Bruins bringing some “JUICE” back in free agency | Pucks with Haggs

Bruins bringing some “JUICE” back in free agency | Pucks with Haggs

Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast, a proud member of the CLNS media network. Make sure to hit subscribe to the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel and turn on your notifications for when a new video drops on that channel. This show is also brought to you by Prize Pix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code CLNS and get $50 instantly when you play $5. That’s code cls on prize picks to get $50 instantly when you play five bucks. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. Welcome to this edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast. This is the 203rd episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. Thank you as always for listening, interacting, leaving comments, just having some fun with us. I’m your host Joe Hagerty. Can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com. Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership. get all of my Bruins and NHL writing sent straight directly to your inbox. I also write columns three times a week for the Boston Sports Journal and do a weekly Q&A with the subscribers there. So, please subscribe also to the Boston Sports Journal and check out all the great stuff that’s going on at that site. Uh, with me today, I have longtime friend and colleague Mick Collagio. Mick, please tell everybody where they can find your work, my friend. Been um writing a lot about all that’s going on on uh my uh blog called Rink Wrap. And if you follow me at Mick Collagio like it says on the screen there um on X or on Facebook uh then then you would uh be able to link to these things. I am also working on the Bruins chapter for the hockey news yearbook for uh next season. So now that the now that the action has happened, I have my I have my info. So I’m on deadline.
Yes. Make sure to check that out. That is all kinds of good stuff. Uh and there is plenty Mick to talk about. We are going to go through u a little bit of development camp maybe at the end, but most of this is going to be about July 1 free agency about every all the signings about uh basically Don Sweeney doing most of the work uh for what the roster is going to look like to start next year. Um and we’ll dive right into it. Um big active day. They did not go for the the one huge piece. I think um in hindsight looking at it now, you can tell that the Bruins probably weren’t all that wowed by um the big ticket sort of free agents, the top six uh wingers that they would have had to have spent a lot of money to sign. So instead, they went a different way and they signed a bunch of sort of smaller pieces um that I I think are going to bring a little more gem to this team and a little more toughness and a little more attitude and a little more fight than what we saw at times last year. Um we’ll just go through first um the signings from July 1, Mick, and then we’ll maybe talk a little bit about some of the other signings that went on before that retaining their own players. Uh Michael is two years 1.45 million uh per. Uh Sean Carali two years 1.85 million per. Tanner Jano 5-year contract 3.4 million per. Uh and they traded for Victor Arbertson at4 million uh dollar cap hit this this coming season. Um just your thoughts, Mick, initially first blush, and I’m only covering some of the guys that they signed yesterday. They obviously uh signed a a check player from the um Dallas Stars organization that into a one-way contract who was a really great AHL scorer last year and he’s going to be kind of an X-factor guy and there’s some other players they’re going to factor into it as well. Uh, but just your thoughts, Mick, initially on um what they did yesterday and the guys that they brought in. And I know there’s been a lot of reaction on social media, knee-jerk, that’s not happy about it, that thinks it’s kind of more in the same. I I disagree with that a little bit, but um let me know what you your thoughts on what they did yesterday. I think it’s the widest uh snapshot that brings about the deflation and out there. Um I feel a little bit of it too. You had what? $25 million in salary cap space and and you did not get a single big fish big ticket item.
Yep.
A toonified top nine player besides uh Arvidson. Uh maybe Isamont can play up uh does do we really expect anybody else is going to uh unless they’re going to pop off the marginal chart when they were not even a majority NHL or last year they were on the outside looking in to Stanley Cup contending rosters whether it be Dallas or Toronto uh that kind of those kind of players but Arvinson who’s 32 going on what it didn’t work out in Edmonton and everybody talked about well I was the Fed. It was the opportunity. It was this, it was that.
I don’t know. Uh, we’re going to find out. That’ll play out in Boston. He obviously will give some good better hands to help them on the power play. Some better hands, better eyes. They’ll calm down some of that.
