ruins fans welcome back to the black and go hockey podcast this is episode 345 and it’s brought to you you and you by BB Lux the transportation company that I use quite frequently to get down to Providence Boston up to Maine to cover hockey games all the time

And um we’ll talk about BB Lux later on we appreciate them being our show sponsor um yeah welcome back we got a lot lot to talk about uh some really interesting things that went on today uh but before all that I have to introduce my co-host Mr domano Dom how we doing

How was your week buddy doing good uh great Christmas hope you had a great Christmas I saw the picture with your dad and the dogs glad that that he was able to get over uh hope everybody had a good Christmas uh my grandson sure did

And my son’s going to need a spare room at his place to put all the gifts now so uh yeah great time yeah I I had a great Christmas um unfortunately my wife Courtney’s father couldn’t make it over uh due to health reasons um but we’re

Going to go visit him when he’s feeling a little bit better and make up for that time and uh my dad came over which was cool like you said um his his back in sciatica gotten a little better that you can walk around and also uh come over

With the two dogs and two Boston Terriers and we call them the Boston terrorist because they’re they’re really cool dogs but they can be a handful at the same time I love them I love them nonetheless and but no it was really cool cool to see my dad and so on so uh

And yeah I want to extend my thoughts and wishes on everybody and hopefully they all had a great Christmas our supporters are you know are amazing so we can’t you know not think about them and their families and also you know the new year is coming up 2024 is coming

Quick I cannot believe you know the older you get I’m learning now Dom the older you get the time flies and I couldn’t believe how fast 2023 went by um but uh 2024 is going to be a big year and I hopefully it’s going to be a

Bigger year for our company as we’re growing this podcast is is really do I think doing well uh doing the weeklys we’ve been getting together and doing you know planning it’s been top-notch in my opinion and I really enjoy having you every week and and getting back onto this platform to

Talk Boston balky because I I honestly missed it for the full month Hiatus that I was on so um we always you know appreciate that and you know we’re going to have guests um I threw out a tweet today um saying that you know we’re recording this this particular podcast

Uh at 5:30 but also you know in the future if anybody wants to pop on please like you know get in touch with us all our information’s right here let us know if you’d like to join us and and you know that has go that goes for like next

Week I mean and and on once I said that on Twitter I had a couple people uh come out and even uh Boston Bruins uh play-by-play announcer uh Brett Chavez um commented and said hey I’d love to come on and talk uh Providence ruins and and Boston ruins with you guys so

There’s there’s one person I’m probably to get in touch with very soon yeah I mean there’s nothing better than talking hockey with passionate knowledgeable fans and I mean uh that’s what we do here um it’s it’s always great to get another person’s perspective or opinion on on how things are going because you

Know there are things that we could miss that they could very easily be picking up on so yeah if you uh want to join us reach out and uh we’d be glad to have you yep and and also if you can’t join us on this platform maybe you might be a

Shy or something like that you can also participate with uh sending us a voicemail at [Applause] 9785048554 his Dom hockey um dom. hockey website but ask him a question he’s probably going to have a great answer for you or you can ask me about Providence Bruins or Maine or something

Like that there’s plenty of questions that can be asked for Content so we we we we encourage you guys to to please help us out and and join us it’s it’s a lot of fun when we can interact like this oh definitely definitely and you know before we came on we talked about

Uh later on down the road doing uh live podcast where where fans can interact right away um yeah uh you know send messages via chat uh or what have you you know we’ll put them up on screen um there there’s always content available and there’s always room for fan

Interaction that’s for sure absolutely and we encourage it and one more thing before we get and I know I’m dragging on here before we get to the Bron Bruins talk we’re looking for more writers and more podcast so if you want to become a Bruins writer with with NHL AHL and ECHL

Media credential accessibility um let us know because we’re looking for we’re looking to grow 2024 is going to be a bigger year for us and we want we want to be a part of with with you if you if you can do some content creating whether it’s it’s a a

Podcast form a written website form or even a video on YouTube let us know we’d love to have you uh because we like I said we’re trying to grow this team trying to make 2024 bigger um but with that being said let’s get back let’s get

To the topics uh of the Boston Bruins and the whole organization uh but I want to start with one particular player right now Dom um I haven’t been able to uh pay a great deal of attention to the World Juniors um this year um but uh

From what you’ve seen so far could you give us some updates on uh Matt potra and uh and Dan Lo melis from uh Matt potra obviously plays for Team Canada and Dan Lo melis plays for team lvia so um an update and probably we’ll what we’ll do is next week we’ll we’ll we’ll

Finish everything off and give a a recap of our thoughts on the U on the world juniors but as of right now as an update um what are your thoughts on these Super Players yeah no worries with pody he’s uh doing about what was expected creating opportunities and

Uh um you know basically driving the second line that he’s on um you know some issues that plagued him in the NHL like holding on to the puck too long are still evident um and you know he’s made some great defensive plays and uh some not so great

Uh but he’s about where where expected uh no disappointment um you know he’s earned he’s earned the trust to the coaches to not once but twice be out there uh with uh just over two minutes left and then a minute left in the game with the goalie pull protecting a

Lead um you know so he’s obviously doing uh some things right and you know credit to him for that because Canada does deploy a checking line so um I’m I’m happy with where he’s at so far we’ll see now as the games get tougher uh where his scoring

Will I guess be relied on more excuse me as for lock melis look lvia is is I guess Canada is Canada’s team and lva is uh Canada Cinderella team uh everybody saw how the country celebrated when they uh won a medal uh La last spring

Um and donl metas was a part of that team um but so far the been in over their head and you know I don’t think they’ll be down in the relegation game um but you can see the that they don’t have much in the way of offensive Talent

