Should the Bruins sign Mitch Marner? | Bruins Beat

Should the Bruins sign Mitch Marner? | Bruins Beat

[Music] Welcome into the Bruins Beat presented by CLNS Media. I am Evan Marinowski. Uh before we get into the show, I want to tell you guys to make sure to subscribe to Bruins Rankside on YouTube. Lots of great content there. Uh many podcasts per week. You can also subscribe to listen to those podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Do some live streams every now and again. And today I’m joined by Court Land. Court. Hey Bobby. Yeah, like I said to you off off air, I got to say it here. Just feels good to be living in Leaf Land and watching them be miserable today, which is it sounds terrible, but I know Blackburn, Pete Blackburn says all the time, “What chaos?” I Leaf fans are the worst. Oh, and you live in it. You live in it. And I often get messages from people um who live up near you who are like, “Man, it’s a great day.” Or, “Oh, it’s tough cuz the Leafs are doing well.” And it’s funny because any other team if if you took them away from the Leafs and you just said, “Hey, there’s this team that’s been in the playoffs for years and years and years and years and years and they can never break past really the second round that laugh you’re like, “Oh, I want to root for that team. I want I want to see that team break through.” And then you add in the Leafs fans and you add in sort of the narratives around the Leafs and it’s like, nah, it’s too fun. It’s too fun and you must love it. I I I feel I feel bad for some of my friends because I do have some friends that are uh realistic good people. Well, yeah. Great people. Um, I think it has a lot to There’s a movie Get Shorty. It came out a really long time ago. Probably before you would not know it. Well, you might know it, but it it’s an oldie to you, but um probably before you were even born. Uh, and they joke around cuz they’re in Florida and every time they turn on the radio, they’re like, “Oh, the Gators. The Gator.” And they talk about the Florida Gator every two seconds. Toronto is like that. They figure out a way to make it about the Toronto Maple Leafs. And I’ve said this for years. I think the issue with Leaf fans is they don’t know how to win. They’ve never won. And I’m not saying Bruins fans do. Bruins fans know how to. No one could make fun of the Boston Bruins or a player on the Boston Bruins better than a Bruins fan. So when leaf fans when leaf fans try it, it’s like what are you doing? Like we already did that last year. Like we already made fun of that guy, but I witnessed it last night when Marian was walking off the ice. Leaf fans were getting up to him. But it had nothing to do the fact that he was wearing a Florida Panthers jersey. Had everything to do that he was Brad Marian. He was in Toronto and he was walking down the hallway and I’m sure they were chirping him for being Brad Marshian. Brad Marian saying nothing and just smiling is kind of what I do on a daily basis. It’s it’s very interesting because this year I thought the Toronto Maple Leafs would be a good hockey team. I truly thought this is a different year. Their back end is phenomenal. Their goalending is good. Even Wall Wall is good. Stores is great. Good young guy. But you don’t have and we talked about this before. If you don’t have specific players, Austin Matthews, Mitch Mner, and John Tavvaris stepping it up, because I’m not saying anything to Matthew N or William Knander because those two guys are great. Um, then you’re not going to win. And the fan base continues to think it’s not the core, it’s not the core. They fired all their coaches, they fired their GMs, they have gone through everything, the opposite of what the Bruins have been doing. The Bruins just status quo because they actually been winning. As much as we think the Bruins suck, we’ve had a ton of success over the last 10 years. Agreed. And the Leafs, quote unquote, have had better players according to, you know, the NHL.com and such, but their players don’t win. And that scares me because I’m sure we’ll talk about it. Everybody wants Mitch Mner on the Bruins. And it’s kind of scaring me right now. I want to talk about that with you cuz I think Mner the like I want on the Bruins and I brought it up because of your tweet. Yes. I I want to dive into this a little bit. One other thing before we get to Marner. Um it feels weird to root for the Panthers, but I am so Oh, it’s fun to watch Marian scores the OT winner off of, you know, some guy’s ass and even LA, you know, on on Wednesday night in that drought, him walking off the ice and just smiling at them. It’s like, oh. And and it’s weird because I was texting a friend. I actually have a friend. I worked with him a couple years ago. Um, and he lives in Florida and he’s a diehard Panthers fan. Marlins fan Dolph. I never met I didn’t know those existed. I don’t mean that in like a bad way. Yeah. A Miami Marlins fan. Heat fan. Like truly like a Miami sports fan, which I respect because that’s a hard that’s a hard fandom. Um, and with the Panthers, I’m like, “You like what you’re getting? You like this guy?” And he’s like, “We love him.” And it’s it’s it’s so hard. You know, I get obviously the Leafs and the rest of the league hates him, but as a guy who grew up rooting for Brad Marshian and then covering him for a bit, I mean, it is so fun to watch him just stomp all over the Leafs and do what he’s always done. It is It’s magnificent. Yeah. And if they beat the Leafs, we get a first round pick. So, Bruins, I I don’t I don’t work for them. I’m not part of the organization, but as a fan, it would be get we get that first round pick, right? And I after Vegas got knocked out last night, which I was I thought I I thought it was a foreseen conclusion. As soon as Stone wasn’t playing, I’m like, they are so injured. The Vegas Golden Knights. I can’t wait for their media day when it’s just like this guy is playing on one