Um, but um, I felt like he wilted in the big boy hockey of the playoffs last year. So, uh, but but Donnie Sweeney seems really positive about what he brings jam-wise and and constitutional approach and consistency of an intense play that that he’ll go to Lynette and he’ll stay there. And so, uh, so he’s much more positive about Arbertson that my initial reaction was. Um, I felt like they did kind of what you did. Once the 11th hour flurry of activity took guys like Brock Basser off the board, I felt like the Bruins had to go into a plan B. Otherwise, I cannot imagine that this would have been the way they preferred to do this. Uh, I felt like this was the next best way. I take a little bit of a different approach where I don’t think they necessarily love the players that were out there that they would have had to have spent on to get. And maybe Mick, this is in some ways um saving their bullets for next year when there’s going to be some really big ticket guys potentially around that they really like. So, I I think it was more of a conscious effort on their part to not chase after guys they were only lukewarm about or guys that they thought were just okay rather than, you know, maybe for instance, wait for a Jack Eel to become a free agent next year and really like save the finances and and go after and make a huge push for a player like that if that’s who you want and that’s who you think you can bring in and be that like last piece that’s going to bring everything together. Um, but like I didn’t mind what they did. Like I I obviously the offense is going to be um just adequate at best. Like I it’s not going to be they’re not going to overpower teams offensively. This is not going to be runand gun hockey. You would hope that they’re going to be a lot better than 27th in the league, which they were last year. uh 2.71 uh goals per game, but like the power play is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting uh and be much much better if they’re going to score a lot more than they did last year because I’m not sure five on five they’re going to do way better than they did last year. And it does feel like there’s going to be a lot of pressure on um Lind Holm and Geeky to repeat as a 30 goal scorer and and and obviously Postnak to continue to be magnificent and just the game-breaking breathtaking force that he’s been and really produce uh you know top-notch numbers. But like I do think I do think there is something to being tougher to play against, being a much feistier team, being a team that is not going to drop so many games on the road where they just basically gave up and broke like they did last year. You know, they needed to bring in some players that had a heavier and harder compete level and were just, you know, going to play with a little more, you know, uh, to, for lack of a better term, a little more FU in their game. I think Bruins needed a lot more of that and they brought in guys that have that. You know, Isamont, I’ve liked him as a player for a long, long time. I think he’s a huge pain in the ass to play against. I don’t think they had nearly enough players like that, especially last year. And I think he comes in on a two-year deal, short money. He brings a little he can once in a while do something offensively, but you just notice him all the time. He was always a guy when the Bruins were playing whatever team he was on that you noticed him and he was a pain and he was always up in everybody’s face. He was always causing problems. You know, he’s one of those guys that I I think you really uh don’t like to play against. And I I think the Bruins could use a lot more of those. Tanner Jano, I think they needed that element. Um obviously they hope he’s going to score a little bit more. I don’t think anybody thinks he’s going to score 27 like he did his first year when he broke into the NHL. But if he can get double digits in goals, he basically replaces Trent Frederick and I think does Trent the Trent Frederick role with a lot more a plume than Trent Frederick did. like I think he has no bones about being a guy that’s going to fight, be physical, hit, really uh play that, you know, bottom six heavy nasty uh game where Frederick, I think, wanted to be a top six guy. And I don’t think he consistently wanted to be uh the guy that he probably needed to be because of his skill set. So, if you were going to give that kind of money to Trent Frederick, I I don’t mind them giving it to Tanner Jano instead at 28 years old because he’s going to play much more to the identity of what you want that guy to play than maybe Frederick was going to on a consistent basis. And I thought it was interesting that um Don Sweeney also talked about when he talked about the the Jano signing about how this is for now and also for looking ahead to when the guys