Uh Lo melis is one of them that can provide that but it hasn’t happened at this point so we’ll see I’m not disappointed in either one they’re about where I expected them to be yeah and and this is a great opportunity for both of them let’s not let’s not kid

Ourselves uh luck mice is playing for um Mass he’s having a good year he had a good freshman year last season as well uh you know adjusting to the NCA level and I think he’s doing all right um and ptra a lot of people are getting on me

Saying that this has been a waste of time for him and he should have stayed in the NHL um I I continue to disagree with a lot lot of those people that saying this was a downgrade um just last week before the tournament happened he was named as an assistant captain now

That’s got to be something that he’s very proud of to be a part of the leadership of this team as they’re going to win a possibly win you know a gold medal for their country there’s nothing more important than to him for an 18y

Old or 19 or whatever he is right now to go through these experiences it’s not like you’re taking a 25y old 26 year old out of the NHL and throwing them into a tournament you know this is just this is fine this is going to benefit him you know and his

Resume moving forward uh and and good luck to Team Canada and and all the countries because the tournament is still going on you can see a lot of these games on NHL network but unfortunately they’re in the morning so I can’t really watch because I can’t get

I can’t get caught watching TV at work because it’s not a apparently it’s frowned upon Tom can you believe that in these days yeah you know whereas I sit the cafeteria at work and I watch hockey so you lucky s so yeah no but I I I just

I I think this is GNA be good for him I think that he’ll he’ll come back um obviously you know it’ll be a little bit of load management when um Patrick comes back to the NHL because of the travel time and so on he might sit a game who

Knows just to get that extra day of rest and so on and then come in and and see where he goes from there but I just don’t see the being a downfall to his development at all I don’t think it’s going to miss a beat uh in his path um

Moving forward because he’s I just think that this is a tournament that can make him better um you know uh it’s so hard to talk about because it’s it’s every I just don’t understand why when people think that a player is moving down a level it’s it’s it’s so detrimental to

Their to their careers and their development it’s just totally totally as backwards what people think well listen it confidence is a big thing in hockey Um what made Wayne Gretzky great what made Bobby yor great what made Mariel leie great what made Gordy Hal great what makes Connor McDavid great cydney Crosby you name them uh I’m not saying Matt Patra is is on their level but what made them great is confidence and um if anything just

Regaining the confidence that made Patra look so good at the beginning of the season if that’s all that’s gained out of this tournament that’s a good thing yeah no I have to agree with that um so yeah we’ll definitely talk we’ll wrap up the uh World Juniors uh

Next week um and maybe we’ll have a guest and and maybe they might provide an opinion about about that themselves um but moving on to another prospect that definitely is making news uh this morning courtesy of myself I’m raising my hand um you know and I’m gonna I’m

Gonna talk about Georgie Mula uh and this particular player has been playing very well down to the Providence Bruins um he is more in a center position this season to succeed which is his com position um and I think Ryan muel Tre Midfield and even even Matt Thomas are

All on board with um him in his defensive side of the game it’s gotten so much better this year as everybody can see from the from the die hards and the and the guys that work in the trenches covering the American Hockey League affiliate um so a little news uh

This morning and and I kind of like was hesitant about it because of the timing the the NHL trade um not deadline what am I what am I for the roster freeze was over today so me releasing this had me think ah a lot of people are GNA be thinking about oh just

Because the roster freeze is out this guy’s goingon to throw this BS out and see if it sticks um no uh unfortunately the timing it doesn’t look good but I will say that this person that reached out to me uh mentioned um that Jersey

Mula has uh in fact or or going to be uh called up to the Boston Bruins and I said I was working on the details and the details meant on when the call up is going to happen uh because it could have been today or it could have

Been uh it could be tomorrow and and hopefully it does happen tomorrow so this whole thing can smoothly go over and I won’t get hammered on Twitter as as as normal but I I believe the person that told me um that he is on his way to Boston and

Was unable to make the the practice at Warrior Ice Arena today um but um he says that you know it’s it’s probably gon to be a good good thing that um you get this out now because it’s probably going to be out tomorrow that he’s going to be joining the team

So I I’m I like this a lot I just hope that the Boston Bruins do put him in a position of where he can succeed and is surrounded by better players in the lineup um I’m not sure if he’s the type of player that is going to be

Comfortable in a fourth line Center role I don’t think he’s been playing that great down in the American Hockey League that he’s gonna bump a guy like John beer I I I just don’t see that if that’s if and if that’s the case why not leave him in Providence but I honestly think

That this this call up opens up a door for him and the organization to see what he’s got and and get in evalu tion where we are in the season right now pretty much in the Midway Point um I don’t know I mean what are your thoughts on this

Whole thing Tom well first of all with with regarding to what people say Mark ignore it the Youngstown uh Phantoms of the USHL tweeted it out a couple of hours after you did uh that marula was being called up um funny thing is is I go on some chat boards to

See uh fan reaction and some goofball went on there to say uh Georgie Mula is being called up uh you heard it here first okay but you go to another thread and they had already been talking about your Tweet for two hours right right you

Know this is the I I’m an Insider and I had it first uh type of crap that some fans put out so I I have to laugh at them um second of all I don’t think this call up happens if ptra wasn’t at the world juniors at

Least I don’t think it happens at this point of the Season maybe later on or with an injury I think with Patra not there it gives him the opportunity not to burn a lot of games up um that would bring them closer to waiver uh in elig or waiver

Eligibility uh because you know I’m a big stickler about that we talked about it in the last episode oh yeah so you know he gets a three four game look and and hey if he’s worth keeping around then they’ll have to make the subsequent moves if they think he’s

