Boston Bruins Top 6 Problem: Who Holds the Key? | Ep. 157

0:00 Speaker 1: Can you start a podcast with me? Please? I need something to do. I'll sack sit it out. A trop a bock of this says.

0:19 Speaker 2: Today, here's a chance pop from right Down with goalie scars.

0:22 Speaker 1: Oh my one a move by the rookie too on one plaster not moving in its oil dances in podcast Home right Way Corner faster Chester.

0:40 Speaker 2: What is that for? Most? Welcome in everyone to another episode of Bruin's Tape to Tape. I'm your host this week, Caroline with a K, and I am joined by my fantastic co host Maria from Watertown.

1:02 Speaker 1: Hey Maria? Hello? Hello?

1:05 Speaker 2: What's going on? One more week closer? We're another week closer. It's almost hockey season.

1:11 Speaker 1: I no, there's pros and const to both with that, which means summer's coming to an end, but a sport that we both enjoy watching and talking about. We'll be ramping up again, and of course we're heading into another Bruin season with loads of questions on our minds.

1:28 Speaker 2: Indeed, yes, we are continuing our little mini series that we started the week prior, and this week we're going to be talking about forwards and what we need, what we have and where that leaves us going into training camp. So you've done a little bit of research on exactly how Boston really fared in terms of their offensive production.

1:55 Speaker 1: Obviously, that is the primary goal of any forward.

1:58 Speaker 2: That plays out on the ice, although we have said of any a time that there is some degree of defensive responsibility, some more so than others. But it didn't seem like we did too terrible offensively once we got going.

2:13 Speaker 1: No, Overall, the Bruins ranked tenth in the league for offense last season, scoring a total of two hundred and sixty eight goals, which is an average of about three point two goals per game. However, I just found myself last season constantly seeming like I was saying, why can't we score more? Why aren't we scoring more? But they did much better than they did in the prior season, where they were ranked twenty seventh with two hundred and twenty two goals, And that was just a miserable season in general.

2:49 Speaker 1: Yeah, that was Platford. Yeah it was pretty horrible. But we are all very well aware of the fact that with the system that the Bruins play, there is a defensive responsibility for every member of the roster, and that includes for the most part and includes our centers and forwards. I know that David Pastornach gets a shit ton of criticism for his inability to sometimes protect the puck or turning it over. And you know what, when the guy is your top scorer and your top point getter, I'm going to say, have a cup of.

3:27 Speaker 2: You know what, because, yeah, without a guy like that, he touches the puck more right, and it's not.

3:33 Speaker 1: His primary job. And oh, by the way, how many times did we see pasta being double team right where you've got two guys from the opposing team saying you think we're going to let you walk in and dance around in here, You're solely mistaken. And some of that comes from the fact that we didn't have enough offensive depth and balance.

3:54 Speaker 2: So we're going to talk a little bit, especially about what those jobs are. And when we say that's not really David Pasternock's job, he is probably not, just because of who he is and the role that he fills on this team, but he is probably about as far away from defensive responsibilities as any particular player could get because he is on the first line, he is a winger, and he is the most elite player on the team.

4:19 Speaker 1: He pretty much does everything right. He's in every kind of offensive component. Penalty kill, yes, number one guy. I never want to see him on a penalty kill that I will say. I never want to see him trying to kill off a penalty.

4:35 Speaker 2: So people need to temper their expectations in terms of what they should be expecting from someone like him in his particular role when it comes to defense. But we certainly have a lot of questions and we will talk about that when we get to the players, but I'll just give the quick rundown on what the heck are they supposed to be doing out there anyways? And how do you construct a forward team with the pieces that you have? What pieces are necessary and non negotiable, and what pieces or elements do We have some flexibility in the pros when it comes to constructing your forward lines.

5:10 Speaker 2: You have a lot more flexibility compared to defense. You have a lot more players, and the way in which you construct those lines to accomplish their primary responsibilities can be different based on the skills that you have.