that they drafted this past June or the this past weekend are going to be in the NHL like protection for Hagens and and some of these other guys that they’re bringing along that are skilled players. I thought that was also interesting um that they’re looking at him to like play that role for a while and be that guy and looking ahead to when those other players uh come come online. Arvdson like he’s a pretty you know I I can buy Mick and and I agree with you that he didn’t look great in the playoffs, but I can buy that he was on a stacked Edmonton team that he wasn’t really put in a role where he was going to produce numbers like he did with the Kings and the Predators. Yes, he’s 32 years old. Maybe he’s slowing down a little bit, but I think he’s still capable, especially on a team like this that’s starved for offense. If he’s playing top six, that he could revert back to being a 20goal guy. He had 10 power play goals with the Kings a couple years ago playing netfront. And I think that’s what he’s going to do with Steve spot uh here in uh Boston and with playing with Marco Sturm who uh coached him in LA. Um, you know, I I I I think there’s a danger obviously of that they loaded up too much on third and fourth line types and it in that sense it’s kind of similar to a lot of the the teams that Don Sweeney has put together where you you see a lot more third and fourth line types and a lot of bottom six or middle six types than you do top six uh types, especially at the forward position. Um, but I do think, don’t you agree, Mick, that like they needed to be harder to play against? Like that was a bottom line of what we saw last year is that there were some nights they just didn’t bring enough compete and they didn’t have enough uh push back when they got pushed. And there were nights where they simply gave up and, you know, gave in and just got spanked on the road. And it happened time and time and time again. and they needed players with more backbone that that’s not they’re not going to let that happen before uh anymore if they wanted to get back to, you know, more of a competitive like scratching and clawing maybe for a wild card spot and sort of getting on that upswing over the next couple years where maybe two three three years from now that they’re back to being in in a highly competitive place. But I I there’s a bottom line competitiveness level that they needed to get back to that I think they kind of did with this even though it’s not going to light anybody’s world on fire. are the names that they’re bringing in. Donnie said we were an easy out on too many nights. I totally agree with that. But I think that the biggest reason that that was the case is because after Joe Sacko restored defensive structure and the Bruins played a lot better and got through those first two and a half weeks of of uh calmer, better, more fundamental hockey. They then hit the wall offensively and I felt like that is sort of where they began pressing and getting out of their game because of their lack of uh patience with with what the outcomes would be if they just stayed that course. That said, I agree on an individual for individual basis that
Freddy, as long as he was here, he was going to be enigmatic. he was going to be what looked like a confused hockey player
and and as long as he looked like a confused hockey player, the Bruins are going to need to move on from him and do something different. Now that said, uh Freddy was not a B was not a fourthline guy. Tanner, you know, has been a fourthline guy. If you go back though three years in a row, he’s like 12, 11, 11 minutes a game. and in the playoffs uh most recently I think eight something. So his last three seasons he’s been viewed in the NHL as a strictly a fourthline guy. Now that may be good for the Bruins in that if if if Castellik is going to successfully come back from a year that was riddled with concussions beginning with a Lilligrin incident.
Yep.
And take the pressure off. for Castellik was tied for second in the NHL with 10 fights last season. Only Olivia was way ahead of anybody, but he was tied for second with 10 fights. Jano was also top 10 with eight fights. I think they want, you know, to take some of Castellix’s fights off his fight card and and make sure that Dak Castle doesn’t
isn’t vulnerable to anything other than the situational fight when he’s feeling really good about it and make sure that he’s not going to be back in the situation he was last year because Castlick is also on a deal with some term. So, uh, maybe those two guys need to ride together in the immediate at least until we know for sure that Castle’s going to be okay and can play his game and with the ramifications of it and it not to result in him being in another murky cloud that could be career threatening if it happens again.