Better off served to finish the year in the AHL then that’s what’ll happen I would hate to think where Providence is going to be without him for the rest of the season and that’s how much he means to to that team so um those are my thoughts I know people are

Already penciling them in for next season um so am I to be honest with you um we have a roster to put up for our YouTube Watchers later on uh that looks at next year’s uh uh but we’ll we’ll put that up a little later in the show but that’s my

Thoughts on marula Mark um you know uh it’s it it’s only positive it’s only positive yeah um and I’m on board with that uh definitely on board with um with this whole idea of of getting him involved um now why not give him a look now and you’re absolutely

Right well let’s face it like Conor geeki between uh pavl zaka and David pack hasn’t looked good at times but it can look a lot better I I think we might be destined to see Pavo zaka uh as a left Winger going forward um especially when poo returns or if

Marula sticks um but geeki is not an answer up there yeah I I but I also do like what Morgan geeki has has offered lately and and believe it or not I kind of think that he was playing good enough to not force the hand to bring up

Mula at that particular moment yeah but with Patra not in the picture right now because at World Juniors this creates one of those like not I’m going to call it an invisible roster spot that just automatically appears and we can give a small sample size to a a prospect that

Has been knocking on the door for a couple years now but particularly this year is the time that you really give him a look because he’s excelling in his natural Center position where in previous years and I I don’t understand why nobody else has seen Georgia Mula

Move to the left side and play on the left wing I’ve seen it several times and a lot of folks out there just don’t don’t they’re like oh he’s always been a center I’m like well he’s also played left wing and you know they kind of you

Know but anyway it’s he’s a natural Center I think if you put him in positions where he’s he’s surrounded by better players that he’s going to get more out of this cup of coffee up here if not if not show the Boston Bruins that he wants to stay for extended

Period of time which is great but I just I also want to temper expectations on J Mula to say this is also a level change he’s had he’s had experience in the American Hockey League playing those type and that type of speed we don’t know quite yet if he’s going to

Be able to keep up and so on and and and and produce these points I just want to just I hope he does I’m rolling dys and let’s go Georgie or M love remember those days yeah but I also want him to be comfortable learn listen and and and

Gain all these experiences but also a leash long enough that gives him a couple of games and not just if he has a bad game in game one ship him down to Providence I don’t think that that does anything to his confidence at all and I

Don’t want to see that for the Bruins fan base perspective when they’re considering how we freaking develop prospects because if that guy goes down you know the narrative is going to come out saying well there’s another one that we failed to freaking develop well of course but that that’s Bruins fans

Attitude most of the time first of all have to apologize because I might have said Connor geeki instead of Morgan geeky I’ve got Team Canada uh will Jr’s on the mind so apologies to Morgan if I did uh secondly I think you have to give marula a legitimate shot

And that’s not putting him on the third or fourth line that’s putting him in between pavl zaka and David pter neck right off the bat um you know then you could ride with uh Marian Coyle and de Brusque as your second line and then jbr eeky

And uh who am I missing on the right there mark uh pasta or Frederick on the third line and then mix and match the fourth line as as you please I I think you have to give him a legit shot for three or four games and then when ptra comes back

Re-evaluate re-evaluate where you’re at okay now uh do a technology problems it took a little while but I did get that image that you sent me and I’m sorry I forgot to do that like last night um but if you want to talk about this we can do that right now is this

Lineup we we can do that later um okay as but um you know the the other thing with the Young’s Town Phantoms is I’m sure by now everybody’s heard about Cole Spicer and uh what’s happened with him um you know he’s uh Act mically ineligible to play

The second half of the Season uh with Minnesota duth yes um which basically means he didn’t make his grades in the in the first half so um there you go um he will be playing for Youngstown that’s uh merula’s former team um and trevar and Trevor

Countar that I know there was some talk about uh the WHL or the Western Hockey League be honest with you he had a better shot of the bchl than the W show in the event that he wants to keep the NCAA as an option going forward if he can get his

Grades back up uh and maybe return next season yeah and and by going to the bchl um or the uh USHL it keeps that college Collegiate um dream alive right you know if he signs Pro um if he goes I believe anywhere else if he goes to the

WHL that is now null and void blah blah blah you can’t you can’t go any further but you know he’s he’s create he’s keeping the options open and listen this isn’t in my opinion I like Cole Spicer good kid met him several times uh there’s been a couple

Development camps that I’ve seen him and so on I think he’s he’s fast got a decent shot you know but I it’s a continued work in progress late round pick and so on or was it a mid was he a fourth no he was he was later yeah okay

But anyway just ju you know somebody for depth for later on to consider and so on I’m not saying that he’s a an outstanding Prospect that’s going to like you know we’re pumping tires of but um he’s I think he’s a decent player a decent person and so on and it just

This is not a detriment to his his skill and and drive and and passion of the game it’s just a bump in the road academically uh you know people make mistakes you know things weren’t all there in the classroom maybe who knows there’s a lot of things that going on um

Um we don’t know all the facts about what Cole Spicer was thinking during that particular first half of the season when he was unable to keep those grades we probably will never know so um but I just I don’t like when people say that oh here’s another a bad look on

The prospects um you know the Boston everyone’s Prospect because they always look at those rankings that the athletic puts out and and other websites and you know they love to hamper on that so uh just another attack on on how we develop and and and how we get these

These players but you know it’s just it’s something that a young man made a mistake and and he’s willing to keep working hard in other areas to try to get back to where he was obviously an education is important to him and also playing in the NCAA is important to him

So I’m more concerned or I’m more pleased about the Avenues he’s taking to get back to where he want to be and to succeed so uh you know I’m not I’m not displeased about about what happened and so on it’s just everybody makes mistakes and we all have to understand that oh