5:22 Speaker 1: So every line has.

5:25 Speaker 2: A general job, and then how those jobs are accomplished are coming from very specific skills that different players have. Your first line oftentimes is your best line. But I want to say before we go further, much like your pairings, where you do have defensively your first, second, and third pairings, and your first pairing is generally your best players. Just because you are on the first forward line versus the fourth forward line doesn't necessarily mean that they are good or bad.

6:01 Speaker 1: Again, they all have different jobs.

6:03 Speaker 2: Your first line, that's going to be your elite scoring, high offensive pressure, think, create, distribute, finish. That is the general expectation you will see across the board for any team. So different from defensive structure, where we said how that gets comprised is going to very much so be dependent on the systems that the organization uses. When it comes to forwards, this is basically the playbook, and then it's how you accomplish. That is where the systems and things come into play that makes them a little bit different.

6:41 Speaker 2: The first line is going to also be most likely your powerplay one. They're going to be scoring the most goals, They're going to have the most finishing threat. They will capitalize on the turnovers, they're going to exploit the matchups that they are up against. Going to be key in that. However, complimentary skills always very important in any matchup you have, any combination you have, your secondary scoring is going to be on the second line. That's the other piece. You want to have more than one line, more than one player who can score goals.

7:20 Speaker 2: However, you'll notice as we go down the lines, your defensive responsibilities begin to increase. So this is going to have more two hundred foot players. They're going to be going back and forth a little bit more. Their jobs are to score, defend, and transition huge. They're always going to be matched up against the opposing top six players. They need to be able to wear down the opposing defenseman again, because they are playing more of a two hundred foot game. You don't want to have an identical attacking line like you might have in the first line.

8:00 Speaker 2: So if you've got three heavy, four checking, cycling guys in the first line, this one you're gonna want to have be much more fleet of foot, lighter, more suave transitional game. You have to have diversity in your top two scoring lines in how they get the job done. You don't want to have two of the same because then it's too predictable, and your third line more defensive, more two way. They're gonna be more focused on shutting down, preventing further movement of the opposing team's offensive lines.

8:37 Speaker 2: This is your grinder line, and they're gonna be really good at the counter attack. You'll start to see more of these guys be on the penalty kill versus the top two lines.

8:48 Speaker 1: Being more so focused on the power play. They'll be more on that. This is also your most versatile line.

8:54 Speaker 2: So you're gonna have your strong defensive players, but they're gonna be really good with defense of his own face offs. They're going to grind down those strong opposing players. A lot of really good for checking you want to see at this point. This is also a line that can often be considered your developmental line. So think about last season who was on the third line, Fraser, Minton, rat Husnadinov right, those guys because they are younger, they are getting exposure to the game. They're playing fewer minutes because further down the line you go, the fewer shifts you're going to be taking, and so you'll often see this is where a lot of young guys, the up and comers, the future of the team, they start here.

9:42 Speaker 2: They may see twelve minutes a game fourteen minutes. And it's also really ideal to have your younger guys here because you may also then find that line has a singular veteran on it to kind of help with that. A couple of years ago, Uncle Nick often hung out on this line, or Charlie Coyle, and he would have some of the younger guys because that's how they're going.

10:06 Speaker 1: To learn the fourth line.

10:08 Speaker 2: This is high energy, physicality, defensive reliability for check. Do not get scored on is your primary goal. I thought last year Boston had also a very well constructed fourth line because who was on that line castelk, Corallly and Janelle. These are guys they go out, these are your bash brothers. Their job isn't to score. Their job is to foil and try and get the puck to move and if they can score, awesome. But they're also only out there for about eight to ten minutes a game, so they have to be impactful when they are out there on the ice.

10:47 Speaker 1: Although there are instances when we saw Maco utilize that trio as a let's sex atone and that is also to me part of the role of this fourth line. If you think it's going to be an easy night at TD Garden or in your arena. Watch this exactly.