Um, it could be career threatening right now. We don’t we don’t know. So, I like I like the Jano signing from that standpoint. Um, is I really think is probably the best thing he did. So, you’re right. He needs it. He He said Isimon was a pain in the ass and and he wants it to be a pain in the ass here. And so, uh, so let’s let’s see what what comes of that. Um, meantime, um, I I really like Carali’s game and it’s really kind of like um, uh, off off off plan, off radar, um, off memo for Don Sweeney to cycle back to the Bruins, a guy, one of the many strong fourthline guys that he that graduated from Boston to be play bigger roles on other teams. for him to come back here in his 30s and to play for the Bruins. uh he helps fortify the middle and uh and gives him he can play wing and he can play the middle and and uh and so that I I don’t mind that as you look at each
I think I think that is
I think that one speaks to leadership and that one speaks to wanting to continue uh to support guys like Posternneck and Makaoy that are going to be leaders on their own for the first time this coming year and having a stronger network of veteran leadership to support them and and getting back to that’s the guy when they talked a little bit about like wanting to get back to like when they signed guys like Shatenkirk and JBR to like short-term deals and they came in and were really good leaders and even guys before that. I think that signing just was very indicative of that whole sentiment and them wanting to try to get back to to a a steadier leadership course as well. and a guy that, you know, knows how things were done here um when Charara and Berseron and when that culture was built here and knows how things are supposed to be with this team and kind of can help uh Makavoy and Postnet get that message across. You know, I really felt strongly as soon as I saw that. I was like, I didn’t really see that coming. Somebody had mentioned it to me at one point and I was like, I’m not sure they’re going to do that because to your point, they don’t really bring back the bottom six guys for second gorounds. But like it does make sense uh given the trust level they have with him, given the quality person that Cari is, given his understanding of how things operated here when they were at their best. I I I do think that’s as much leadership as it is what he’s going to bring on the ice at this point, you know, well into his 30s and having and played a vital leadership role with the the Columbus Blue Jackets for a while. Um I like it, but that that’s one of the ones where I looked at and I’m like, “Okay, how many third and fourth liners are they going to bring in here?” Um especially when they want young guys to come in and win jobs as well. You know, that’s the other balance here.
Always been doing his thing to put the hurdles in front of them.
Yep. Um, now I I’m going to pile onto a Carelli note here. He gave an interview I don’t care if it was last season or the season before in which a uh a media member asked him about his experience in Boston and what the difference was between playing in it was before last se this past season
because the the stuff obviously with the Gro brothers hadn’t happened and
and uh and so the focus was just on why can’t the Blue Jackets take another step and Carali said that he compared his experience in Boston to a machine. He said it’s really hard to get a machine running. Once it gets running, it’s hard for to to get it to stop.
And so so as he understood the Bruins culture and their way of winning and and how it begets more winning and his experience there, I think that Sweeney had to become privy to that interview. And also, um, I just cheated and and ran on Google and to photos just on a suspicion that Carali wore a letter and he wore the A.
Yeah.
And and Columbus. So, I’m thinking that if if uh unless the Bruins want to go back in, then I don’t think they’re going to go two defenseman with A’s. So, I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that Carelli is going to wear the other A. So, um, it makes good sense because even alluded to guys who may be brought in. they’ll see who the leadership core is going to be. So, I think that you have nailed it here, Joe, with Carali. Um, and uh, a third A makes a ton of sense right now
with him coming back having been here during the Shara Berseron days.
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think I think as soon as I saw that, I was like, “Okay, that one makes a lot of sense.” Especially with what they want to do from a leadership perspective and what another place where they felt like there was lacking uh last year’s team. Um, all right, let’s get in into this uh quote from Sweeney and then we’re going to take a quick break. Uh, this is Sweeney talking yesterday. They said we we were going to put together a competitive team to bring some juice back in here and that that applies to our current guys that should be reinvigorated coming back from some injuries and coming off a down year. The juice is coming and we expect to be a much more competitive team and the improvements now come from within. The competition is there and that’s what we want. We’ve always been a team since I’ve been here that prides ourselves on being hard to play against. That’s defensive structure and at times last year even we had our whole group uh even when we had our old group we were an easy out. I just kind of I can’t stand for that. Um, so we’re going to reestablish that. When you have iconic players and people that are driven leading our group for a long time, the next group needs to really really embrace that. There were injuries and that was a factor in that, but now we have infused that. We have guys that are selfarters. We have guys that are going to show up every day at practice. We have guys that are going to show up when the whistle blows and drag people in with them. And if they aren’t dragged in, then they won’t play. That’s pretty strong wording from Don Sweeney. I totally think it’s um called for though given the season they had last year. But let’s take a break in the action really quick um to talk about Prize Pix. 