Pete Blackburn Breaks Down The Direction Of The Bruins

Pete Blackburn Breaks Down The Direction Of The Bruins

We were just chatting about uh some of the free agency grabs, but you made a great point to mention guys kind of competing above their pay grade or below their pay grade, which brings me to the question of what should this bottom six look like because the projected lines now no longer have Nidadino who was just signed to the Bruins, not even in the mix. You see Beer kind of being pushed out to left wing. You see Cari who came back at center on that fourth line. But I want to know your opinion on like what would be best or at least to you kind of heading in to compete in this upcoming season. Yeah, I mean it’s a bad answer. Uh but I don’t know. I don’t know. And and we they have so many guys who pro profile as bottom sixers that like you don’t really know what you’re going to get from them. You don’t know how they’re going to fit in. You also don’t know if Don Sweeney and Came are done. like they have such a surplus of bottom six players and the trade market is reportedly pretty robust in terms of people looking around and shopping guys. So like I don’t know how many of those guys are actually going to be in training camp and you know who else might be in the mix. So that part is interesting to me and it does feel like because they did go out and splurge on so many bottom six guys that like there could be a move coming down the line. And so, uh, you know, again, it’s a bad answer. I don’t know, but we’ll see. And and I also, part of it is like I don’t know what Marcos Surm system is going to look like, uh, heading into this year. So, like that may that may elevate certain guys more than others as well. Training camp isn’t always the most interesting thing to cover as a reporter. Um, or it is, but like you’re kind of looking towards the season already. You’re like, “Okay, what’s going to happen?” There are some obvious answers. This one’s going to be really interesting. Like I’m very excited for training camp and even preseason, dare I say excited about that, but I am I it’s going to be really different and Don Sweeney uh made a point that he needs it to be competitive and good and high paced and hard uh off the top. So that the the team needs to do that. We’ll see what Marco Sturm has. On that note, Pete, we need more from Jeremy Swayman who we have. We need more from Elias Lynholm, from Nikita Zadorov. Um, we need obviously Hampus Lynholm to be healthy and Charlie Makavoy to be healthy. So that’s I think six, five, I don’t know, five, six guys that can be and should be better than they were last season. How much better do they need to be for the Bruins to actually be competitive this year? Because like I said, I mentioned six pretty big names that if they’re rolling, this is a completely different team. We just forgot that they weren’t rolling, that they were struggling. It’s not a guarantee and we don’t even know if Morgan Geek is going to keep up his pace, but we’re assuming that he will. But if those five are even 50% better, are you cool with that or or do we need more? Well, I think the X factor is really the back end and the guys that you mentioned there. Like if Hampus Lynholm and Charlie Mackoy are healthy, last year probably looks significantly different than than it actually did. And I think a big part of that too is those guys being healthy probably unlock a better Nikita Zidorov because Zidorov had to play tougher minutes than than he was capable of playing and and he had a really bad year last year. I mean no no mistakes about it and it it’s a tough look on the first year of a new contract. But I think Zidorov can be much better especially in safer minutes potentially on a third pair in which he’s comfortable and like it felt like Henry Yokiharu was a good partner for him at the tail end of last year. So fingers crossed that that all works out. Obviously Jeremy Swayman needs to be much better and I have a little bit more faith that the stability heading into this season versus last year will help him get there. So if your blue line is a lot better and your defensive structure is a lot better and your goalending is a lot better, you’re going to win more hockey games. But I still have a lot of concerns about the forward group especially like are you banking on David Poshnock to have another MVP caliber season and like make no mistake about it if the Bruins were a playoff team last year David Poshnock probably would have been a heart finalist that’s how good he was and like are you going to get the same sort of year from Morgan Geeki on his opposite wing based off of the success and the play driving skill of David Posterno like these are all things that I think have to be answered this season, but the forward group is really where most of my problems lie with this team because I do have some faith that the the the back end and the goalending is going to bounce back. All right, so just to unpack your problems a little further because I’m sure a lot of fans are right there with you. We know what the expectation is for the big names, but then we also know about the guys who kind of bounced around from getting that NHL opportunity to the AHL. Potra being one of the names that come to mind the most. like when do you think or how much do you think these younger guys should start getting involved in this lineup so that they can solidify how helpful they could or could not be cuz you can’t replace NHL reps, right? And and I think that you’re probably not looking at being a real serious contender this year by any means. Uh maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t I don’t think that that’s the projection for this team. This is a year to find out who you have and like where those guys are heading. And so like for a Matthew Pattra like you find out whether he’s a guy that you can rely on and and is going to figure into your your bigger picture plans and a guy like Frasier Mitten like a full season in Boston finding out what he can become here. Like these are good learning opportunities about your players and for the players they’re good uh opportunity moments to kind of solidify your role with this team moving forward as they look to shape an identity and kind of bridge to the next era. So, in that sense, it’s very exciting, but also like there’s there’s a lot of concern if you’re a fan and you’re looking at this roster and saying, “Oh boy, like this could go strongly in one direction, strongly in another.” And like especially with a guy like Quattra, like a guy who you had at at one point like a lot of faith in really figuring in and being an exciting young piece of this team, maybe you start finding out that that that that’s not true. So that’s that’s going to be an exciting part of the season as a fan is finding out like what you have. Yeah. Yeah. I remember that those preseason games where Potra was in and then he obviously cracked the lineup because of what he did in preseason where we were like okay okay and we were so excited and then we’re we’re waiting. We’re waiting and I’m sure he is too. Um what about Fabian Lysel? didn’t mention him in that and I just looked it it up 12 games, three points and he obviously got a consistent stretch finally because that was the the chatter like called up for one game and then sent down. So finally gets this consistent stretch after trade deadline and when we knew the Bruins were out of it. What was your read on him and do you have any faith on him being an impactful player next season if he cracks the lineup? Yeah, I feel like we’re coming at the end of the line. Like if you’re going to see something from Fabian Liselle, you got to see it this year and you got to see it in the front half of this year because, you know, this is he’s going to lose a spot if he doesn’t produce. And so, um, yeah, I think that like when you look at the tail end of last year, there were guys who emerged and and looked pretty good in, you know, in that they were in an NHL spot and did some good things. But when you’re talking about being a winning team and being, you know, the team that you want to be, well, will Fabian Lizelle have that spot and have that opportunity to showcase a few good things? Uh, if you know, if your roster is better, the answer is probably not. Like, and I think at some point you really have to seize that opportunity and make the decision like impossible to move him around and and, you know, send him back to the AHL. I don’t I don’t know how much faith I have in that, but at some point this year, we’re going to see at least a few guys emerge as, you know, surprising breakouts. So maybe he’s one of them. But at this point, I feel like my patience with with Fabian Liselle has has not been rewarded at at a lot of different points. Well, you know, Pete, anyone that follows your social media, you do well in taking us on the emotional roller coaster that is being a hockey fan and let alone a Bruins fan. I got to get your take though. Uh Bruins College, James Hagens. We’re trying to figure out does he go back? Does he come up? Is it the perfect year? Just figure it out with him being in the lineup. What’s your take on it? Uh what’s best for Hagens as well as this Bruins roster? Yeah. So, like as much as I would like to see James Hagens with the Bruins this year, like it would be a really exciting element added to what, you know, probably isn’t going to be the most successful season, I think it’s probably best for James Hagens and the Bruins that he returns to Boston College because, uh, you know, he’s going to have an opportunity to kind of be closer to the ceiling that he set for himself in the US development program and like that was an astronomically high season and like he had a pretty good year at BC last last year like not not terrible and I feel like the the sky is falling with James Hagens because he fell in the draft and didn’t you know wasn’t like the best player in the country at BC. Well, he has an opportunity to kind of rediscover some of that confidence and play with more consistency and be like a top line player at BC. Whereas if he heads to the NHL, like I worry that he his confidence might be shaken if he has some growing pains or if he has to play in a smaller role. Like if you want him to be a franchise center for you, allow him to be a franchise center at a lower level and kind of rediscover that game before heading to the NHL where he’s going to have those growing pains and those uh that adjustment period. And like the Bruins, the Bruins are not gonna be not gonna make or break this season with or without James Hagen. So I’m more of the mind that like just let him kind of grow into it and progress at a natural pace rather than trying to force it. Yeah. I’m so torn because originally when he was drafted, I think someone asked a question on the Zoom like, “Are you going to go to college or are you going to play with the Bruins?” We h and we talked about on the show and we’re like, “Well, first of all, it’s not really his choice.” But then I was thinking about it like obvious answer he’s going to college. It’s not really the obvious answer but I do lean in all for all the reasons and the direction you’re going in. But