11:10 Speaker 2: Yes, how many times did we see last season that line in particular either explicitly get sent out there to get the crowd riled up, to get the team riled.

11:19 Speaker 1: Up, or starting a game.

11:21 Speaker 2: So that's a lot of what their job is as well. One hundred percent. It's like almost the non actual puck moving side of the game that they have to provide that energy. That's from the line perspective. Now you have to think about what are the specific roles and jobs within each line that you absolutely need to have in order to accomplish the broader goal of that line.

11:48 Speaker 1: Core forward jobs.

11:50 Speaker 2: You have your creators and playmakers, right, These are the guys who create the chances. They distribute the puck, they see passing lanes. They get the pucks to those people who are the finishers and shooters.

12:02 Speaker 1: They convert on those chances.

12:04 Speaker 2: They are in the right place at the right time to receive the puck from that playmaker puck retriever, they're getting those loose pucks and they're getting possession back in maybe the offensive zone or the defensive zone. But you need somebody who can actually nab that puck and get it back into Boston's control. For checkers, who is going to pressure the defenders and force turnovers. Who's going to be aggressive enough to make them make a mistake, And that is a huge key piece to Marco Sturm's system.

12:36 Speaker 2: Force turnovers, create transition, make the other team make a mistake, and then capitalize on that. Thinking about this coming season, those are, in particular, those jobs that I just mentioned very important. That we have a lot of guys who can do that on almost every line. And then you get into kind of more of the nitty gritty, the greasy kind of plays right the net front into your guys who can get in right in front of the net, who can get past that defense and be in that up close area so they can screen, or they can do tipp ins or get those rebounds and just occupy the space that defenders do not want them in.

13:17 Speaker 2: You've got your defensive conscience sort of players where they're really covering defensively. You'll see a lot of forwards centers that's a huge part of their job. You really need to see a center be very responsible when it comes to defense because they're not just centering the wingers, they are centering the defenceman, so you need to make sure that he knows what he's doing in that regard. He's going to be supporting low in that defensive zone. Your matchups and shut down players. You're going to see further down the line more of these guys, but they defend the opposing skilled players really well.

13:53 Speaker 2: Your face off possession centers. If you've got centers, you really want to have them be.

14:00 Speaker 1: Face off specialists. We're talking well over fifty percent.

14:04 Speaker 2: Patrice Bergeron was otherworldly, but you want to see sixty percent because having possession right off the face off is half the battle.

14:14 Speaker 1: When you're in the offensive zone or in the defensive zone for that matter. And then your physical presence guys.

14:20 Speaker 2: These may have used to be they used to be the enforcers, but these are the guys who are not afraid to throw their body weight around, either to interrupt play or to get the game going. A single player can check multiple boxes, and they should because.

14:34 Speaker 1: You shouldn't have only one guy doing one thing.

14:37 Speaker 2: You want to have a well rounded group of guys out there at any given time so they can fill in the gaps. When you're considering the first line, creation, retrieval, finishing, the elite scoring line needs to be able to answer three questions. Who gets the puck, who creates the chance, and who finishes. That is your typical formula, the retriever playmaker finisher, but it can also be a two way retriever transition scorer, creator finisher, or a little bit more old fashioned but your power forward.

15:09 Speaker 2: So the power forward is the one who can score but also can use his physicality to get around.

15:15 Speaker 1: Your dual threat creator. The requirement is that somebody is performing all of those jobs. Transition is good, NetFront is good, but you really need to consider those three things. So how do you feel last year that went.

15:31 Speaker 2: Did we have somebody available who could do those things? Get the puck, create the chances, and finish the chances. Well, we know who the finisher should be, right always, first and foremost, and that would be David Pasternak. But based on how things played out last season, he turned in two more. Now maybe this was intentional on his part, I do not know, to become more of a play maker. Yeah, but his seventy one assist last season where redoncos he's still had one hundred points. I guess in terms of if you look at the statistics of where they finished in scoring overall and their average goals per game, I'd say you did what you needed to do.

