Bruins Benders: The Off-Season

Bruins Benders: The Off-Season

[Music] Welcome to the Bruins Benders podcast, season 4, episode 39, the offseason, the long and winding off season with Maddie and Smitty. Brought to you on the Inside the Ring podcast network at insidethe rink.com. If you are joining us on YouTube, hit the thumbs up and subscribe. If you’re listening on any of the podcast platforms, give us a rate and review. Steiner for ITR Plus for Benders off air content. In this episode, we will discuss potentially Jordan Kyu to the Bruins. What kind of a grade are we going to give the free agency of Don Sweeney and the Bruins? And predictions of what kind of player James Haggins could turn out to be. All that more in this episode. Follow us each on the X at Bender Smitty and at Mr. Matty Barry. Uh and here we are in the middle of July. Uh now that the dust has settled, no free agency anymore. No, for the most part, no draft. Uh and now it just seems to get a little long in the tooth here for the next six, eight weeks. Yep. Um but we can analyze and [ __ ] about all sorts of things because nothing’s really going to change until October. So at least um but first, how about Lynen Buyers? Yeah. uh LB passed away uh staple in the uh late late 80s um you know fighter uh just not you know just a knucklehead type of guy uh but loved by many uh then turned radio personality and um he was actually a a decent player first stretch and then he took on sort of the goon the goon type of role for the Bruins and um you beloved by by many of the Bruins and uh he uh passed away sort of unexpectedly the other day. He did and it’s too bad. But uh he was LB was was loved around here and and uh you know played the game. I would say a lot of people would say he played the game the right way. Played hard all the time, fought, stuck up for his teammates, you know, all the things you’d want from a guy that you know maybe wasn’t the most talented guy, but uh you know did all the little things for some of those really good Bruins teams in the 80s. gave uh you know, Adam Oats and and the like a little more space out on the ice. So, uh you know, um a good player for the Bruins, you know, a beloved and uh it’s a shame that he that he passed so early, but apparently he’s also going to donate his brain to science for the for the CTE studies that they do over at BEu. So, uh you know, hopefully they can find out uh some more about what’s going on with that and and help prevent some of this in the future. But, uh, you know, rest in peace to LB. Uh, great Bruin, great guy by all accounts and, uh, he’ll be missed. Yeah, I was on two of the Cup Run teams in 8890. Um, had a memorable pass to Ricky Middleton in the 88 run. Um, you know, he uh he was uh it was you know the the the Bruins personified back in the day like when they were they had those Jay Miller, Lyndon Buyers, like Stan Jonathan. They had this run of just guys who would fight and play the fans would love them and you know the fans have have sort of hung on to that whole you know big bad Bruins fight them win the fight who cares about the game type of you know philosophy for some that still kind of remains sometimes here. Um but he was right in the thick of it then. So it it was really too bad. I was really surprised like he was he’s 61 which I thought you know he’s a little older than I thought he was but um you know it’s a lot of those fighters we’ve seen many of them die young and uh you know we’re starting to see now that uh you know hopefully a guy like him another guy who has donated his brain and you know I what that means or what that what will come of that who knows because it’s been several years now. But uh but at least there’s some education there and what what happens with a lot of these players, especially back in those days. You don’t see as much of it now, but in those days they they would fight every other night. I mean, they would Oh, yeah. They would they would plan fights, you know, back in the day, and LB was definitely one of those guys. So, it was too bad to hear about that for sure. Um all right, let’s get into seven chirps and sponsored by Lops Brewing. Lobster Brewing and Tasting Room in downtown Waka Rhode Island specializing in small batch L’s and Loggers. It’s open 7 days a week. Use a coupon code sports for 10% off your online order at Lobs Brewing. Follow them at Lops Brewing for new bears and events on the social media chirps one. Reports are that Tanner Jano actually had interest from 10 teams before Boston signed. Is this fact fiction? You know, I I believe it was Elliot Freeman on his podcast. So, I’m gonna go with Elliott um Smitty’s uh insider Jason sources. Uh I also uh can confirm what Elliott’s sources confirms that there were multiple teams involved on Jano. Um some teams maybe looking to get a little protection for some of their higherend talent. Um, Toronto, I think, was was one and there was a few other ones that were looking at him as a, you know, was a good I mean, he’s been on some, you know, teams that have made deep runs in the playoffs. Good good uh, good team. So, um, you know, good veteran presence, a leader type guy. I think he’s could be a culture guy for the Bruins. Um, so I I do think that there are a lot of teams involved. Now, are a lot of teams willing to go to five years and 3.4 million that I’m going to say no. I’m going to say the warrant team is willing to go to five years. I think that’s why the Bruins got him. I think everybody else was probably three years, you know, 1 to two million and there were probably a bunch of offers in that area and I think the Bruins blew everybody else out of the water to get this player. Was that a smart move? We’ll we’ll see. Time will tell on that one. Um but to give a 5-year commitment and $3.4 4 million to a guy who had 13 points last year. Doesn’t seem on the face of it like a smart move. Um but but we’ll see. Uh we’ll see how that shakes out down the line. Yeah. I mean, I’m with you. I The player is fine. Like the player is fine. I like I’ve always liked the player. He’s a pain in the ass to play against. He is. Uh and and I like the way he plays. Um, but that kind of commitment for what he brings, you know, he hasn’t had a 20 goal season since he was a rookie. So, you know, you’re looking at a guy who barely contributes. You know, you you already signed a bunch of guys that barely contribute. Let can we can we stop signing guys that barely contribute and start signing guys that will make an impact in in winning games? I mean, that’s what that’s what I’d like to see. You know, the last