leg. Like they’re they’re they’re beat up. I’m cheering as a Canadian. I’m 100% cheering for the Ammon Oilers. I would love for Mc and I think actually and this sounds crazy McDavid being the best player in the world. You need to get like when Ovkin got a cup we all were like I’m so happy for Avetkin. As much as we weren’t Caps fans were like kind of happy for Avetkin. Agree. I kind of am in that camp right now with McDavid. I I would love for him to get his cup. Yeah. of the group left like my saw I thought the Leafs were going on a little bit of a run mainly because I thought the Panthers were due to not advance um just given the last couple years. Um, and I, you know, I I was like, “All right, if the Leafs win, Brandon Carlo gets a cup. I can live with that.” Like, that’s cool. Good for him. Happy for him. Great guy. All those things. Now, when I look at the with the game board, like I’m with you. I think the Oilers would be a fun story given, you know, they kind of their goalending sort of duct tape and spit. Like, it’s very interesting how that has worked out. Bard and um and Skinner. Um, and then you’re right, like I think it would be great for the league to get a guy like McDavid to hoist the cup and to have the the video foot, you know, the behind the scenes stuff we saw at last year with them. Yeah. Like I think that would be really good for the league. Dallas doesn’t have any Dallas has been knocking on the door for a while. Carolina’s been knocking on the door for a while. I think those are probably the two best teams on paper. Um, Florida’s won it, you know, Florida won it last year. Um, but Dallas and Carolina, I don’t have there’s not like a unless I’m missing it, there’s not like a a big story there. I mean, you know, Ranton in Dallas, I think, is a story. But, well, that’s a story that kind of already happened with Colorado. Crazy as it sounds, Carolina winning, I think, would be better for the game of hockey in the United States than any team that’s left in the playoffs because if Carolina wins, it grows the game in that area of the of the United States. You don’t have an issue on the East Coast of the United States. Even though Carolina is on the East Coast, they’re on the southern east coast. Correct. You have no issue in the northern coast of the United States of America going and I think the game is doing great in Dallas regardless. I just think with the looming expansion to the Atlanta again which is just hilarity in itself considering I was born there and my dad was playing there at the time. Oh, I forgot you were born in Atlanta. Yeah. And they’ve done this twice, right? We’ve been there twice. They have. Carolina would probably better for marketing and uh growing the game but not money. I think for the NHL to make money, Dallas or Edmonton is who they’d want winning the cup. Little bit bigger media markets. I agree with you. That’s an interesting perspective on Carolina because you’re right. Um I cover a lot of, you know, um 07s, 08s, 09’s coming up, 10s, and increasingly you see more and more kids with Dallas, Texas or anywhere Texas next to their name, and hockey has grown in Texas. Um so I agree with you there. I I can’t speak much Carolina. I think that probably would help them. I know they won it in 06 with Brymore. With Brymore. So, there was that. Um, but again, they’re a team that’s been knocking on the door forever. Like, and same with Dallas feels like they’ve been in it forever. Um, so it’ll be interesting to see how these next couple weeks play out. I don’t want these weeks to end cuz one like Celtics are sort up in, you know, here in Boston. Celtics are feels like they’re winding down, which is unfortunate. And then, you know, I I watch most playoff games, so you want to keep watching that every night. And then it’s just baseball. And I love baseball. I do, but it’s not the same. No, it’s not. It’s not as fast-paced, not as action, and it’s it’s not as uh I I like baseball as well. I like I’d rather watch it on TV than being at it live. Especially here in Toronto, our our stadium is I know it probably looks good on TV, but we call it the concrete graveyard. It’s just this giant thing. It’s not like it doesn’t have the history of Fenway. I know. See, I like being at a game more than I like watching on TV. Cuz if I’m watching on TV court, I sit there on Twitter or I’ll sit there like playing. But that’s the best part about baseball. I can get up because I will look at the screen 10 minutes later and nothing happens. So, you’re right. You’re right. You’re right. And sometime when I’m at the game, I’m a little bit more focused. So, I it kind of it helps me there. Uh Mitch Mer, you and I disagree on this. That’s okay. It’s not that I disagree. I The playoffs is what scares me. I think he is one of the best players in the NHL. a top five winger in in the NHL can get you a 100 points per year. It’s more of a oh, we can change him is the attitude in my brain. Can the Bros change him? My take it feels like a loser take, but it it it this is how I feel. Um I get the playoff stuff. His numbers in the playoffs historically have actually been pretty solid. I believe he has he played great against the Bruins in what was that 2018. remember he was like, even though the Bruins won that series, cuz they always do, he was like the only reason the Leafs were good. He was walking shots, doing everything. My point with Marner is first of all, you need to get back to the playoffs. Mhm. And this team needs superstar, high-end talent alongside Pos, not on the same line because you can’t put them on the same line, but alongside on the team and to me, he fulfills that. And I look at it like the next two to three years, the kids you draft this year, whoever you draft seventh, uh, your second round picks probably are not going to come up and make much much of an impact for at least two years. Unless they can get, unless somehow Fernandell Fell, I think he is an