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It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. And for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hacks podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And for those watching the show on CLNS and enjoying all this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Rinkside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. There’s also the CLNS media network, plus Celtics All Access on CLNS, the NBA History Channel, Patriots Press Pass, and the Bruins Ringside YouTube channel as well. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. All right, Mick. Um, anything else you want to mention about the moves that they made yesterday? No, just the 11th hour move to get uh keep Henry Yoki Haru off the market that was gigantic. I think from a singular standpoint it’s the most important thing they did. Uh and because you have to have a top four and now they got it and Yoki Haru will be the quiet silent member of that top four. But we saw what he did uh coincidental with the calming of Sedor off’s game and how well that that fit worked and he enjoyed it here. Three times three is about 2 million better than I thought it could have been. I was encouraged when Dante Fabro disappointed on one hand but encouraged at the cap pit that Fabro signed for under five million in Columbus. So, it made sense that the Bruins could go uh and the compromise with Yoki Haru was uh three years he gets to hit the open market uh right when he turns 28 and and uh which is a little sooner than I would have imagined. So, he gets to hit it again uh in three years and uh the Bruins get a solution for three years and they get a much more manageable cap number than that could have been, I think. So, I really like the creativity of the Yokiharu deal. Yeah. No, I mean, I liked all of the contracts and all the stuff they did um leading into free agency as far as locking up some of their players. Um I thought the five a.5 million for Morgan Geeky was was right where it was going to be. It was going to be somewhere between five and six um on a fiveish sixyear deal somewhere in there. Um and that’s what it ended up being. uh even if he doesn’t score 30 again next year, I think you can count on him, you know, for 15 to 25 and probably more likely gonna be 20 plus most years because he he’s really found that confidence in shooting the puck and I think everybody else on that team has confidence in him shooting the puck. So, they’re going to they’re going to feed him pucks. Um and he’s going to score and especially with the chemistry he has with with Posternneck, I think that’s something that’s extremely valuable. So, I I really liked that contract. I think it was exactly where it needed to be. He’s also a big kid. He’s a big like sometimes we’ll play a little physical, but was just hard on the puck, strong on the puck, like, you know, will get to the front of the net when he needs to and uh is hard to handle when he gets there. Like the kind of guy that will have success in the playoffs. Like, I I think there’s so many things to like about Morgan Geeki’s game. I also like that he was becoming more of a vocal leader in the second half of last year too um when you needed people to step up uh and talk more and lead more by example and do all that stuff. So like I I think it’s a great contract. I I was fully in favor of that one. I agree with you. I think Yokaharu was great value. I’m glad they brought him back because he was a great fit. superb partner with Nikita Zidorov that really brought out the best in Zidorov and was you know I I love defenseman Mick that are like um you don’t really notice them that much. They don’t ever flash but they don’t ever make mistakes either and they’re just these steady guys that continue to make the right play all the time and do the right thing. And he’s one of those guys and that’s the way he played in the second half of last year. And I think there’s even like a little bit of offensive upside more than we’ve even seen to this point in his game. But like just the steadiness that he brings to the table was super appreciated by me. Uh and getting him for three million a year on a 3 million cap hit I think is outstanding. I was mystified. I remember I think I can’t remember it was you or somebody else at the end of the year when was saying that Bob Beers was like what you know what about Yokaharu? we don’t need him or like you’re not wasn’t bullish on
this me and I don’t want to I I want to make sure I’m very careful on how I put this but he got about 10 seconds of air time on the Bruins season rap on the 985 hockey show in which uh Beersy was thrown the question and and he said I don’t think Yokihari was the answer.
Yeah,
that’s all that’s all he had to say and that was the discussion. So, and that kind of I was like hoping that Beers would flesh that out for me because my attitude was is what are they waiting for? Let’s get this guy down now. Yeah. I The other reason I think I like
the application to the Bruins as to how you described Yoki Haru and I agree is that Zadorov and Makavoy play alpha male games,
right? You already have two guys in your who play alpha male games in your top four. I don’t think you want um you know and Lindholm isn’t an alpha male but he just but he drives offense more than the other two guys do. So uh from a m from a versatility standpoint. So so Yoki Haru you need that guy to necessarily not be of the same style. Otherwise to me you’re in danger of becoming the Calgary Flames where you you run around making big noises and you don’t win.