the last two offseasons it’s been third and fourth liners. It was it was Max Jones and it was Jeffrey Viel and it was our buddy Riley Tuy and it was all of these guys, you know, training for Mark Castelic and just loading up on the third and fourth line players and then again this this summer it’s even like it seems like even more of the third and fourth line players. I don’t know where all of them are going to play. Like I just I just don’t I don’t I don’t know. And you know to go with five years with a guy what if he stinks this year but then you have him for four more years at 3 point and I know it’s not a huge number but it can be the difference between giving another guy eight or 10 sure or nine like like it it’s still a good $3 million three and a half million dollars a year that you could use elsewhere. They they were saying that the Reds uh the Bruins wanted to uh take uh a swing at some of the big money free agents next year. This might prevent them from getting one of those guys. It might. They gave Tanner Jano too much money. Could it could it? Right now they have 2.9 in salary cap right now. The Bruins. I mean why why so low? Like why? Like Yeah. I mean we’ve talked about it before, but they didn’t need to spend all this money. They didn’t. No. They had plenty of guys already who can play third and fourth line. Plenty of them. Plenty. Maybe not the culture that they want. Maybe not the, you know, the nastiness, the competitiveness, the bring it in practice, bring it every day guys, whatever. They might not have those guys on the roster now. Um, but like you’ve said a million times, those guys are available. Those guys are available uh every year at the trade deadline or in the off season. You don’t have to sign them on day one of free agency in the first hour of of the thing happening. You don’t you could Jeff Skinner just signed I mean he’s not a he’s not a a fighter you know type player but he just signed today today or or yesterday with one year three million. Yeah. So like Tanner Jano got signed for more than Jeff Skinner. Now, Jeff Skinner had a awful year in Edmonton, but Jeff Skinner has also been a multiple 30 goal scorer and he signed for three million bucks. Like, did any of these four goals once? Did any of these jabronies get any type of no trade clause language in there? Taylor Jano does. He has two years no trade. the first two no trade and then it’s like a modified 15 team and then it’s like a 10 team and then it’s no and nothing in the last year. But yeah, they get Sween’s rolled out the red [ __ ] carpet for this guy. Rolled out the red carpet like he was [ __ ] Conor McDavid. Tanner McDavid. Should we call him Tanner McDavid from now on? I kind of want to Conor J. Conor Jano. He’s not Connor Brown or Patrick Brown. I mean, I’ll I’ll [ __ ] his name up with the best of him if you want me to. McDavid McDavid. So, yeah. So, you gave him So, you gave him too many years, too much money, and two years of no is full move. Full no move. Yeah. For a 13point guy for 13 point. Say that. Say that out loud. I know. Like say it out loud in the office. Can you imagine? Can you imagine Sweeney going into Charlie Jacobs office and being like, “Look, I want to sign Tanner Deno to a fiveyear deal. 3.4.” And he’s like, “3.4? That’s not bad.” You know, how many points did he have last year? Well, he had seven goals. Uh, okay. Uh, six assists. Huh? What? Tanner Jano, he’s uh, you know, he had 24 goals, you know, a couple years back. Couple years back. No. Well, more than years back. Uh, he was a rookie. How long has he been in the league? Well, six, seven years now, I think. Yeah. What did you want to sign him to again? What’s his name? Danny Tanner. What’s his name? Is his name Tanner McDavid? What did you say? I mean, what the [ __ ] I I I mean, it shows you really that the Jacobs don’t pay any [ __ ] attention. They don’t. They still don’t know a hockey stick from a dipstick. Because if any if anybody in their right mind general manager walked into, oh my god, you know, the president of the club’s office and was like, “We want to say sign Tanner Jano to a fiveyear, you know, $17 million deal.” They would say, “Go pound sand, Donald.” You know, you know what I you know what I see that I see the news coming out of that signing and I see the league acting like Shawn McVey when the when the Patriots took the guard and just sn like like whoa like he must know something we don’t know. I see the whole league doing that. Yeah. The whole league was like league is laughing at the Bruins right now like what is that? The wonder no one wanted to coach here because they don’t know what they’re doing. They they look I want them to know what they’re doing. Me too. And and I and I and I’m just not just saying it just to be a blowhard. Like I really question whether they know what they’re doing. I I’m 100% with you. And look, I what I want them to do is watch this podcast because I think if they watch this, they could glean some good advice from us. They could pick up some nuggets, some little things here and there. Doesn’t have to be everything we say. Doesn’t have to be everything, but just just little things here and there. Like don’t spend all your money on third and fourth liners, you know, develop some of the young kids. Let them play. See what you have there. Like some of that stuff I feel like they could get from us and and implement that and the team would be better in the long run for it. That’s I listened I listened to the last episode today in the car and this this was this was the Smitty comment. Uh I like the player. He’s a pain in the ass. He hits, he fights, he sticks up for teammates, but at five years, 3.45 million, no [ __ ] way. Like, like, no [ __ ] way, you know? And that’s and that’s kind of what kind of what I think. Like, yeah, if we could put that in print, no [ __ ] way, with that tone, like that’s that’s what we should put out there. Like that’s insane. Like that’s insanity. And look, again, Tanner Jano, maybe he’ll go out and score 15 goals and be like just a stud on the fourth line. He does. I hope when the season starts, I’m the biggest fan of Tanner Juno that there is. I hope that’s the case. I really do. I really, really do because I do like the player. I do. Same with Elias Lindholm. Like I think he has a good skill set. You just shouldn’t have given him that kind of money because it puts unfair expectations on him to be a first line center, which he’s not. And and you know, he he should be sliding into the third line. That’s where he belongs. But you paid him like a number one guy and