instant one of the guys that’s in that picks that can jump in the following year. Just the way he plays the game and he’s already playing with men wouldn’t shock me. And I think that’s the benefit of picking those guys out of Sweden and be like, “Oh, the Swedish, you know, European, blah, blah, that guy sucks.” Oh, yeah. Alexander Barkov if you get Frenell or like if you were picking 11th I’d be like if you can get Victor Ecklund like you get that guy because again he’s doing this against men. So I agree with you. He Frenell could come in but the the reality is if it’s Jake O’Brien or Brady Martin or even a Caleb Denier those guys aren’t coming next year or maybe even the year after making much of an impact the year after. So Mner keeps if you if you got Mitch Mner and had him on the second line with whoever, you know, again, like he’s that good. He can elevate guys around him. As of right now, it’s Casey Middlestep. That’s the thing. And that is that’s that’s a drawback. That is a drawback court. I agree with you. But again, he’s good enough that should still be able to produce. You’re in the playoff. You’re you’re in the playoff hunt. You’re not wasting Postronox’s prime. You’re also not wasting Marner’s prime because you’re in it every year. Not saying you’re cup contenders, but you’re playoff contenders. And then two to three years down the road when those kids come up, they have a chance to play with a Mitch Mner or David Postnock and you get to kind of build that next core and the guys like Mner and Posterno get to sort of influence it. Now, I know people I know what you know I get the whole playoff thing. I completely understand it. Um, but a guy like that doesn’t come around often and that is I know you’d rather him be on the left side. If he was a left wing, it’d be like done. We’d rather be William Knander. But continue or that. I agree. I agree. or that and him poster buddies. So like if you can find a way to make that happen but that’s my mner that’s my that’s my reasoning for Mitch Mner and I understand the contrary to it. I get it. Like I said I get to watch him a lot here in Toronto. I think he is a phenomenal player and part of me thinks maybe it isn’t just maybe he needs and this this is growing up here in Ontario. Maybe he needs to get away from his dad. Um just Google Mitch Marner dad watch videos. He’s He I’m gonna say this right. He’s the worst. Whether Mitch thinks it or not, I think the guy as a coach in in minor hockey, that guy would be a coach cut. I just whatever. Don’t care how good your kid is. You suck. Don’t want him near him. He’s toxic. It just the things that guy says and those old videos you watch and you’re just like those are not even comedy. It’s hard to watch. I don’t know how like when I see that stuff and and I’ll often see, you know, hockey dads at games be tough on their kids and stuff, but it it always makes me cringe cuz it’s like it’s a game, man. And and in those videos, Mitch Martner was like what, nine? Yeah, dude. He’s young. And why can I I forget. Why were they Why were those cameras following them? Because he was that good back in the day. Oh, okay. Yeah. No, he’s older than nine, but he was that good back in the day. Wow. He was one of those kids. So, growing up here in Ontario, we have the Phenoms, right? We have Conor McDavid. Yep. He’s He’s literally 20 minutes down the road. That’s where he grew up. 20 minutes down the road from me. Um I heard about him when he was like 12. John was another one. We heard about him at a very young age. We Eric Lindros, uh, all these guys when they started coming up through minor hockey, people were packing ranks watching these kids. Wow. Cuz you knew and Martner was one of those kids. Martyr was one of those kids where, you know, you’re driving downtown Toronto to go watch this kid play in a pee-wee tournament because you’re like, “Wow.” And people do that regularly. I didn’t know that. Yeah, we was one of those kids. Tavvarus was a exception, right? think he got drafted to the OHL before and same with Conor McDavid. Like Conor McDavid grew up not far from me. He had to parents moved him. So it’s funny he’s from New Market, Ontario. Well, if you actually ask him, he didn’t play hockey in New Market because he was that good. New Market wouldn’t let him jump up the age bracket. So he left and went to And down here you can now, but back in the day you had to live where you played. couldn’t just travel and do whatever you want because like unlike the US where you have all these travel teams and such here in Canada we just have a lot of kids want to play hockey so there’s enough teams so you can’t just let them willy-nilly play where they want recently they’re allowing it because the um registration has gone down cuz it’s cost an arm and a leg but he had to leave his parents had to like leave where he was and he had to go play somewhere else to go play up in age yeah he just went literally one town over but like a lot of those players including like Stamos and a bunch those guys, they live there in the offseason, which is not far from here either. And there’s this rink um that they all practice at and kids will in droves all summer will be there while McDavid and Stammer and all those guys are practicing. That’s incredible. It’s very awesome to live where I live, especially even during um the lockouts and like pandemics and stuff because the player they were all here. They all live here. But we know about this stuff back in the day and Marner was that kid. He’s always been amazing. He’s exceptional. And a part of me thinks that one, his dad is whatever, but we can get we can get through that because the Bruins organization is, as much as the front office drives me nuts sometimes, but it’s very good culture. Yes. Not letting many moms and dads come on in and let them I would say this, and I know we talked about this off air before, Austin Matthews wouldn’t be the player he is in the Bruins