Yeah. Well, I mean, in any hockey team, you don’t want all of the same players, right? You need different players that have different strengths and can do different things to complement each other. Um, but I I just think he and Zidorov were so good together. Like, I don’t He’s not maybe the answer to all the Bruins problems, but I think he was part of the answer and I think he was really good. Um, and I’m glad the Bruins recognized that. Uh, and that he was really good with Adidorov and like he brought the best out of one of their most important players. I think that’s all important. Um, so like I really like that signing as well. Um, the only one of those signings because the rest of them I thought were fine. Marlov uh comes back even though I think it’s a tough fit and I’m not sure he’s super happy about being blocked here and by uh to get to the Bruins um but and and seemingly blocked and hasn’t really like probably feels like he hasn’t gotten the legit chance at the NHL level that he wants to have or thinks he deserves at this point. Um, so like that’s going to be an interesting one to watch and how he plays at Providence and how much of a chance he gets and all that stuff. But even that one, I think it’s fine to have some guys in Providence that are a little pissed off that they’re down there um and think they should be playing at the NHL level. And I think that’s every organization has that. Johnny Beecher is the one that like I still can’t figure out why they brought him back and why he’s still with the team other than um you know it’s $900,000 cap hit. So if he doesn’t end up making the team, if he ends up getting beat out for an NHL spot by all these other, you know, bottom six types that they’ve signed and brought in, um that’s not going to kill you on the cap if he ends up down in Providence. Um, but I just think, you know, he does win faceoffs. He does look good skating around on the ice uh from time to time, but like I just feel like he’s one of those guys that, you know, when they talk about some of the issues they’ve had with this team, I just I don’t think that guy is part of the answer. Like that’s a guy I would say I don’t think he’s the answer and I don’t think he’s part of the answer. And I’m not even sure why he’s back other than he was a first round pick by the Bruins
and they are trying to like make salvage that and make something out of it.
He and Trent Frederick have a few things in common. One, they were late first round draft picks. Uh two, they’re left shot big forwards who can play center or wing. Yep. and it was expected of them. Now, Beecher’s main strength, now Frederick’s main strength is his his ability to throw down. Uh, that’s his specialty. Bechecher’s specialty is he has an elite stride. He says, and you know, he can shorten the rink for the Bruins and get in on the forche.
Now,
how many years does he get to translate? I’m not sure Beecher would have been kept if the Bruins were not casting away Trent Frederick
as the 24-25 season fell to pieces and they let go of another first round pick albeit a very late first round pick. I think that that saved Johnny Beecher for another season with the Bruins because of the So I I consider this a prove it deal.
Yeah. And uh what’s it just one year, right?
Yep. And so so I feel like they’re giving him a prove it year and um and I think the Frederick situation is pretty much what allowed him this rope that he has with the organization right now. Uh so and you know if you look at him piece by piece versus several of these other guys that they signed and he actually fits in very nicely with them. He has strengths to his game and he has things that have prevented him from being a consistent impactful NHL regular and and he’s reaching an age just like some of those players are where Push is going to come to shove and the Bruins have a lot of two-year deals out there. um you know that the commitments to some guys who are journeymen at their positions at their bottom six positions and they’re going to play uh with a little more P&V and um and that’ll help them but that you know it’s weird to have as much cap space as they did and not to have landed a big fish that’s going to alter their trajectory as a top six forward. It just wasn’t there. And I don’t blame the Bruins for this as much as I do that what happened in the market and a flurry of activity before free agency was far more impactful than what happened after. And
I feel like the Bruins were left with a situation that they had to re-evaluate and decide this is what we’re going to do. I can’t imagine that they chose this path as their preferred direction than say had a guy like Besser been out there, you know, and say, “Okay, look at what he got.” Would you really have would you rather have would you rather have a half a dollar coin or would you rather have um you know five dimes and right
and the Bruins needed to have their their syndrome part of their problem has been that they have that they’re swimming in swimming in pennies, nickels and dimes and don’t have any heavy coins enough heavy coins um in their lineup and and so I think that um you know and then and then that also means it’s come push comes to shove for guys like Murk and obviously the player who shall not be named on the other side of the ice but uh who has another year left um and uh before he goes RFA but I think for me an awful lot that drives what happens to the Bruins is going to be based on is Matt Potra ready to nail down that third line center spot.