16:16 Speaker 1: However, I would much rather have David Pasternach being the finisher right than the playmaker. And I don't know if that was a component of a necessary evil because of we have lacked scoring an offensive depth for what seems like an eternity. Now we've talked about this ad nauseum ad nauseum, to the point where you had David Pasternach basically saying at the end of the season that he might like to have a little bit more help.

16:50 Speaker 2: Yah. Yes, so we'll talk about who is actually available for this coming year.

16:56 Speaker 1: But I think it's hard to say it didn't work because you had a better season that we had anticipated and you got into the playoffs. Yes, yes, but did we.

17:09 Speaker 2: Truly have a reliable combination of retriever playmaker and finisher. Well, one of our finishers had a pretty lengthy dry spell that was damaging.

17:23 Speaker 1: Right rout. I prove it with them. We had a guy who had it looked like he was on pace to score sixty goals right, and we're referring to Morgan geeky because even his line made Pasta said that he thought he was going to get to sixty goals. Good intentions, but the execution is not what we had hoped, and I think some of that is due to the fact that you've got some guys here who are just they're not performing up to what the expectation was when they were first signed. Yes, so line too, that's your creation scoring defensive support.

18:04 Speaker 1: So it's effectively also getting the goals, but with a different flavor and slightly more defensive responsibility. The better your players are at multiple jobs, the less rigid the.

18:18 Speaker 2: Line construction becomes. For the second line, you're looking for someone who can create offense, someone who can finish, and someone providing that defensive matchup support. Now, your traditional composition is the two way center, your playmaker and a finisher, but you can also see it with two way center, two way winger, scoring finisher, or playmaking center, defensive winger, power finisher, and you want to often see if you can get away with it guys who are really good with the four check job and that physically in that transition.

18:54 Speaker 2: Now, I think in terms of last season this it was one of the more well constructed lines that could accomplish those primary objectives of the creation, the scoring, and the defensive support. Because and we got lucky because Pavel Zaka has good in bad years. He has always been a very good playmaking center. That has been his bread and butter, no matter if he was scoring goals or not scoring goals.

19:31 Speaker 1: I think this.

19:32 Speaker 2: Year he just got lucky with all the goal scoring on top of that, and I think he's gotten better as a two way center. But they were just super lucky with having I think Casey Middlestat is your playmaker, and they had an excellent finisher in Arvidson. But when that became neutralized or stopped performing, that was it for scoring.

19:57 Speaker 1: That was it. Didn't We say more than once last season that the combination of Zaka, Ardmudson and I can't remember who was up middle stat for a significant period of time, that was the line that was driving them. Yes, yes, but Zaka had one of his best years as a Boston Browan as a player. Periods of play clear right, Yeah.

20:22 Speaker 2: This was probably the one line that I think that they did all right in construction wise. Line number three primary roles defend, disrupt transition, and provide enough offense to effectively punish your opponents. This is your most flexible line in terms of composition. The biggest need is having defensively responsible players who also have the ability to quickly retrieve pucks and for check someone who is capable of turning recovered possession into offense. Again, we talked about Marco Sturm's system and the transition, and that is going to be a huge part of their job.

21:06 Speaker 2: That could be a shutdown center with a four checker and a scorer, a two way center and a transition winger, or a physical four checker two way center and a younger playmaker like your guys coming up, or a very defensively responsible winger. And you do want to see as your extras if you can get this guys who can win face offs and continue to provide some additional scoring. I think we really liked at least two thirds of that third line last season were together pretty much the entire time, and that was Husnadinov and Minton, and then I think the third person was either Isimant or Steve's because there was some interchanging parts there.

21:55 Speaker 2: Finer solidify that spot so to speak, My biggest and it's not like it's a massive complaint about that particular line, was the fact that it was so young that there was no consistent veteran there. And I believe you said this around the time that we were in the playoffs. They just struggled.