now everybody’s expecting him to be that. So he has all this pressure on him and he’s trying to do and you know maybe he found it at the end of the season. I hope he did. I hope he puts up 85 points and and we can all you know laugh about it uh down the road. But you know heck maybe Jano Carelli Castle is just going to be like this big time line that’s just like it’s like a low line. It’s gonna be I can’t I’ll be honest with you. I I can’t take it. I really can’t. I want to I want to cut off my head and roll it down the [ __ ] road. Like I’m just I can’t take it. Like I And the people who try to justify it and try to and try to, you know, those those people who want a job with the Bruins and try to say, “Well, you know, this is what it is.” Like, no, this is not what it is. It’s [ __ ] stupid. Tanner J is not even going to play on the fourth line. He’s going to play in play on the third line. You bet your sweet ass with Casey Middlestat and Maju Bujamelo, whatever the [ __ ] his name is. Like those those three guys are going to light up the league. Yeah. Mapel [Laughter] Japel. Blow me. Yeah. Uh yeah. So we got that going for us, which is nice. Yeah. The full line’s going to be Asamont, uh, Carali, and Castelik. Castic. Anybody that thinks Asamont’s going to be the one sitting doesn’t know anything cuz they did. He’s not sitting deal. He’s not sitting. He’s not sitting. He’s not. None. None of those guys are sitting. They brought those guys into play. Unless Unless they do a Max Jones face plant, they’re playing. Yeah. I mean, it’ll be interesting to see like, does John Beecher get time? Like, they resigned him. Where’s he going? I I honestly think that Beecher is a two must be two-way. Huh? He’s not. It’s one way. Yeah. So is the So is the kid from Dallas, the blue. It’s a oneway contract. And who’s Nadinov? He he can’t he has to go through waiverss, too, right? So yeah, that they’ll probably lose a bunch of guys at the start of the season just because they they’re trying to send him down. All these guys, they sign a contract. It’s going to it’s going to be amaz It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be one of the like grab your popcorn. Like one of the shittiest [ __ ] shows you’ve ever seen. Like they signed all these guys and probably lose half of them to waivers at the end of at the at the end of the training camp. Oh my god. Be amazing. They have like 23 fourth line guys. Yeah, they do. It like literally how many they have. It’s insane. They have all of the third and fourth line guys in the entire league are playing Bruins. Yeah. And he dumped a bunch of his RFAS. Those old draft picks he made, he dumped a bunch of them. Ktow and all those guys. He dumped a bunch of those guys. He his his drafting between, you know, 18 and 20 is just like I don’t even know there’s anybody there anymore besides [ __ ] Beecher. Is Brett Harrison still intreat? Brett Brett Harrison. Remember him? Yeah. Like wow. Like he’s still there though somehow. Brett Harrison. Wow. I was looking at some of the like the Casper Nassens and the Chris Pelosis and Becket Hendricks. Those guys are never going to play a [ __ ] minute for the Boston Bruins. Probably not. Not one. Not one minute for those guys. Probably not. They completely just signed guys to block all the [ __ ] draft picks they made the last [ __ ] five years. Unreal. Uh, chirp too. David Pegnata said that Utah wanted Matt Barzol from the Islanders for the fourth pick so they could take Hagens. The Isles said they liked Higgins, but not that much. So, there you go. Yeah. I mean, Barzel’s a proven NHL guy. Like, I I get why the Islanders say no to that. Uh, and too, but but I but I’ll say this, like, Barzel talented, but Barzel hasn’t been terrific the last couple years, and they suck. Yeah. And I was a little bit surprised that they wouldn’t kind of entertain it. It makes me Yeah, the Islanders have um you know, they’re in the seller as well, so they you know, they have the number one pick in shape. So, it might have been smart of them to actually make that deal because you get out from underneath Barcel’s money, right? And then you, you know, you get another guy who could potentially be a, you know, your 1C down the road and you have a, you know, your first line center, your first line D and those guys kind of grow together, uh, within the organization. So, it’s not a it’s not that far-fetched really. I mean, I don’t I don’t think that would have been a bad way to go if you’re the Islanders, but you know, I guess they wanted to hold on to Barzal because he’s the one guy probably in that organization that could sell tickets in that in that market right now, I guess. Yeah. And Hagen’s Hagen slid down the draft and people teams didn’t want to trade up to get him when he was sliding. M. So I I just I just wonder, you know, look, he’s he was the most talented guy left, so that’s what we said to do. Pick the most talented guy left. So that’s what they did. So I just hope to God that he has a good year for BC and then signs and then, you know, really shows that that was kind of fluky, his his draft fall. I really hope so. I think Yeah, we I mean, we’ll talk about it. So yeah. Uh trip three, St. Lewis Blues then Jordan Kyu on the trade block looks like they want to get out from under his money. Does it is it something that the Bruins could even consider with their lack of assets? Uh they should consider it. They should make a call at least. They should. Um because Kyro is a good player. So he is I mean add talent. 70 point guy. I mean add talent. I mean you don’t have other than David Posnock. You don’t have a 70point guy on the team. No, you have could play with pass and geeky and then Lynholm could be back down to second line or whatever and Yeah. be a much better team. Sure. Much better team. Yeah. So, I mean, he would automatically go into your top six. Um, and yeah, you would be much better. Now, do they have the assets available to trade for him? Maybe if you gave up, you know, one of your ones from next year, that would probably that would probably start the conversation. If you gave up, uh, you know, a first and and uh Mason Lorai to to uh maybe get that thing going. I don’t know. Is that enough? Probably not. Well, Kyu makes 8.1. So, here’s the other dilemma. you have 2.9 in salary cap space because you you bought every [ __ ] fourth liner in in the National Hockey League, right? So now you don’t have the space to take on his 8.1. No. So even if you traded a Pavil Zaka say who makes 475, whatever it is, 475. Y that’s still not enough. No. So trade Zaka and