Yeah.
And if he isn’t then he’s gonna play center in Providence.
Yeah. I have uh my gut feeling is that Frzier Mittton plays in the NHL next season. Uh whether or not uh he plays center, he can play left wing, he can play anywhere in the bottom six that they need him. He’s got an NHL game right now on the defensive side of the puck. I think that’s where they think he should be. Um the one the wild card for me is this kid Dalton Bank who will turn 25 in the winter. And you don’t sign a NCAA free agent that you hope are gonna be your most impactful ones, say Tory Krug, unless you play for you.
I Well, see, I think more of the X factor is going to be that Blue Mel the Czech kid that they signed from Dallas because they gave him a one-way contract like that. That tells you that they they’re going to give him some shots and he’s going to get some, right? He’s gonna get a look
and and he’s and he’s, you know, been a dominant player at the AHL level. So like I think that’s a guy that could be another one of those diamond in the rough types that they are so good at identifying in other teams organizations that are blocked or don’t get chances and then they come here and they flourish and they turn into NHL players like I he could be one of those guys. The other part of this so I would look at that at camp look closely to see where he’s playing who he’s playing with and how he’s playing because he’s definitely
pace of play is going to be interesting. His speed will be interesting. The other part of that, Mick, is and let’s go over this briefly before we go. Um, how much does James Hagens factor into this potentially likely being available to turn pro at the end of this uh college hockey season? I think the forecast for him is to go dominate at BC, go be the guy everybody expects him to be, and if he is that guy, then he’s ready to go to the NHL after that. and he could be one of those guys that after the college hockey season is over signs with the Bruins and jumps on and and even if you know it’ll it’ll be interesting to see the last guy that kind of had that trajectory was Charlie Makavoy, right? Uh came at the end of his BEu season and made his NHL debut in the playoffs. Uh not the regular season. And let’s also put an asterisk to that and say that the Bruins had him on that ATO to Providence and it was not their plan to bring him into that series against Ottawa when they went back in 17 until the injuries happened. and they said, “Man, we got to we got to put him in there.” And it was a revelation and he never looked back. And and maybe that kind of opportunity does pop for Hagens at the end of the season. But I think you’re 100% about right about the Hagens, what they’re hoping for Haggins as a way to uh bust through this.