organization, and they might have traded him. If that situation that happened in Arizona, the Boston Bruins would have traded him. They wouldn’t have given him a second chance. he’d be gone. Look at Joe Thornton. He did something that offseason that he got moved. You can Google it. There’s more to the Joe Thornton trade than everybody thinks about. He did something that offseason that was they just couldn’t get past. And I think maybe Mner needs to get away from Austin Matthews. So maybe he would be different here. And maybe someone like Pastnack and now that Charara has seems he is way more involved in this team than we ever thought. Zeno Char. We still don’t know exactly what Charara does, but he’s around quite a bit, but he was also Jerry, did you see that when they said they traded Marshan? Char was sitting at that table, so what is he doing? Like Char was in that room. So to me, I’m like, okay, he’s the next guy in the front office. I I think so. I absolutely think so. And he’s a really smart guy, so I’m I’m extremely smart. I’m fine with it. Normal. A lot of times it’s like, oh, the best player will bring him back in. And it’s like, h but Charara makes sense. Charara Charara checks all the boxes. I also think and but if you sign Martner, do you bring Marsham back because you need the leadership? I don’t. It sounds like Maring less now cuz I don’t think he’s going to get that contract. He offered that big one. I have not factored Marian in. And it’s no disrespect. I just moved on and it’s I I have nothing against the player. I think he’s phenomenal. I just think that ship has sailed and it’s time to start. Mner and maybe you bring him back. That could be a thing. Yeah. Yeah, that could be a thing. Um, the other thing about Marner, and you mentioned it, like growing up in Ontario, and I can’t relate to this at all cuz I didn’t grow up there. You did. Um, you know, the pressure that’s up there. People go, “Well, Boston’s a really tough media market. People really care. It ain’t Toronto.” And growing up there and then playing for the Leafs, it’s a lot of freaking pressure. And I do wonder like people say, “Oh, he’s going to want to go to like a Utah or, you know, kind of get away from the the noise.” I mean, I don’t I I don’t you know, I think Boston would still be a a great market for him, but also not as intense as an insane as maybe Toronto. You think that could help a guy like Martyr? Yeah, it it’s it’s interesting. Like Boston’s pretty crazy, but it is nothing compared to here. It’s nothing compared to Montreal. You have your couple radio stations that say the wildest stuff on a regular basis. And that I I find it laughable living here. Like when I when everybody’s like, “Oh, so and so at such and such radio station said this and like and I’m like, are you effing kidding me?” Like people like like none of this is real. Like this guy is right one out of 15 times and all of a sudden you’re trying to act like he’s like, you know, a truth bomb has just been dropped. But I think it’s more shock jock there and I think a player can laugh it off. I’ve spoken to players that have played in Boston and during this time like my dad played there and the media wasn’t it wasn’t a thing. Um but I’ve spoken to people that have coached in this city and it’s nothing compared to like even when they visit Toronto for a game or Montreal. Montreal and Toronto are the two craziest hockey markets there are in the NHL with regards to media coverage and how the players are treated on a day-to-day basis. Well, did you see what they booed the least for two periods yesterday? Yes. And but did you see what the Canadians fans in media did when um oh god, who was the kid who just came in? Uh when he arrived at the airport, they had live streams going. Um the Russian kid. I’m laughing on his name. Um why why can’t I not figure it out? I can’t I can’t the name, right? Hold on. Oh, David. David off. Yeah. So I at least got people People are punching their steering wheel. You were in Toronto. Montreal fan. So he landed in Toronto first. Would you see that at the airport? That’s not even in Montreal. Toronto airport because any international flight will have to land in Toronto first. So he landed in Toronto first. That group of people, those Habs fans, they were in Toronto to see him. That’s how crazy that is. Yeah, you you wouldn’t see that here. No. And that’s what I’m saying. I don’t think it’s that bad. I do know uh a friend of mine was very close. He’s still sorry, still very close to Steven Stamos. And I remember when the whole thing about Stam Co coming to the Leafs thing was happening. And he said to me, he’s like, “You if you could bet on this, and you couldn’t at the time, but you could definitely bet on it now.” He’s like, “Do not bet on him going to Toronto. Bet on him going back to either Tampa or outside chance go to Chicago.” And I was like, “Why?” He’s like, “He’s using Toronto as leverage just to get a higher salary.” And he wants nothing to do with living here. He loves the fact that he can walk down the street in Tampa and and people recognize him, but they still don’t care. He’s like, “He’s not going to get booed. He’s not going to get yelled at.” Now, I will say this. In Boston, probably if you’re at a bar late at night, you’re gonna get the rowdy dumb fan that thinks that he’s he’s allowed to walk up to a player and tell him he stinks or something like that. But like I’m sure Tukarask every now and then is like rolled his eyes at many fan in uh public in Boston. Um well, wasn’t it was it Martyr whose car was broken into a couple years ago? Was that Yeah, it was him. Yeah, the Leaf practice. where the Leafs practice isn’t the best neighborhood, which is actually hilarity in itself. But uh yeah, that was Mner’s car. But I think Mner can’t just walk down the streets of Toronto anywhere. He can’t take like the fact that William Knander takes the subway. But think about this. When William