Lai and that’s and Lai I don’t think that’s still enough. No, cuz Lai is 3.4 four, I think. Yeah. 3.4 and he’s 4.75 4.85. Yeah, it’s close. Yeah. So, it’s right in that neighborhood. Yeah. Um, so that might that might it might be something like that. Like Zaka, Lori, and a first. Now, I don’t know if the Blues would do it, but I I would do Zaka Lori. The only problem with the first is if you’re bad. See, I don’t know. Getting Kyu, you might not be that bad. That’s why that’s why I think it that’s why I think the pick has value because if Right. But if I’m the Bruins, I’m trading Toronto’s pick, not mine, right? I’m holding on to mine because if if we’re terrible, we’re going to be in the lottery. And I think we I would do that thing. I would do that. Bruins will be in the lottery. Yes, I think they will. Yeah, I think so, too. I would do that trade. I would do Toronto’s pick and and I don’t know if they would, but I would do Zaka Lai in that pick for Kyle. There’s probably better better options from other clubs around. I would imagine. I’m sure. I mean, he’s been linked from Montreal and some other team for prospect pulls. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. But I would make the call like you said, I make a couple calls. Yeah. Because that’s a guy that could, you know, it would be a like a topline center. at least a a lower grade topline center, you know, is that that could play with Pock and Geeky and then he could slide L home down and then he’s starting to cook with some gas there. Sure. You know, uh, all right. Chirp four. Evidently, there’s a doppelganger. Matty looks like a young Jim Montgomery. Discuss Mattie Montgomery. Mattie Montgomery. He was He does. Look, there was there was a picture of Jim Montgomery when he signed with the Dallas Stars and it is a spitting image of you. It is. And Cam Cam Store from the Cam show actually tagged us. Yes. And said that this looks like Matty play Matty played hockey for the Dallas. Matty ice hockey. Yeah. So, I think when you go to the bars now, I think we should throw that on. I’m Jimmy Montgomery. Yeah. You know, I’m Monty. Yeah. Monty. We we had a we had a I had a buddy of mine I had a buddy of mine who we went to a bachelor party at Dick Slash Resort and we said that he was a right-winger for the Boston Bruins and the chicks were just all over him all night long cuz they had no [ __ ] idea. No, of course. I mean this this guy and you know Scotty, this guy is like 5 foot n 130 and we had him as a right-winger for the Bruins who won the skills competition for fastest skater. Yeah. You know, and all the chicks were all over him all night long. All night. you know, so it can happen. Like it can happen. Uh, chirp five, what kind of grade do you give the Bruins in free agency? Uh, I give him a D. D. D. Below average. Okay. Cuz look, there weren’t a lot of high-end options out there for the Bron. No. Um, so I think like I don’t mind the Asamont signing three years, you know, 1.7, whatever. That’s probably what they should have given Jano. I don’t like the Jano deal. I like the player, as we’ve said a million times. I think Sean Calli, uh, Sean Carelli was a redundancy. I don’t think he was needed. You had Castle who does the same thing. Uh, and you signed him to three years already. Uh, so you you didn’t need him. Uh, so I I didn’t love what they did. They were trying to fill some holes, I guess, trying to change the culture a little bit. Carali’s a culture guy as well. Um, so, you know, we’ll see if that helps them at all. But right now, I didn’t love their free agency. I loved the draft. I really did, but their free agency I thought was a miss. I mean, I’m almost at an F just because of this the money they they spent that I just didn’t feel they had to spend, you know, and and that’s, you know, you don’t have to spend all your money to the cap. He did it last off season and he almost did it this off season where he’s just under 3 million left. Like, unless there’s some sort of trade we don’t know about or some something going on there where he’s going to dump another couple of guys and recoup some of that money, I I just don’t see why you had to do it. and for multiple years for for guys who don’t deserve multiple years to be quite frank with Sean Carelli at 32 years old is really really should give him two years. No, why? Like why should you give Michael Asim on two years for what? That’s a one-year deal. Do it. And if he doesn’t want to take it, then let somebody else do it. You know why you giving Tanner Jano five years? That’s like a two, you know, maybe three at shorter money because he’s only like 27 28. But but you don’t have to do that. So why I I just I just And I know people are going to say, “Well, you know, the cap’s going up and I don’t give a [ __ ] if the cap goes to 500 million.” That doesn’t mean Tanner Jano is worth 3.45. It It just doesn’t like that doesn’t matter. I don’t give a [ __ ] Take your salary cap. Shove it. I don’t care. Percent of his It’s percent of his It’s the percentage. He’s only at 3% of you. Go [ __ ] yourself with your analytics. I don’t give a [ __ ] I don’t care what the percentage of the percentage of your [ __ ] brain power is [ __ ] 0.0 percentage of my body fat is much higher than that. Right. Right. I don’t give a [ __ ] about any of it. No, I just that’s all I just my BMI. It’s all the only number I need. Uh so yeah. F you. F this. Uh chirp six predictions for what kind of player James Haggins turns out to be as we uh foreshadowed. Yes. Um, I like I like the player and and the more I’ve watched him play, um, you know, cuz I was down on him cuz he I didn’t think he had a dominant year at BEu, uh, sorry, at BC like you know, some of the guys did, uh, you know, like Immaculine Cabbrinis and and Jack Eels at at BEu did. Um, so I was a little down on him going into the draft, but the more I watched him play and watched some of his highlights and um, he he was, as much as people say he didn’t have a good year, he had a point per game. He was a point per game guy, right? Yeah. Yeah. One of the top teams in the country as a freshman. Um, as a small freshman, too. Those like Cabrini is a little bit bigger, a little bit, you know, more filled out. Eichel’s, you know, a big dude. Um, so those guys had the frames already, I think, to play college hockey against men. Higgins is playing as a, you know, a smalish guy playing in a men’s league. Like that’s a man’s league, the the hockey East. Like it’s 23, 24 year old guys, some of them. Yeah. Because they played a couple years in junior and and Oh, yeah. You know, guys