Things happen and for all we know there could be something personal in his life that affected his schoolwork but let’s not jump to conclusions here and and hope he can get back to where he wants to be and uh that’s all we can do is is wish him all

The best in what what he wants to accomplish um let’s uh let’s hear from the great Folks at uh BB Lux Transportation if you your family or friends need a safe and reliable five-star transportation company for your next trip to the airport saving those ridiculous parking fees or a trip

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Also send them an email at bblu forless atgmailcom or please give them a call at 978 71473 to schedule your next safe and reliable ride for any occasion and uh like we said always say the um new year is coming up so if uh Wanda has uh slots

Available to drive you around from party to party give her a call give them a call I know they have six drivers on hand so I’m sure that they’ll be able to accommodate you and uh you know they do have some really good rates and I I find

Them a little better than Uber to be honest with you for my long trip so um thank you Wanda and BBL Lux for yet again sponsoring another one of these uh podcasts that me Dom and I do thank you Wanda yeah Wanda’s awesome she’s such a

Great Bruins fan I can’t wait to to get a ride with her again down to Providence so we can talk for hours yeah all right um we did talk about Cole Spicer um how about thoughts on uh Mason lowai since since his latest recall um obviously due to you know

Injuries and so on uh come comes in and covers I’m seeing a different player this time I’m seeing a more driven player listen he’s gonna make mistakes he’s young these are growing pains of development but he’s making some really stupid penalties and so on that’s something that will definitely grow out

Of his game as he you know as he matures and so on but what we’re seeing right now I am very happy with I I like the way he’s going up and down the defensive pairings either working with um with Chie makoy even down on the third line with the veteran Kevin

Chatton Kirk um and and even spot spot you know places uh with uh with Brandon Carlo when needed it depends on the situation of course but anywhere in the lineup on the back end I think this kid is is getting it um so my question to

You not only is your thoughts on on him in this time frame from since coming back from the from Providence but also is he going to stick around for the remainder of the Season or is he going to be one of those we have a veteran that’s coming back uh possibly Derek F

But we really don’t know his the longevity of his injury that’s been nagging him since um since training camp to be honest with you um so is Mason lowai here for the Long Haul and is it a bad idea to bring him down to Providence again and possibly bring him up um when

Needed listen that that goal last night was spectacular for several reasons just not the skill but the the vision uh to start the play the will the willingness to Envision the way the play was going to go um I forget now who fired the shot um oh I forget too sorry

Dom that like that was a perfect shot to create a rebound that that shot was not intended to beat the goenda a rebound and lorai saw that and Ju Just the skill the vision the anticipation everything just spoke NHL um yeah there’s going to be growing pains but you notice there less this

Time around than the first recall um yep what Mason lorai has given you in limited games is what hampis linol and Matt grizzli are supposed to give you I mean is his three goals not more than lyol and grizzl combined I believe so yeah there’s only 12 goals by

Defenseman and one quarter of them have come from Mason Luray so where does that leave you um I wouldn’t trate lindol for obvious reasons um forbert I want to keep around for the PK because it has not been as good without him okay so what’s that leave you Matt

Grizzli I don’t I I don’t know what the answer is uh I would just be hesitant to send Mason L right down at this point given what he is giving the team yeah and and what he’s doing right now is what you want to see in a

Prospect you want to make it so difficult for a team to bring him down and like you said the way he’s playing I just I I I just think his confidence has been is so much greater now than it was previously I just think that he was he

Was really really pushing the learning hard the first time and I think that he was trying a little too much where his Gap control was way off like he was like trying to get closer to a player but but not noticing how fast that player is

Actually coming at you and then got beat you know and and got skated around but this time I’m seeing him position himself much better to prepare himself for that speed that’s coming at him um he’s he’s still a big body he can still move Adam mcquade’s got his hands full

With this one about about positioning around the crease and getting people out of the lane so the goenda good Clear Vision of where the Puck’s coming from or where it’s at you know in um to be honest but th those those things of development are all coming together and you’re seeing it and

Yes it’s so it’s going to be hard um will I say that he’s going down to Providence this time probably not I was absolutely dead on right and you were too and everybody else that covers the Providence Bruins was absolutely dead on right the first time when the healthy

Veterans came back he was the unfortunate cut and a lot of people hated it but that’s kind of what’s going on now but this time this e this next recall I think the Boston brins are really going to consider like heavily like we we can’t bring him back down

Because what he’s doing right now we have to ride this this um this wagon because he’s he is he’s producing he’s doing everything that they expect from him and a little bit more so and to to go back several years Don Sweeney saying if you’re gonna be the better player

You’re going to get playing time and now we’re actually we’re actually seeing that now when that was just a phrase back then now it’s become more of a reality because now would be I think the Boston Bruins with the with the way that the roster is const constructed right

Now in during the offseason with oneyear deals from veterans and so on because they not expected to stick around our youth is expected to come up and rise to the top a little bit and kind of offset those balances of now we need to get four or five players at two to three

Million dollar or we can rely on somebody like a judge mikula um a um you know a a Mason lorai that are still under a million dollars on entry-level contracts you know right it makes it makes total sense when you’re a cap team that spends the ceiling in a competitive State of

Mind exactly and with lorai um it’s like I mentioned with padra way back at the beginning of the show it’s all about confidence this kid is playing with a lot of confidence right now and as long as he’s put in positions to maintain that confidence what we see is

What we’re going to get going forward I I I just don’t know how he is not in the top six when everybody is healthy I I I don’t know how yeah and you got to love a player like that and I’m not on mazock at all I know that he’s got defensive