Knander takes the subway, he’s also got camera work crews with him. That’s why he’s he’s okay. But players can’t just do what they want when they want out here. You can’t like there’s no privacy. It’s incredible. But then that’s again that’s a difference to to down here. Do you think now here’s here’s the question. So you’re I get the the hesitancy on Marner. Do you think they actually do it? I think they make him an offer but I think I because I figured we’d talk about it. The reason Rick Tocket, Joel Quenville, and all these coaches have not come to Boston is because they weren’t willing to pay. And I think some of that is creeping back into the organization because the team isn’t doing well. So for years, for the last 10 years, the Bruins have spent the money. They had zero issue. I when I see people say, “Oh, the Bruins don’t spend money.” I’m like, “Well, they do. They don’t spend money on their front office and their employees, but they spend money on their hockey players. They do.” I am apprehensive that they wouldn’t want to pay Marner more than they’re paying pasta. and knowing the way they work and the way they look at things. So Cam Neely is going to be very tough on Marner and he’s going to be like well he’s soft. So there you have the person in the room saying someone’s soft. You’re going to have uh Evan and Don thinking we want this guy. Yep. And they’re going to Evan’s going to run the numbers and Evan’s going to be like this is our number and then he’s going to go to Don and Cam and then Don and Cam are going to discuss do we offer that number or do we come in at something else. I do think teams like Utah are going to offer more money than a team like Boston Bruins. So, it’s going to be up to the Bruins if they want to do it. Like, I’ll give you an example. During the John Tovaris negotiations, the Boston Bruins did not. They were there. They did not even come close to any of the offers everybody else had. That’s so for everybody thinking that there was a thing go there was nothing. That was never happening because it wasn’t enough. It was not even they weren’t coming close. They didn’t care. They and the leadership on that team of Charara Berseron and Crree and all them. They didn’t want him. Had nothing to do with his skill set. Had everything to do with they just didn’t think it was a fit. That’s interesting because partially because he didn’t come up through system and other things. They just didn’t think it was going to work. If he were going to give him all that money, it just wasn’t going to work. There is something to be said for a guy like Marner you if he came in let’s say at 13 and a half making that kind of money making more than everybody on the roster just kind of dropping in does that affect the room it sounds dumb to say but there is that you do wonder if that I don’t think it would affect the players because players are more resilient than we give them credit for they are um like I hate the narrative that Swayman’s contract affected the room because it didn’t in any way shape or form in fact it doesn’t when a player gets paid more money the next guy knows that the other guy’s going to get paid more money. I’m sorry. That’s just the way it works. Well, that’s again that’s why like you mentioned like um you know Makavoy was able to get his contract, right? What what Yeah. What worries me is like that is outdated thinking on their part like the thinking not the players. Oh, I know. But that’s my thing is like that’s if that’s if if management is going to go that route of nobody can make more than Posternok, well then you’re not going to win because the salary cap’s moving up and the league is making more money and more guys are going to make more money as time goes along. And well, don’t go by what percentage of his cap hit was when they paid him, not what his because that’s how players look at it. It’s percentage of the cap hit. So, like I said, when when Swayman got his bag, as much as he didn’t deserve it this year, he got paid. So, he deserves to get his contract cuz he negotiated and he got it. He just didn’t play up to the contract. I think it’s I use that incorrectly. The players didn’t care and they were definitely happy for him. There was no animosity from anybody. It didn’t make a difference because they all knew the cap was going up. They all knew Escoar was going away and that’s all really what the parent players a lot of the players just wanted Escoar to go away because they’ve been tired and Marian’s been so vocal about how much all the time. Yeah. So they were very happy that that was going away and they couldn’t care less what Sway was making. I don’t think the players will care. I think the Bruins have a better chance of getting a guy like Brock Besser who I don’t think is the answer than they and unfortunately probably would have to overpay for him than they do of getting Mitch Martin. I think we would all would love Mitch Martner. I think Mitch Martner would be great. I just don’t even know. Does Mitch Martner want to be the second line winger? It’s fair. And that’s and that’s the thing like do I think they actually do it? It’s not a Bruins thing to do that to go out and and that’s what I’ve said all along is like but they did it with Char. They did it 10 years ago. Yeah. Still we were at that time I was like there’s no way they’re doing it. They went out and got Char. They got Mark Seard. They rolled the dump truck up of money. They did took a raskque. We were in shock. And David Crerachche, like everybody’s always like, “Oh, Berseron blah blah blah.” If you actually look at the when Berseron’s contract was coming up, he wasn’t underpaid. He just had bad luck. Same with Marian. Everybody’s like, “Oh Marian took deals.” I’m like, “Maran just had really bad luck.” And the one year he probably could have got more was also the year he got suspended for 10 games. So, he wasn’t going to get more. Just it is what it is. Well, I