will play the whole four or five years. Yeah. And then play, you know, four years in the NCAA and then get a grad year somewhere else. So, you’re looking you’re playing against men. So, um I thought he had a really good year. Uh and I think he’s going to be dominant at BC this year. I really do. I think he’s going to be dominant. I think he’s going to be over a point per game. I think he’s going to show uh this year at BC, what the Bruins saw and what everyone saw that had him initially as the number one pick in the draft. Yeah. And I think he is going to be their number one center. I’m I’m choosing to be positive about this. I think he’s going to be the number one center. I think he’s going to be a dynamic playmaker for years and years to come. Yeah, I I I think he’s headed for like a 50point season with BC and and I think he’s going to sign at when the season’s over and I think he’s going to have a small little sample size with the Bruins at the end of the year because they’re not going to be very good. And here’s what’s going for him is that he potentially has David Parnak to play with. Yes. for, you know, so I mean, if you’re playing with an elite player, elite goal scorer, one of the tops in the league, then that gives him every opportunity to produce. So, if you if you bring them in and you throw them on the third or fourth line like you do with, you know, the Ryan Danos of the world and all that and expect anything from them, then you’re then you’re foolish, which, you know, is possible. You know, it’s possible. Comes in, plays a [ __ ] third line. Yeah. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. I did with Patra playing with [ __ ] guys who suck. I mean, if you look at his stats and his analytics with guys who were pretty good like the Postax and the Geekies and and those guys, he his numbers were so much better than with the bottom feeders, you know, that he played with. Yeah. So, how would you expect a guy to produce and a guy to to show what he can do when he That’s why you can’t put certain guys on like just the third and fourth line. Throw a guy on the fourth line. Yeah, we’ve talked about that forever. like you you got to actually give them an opportunity to to play where they usually play. Like you draft a guy for his skill, his play making is and passing and then you put them on a line that that with guys who have, you know, seven goals and five goals that can’t score that couldn’t hit the [ __ ] net from, you know, the crease. So, you know, you got to give them an opportunity to succeed. And you have to playing with guys that have talent. playing with guys who are creative that can make plays and then you know then you’ll see what you have. I mean that’s in Boston and in Providence like you you have Lysel playing with Joey Abbate in some other [ __ ] and then he’s not gonna produce like Jesus Christ almighty like you know so look he he to me he he signs at the end of the year and then you play him on the first or second line and you play him 18 minutes and you just play him and you and you just fight through it unless Elias Lindholm is really struggling I think he slots in to the second line. I think he plays on the power play. Sure. And and you know, and you play him a bunch of minutes and you and you give him a taste of of the NHL and and if he competes, then you know, he probably has a spot right away next year. Um if not, maybe he’ll see a little time in Providence, but I feel like he’s going to go straight from BC to the NHL and and not look back. Like I think he’s going to be on the Bruins. Now I will say in the history of the Bruins, Pastna, Crerichi, Berseron, De Brusk have all played at least a year. Martian played two. Yeah. In Providence. So you got to keep that in the back of your mind, too, that it’s possible that he plays a year in Providence. Yeah. Which is going to [ __ ] piss everybody off, but that that could happen. Sean, did Sean play like half a season down there? I don’t think I think Sigan pretty much only like injury time that he that he played like Joe Thornton always was on the Bruins. He never went down. Yeah, he Yeah, he was on the he was Yeah. one overall. I think I think Sergey Sams was Sergey Samson off. I think he might have started with the Bruins, too. I think he did. Yeah. Like when you’re bad like they were bad. So like when you’re bad enough, those guys should play in the NHL. They should learn at the NHL level like we we we talked about and Connor wants to chime in here. What do you got, Conor? Tyler Sean has never played a game in the No, he never played in the Yeah, he played 74 games in that cup year, 11 goals, 11 assists. He played for the Plymouth Whalers the year before in the OHL. Yeah. So, so he went right to Yeah. trial by fire. Um number two pick. And look, he’s a little bigger than than Hagens is. Um, and that was a wagon of a team. Obviously, a Stanley Cup champion team. So, um, yeah, absolutely. Um, but you know, that’s what you brought [ __ ] you know, and in for to give him a little more space out there. Yeah. To make some plays. So, yeah, give the kid, you know, the if the team sucks, just let him play. Like, sign at the end of this year and then let him play. See what he see. You know what I love about and here’s the other thing about um Sergey Samson went right to the league. Yeah. Had 22 goals, 25 assists his rookie year, 81 games. He played for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL the year before. So, he went right to the league. Um here’s what I love about the whole protect the young guys thing. Yeah. You have in order to protect the young guys, you’ve got to kind of be on the ice with them, don’t you? You do. Okay. So Tanner Jano is not gonna play with James Hagens ever. Oh yeah. You don’t think so? And if he does. Okay. And this is going to be the New York Islanders podcast shortly after. I think I think he could be on this. I think he could be on the ice with them. Wow. I think he could be. That’s a typical Bruins move. It sure is. Oh my god. Throw sloth in with Yeah. Beauty and the Beast line. I think I think I think you could very well see a line at the end of this year of Tanner Jano, James Higgins, Victor Harson. I’m not even [ __ ] you. I’m I’m saying this with a complete straight face. I I can I’m I’m not going to guarantee it, but I’m going to say it’s very likely that that happens when Hagen signs at the end of his, you know, NCA. That that rivals like Todd Ellen and what what was that line? Was that stupid? It was later. Todd Ellock played with, you know, Marty Le Point. Marty Le Point. Oh