something you brought up was confidence and if a player you know who has a lot of confidence or is at a certain level uh in a different league like AHL or college and then they go to the NHL and it’s like a you know a bit of a reality check. Do you feel like the personality has a lot to do with it? So maybe a shy, more quiet, you know, humble, out of the spotlight kid might be like, “Oh my god, like I’m terrible.” Like and and you know, get it in their head that and shake their confidence whereas like a cocky player uh might feel a little differently. Do you think that has anything to do with it or do you would you even like assess that if you were management um to see how they would handle that adversity? Yeah, I think that’s a big part of it. Like there’s a human element to all of this and some guys are just better prepared to have like this unshakable confidence in themselves and like for a guy like James Haggins like he had such high standards that were set um at the US development program where like he was projected to be the number one pick and when things don’t trend in that direction or continue trending in that direction in his first year at BC then like I I wouldn’t doubt it if there was a you know him questioning himself or you know I’m not saying that he’s like ruined his own game but you know as a human and as a young kid I don’t blame anybody if that gets to you and if that kind of hinders your confidence in yourself. So I I I think that you want to put a young kid in the best position possible to have that confidence and to reestablish uh the faith that they have in themselves. So uh yeah I mean like managing personalities is a big part of sports. It’s not just numbers on a page. It’s not just wins and losses and like when you are making a massive investment in a kid with like a seventh overall pick. You want to protect the asset and you want to protect the projection and the path to being the best player he can be for your franchise. And I think that they’re going to have to answer those questions and decide what the best choice is for James Hagens heading into this year. What I will say is I like the fact that he’s not saying like that he it seems like he wants to be a Bruin and he wants to be a Bruin soon and and I like that. I like that confidence. I like that hunger, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best thing for him. No, me too. And I completely agree that managing personalities, especially after spending so much time in in different locker rooms, I’m like this is more than than people maybe make it out to be. I think last Bruins won and then Casey’s going to take us leaguewide. But I just wanted your thoughts on Jeremy Swayman and the Corposalo. Obviously, uh, Tandem, obviously Sway, uh, with the money, with, you know, what they gave him. He’s he’s number one and they’re going to give him a chance to make sure that that he plays up to his contract. So, in that that being said, because you’re paying him that much and you’re going to keep putting him in there, is Corposal really a good push um or would any goalie really be a good push for someone who’s got a contract like that? And do you think there’s going to be some internal competition in a healthy way, in a way we want to see uh between these two? And and can Corpy kind of make him better? And what did you think of of Corposalo as kind of like a backup or do you want to see him more as a 1B? Um, I I think the internal competition is good, especially uh for goalenders and especially for Jeremy Swayman because like talking to Jeremy Swayman over the past few years like he loved the internal competition that he had with Lenus Olark and I think that it elevated both of those guys and you know you they showed that like you can have a good relationship between teammates who are also competitors and vying for the same net and you know you can make the argument that you don’t want your eight $8 million goalender to need the competition to kind of elevate his game. Like if you’re being paid like that, you’re the number one. Like that’s just the it is what it is. And I think that’s all fair, but I also think that like there is there is an element of just being pushed every day and and having to lock in every day and it bringing out the best in you as a competitor. What I will say is for for Yonas Corpasalo like I I think the Bruins would be silly not to explore what the market is for Yonas Corposalo given that Jeremy Swayman is being paid like a number one and number two. You know Scorpal seemed to have an issue with his workload last year um and and not getting more opportunity and given how bleak the goalie market is this off season. There are teams that need goalending help and a guy like Corposalo and his contract and and sort of his performance over the past several years. He might have elevated value beyond what what he should have on market. So I I would look at it and if he wants more opportunity, he may welcome a trade or something like that. And and I you know if there was a lot of interest in Michael DPro this off season and the Bruins decided to keep him. So, you know, if if they want to run him and give him an opportunity as their backup, then I I wouldn’t kick that out of bed either. I think there are good options here for the goalending situation one way or

With a plethora of new faces joining the Boston Bruins such as James Hagens, Tanner Jeannot & Victor Olofsson. Sophia Jurksztowicz & Kasey Hudson ask “What Chaos!” Podcast host Pete Blackburn to break down the direction of the team going forward.

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