think you also look at like over the last 15 years, they haven’t really needed to sign the top end free agent. That’s the other part of it too. So like you look back to Charara Seavard, they definitely did at that time and I would argue they do now with Mner. So that’s that’s why my thing is like I the Bruins should have should be in the running for Mitch Martyr and I think they will be he would make he would make a lot of sense. He’s also great defensively. Like I know he had that bad turnover on Wednesday night. Um but hey a there’s a highlight reel if you can watch it. So Martner had the one bad turnover. Austin Matthews had three three turnovers that directly led to the goal within minutes. like like the play that goes up the ice is a goal like right away. So everybody today in Toronto was like dunking on Marner. Well, last night they were dunking on angle, but this morning it’s it’s all my f it’s all Austin Matthews that they’re like, “Oh my god, he’s the worst.” I’m like, “He’s not the worst. He’s just as I said to you, he’s Brett Hall. He is so good at scoring goals. He’s not good at scoring goals when it matters, but he is so good at scoring five goals against the Ottawa Senators and in the the very beginning of the regular season when not everybody’s playing well. He’s very good at that and that’s not a bad thing. He’s just I think Marner would be great in Boston. I just look at if you’re Mitch Marner one, you just had another kid. So, this is all going to matter. You look at the the state tax teams, Dallas won’t have the money. That’s not going to happen. Vegas, they would try and make it work. I just don’t see how it would, but they would try and make it work. Um because I know that organization thinks highly of Mner. They thought he played very well in uh in Four Nations and that’s another thing. Don Sweeney thought he put Martner on his team. So, he likes Martner. He’s going for him, right? Um but I think Utah is that’s catchy. You got no state tax. You got a different lifestyle. Um very different lifestyle. I have many friends in Salt Lake and it is a different I’ve been out there once. So Marner is that type of person life. I I off the ice he is that person like Brandon Carlo Don Heinen if you know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. He’s that guy. Yeah. And I and I also think again like from a hockey perspective they are building. They seem to have something going there. Um gets to join like that wouldn’t be insane. Or what about like a Chicago with Martyr? that that I could see too. Like what? But if you’re Mitch Marner, you they’re far from they’re far from contending. Yeah. Like you’ve lost for years. So Boston makes sense because you know you’re going to be back in the playoffs. You’re going to want to be in the playoffs, right? Like I thought Utah Utah’s like one player away. They look good. They weren’t off this year. I just look at the teams that have the money to bring in a guy like Mitch Mner and I think Chicago’s just in a rut where you’re it’s going to be hard to attract the big contract unless you you know that guy gets kicked down the can and he thinks he’s going to get the big big bucks and then doesn’t get it and ends up in Chicago which that could be like if he’s signing in Chicago it’s like right before training camp and he’s I couldn’t get it done and he’s going to Chicago because everybody else has been signed. I just look at I would think Mitch Martner wants to go somewhere and win. I would think the same thing. I would think the exact same thing. Um, I want to get into head coaching stuff, but first again just a plug for uh Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe, put on notifications, lots of podcasts every week. Uh, Poke the Bear, Bruins Beat Pucks with Hags. Uh, we also have live streams throughout the off season for big things. Get head coaching, free agency, draft, trades. Uh, so lots of stuff. Make sure to go subscribe or uh subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. um court head coaching. We mentioned it a little bit. You mentioned talking earlier, us going to Philly, Quenville going to Anaheim, Bruins not looking to pay up for those guys. It just seems that way. Just seems like there’s a lot of rumors saying the Bruins don’t like paying. I know what they’ve paid in the past. And um I think Elliot Freeman saying, “Oh, talk it might be a Bruin.” And then two a day later, he’s a Flyer. And but at the very if you look at what Elliot Freeman said, but the Flyers are willing to go that extra mile. Where does he go? He goes where they go an extra mile. Cuz if you’re Rick Tocket, you played in both organizations. One has a better chance of winning and it’s definitely not Philly, but you went to Philly cuz he’s they’re giving you $5.3 million. They are. I I I don’t disagree with the whole uh paying for head coaching. The only thing is I wonder if the I don’t I don’t know if the Bruins are in the market for those guys. I know that they’re talking to them. They have to do due diligence. It just to me feels like a year based on Sweeny’s comments of you know getting a coach who can build with this team for a while. It kind of feels like they’re going for we’ve talked about him like the Donskoff or a Mitch. I think Don Scoff is a that’s who they want. I think it is too. And I think that’s that or at least that kind of guy. You don’t put him on the Four Nations roster without thinking. No, you don’t. And and Sweeney literally was the general manager. That’s why I keep going back to his like Sweeney clearly really likes him. There are other Canadian head coaches out there you can make an assistant who are great head coaches. Sweenie’s also still friends with a coach in Vegas who had him as an assistant and the GM in Vegas who had him in his organization. There’s a lot of connections to that guy. There’s a lot of connections and everything I’ve read court. This guy’s good. Yes, this guy’s good. Now