god. Like I just I I just But I do think you’re going to see Hagens play at some point this coming season for Bruins at least one time because look, they’re going to need to put some asses in the seats, too, because they’re going to suck. Unless Unless BC, you know, goes into the, you know, the Frozen 4 or whatever. Yeah, it’s way Yeah, it’s way late in the season. way into April then might because the Bruins probably miss the playoffs so they’ll be done. True. Actually, true. They won’t, right? There won’t be any time from the play. Solid point. Solid point. Uh trip seven. NHL clubs vote to keep decentralized draft. Thoughts on that? Uh it sucks. It’s terrible. I mean, the league just does some really [ __ ] brain dead. How can the club if you were one of the clubs and you watch that draft back? How can you watch that without cringing? Every single time they tried to talk to a draft pick from the war room, the Bruins couldn’t even do it. The Bruins couldn’t even talk to the [ __ ] guy. They couldn’t get the audio in the video chat to work. So, you know, but everything else was like every question was cringy and the kids were It was all awkward and terrible. It was awful, awful, awful, awful television. And I just don’t Is it a cost cutting move? Like, I don’t get it. Let’s do it again. Let’s do it again. Let’s do it again. Yeah, it’ll be better this time. Let’s do it again. Let’s do it again. Bet just being stubborn. They the team It’s the teams. I think the NHL didn’t want it and the teams do because they want to all be in their conference rooms with their [ __ ] boards and, you know, jerk each other off under the desk while they’re making their picks. They do. So, except for the Bruins who don’t get together before they pick. They just kind of hang out in the hallway. You know what they do is they they just pass around uh you know a bea the one of the bearheads and everybody just throws a name in a hat and they just they just pick out the winner. All they have those paper things we used to do with the the one two three four you pull the thing and four. Okay. Four. Yeah. Zachian. What what color what color are you? Um red. Uh, that’s the Bruins colors. Well, we’re [ __ ] then cuz um, is there a black and gold one in there? Uh, okay. Mighty. Um, yeah. So, I think that’s what they do. I think I think they give everybody at the table a vote and then they just pull a name random name out of a hat and uh, you know, Zack Snition won once. Well, hey, that’s that’s great. Hey, why don’t you go bet on things at DraftKings Sportswork. DraftKings DraftKings Sportsbook is Boston’s hometown sports book. It’s live right here in Massachusetts. Bet local and all your favorite sports from the comfort of your own home with DraftKings. To celebrate, all new customers will receive up to $150 in bonus bets when you sign up for DraftKings Sportsbook using code ITR. You can now bet local on money lines, spreads, props, and more with one of America’s top rated sports books. That’s DraftKings Sportsbook. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Sign up with the code ITR to get up to $100, $150 in bonus bets to use now that mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts. That’s code ITR only at DraftKings Sportsbook. If your loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, call 800 32750 or visit helplinemma.org to speak with a trained specialist free and confidentially 247. Must be 21 plus. Physically present in mass. Eligibility restrictions apply. Subject to regulatory licensing requirements, eligibility and deposit restrictions apply. Optin required bonus issued as free bets terms at draftkings.com. We like it in the raw here at uh at uh we we just we keep keep the mistakes and the errors. Keep the realness right in the promo. Let’s just $100, $150. Who gives a [ __ ] Just sign up for DraftKings. Yeah, it’s gambling, baby. Let’s [ __ ] do it. You’re not going to notice how much money in there. It’s going to be gone. There’s a rat’s ass. Just go throw some money in there. Sign up. You’ll get a little free money from DraftKings and your ass off. Yeah. You’re going to do you’re going to do like like backto back Tanner Jano anytime goal scorers and it’s going to be gone. That shit’s going to be gone. You’re going to be broke. You’re gonna You’re going to be a millionaire if you [ __ ] hit it one time. 50,000. Yeah. Yeah. That he gets next year. Oh, that do the first goal of the season for the Bruins. Hannah first go. Yeah, there you I wonder what that What do you think that’ll be? Plus, 1500. More than that. More than that. Plus 3,000. More than that. How goals did you score last year? Six. Yeah, he scored seven goals last year. Seven goals. Okay. Seven goals, I believe. Plus 4,000. I I would Can you You probably can’t go on right now because it’s getting out. Yeah. plus four or 5,000 because Pos’s gonna be like, you know, probably minus Yeah. probably be you probably be minus minus likeus 400. Yeah. Geeki is probably minus you know 200 100 and then everybody else is plus because no one else on the team could score. And but Tanner Jano and his seven goals um yeah probably like plus 5,000. I’m gonna you know what I’m I’m when it comes out I’m putting money on whatever that number is. So, I’m putting 10 bucks down on that, but I think you should. I am. And we’re going to pump it up until that opening game. Let’s both do it. Yeah. Or you do JO and I’ll do Asamont. Yeah. There you go. There you go. Two guys who get who deserve the project. Yeah. Uh and and we’ll each throw five on Corali, too. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That’s that sounds great. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll do that. And then, you know, maybe we win. And if we win, those guys are my best friends all year long. All year long. Yeah. Like all year. That’s that’s contract justified. All year long. Without a doubt. Yeah. We will that’s that if it hits the contract is justified and that will be the line from this podcast from that day forth. Okay. That’s what we’re doing. All right. We’re doing that. Love that. I love it. Uh the beauty for this week, speaking of uh gritty fourthliners, is our friend of the program, Riley Tuy. I love you. E, they’re going to be loving you from dawn until death. We were we were remiss the last episode. Uh, but Riley signed a one-year $775,000 contract to remain with the Boston Bruins. Yes, he did. And we were we were more than pleased. We tweeted out to him. He responded. He did. And um he has followed us on on X. I have no idea if he listens, but if he does, Riley, excellent work. Hope it goes well. Um, hope you get a shot in amongst the trees here. I think he should. But he, you know what? He should get every opportunity in training camp. He should. He should. He’s a big guy. Throws his weight around. Got a little touch around the net. Like, he should get a chance. Sure. All these other [ __ ] get a chance. Why can’t he have a chance? He’s a friend of the program. We got to We got to stump for our guy. Our guy Riley Tuy. We got to We got to get him into the lineup. Yeah, we should stump. We’re doing a we’re doing a quick tuy update every every episode. I think we should cuz he’s a friend of the program. Uh and if we don’t have a beauty, if we can’t find an actual beauty during the season, it’s going to be Riley Tuy every time. Yeah. Every time. Throwing it out right now. Anytime there’s no one worthy of being a beauty during the week, uh it’ll be him. It’ll be Riley time. He will be a beauty because he is a friend of the program. Yes. So, um and we take care of our guys. Yeah. So that’s how that’s how we’re going to do that. And maybe someday Riley Tuy can get a fiveyear 3.45 million contracts. Maybe. I hope he does. And he and and he comes on the program to celebrate. Yeah, sure. As as we as we stump for him. Yeah. Yeah. I think that that’s more than fair. I think it’s 100%. I think that’s how it should go down. Even be a guest appearance on here once in a while. Like analysis. He should I think he should analyze and he could just give it to us. Like we’re full of [ __ ] as much as anybody else. Oh my god. Yeah. Come on and tell us where we were wrong and tell us where we have no idea what the [ __ ] we’re talking about. Ask us. Come on and give us [ __ ] People love that. If he just came on and just [ __ ] dressed us down and shared with us. Say, “What is your problem with third and fourth liners, you hammerheads?” Yeah. Be amazing. Have you guys ever played third and fourth line? Nope. We could barely We could barely [ __ ] skate across the ice. I was I was a top six on the street hockey team. Hell yeah. I mean played third and fourth line. No, we were, you know, 1 C and and and one R. Yes, we were. Yeah. So, yeah, we were feel like you wouldn’t believe. Yeah. Always has been there. Yeah. Hey, and hey, rest in peace to the socialist. Uh, holy [ __ ] The place we the place we played our our street hockey days, our ball hockey days, uh, went up in flames uh, about about two week what, two weeks ago? Two or three weeks ago? Yeah. Two or three weeks ago. Yeah. And hang up. Burned to the ground. Burned. Yeah. Yeah. So, I wonder what’s happening there. But a lot of Sunday mornings there. A lot of Sunday mornings. Yeah. We played a lot there and that’s that was a real shame. So, um, but yeah, there lot of lot of good memories down doing that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, all right. So, the Bender this week, um, I I guess it affected uh, producer Connor as well, but in Massachusetts, we had flash floods out the [ __ ] Woo. Bender. Um, I I was driving to work the other day and uh, they closed 93. Like they closed the [ __ ] interate the highway both ways closed. What a mess. Puddles. Puddles. Yeah. What a mess. I mean, what a mess. Yeah. Just people straining in their cars. There was a there was a guy um right down the street from where I work who had to be rescued from his vehicle cuz the water was up to his window of his car. Uh an older guy trying to get to the VA for for God’s sakes. just trying to just trying to get to his appointment at the VA. Had to be rescued by the Brainree Cop. Pulled him out of his car and he was carrying the guy like piggyback out of his car. That’s just unbelievable. The flash floods and then Connor’s getting floods and tornadoes and [ __ ] you know, wrath of God in Iowa. Tsunamis and tsunami, you know, tidal wave, hurricane. Iowa was a peaceful place. I thought it was a field of dreams. I thought it was corn fields and baseball players and yeah, you know, and Connor, Jesus Christ, that’s what everybody thinks until you start getting pummeled with [ __ ] tornadoes when you’re out here because they’re constant and all the time. And to be honest, yesterday was one of the first ones that got pretty scary in my opinion and like close. So, my sister actually moved out from the Boston area and they lived about or live about two blocks away from where this tornado went through. And one of my friends sent me some pictures of the park that it went through and it completely destroyed that park. The flooding that went through town was like completely soaking and drenching the bottom of apartment buildings. There were cars getting stranded left and right. They basically shut down the roads in over half of the city because they were just flooded. Because one of the things that a lot of people don’t realize, I live right along the Mississippi River. So, we have a lot of water hanging around. Like that that that picture of that funnel cloud, whatever you sent, that was like Yeah, that’s that looked like a movie. I mean, it was Yeah. And these Midwesterners, like when I first moved here, I heard the tornado sirens and I would start to panic. And if you’re a Midwesterner, it’s beers, barbecue, and tornadoes, baby. Like, that’s the jam. It’s sitting out on the patio time. Wow. Yeah. I’m not sure I’m doing that. So, for this one, do you do you have like a storm cellar? Do you like you go down to the basement and strap yourselves to some pipes? Like, what are you doing? I I don’t have a basement in my house. We just hang out in like my garage or the most inner part of the house. But yeah, other people are running towards basement or some parts of the cities have shelters because there’s so many tornadoes. Yeah, I just I’ve never been in one. I just see it from you know I watch the twist the movie so I you know you see them. You just you just put the snorkel the snorkel mouthpiece right in your mouth like in the basement. Yeah. Yeah. You just you just pray. Yeah. Wow. That’s insane. That’s that’s just like that’s just like ridiculously scary. Like watching people go floating down the streets in their air tubes is kind of funny though. Well, I saw the the the porter party or whatever that I saw. Yeah, the Porter party today just going right down at like 20 miles an hour down the street like Jesus Christ. Can you imagine being in there all of a sudden you like taking a [ __ ] and then like all of a sudden you’re just floating down the street. That thing that port is dangerous anyway. Like standing still. Oh yeah. Like you could fall in, you could, you