We’ll see. We’ll see how how that goes. Um who knows, maybe maybe Gasso will be on the radar similarly as his next season will be his senior season. Yeah, I mean a lot of those guys will be on the radar, but a Hagens is a different beast. Like he’s special. You could see it at development camp. I was there yesterday. His skating, his uh sort of how comfortable he feels handling the puck. He’s, you know, you can tell he plays lacrosse. He played lacrosse, too. Because you can always see lacrosse players that play hockey have a different level and a different kind of stick handling and a different comfort level with their stick handling. And like a lot of times they hold the the lower hand on their stick is way lower on the stick and they really can like turn quick and have this like almost whip it like ability to quick uh quickly turn with the puck and have the puck come with them. Uh, and it it, you know, it’s a really like I’ve noticed it it a lot of lacrosse players have it. Um, the guys that play the two sports and you can see it with Hagens in addition to like the the quick shot he has coming right out of that and just the edge work and the skating and all that. Like you can see that he’s on a different level than the rest of those guys uh that are there right now. And it hasn’t been like that in dev camp for a while where you’ve seen a guy that’s kind of head and shoulders above when it comes to the skill level. So like the some of those guys you’re like, “Yeah, you’ll hope they’ll pop. You know, maybe you’ll see something from them.” I think he Hagens is good enough that you can start to game plan a little bit with him like when he might be available and when he might be able to start helping you as long as his development continues to track the way that you think it’s going to. And I I I just got that sense uh hearing Sweeney talk, watching Hagens, knowing his background that I think that there’s a lot already being put on like he’s going to be ready to go for the Bruins after this college hockey season is over, provided he holds up his end of the bargain. Um which will be interesting to see. But um in general, a good development camp yesterday, Mick. They they’ve definitely got a lot more talent. They’ve they definitely brought in some offensive guys. is that kid Colton uh uh Simpson uh Cooper Simpson can shoot the puck. No question about it. Um Will Smith uh not Will Smith, Will Moore looked really good as well um in skill. Dean Dean Louno I thought looked better. um in general like uh you know it looks bright. Um they’ve it looks like they’ve severely augmented their talent in an upward direction um as far as the draft and development with the prospects that they selected uh last week.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting to a session here before we end. Definitely tomorrow is when they play scrimmages. I want to see that one at uh for sure. Um, I just as another note in Hagens, you’re talking about a left-handed center who’s got really fluid ability to uh when I think of his ability to skate, accelerate, hands, eyes, zone entries, and his ability to to to combine those skills uh on his way into the zone with the puck is hard to find these days. So, they obviously have something special there. And and when you talked about the load to the ice thing with this the other hand, I started getting a Craig Janney vibe and and then, you know, realizing the Boston College end of it and wondering if Janney played lacrosse over in Connecticut there. Uh but um I don’t know that. But I do think of him when I think of Hagens. Hagens maybe a little faster straight line, but definitely has some of that silky mitts and the eyes to go with it. And the zone entry thing is gigantic in in in the NHL. a guy who can make the plays to get the puck safely in, maintaining possession, be it five on five or power play. Uh so that that that alone is excites me to watch more of him than just the BC games that I saw on on the tube last year uh this past season. That is so um so that’s that’s definitely something that uh projects very, you know, is really interesting. They got some other college prospects, too, that that probably going to stay in college longer, but guys who who definitely to me look like NHL futures. So, uh, so maybe this maybe this two-year program of feistiness and culture resto restoration and will serve the Bruins well as they begin to integrate what has become a much much more formidable prospect pool. Yeah. No, I think there’s a master plan in place and uh like a three-year plan to get them back uh to where they want to be based on everything they did, based on the the guys they took at the draft and it’s going to be really interesting to watch. Uh Mick, thank you very much for joining us. Uh this show is brought to you by Prize Pix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code CLNS and get $50 instantly. We play five bucks. That’s code CLNS on Prize Pick to get $50 instantly. We play $5. You don’t even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It’s guaranteed. Prize picks run your game. Also, for those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Bags podcast, we are a proud member of the CLNS network. Make sure to hit subscribe to the Bruins Rankside YouTube channel and turn on notifications for when a new video drops on this very channel. Mick, thank you very much for joining us.
Always a pleasure, Joe. Thanks for having me.
Everybody else out there, always a pleasure to have you, my friend. Everybody else out there, thank you for listening. We’ll see you at the ring. Heat. Heat.

Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty and guest Mick Colageo talk about the B’s free agency moves, Bruins development camp, and what the team might look like next season. 

0:00 ⏰EPISODE TIMELINE⏰
2:18 Reaction to free agency moves
11:05 Bruins trade for Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson
13:12 Mick on free agency signings
16:58 Thoughts on Sean Kuraly returning
20:49 Don Sweeney’s comments
22:01 PrizePicks
22:57 Subscribe to Bruins Rinkside!
23:35 Henri Jokiharju agrees 3-year, $9 million extension with Bruins
30:12 John Beecher agrees 1-year, $900k extension with Bruins
34:42 Which young talent is ready to step up to the NHL level?
36:22 How soon could James Hagens join the team?
39:33 Takeaways from development camp
40:23 Mick on Hagens
42:17 Thanks for watching!

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