the the drawback is he’s not been head coach. So I hate that. I hate that drawback. I am tired of the recycling. But that’s why when we’re going to get to that Woodcraft, I’m like please no. Well, so this is what I was I was just about to bring up. Woodcraft is a name we’ve seen pop up the last couple who couldn’t do it with the best two players in the world. So you’re out on Jay Woodcraft. I am out. He had the two best players in the freaking world and he couldn’t win. That’s true. And I don’t know Woodcroft’s style, you know. Well, so I’m not going to be like two best players in the world. Like they’ve won. They’re able to do things. They win hockey games. And under him, not so much. And when he was let go, did they care? Not at all. They moved on. No, they didn’t. they they moved on very quickly. My I think the the uh alternative way to look at that would be, you know, things started off bad last year. Maybe he, you know, that doesn’t happen. Maybe he’s still there. Maybe they do end up going to the cup. Um but again, here’s my thing, right? I’m not trying to argue for Jay Woodruff cuz like if they got Woodcraftoft, I think that’s sort of the the middle ground between, you know, next Spencer Carberry type of guy and like comparison. But anyway, no point compared Matthew Nice to uh to Morgan Geeky the other day and I was in shock. Well, my not I’m not saying Spencer Carberry. I’m saying like a new style coach ver, you know, a guy who hasn’t really had a chance yet who’s been kind of coming up versus someone who’s been around a while like a lovelet. He’s the middle ground. Woodcraft has had an NHL coaching job. It was what two and a half years. Yep. Was when Well, yeah. And then they he got fired and the team went to the finals. Correct. Exactly. But that’s my point. And so my point is more so I am on the side of I want a Don Scoff. I want a Mitch Love. I want a guy who who you think can grow with this team who maybe hasn’t had a head an NHL head coaching opportunity yet. Who’s had success wherever they’ve been. You look at Don Scoff. I know he hasn’t coached uh been a head coach in the AHL. So he hasn’t been a head coach. He’s coached. Yes. And that’s my point is that like he’s he’s around Dallas far in the playoffs Vegas. Like these are high-end good teams. He coached with London years ago with the London Knights. That is like that produces everything. London’s about an hour and a half drive from where I live. That produces everything. Yeah. You know who they wanted? They wanted James Hagens so badly. Oh, they wanted James Hagen so badly. And you think you think about it and it’s like, man, if he did go there and had like an insane season, maybe he is just a presumptive number one pick. Um, but that’s neither here or nor there cuz the Burns aren’t going to get James Higgins now. Um, and then you look at Mitch Love and he’s had a lot of success, um, coaching in the AHL, assistant with Washington, part of the, you know, Carberry coaching tree if you want to go that route. Like that to me, that’s where I am. Woodcraftoft. Okay. Like, he’s like getting a like a regular black coffee from the from Do you think Do you think it’s Do you think it’s sort of this? And maybe it’s true, but um, if you get a if you get a a first round pick in a trade, it’s exciting. Not a first round pick player. I’m saying like a literal pick. It’s exciting. It’s like, “Oh man, who could you get with that?” Whereas, if you try to tra if you try to trade a guy who was picked in the first round the year before, or two years before, it’s not quite the same. I’m not saying Woodcraft’s first round pick, but I’m just trying to make the um No, I I get I get where you’re going. No one wanted him after he he was the first round pick. No one wanted him there. I know. I know. And that’s why it’s like he seems like the safe pick. He also seems like the guy that unfortunately the management can be like well this is what we want you to do and he’s just going to do it because he’s like I’m glad I have my job. Like I I find it very interesting because Don Sweeney said three different things with regards to this head coaching search. He’s changed he’s changed his tune three separate times. First he said I want an experienced coach. Then he said I just want a guy that wants to be a Boston Bruin. So pretty much saying not someone I’m willing to pay. That’s right there. Well originally he was like I want an experienced coach. And then he came in and was like, “Oh my god, we tried to get all these experienced coaches and they all wanted to get, you know, five million plus.” So, you know what? I just want a guy that wants there’s plenty of guys that want to be the coach of the Boston Bruins. And then he was like later on he was like, you know what, we’re looking for someone who can grow with this franchise. So, he went from I can go out there and get like the top guy to finding out he can’t because they’re not willing to pay him to, you know what, we need to find the guy that wants to be a head coach and grow with this franchise. I just find that very interesting that he’s changed the messaging with regards and we haven’t actually called him out on it but you know it is what it is. I would love to one day just be sitting there and just be the guy that like this is the first and last time I will ever be in the Bruins press hole, Paul, cuz I’m just going to call you out and ask the worst questions. Like Kevin Paul Dupon, I I thought probably asked some of the best questions I’ve heard and in a press conference in a really long time. And kudos to him, but because they the management team needs to be called out and I find it very interesting that all these coaching candidates and I didn’t want Quenville. I thought it would have made sense because he’s been good with young players. Um Sullivan I didn’t think it was going to happen just because I knew you need to roll the dump truck up to him. Um you’re not going to pay him like