22:20 Speaker 1: They were deer in a hudlights, even when at one point I believe they had Hagens in the lineup and you could see that they weren't quite ready for primeting yet. Yeah, they did not have a steadying.

22:35 Speaker 2: Veteran presence, and that would be my only complaint about that particular line composition. And then your fourth line, that's your energy pressure, defensive reliability. The biggest questions are can you for check, can you hustle and support, can you defend as well? Or are you able to change the momentum of the game. And let me just ad hopping in a goal or two every now and then is the cherry top of the ice cream Sunday, right exactly, But it's not your primary job, and that's all.

23:05 Speaker 1: It's not it's not. But their biggest is can you avoid getting scored on?

23:09 Speaker 2: And that physicality is going to be huge, not necessarily a mandatory requirement, and you don't have to be.

23:15 Speaker 1: A big boy to be physical.

23:18 Speaker 2: I think that Mark Castilik is that kind of player where.

23:23 Speaker 1: He doesn't seem.

23:24 Speaker 2: Like he is a big boy in the way that Tanner, you know, know he's a big boy, but he plays with such a physicality. Yeah yeah, yeah, So you don't need three big hitters. You could have a physical four checker, someone who's a defensive center, and then someone who's.

23:41 Speaker 1: Got some speed.

23:42 Speaker 2: They just have to have some of the best energy out there, and you're gonna see some really good penalty killers coming off of this line because it's that physicality piece that you really want to see. Understanding these roles, we have the following available offensive el drivers. That's David Pasternak top six transition and scoring weapons. We have the potential in Paterka. Again he's unproven in Boston, but he has shown that is what he can do. And then Morgan Geeky top six two way supports, supposed to be.

24:17 Speaker 1: Lindholm, Hm, I know how you feel. I know how you feel. That's what his job is supposed to be. And then nobody's job is supposed to be. How about he stopped doing it?

24:27 Speaker 2: Middle six offensive creators, middle stat Hagen's potentially Patra if he's being given his shot also, and don't forget about Lucas Reichel. Two way workhorses. You've got Minton and Husnadinov. They're young kids, but boy are they putting in the time, energy effort work. You're scoring depth and four check. Steves fits that archetype and then your energy physical checking of course, Jane Corally, castileg Isimont and then new kid on the block for potential two way depth.

24:59 Speaker 1: Ivan.

25:00 Speaker 2: We've got a lot of creators and centers, and we've got a lot of options on our fourth line. But what we don't have, at least I don't think in terms of an obvious top six retrieval, we don't have someone there. We don't have secondary high end creators. We do not have really much in the way of secondary finishers. It's Morgan geeky, but he was also on the same line as David Pasternak.

25:27 Speaker 1: Right, so your tops you had to top load right, right? How many times if we've seen this movie, right, you're top loading your first line and the hope that you're lightning in a bottle with some other lines and combinations. Now, Victor Arbudson, he had a very good year with the Bruins last season he did, and Zakka had a really like his as you stated earlier, his best career year. But you've moved on, or Victor Arvidson moved on from you, So outwalked twenty five goals out the door at that rooint.

26:06 Speaker 1: Now JJ peterca is capable of having a twenty five goal season, So that's a wash, right, So you really still haven't solved your offensive scoring depth dilemma unless and until you see the development of Fraser Minton, James Hagins, And even if what we're hearing is accurate and that Matt Potter is going to be given an opportunity, it's not going to be handed to him, and it shouldn't be handed to any of them. I honestly shouldn't right now. But then that begs the same question from our conversation regarding the defenceman and the number of bodies, because this is a numbers game right now, who's out?

26:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, where do you make adjustments here? And look, you know how I feel about Eliveslantal. I have not made it a secret. I want the organization to move on for this player. Don't believe that they can move on from him because the contract is a noose around their neck. But in my mind, this player is damaged goods and I don't believe that it warrants having him in your number one cent a role. That's what you signed him as, that's what you might have been expecting from him. But it's no longer a small sample size that he can't do it.