Zone deficiencies with with being a smaller player but his Mobility is something that the Boston brns organization has countlessly worked uh you know thought of you know when transitioning the puck out of the defensive Zone that’s something that Mason Lowry is doing as a bigger bodyi

Defenseman the guy can move the guy can transition he can h i mean we’re seeing something very special I’m going to go out in the line here and I think you might hate it I don’t know if you might hate it some of this some of the smarter

People out there that can you know figure things out might understand but by the name only some people like no I hate that idea blah blah blah but when I think of Mason lorai I don’t know if I said this before in the podcast at all but I really think of douggy

Hamilton I don’t know why I see a very very similar comparison to a bigger defenseman mobile good shot and and and really good Vision moving laterally almost like Matt Grizz like a smaller body but I can see lowai moving along that blue line surveying

The ice trying to figure out can I get a shot on net or can I get a shot to a player for a tip or a rebound opportunity yeah I I hate comparisons I hate I know you do that’s why I did it um but yeah there’s a lot of

Similarities between Lori and and Hamilton um I will say this at some point Mason Lori is going to supplant Charlie makoy as the pp quarterback at least on pp1 um simply because of the shot um did but you know you mentioned grizzli there’s two things that lorai is giving the

Bruins that grizzli is not size and production and right now A Team starve for production needs production yeah oh I totally agree I totally agree and I will say that this is something that uh Jim Montgomery when he came into the Bruins as a first year

Coach last year and John Gruden who is now with the Toronto Marley’s um obviously probably gonna be the next Toronto Maple leafes coach who knows or ardor who knows but Jim Montgomery and John Gruden were very very high on we need to change how we look from the back end we need to

Generate more shots more Point uh more points and so on and and I think last year I saw a lot in the be in the first three quarters of the season I didn’t see that so much towards the end of the year and in the playoffs but that was on

Display at the beginning of the year there was a lot of things coming from the Blue Line great opportunities and so on and that’s probably one of the reasons why like hampus Lindholm was like leading the league in plus minus because he was he was doing those things

And obviously when the year started to come to a close kind of fell off the uh the trail because he I think he was injured I’m not sure if that came out official or anything like that but he was hampering from something and that’s not just his name no which begs the

Question the Bruins don’t really have someone to coach the defense now since guden left so is that a problem yeah who’s that defensive coach now Dom joeo yeah so like should they have brought somebody in I I don’t know I mean there’s so many you can look at and and question

Um but one thing’s for certain when Don Sweeney gets back from Sweden and the world juniors uh he’s got some tough decisions to make much like they did at the beginning of the season with who was going to make the team uh he’s you know Lori’s given

Him another tough decision to make and hopefully marula has given him another difficult decision to make only time will tell um you mentioned Derek forbert and his injury um so I looked it up he’s eligible to come off LTI on January the 2nd that doesn’t mean he will but that’s

When he’s eligible to come off is that retroactive too yeah okay um that doesn’t that doesn’t matter I mean I think that that’ll be okay because on a 23 man roster you can still could you still have him or no if he comes back you need to drop

Somebody oh no they’ll need to drop somebody they’ll need to drop a couple of players yeah damn because the the you know they’ll have to get back under the cap so yeah right yeah it’s mindboggling for us but a true Tas for Evan gold the Bruin’s general manager

Yeah um moving on to another topic that I believe you wanted to talk about um on the uh on our private chat uh was the go tenders and um and I think there’s there’s a a pretty strange narrative um well I mean it’s not strange when people

Think about salary cap and so on and blah blah blah but it’s also kind of strange that you don’t want to break something that’s you don’t want to break up something that’s going right right now and that’s goal tending goal tending has been the strength of this Boston

Bruins team since the beginning of the year and we we kind of knew that this was going to be the way it was because you know um Lenas Alik was a a vzna trophy winner last last year they both freaking uh won the Jennings um you know

Great efforts last year coming into this year you know Buy berser on by Cree transition year the defense and the goal tending are probably going to be most relied on to be the strength of this team and and it has I you know gravitate heavily to the goal tending

Being the the seventh player award this year give it to both of them yeah you know what I’m saying exactly but where does this narrative come from where we need to move a guy it’s mostly coming from people who don’t understand the cap um first of all trading lenus allmar is

Not going to get you a player um that can do more for the Boston Bruins than lenus allmark okay it just recoup that in a trade so you know it’s stupid but and lately the comment has been they need the cap space next year now I sent you a

Graph that we can put up on screen this is not my roster this is what the same fans are putting up as their roster for next year Okay so for those that AR aren’t on YouTube or are just listening through the other media um there’s Pavo zaka Matt Patra

David pack Brad marshan uh Charlie Coyle Fabian lysel Trent Fredick gorgi Mula uh Morgan geeki John beer uh Jacob Loco um and Patrick Brown up front on defense is hampus lyol Charlie McAvoy Mason lorai Brandon Carlo and in that is lenus olar those are under contract okay and what they have is 23,

470,000 Plus dollarss in cap space so that’s basically to get Jeremy Swan signed a number five and number six defenseman and a fourth line left Winger where on God’s bloody hell do we need cap space next year I I I don’t see it I I don’t see it

$23 million to sign one two three four players to fill out the roster NHL Bruins fans are talking about for next year why am I trading lenus alark heck I’d give Jeremy Swan the same as as lenus alar and pay my two goalies $10 million they’re worth

It oh no we can’t pay goalies that much why not they’re the ones that are getting you here yeah and the Cap’s going up so so if this was stagnant you know if if the cap was going up a million dollars each year like we were in the in the past two

Or three years I could see an argument for that but it’s going up 4.5 million next season it’s probably going to go up again after that season as well so as long as the the cap has a progression of going up we’re GNA see more availability in the cap to to work with