Boston would had to give him like six million for him to come here. Yeah. I And you know I didn’t I just didn’t see that happening in New York. You’ll give Elias Lyn home seven. But whatever. Yeah. It’s true. It’s true. I also think court and I this is something I’ve been saying for a couple weeks like Sweeney was a was on a um a one-year deal in 2122 I believe and he was allowed at the deadline to trade first round picks to get His Lindel and that worked out and he ended up getting a deal after and whatever. Um do you think there’s anything to uh Sweeney is in the last year of his deal nearly didn’t give him a huge ringing endorsement in that end of season press conference. Do you think there’s anything to coaches saying, “Is this really the place I want to go?” Like, “Yes, they leave.” I think if you’re Mike Sullivan, you Boston Bruins have to overpay for you to come here because one, you hear about everything that we don’t hear about from Charlie Mackoy. You hear about all. So, you already know all the down and dirties and the things that are, you know, suck to be being a part of the Boston because there’s not one team in the NHL where a player’s like, I am happy 100% of the time. That’s not a thing. No, doesn’t exist. Um, doesn’t happen in anywhere. I just thought pocket would have had a bit of a hard butt. He he he would be hard on the guys a little bit, but also good with the young kids. That’s why I think Donscoy, he just makes sense. Um, and Woodcraft doesn’t. Woodcraft’s a very quiet guy. So, you’re just the players are still the are still running the asylum. So, it’s interesting way to look at it. I think you need someone with a voice. And from everything I have been told, the guy in Dallas is the guy you want. And I think Sweeney said it twice now. He’s twice in an interview said, “One of my candidates is still coaching.” My c some of my candidates are still coaching. I think the word some is actually one. I think one of his candidates is still coaching and I think the fact that we haven’t if he wanted Woodcraft Woodcraft could be hired right now. I was just going to say that Woodcraft is a free agent. You could do that tomorrow if you wanted to. Yeah. And it hasn’t happened any rumors about it. There’s been nothing. The only rumor is the guy that’s in Dallas. And I think where there’s smoke, there’s fire with this one. And I think he actually is the perfect choice. And I wish more teams would take like I I was here in Toronto when I was of the I’m not a Leaf fan. I was like, you how are you not hiring Spencer Carbury? Like how are you not you have him and you let him go? I know. Well, what were they thinking? I know. Keith is Keef is not a tactician. He is, that’s what I’ve been told, one of the easiest guys to coach against in the all of the NHL. I think it was you telling me that. Yeah. Yeah. He doesn’t adjust to anything. Doesn’t adjust. And you had one of the best upandcomers. Like I feel bad for Sacko and and the the the Jay Leaf Jay Leech fans out there. Jay Leech is your head coach next year. We’re in trouble. Yeah. I wonder what what do you do with the assistants? What do you do with Leech? Kelly just Sacko was given the reigns because they had no other choice. I don’t see how you could easily let Sacko either stay. You’re not firing. He did nothing wrong. Wasn’t his fault you had garbage in front of him. You can’t you can’t turn a turd into a diamond. Oh, of course. Yeah. No, I I don’t put any of this on Zacko. And I said that I’ve said this before. Your your head coach doesn’t choose your assistance, so they don’t. It’s the general manager. You think Claude Julian chose Bruce Cassidy? Hey, the guy that’s gonna take my job. Yes. I want you as my assistant coach this year. Yes. Come on. Come on in. I mean, even with with Montgomery, they brought Jay Leech in and Jay Leech was someone who interviewed for that job, I believe, to when Montgomery got it. Not saying he would have got it, but he interviewed for it. So, like if Jay Leech was going to be your coach, he would have been your coach. You know him. You don’t need to interview him. Correct. I agree. And same with Sacko. So, we know two guys that are not the job. And if they are the job, it means you gave up. You had nothing else and you couldn’t get the guy you wanted. You lost those guys. And you do wonder like, you know, how many teams still need a head coach? Because then you wonder what Don guys like Don Scoff or a Mitch Love or these people who are still in the uh playoffs. You wonder uh because what other coaches what other teams I mean Seattle needs a coach, right? Yep. Chicago needs a coach. Yes. I don’t think anybody’s lining up to go to Chicago though right now. That’s what I mean. So, like you should have relatively not I’m not saying no problem, but and Pittsburgh Pittsburgh needs a head coach. And I I don’t think you’re is going to take some guy that no one’s ever heard of and just it is what it is. Or he’ll take Wood cuz he’s like I’ll settle. Yeah, maybe I’ll wait for Sheldon Keith. Sheldon Keith will leave New Jersey and he’ll come right down to right down to Pittsburgh with me. Oh my god. Um Court, this has been a blast. Yes. Uh what can people look forward to from you over the next? You can find me on Burns Die Hards. Um I upload a maybe a video a week about right now. It’s the offseason. Like who are we kidding? Um I’m too busy at the rink right now. But yeah, you can also find me on uh socials at Court London. Awesome Court. Always a pleasure my friend. Thanks everybody for having me. I’m Evan Marinowski. Burnsby listeners. Have a great rest of your week. [Music]

On this episode of Bruins Beat, Evan Marinofsky is joined by Court Lalonde as they dive into the latest in the NHL playoffs. Do recent developments hinder the desire to sign Mitch Marner? Plus, the latest on the Bruins’ head coaching search. All that, and much more!

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