know, there’s [ __ ] in there like this. It’s just not pleasant. But to but to be in motion in the thing just can’t be good. No. Splashing, you know, it’s not a it’s not a bedet. No, it’s a [ __ ] portaott party. Yeah. And that’s just No. It’s not clean. It’s not sanitary in there. No thanks. I’ll tell you what, as far as the Northeast goes, we actually are we are a pretty safe place as far as weather. Like, we get a very occasional hurricane. We barely get tornadoes. We get a snowstorm that’s bad, but for the most part, like we’re in a pretty good spot because some of the Midwest and Oh, yeah. You know, some of those places just get destroyed like Oklahoma, tornadoes and and poor Texas had all the the flash flooding where they lot of loss of life. Yeah. When Houston almost washed away that one time a few years ago. Yeah. New Orleans, you know, underwater from from the hurricanes and Yeah. So, they get they get it bad, you know. Uh so, we are in a pretty good spot overall. You know, the winter’s a little pain in the ass and and we are we are in a good spot. We we we as a group like to complain about [ __ ] So, you know, we complain about the weather and much, but you know, we have we are pretty lucky with uh with where we live. I’ll tell you who’s not in a great spot, the Boston Bruins. But hey, we we soldier on. Uh hey, head over to the merch shop, get some merch. We haven’t had a merch sale in a while. Buy some [ __ ] You know what? Buy some [ __ ] Buy something in preparation for September’s right around the corner. 20% off with code sorry John uh for Bruins Benders merchandise. Rocks glasses t-shirts. It’s hot as hell. Get a t-shirt. Buy a t-shirt. We should have some swim trunks. Yeah, you make some swim trunks. Look at that. Yeah, there’s a screech low right there. There he is. Get [ __ ] bench shirt. Aston Diamond. Mason Lai. Screech Lai. There he is. Mr. Masters minus 43. Mr. Masters. I I’ll tell you what. I I expect a good year for Mason Longry this year. What do you think? You don’t think so? Okay, that’s fine. Who’s he playing with? Peak. Yeah. Right. I mean, the every p prediction I see, he’s playing with Makavoy, which I don’t I don’t like. I I don’t I don’t think that’s a smart move whatsoever. I think Glen Holmes should just play with Makavoy. I mean, they’re not great together, but they should play together. I don’t think Lori and Makavoy are any great shakes either. Um, you know, you want to give Makavoy the opportunity to get up in the play and Lai likes to get up in the play. So, both guys are up in the play. Who’s going to play [ __ ] defense? I mean, we already know Lai can’t do it on the power play, never mind five on five. So, I I I feel like that’s a that’s a mistake, but, you know, we’ll see what the Bruins end up doing. I think he should probably play with Peak. I I honestly believe that they should consider moving Mason Lorai just because that left side of Lynholm and Zidorov and they need like a true like they need like a defensive defenseman I think in that kind of group and and Lorai is just I don’t know if he’s a great fit for what they have in the defensive pairings. I don’t I would agree with you. I I think he’s a little too uh loose with the puck. I think he’s a little too soft in his own zone. Yeah. Um I think he offensiveility. I think he has a good instincts as far as passing and in the offensive zone. I think he can make things happen, but shoot the puck well. Yeah. Yeah. And but he he makes boneheaded plays in the offensive zone, too, about when to pinch, when not to pinch. like, you know, I know he hasn’t played defense for that long, but those things I feel like you should learn by now and maybe not make the same mistakes. And he’s and he seems like to me anyway, he’s making some of the same mistakes still. And that’s really what concerns me. Like if you turn a puck over in front of your own net, maybe you don’t go in front of your own net. No. again, but he did it. Even after he got the goal, the puck poked off his stick for a goal, he did it again. And almost the same thing happened again. Yeah. So, the fact that he’s not learning from some of those mistakes makes me concerned. You think it’s going to be with Sturm a little more a little more methodical coming up the ice, a little more D to D, and a little less like just fire it up the ice and see if it hits somebody? I feel like he is going to um not necessarily claw Julian the thing, but I think he’s going to go back to a more structured um defense first type of game and I think that suits this club better. I think defense will be their strength. Um, if Makavoy and and Lynholm are back to, you know, what they are capable of and Swayman’s back to what he’s capable of, I think defense is their strength. Um, offense certainly will be a problem all year long. It’s going to be a problem. We know this. If Posanak and Geeky don’t score, they won’t win. Plenty. They’ll they’ll struggle to score. It’s the same It’s the We’re going back to the same thing before the Bruins were were deep enough. Yeah. um back to when they had the perfection line intact. And if that line didn’t score, they didn’t win, right? And it’s going to be that again. If that if if Posnock and Geeky don’t score, they’re going to struggle to win games. Plain and simple, because they just they don’t have enough offensively. How well they play defensively, they they could, you know, that line could get two goals and they’ll lose three to two because they just don’t have enough. Yeah. No, you’re absolutely right. Uh, hey, subscribe to the Insider to the Insider Inc. YouTube page here, YouTube channel. And, uh, give us a rate and review. We had one on, uh, we had a rating on Spotify recently. That was great. Nice. Uh, and chat with us on the X, on the Twitter, on the X. Chat with us. Send us some stuff. Send us what you’d like to hear in the coming episodes. Until next time, as always, go Bruins. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.

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Boston Bruins Trade Rumors, Boston Bruins News, Boston Bruins, Jeremy Swayman, Joonas Korpisalo, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Andrew Peeke, Parker Wotherspoon, Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic, Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke, Trent Frederic, Matthew Poitras, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Oliver Wahlstrom, Fabian Lysell, Georgii Merkulov, Joe Sacco, Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, Brandon Carlo Trade

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