Um you know free agents and so on but I I know when I for me it’s not about the salary cap savings and so on it’s about draft capital and is it crazy to think that a len lenus Almar who was you know a a vzna trophy and William Jennings Trophy winning

Goenda at least a first round pick in in a trade whether that be a package or not and I would think that that would be what the Boston Bruins would really want to look after if they believe that Jeremy swam can be that guy to pull out

A Martin brur type of freaking career and play 40 to I mean 60 games and then play a full you know playoff series you know make a run for it if they were in a position to win a cup and so on with a goal sender my look at the Carolina hurricanes Mark

They need a gold tender okay big time so you put all mark on that team where do they end up are they a Stanley Cup favorite is it a 31 or 32 overall pick is it a 16th overall pick uh there’s there’s a big difference between the 16th pick and the 30 second

Pick right um I don’t think you trade allmark for picks I think you trade him for young players that you have control over but again I wouldn’t trade olark he is one of the two reasons the team is where they are or one of the three reasons uh David past being the other

Um so I don’t know this this talk about we need as cap space next year is what’s really baffling to me all right so we don’t let’s let’s get past the P the the cap space in a world do you see him being traded at all at the end of the season

During the off season while he has one full season left which is a great great leverage piece for any team looking for a goenda that wants to have a full season to talk to him about a possible extension well the Bruins are goingon to have to trade one of three

Goenda simply because Buffy or bus Buffy Buffy the Vampire Slayer busy needs waivers next year um I don’t know I what I do know is alark has limited trade protection the other two don’t now yeah can you get him to wave I don’t know um do you want to break up the chemistry

Between allar and San I don’t know um I’m I’m not in Don Sweeney’s office to know what their thinking is but I have to think that they don’t want to trade either one of them yeah yeah I I don’t think they want to trade busy either because he could be

That next guy that’s coming up through through the ranks especially if you’re considering moving a goenda you want to have somebody that can come in and kind of like you know seamlessly fit as a backup role um yeah this is a I mean it’s a tough situation I I mean I do understand

Where a lot of fans are coming from you know when they want to create cap savings so they go out get certain players but also if you think about it and regardless of the trade deadline and so on like the free agent free agency is

Real thin this year I I really don’t see a lot of available players that the Bruins can actually go through and pick and you know they could probably do what they did this past off season and get some you know complimentary veterans like jvr and and Morgan geeki and so on

At a year and two for low money and so on but that’s not something that you want to plan a future on umh yeah it’s going to be tough it is now be interesting Elias Lindholm who they’ve been linked to for months now has apparently turn down a $9 million a

Year offer from the Calgary Flames Jesus now uh $9 million in Calgary is not the same as $99 million in Boston um you know but players like that seldom make it to free agency they either get traded and signed or they resign yeah I just don’t see any as much

As I would love to see ly Holm because he is the most comparable that I read from the experts out there that could like be the the the next berson I know there will never be a another berson but a guy that plays with such good defensive minded game offensive and

Defensive that’s what we need you know if you’re gonna if you’re GNA replace anybody and try to get somebody else in there in your top two um Center positions up the middle you want a guy that’s going to be a good offensive and defensive forward I mean

It just it just makes sense and look at what we have right now I mean Pavo zaka on a different level this year on an absolute different level because he’s getting the opportunities to do so and and and his versatility is is playing a key role as well and it probably will

With meru possibly coming in at a higher level a higher um you know top 12 I’m sorry top six player he can be slotted over to the left and be that veteran guy that’s going to be feed new parck and then go back and forth

So um as much as I want to have that guy to come in and be that I just don’t see that we don’t have a first round pick we don’t have a second I don’t believe no I don’t think I I just don’t think that we have the draft capital or prospects in

The pool to facilitate a trade where Craig Conroy is going to be like oh yeah let’s do this deal I I don’t see it you know maybe maybe a couple years ago when they did have a couple first round picks and so on and blah blah blah I think

That deal could have happened but obviously it would have been a larger cost because lyol is not wasn’t going to be a you know a UFA at that particular moment he had a year or two under under contract where Calgary could use those two years as as huge leverage to get

Something back you know so it’s gonna be interesting the rest of the season leading up to the the trade deadline but obviously I’m more intrigued about what happens past the trade deadline into the playoffs and the end of the season into the off season I am still on board with

The the salary cap that’s going to be available next season that the Boston Bruins that’s the time that they’re gonna build for a Stanley Cup winner I I’m not sure about this year could they be a Cinderella team that gets in there and does it like the um like the uh like

The Florida Panthers last year maybe who knows um but I ALS or the St Louis Blues in 2019 exactly but but they we’re also talking about a Boston brns team that is first in the Atlantic division with a 27 and six record 47 points um incredible

At home decent on the road they’re not in bad shape when you think about the standing so but all also I’m thinking about let’s not be that that Boston Bruins team that goes and be the be the best team in the league and Garn is all this expectations

To have it all come crumbling down after the first round if if I if I was a betting man I would bet that the Bruins aren’t going to do a whole lot in terms of Trades this year I think they came into the season with a plan

And that plan was this is a transition year and you just saw by the roster we put up for next year uh that this is a transition year and they’re not going to overthink it they’re not going to say hey we’re one player away or we’re two

Players away let’s go all in uh because then what do you have next year so I I think they know they’re going to stick to their plan whatever that was and if I was a betting man that’s what I would bet on yeah um yeah it’s going to be interesting on how

Everything pans out and um the Boston Bruins last night beat the Buffalo Sabers four to one so they snapped a a four game losing streak um and during that four game losing streak what were the biggest things that you noticed about how they were exposed in the in in that duration where

And I know it’s Buffalo and so on but two points is two points no matter what but how do you think that they need to play better moving forward and not get into those situations where they did in that four game stretch yeah I know people are going to

Say well it’s only Buffalo but you look at the leavs who have lost to Ottawa twice now and to Chicago twice now um you know On Any Given night unless you’re San Jose any team can beat any team um for the Bruins I would say that

The thing that cost them the most in that four game losing streak is lack of 60-minute effort it’s been the case since the beginning of the year um you know you’re putting a lot of pressure on your goal tenders um a lot of pressure on your defenseman uh when you’re

Playing most of the time in your own Zone so lack of effort that’s it for me yeah same here it’s it’s it’s showing up for two two periods getting that lead and the third period you’re playing somewhat mediocre trying to hold on to that lead and then in the last couple

Minutes you lose that lead and you’re fighting for your life going to overtime or shootout and so on we shouldn’t be like that I mean you’re absolutely right it’s that 60-minute effort that needs to be you know and and honestly I’m I’m going to tell you I was actually shocked

That the Boston Bruins won last night and and I’m not pissing and moaning on them and so on but for me it’s the trend of how they play after multiple days of rest I mean they had like three or four days of rest and so on traditionally

They come back at that first game and they’re horrible and so on and then the next game after that they’re back on track and they possibly get onto a winning streak but um I I was and again it is Buffalo I totally understand that but but coming coming back from three

Days rest and so on and winning in that fashion um yeah but it’s just got to be a full 16-minute effort moving forward and and everybody’s GNA be bought in and they still have to find that identity I and I I still hear that once in a while

From Jim Montgomery in his press postgame press conferences and I think that I think that he wants the team to be a little more physical I’m not saying drop the gloves every five minutes and and change the the momentum of a game with a fight but I just think that he he

Wants to see a little more physical team as in finish your checks don’t skate by don’t skate by a player with a with a puck that you know is g to pass and but you’re you’re still curling at that player reading the pass going the other

Way you could still get in there and make some body contact and possibly disrupt that path of the the puck and turn it over like the turnovers that we give up all the freaking time yeah but is it a Personnel issue Mark um some people or some players just

Don’t have it in their DNA Um you know um Johnny beer um has been some board battles has thrown a few hits but with his size could he not be more physical uh pavell zaka uh Charlie Coyle uh big boys you know yeah uh David pack looks for more hits than they

Do yeah different year for him too he is more physical yeah um is past not trying to lead by example now that he’s one of the leaders on the team maybe but it’s not rubbing off on the rest of them so I don’t know I I I think some of

It is Personnel I mean Jacob Loco and Oscar Steen provide some energy but they’re not overly physical uh lco as we’ve seen is willing to drop the gloves um but he’s not going to take on any heavyweight right so I don’t know um I think having a Milan Luchi in the lineup

Would have made everybody play bigger but unfortunately he’s not available uh to the team so great little segue into a question that I I forgot to write down but somebody and I wish I could give credit on Twitter or X about this but the Boston Bruins started off on fire and so

On they they were a great team and so on we just didn’t you know during the offseason we saw the lineup and we were like uh we don’t know blah blah blah they came out they played they did great but do you think that the struggles not the struggles but do you

Think this team turned a bit when the Milan luch news came out because when I got asked about this I did go back and track a little bit and it it does kind of line up a little bit it almost like the the news affected the team you know emotionally

Mentally and so on where a lot of this stuff was more Exposed on the ice than it than it should have been I don’t know Mark because I’m not in the room to know but I I do believe that it affected um the way that they played

Like I said having me Milan Luchi would allow everybody to play bigger than they actually are in the lineup he’s just that type of player now they don’t have that type player and um hence the lack of physicality with this team yeah I I I can’t I can’t give a better answer than

That yeah oh I hear you my man it’s it’s just I don’t know there something I’ve been thinking about lately and kind of going back to seeing where the trends were and so on and when this team side of the struggle but I mean we we all knew that

This was not going to be an 82 and 0 uh Team or even 65 win team from last season definitely things just don’t repeat like that it was a miracle season and and we knew that this was going to be a year of trials and tribulations and

And we’re seeing it and but we’re also seeing it from a team that is higher up in the echelon of the of the league standings you know the Boston brins are and and and the tops of their division and they’re battling back and forth it seems like every game with the New York

Ranges for that for that top spot in the uh Eastern Conference and and obviously they’re they’re down into the fourth and and rid in the third and fourth areas of the of the league standings because of how Vancouver is doing and and all these other teams out west that are really

Pushing uh the envelope for themselves but I’m I’m really happy with what I’m seeing so far from a league standings Point yes I do agree that there’s holes that need to be patched up there’s a lot of weaknesses that are being exposed from some teams um whether it be a

Division opponent or or a non-division opponent uh when points are premium and so on but those are The Growing Pains of the of an NHL season when you’re trying to to go through a transition year which I keep bringing up because it actually is you know yeah it’s funny cuz on the

TNT broadcast last night didn’t they have Boston Vegas and the Rangers as the cup favorites I believe they did I believe it was those three and I don’t know I don’t know where they come up with these odds sometimes right um any other topic that you want

To discuss or did we cover pretty much everything we pretty much covered it all um yeah I I I think we covered oh Kyle Kaiser oh yeah that’s right yeah because we we had mentioned a couple of episodes ago that you were you were one of our colleagues there was going to ask

Ryan musel so why don’t you break the news to yeah yeah so we were we were kind of wondering where the the the whole three-headed monster was going to be go with uh the Providence Bruins and if they were going to run uh uh Brandon busy Michael DPO and Kyle Kaiser for the

Whole year which they’ve done to up to this point but unfortunately Kyle Kaiser has been assigned to the uh ECHL main Mariners our our colleague Jason cook um had the um the article on that at black Ando hockey.com please go check it out um but uh I

Mean we look at it as it’s not a detriment for Kyle Kaiser but it’s it’s a placement for him to keep playing uh because he’s not playing he hasn’t played since uh November 4th I think my buddy Robert Char charur uh tweeted out earlier uh that he hasn’t been playing

Because of the the Stellar play from Brandon busy and Michael dph Road that’s that’s your new uh 1 a 1B pretty much in Providence and there’s really no room so um kaisa goes down to to the main Mariners and I think that that’s going to be a huge upgrade for Maine because

Starett and I’m not sure who the other guy is but they just we talked about this last week there’s really no goal tending in in man to help those guys out and um I think Kyle Kaiser is going to be that type of guy that’s gonna go down

There and embrace the role regardless of the demotion and play to his to the best of his abilities because he’s also plan to evaluate to other NHL teams or even teams around the world that he can still play the game and it might be available after this season as a I believe a

Unrestricted free agent no uh restricted with oh arbitration rights okay I believe so I mean there’s a possibility that he could be back for another year which is not a bad thing but I mean if I was Kyle I’d see the landscape in front

Of me and be like you know know what I gotta wash my hands um but who knows who knows sorry my mistake Kaiser Kaiser and D Petro are both eligible to become group six ufas this year okay all right but regardless he’s going to go down to

Maine and help those guys out and so on because they’re in a decent position right now and at a at a pretty decent point in the year where they can actually turn the things around and and I think this addition to kaisa is probably going to help that in the

Crease and so on because um you know Maine has a decent team and so on but you know they’re they’re in the bottom of the uh I believe the North Division well or not the bottom but like two spots they’re not very they’re not great but they could be better and I

Think goal tending is a huge issue go goal tending has been a big problem for them well we’ll see my only hope for Kyle is that he remains healthy yes and and gets through the remainder of the Season uh and then there’s no telling what could happen um yeah so it’s just

Wait and see but that was the last bit of news this week yeah I totally forgot to write that one down my bad it happen that’s why that’s why I have another guy here just to remind me of all this stuff as you so fondly pointed out at the beginning of the

Broadcast this is another sign of getting getting older buddy you forget things I’m learning things every day and getting older yes is something that happens yeah it does well listen um I think that’s was going to wrap it up for this episode 345 and I I got to give you a shout out

Because I found out when you joined the the broadcast and we decided to record and that you weren’t feeling well so I want to thank you for sitting in and doing this I I you know you could have t reached out and said can we do it

Another day but you wanted to get it done and I really give you kudos for battling through over an hour while you’re not feeling good and it’s all good obviously obviously hope you feel better yeah in better uh standings next week when we possibly have the guest but

You know I you know you’re a trooper and I love that hey it’s always fun to talk hocky and if there are people out there that are enjoying it I do it all the time there you go well said and if you enjoyed this uh this Boston Bruins uh

Podcast um please um get in touch with us uh get involved uh send us a um a a voicemail at 9785048554 X or Twitter using the hashtag askb and we’ll uh put your your picture screenshot up here and discuss what you have to say because uh it’s important

For us to you know we don’t we don’t want to be that typical podcast that always always breaks down game review and this and that blah blah blah we we would rather hear our listeners and and their opinions about questions about the Boston Bruins and so on and and

Something that we can discuss and so on and not regurgitate what everything what everybody else’s whatever what every other program out there has already been discussing so we kind of want to be unique in an area but we also want to invite you know Bruins fans and their interaction so because we

Do enjoy that so definitely definitely all right my man listen um we want to I want to thank everybody for the uh 2023 year uh regard L of the four Monon uh Hiatus that I took from the program uh but towards the end of the year I’m so happy the past couple weeks

That we were able to get back on with dom and so on and kind of you know revitalized this this weekly effort and um and also mentioned that you know 2024 is probably going to be a bigger year for us and I’m really looking forward to

It um so hopefully everybody can get on board get involved and you know help us out we certainly appreciate it but can not go without saying thank you to all the the friends family uh followers the interaction downloads the support it’s just been overwhelming you have no idea

What this does to us on on a daily basis um so many people make this happen on a daily basis and we cannot thank you enough but um just so I’m not babbling anymore I want to say thanks um and hopefully everybody has a great

2024 and um your dreams are met and you know everybody stays healthy and safe so Dom any last thoughts Before We Say Goodbye yeah I want to thank everybody as well wish them uh uh safe and Happy New Year’s uh especially be safe on New Year’s Eve yes um please don’t drink and

Drive call Wanda uh if you you need a ride if you want to come fly cross country call me I’ll pick you up in my private jet no just kidding um yeah be safe because we want you back here uh next year absolutely yes um yeah lift Uber cab

Train anything anything to you know party safely but also don’t be a statistic so uh with that being said I’m host Mark ol that is Don Tiano we will talk to you next week and hopefully we’ll have somebody else to talk to about something Bruins related we never know what on

This podcast on on how we roll and so on but um take care go bees and we’ll talk next [Applause] week w

Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast hosts Mark Allred and Dominic Tiano are back talking about the Boston Bruins organization and the recent news over the last week.
We talked about Boston Bruins prospect Georgii Merkulov getting his first NHL call-up after Mark broke the news of his arrival last Thursday morning. We talked about the 2024 World Junior Championships tournament that is currently going on in Gothenburg, Sweden, with B’s prospects Matt Poitras and Dans Locmelis participating.
We also talked about why the Bruins should not trade a goaltender, at least for this season, and other Bruins news that caught our attention.

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