27:27 Speaker 1: He can't give it to you, right So you've got a hold there already. Now, we've tried Pavel Zaka up there before and that hasn't worked out for him. No, And if.

27:39 Speaker 2: We're looking at who is actually available in terms of let's say, puck retrievers, because they're the ones who have to get the puck to either your finishers or your scorers, and obviously our elite creator, we have only one, so our depth on that is thin at least right now. I think that they're certainly hoping that someone like Peterka he could be a creator. I'm sure that they're hoping that a lot of their young guys that are coming in right now and who are basically going to be coming in, will be able to start to fill those roles, but a lot of the retrievers are our bottom six guys rally, jano Isima.

28:25 Speaker 2: The only one that I think that has the potential to continue to move up the lineup in that role is Who's Nadinov? And he proved several times that he does have the ability to play in the top six, but with his youth and inexperience, he wasn't always there for terribly long. I think we've got someone like Higgins who could potentially be an elite creator, but he's unproven. I wouldn't even count anything that he did at the very end of the season, and I'm honestly still shocked that they burned his first year on three games.

29:04 Speaker 1: Three games. This is still the big issue I know. But I've said this about Sean Caralely in the past, and I'm going to say it again. He's just a jag, just a jag. I understand they felt that they needed someone familiar with the organization and a veteran guy, and blah blah blah, but you can't continue this straddling of defense with this organization if you've got young guys down in Providence that you're saying to us and you're saying to yourselves, you're going to give them every opportunity. Are they going to be given the opportunity to make the opening day roster?

29:39 Speaker 1: And I'm referring to Matt Potra right, then, what are you going to do with guys like Karal and middle Staff Because those two guys, to me are jags. They were filling and opening. They were filling a void for you while you're figuring out how you're going to proceed with the future built of your organization. But they honestly, can you honestly look me in the face and tell me that guys like that are part of your rebuilder, your retool. The answer should be no. The answer should be no. Players that should be the focal point that are now but Turka, Minton, Hagins.

30:18 Speaker 1: You've made that commitment to Geeky, You're stuck with Lindholm, and then you've got to build around that.

30:25 Speaker 2: Boston is unfortunately bottom six, perfect and like they have everything that they need to have a great third line and a great fourth line, multiple guys who can come in and out and serve on those lines and be effective. It's the embarrassment of riches in an area and they shouldn't be.

30:50 Speaker 1: You don't want to have.

30:50 Speaker 2: Too many of them, and we do because it's your top two lines that are the most responsible for scoring, that have the most holes. Literally the least number of jobs are covered in those two lines because you have literally one person who can be a creator finisher, one person who can be transition finisher. So great, you might have two guys who can be finishers on that top line. Great, because you can't just have one. Your opposition is going to cover that guy and smother him aka pasta. But you don't have anyone who can play that get the puck to them.

31:37 Speaker 1: You don't have that retriever at that level.

31:39 Speaker 2: You don't have someone who can play the interior, who can keep the puck.

31:42 Speaker 1: In the zone.

31:43 Speaker 2: And the number of people available for the second line, it's even worse because you in theory, only have one role filled on your second line, the two way matchup, which is supposed to be your center, and there's no one who can really still that role of creator.

32:04 Speaker 1: Really, maybe Zaka.

32:07 Speaker 2: I'm really hoping that the Pavel Zaka that we saw this last season isn't a fluke, and I'm really afraid that it is. I think he would be an ideal to see.

32:18 Speaker 1: And the problem is, and it continues to be, the lack of where one see? Where is our one seed? This is the age old question, where is our one c Where is the help that David Pasternak needs in order for him to be that sixty goal scorer? And I appreciate what he did last season. One hundred points is nothing to sneeze at. Seventy one flip and assists, Okay, but that's yeah, that shouldn't be his game. That shouldn't be his game.

32:50 Speaker 2: No, because the role of a center is puck retrieval down low, interior work. Think of the bumper spot right now in front of the goalie that was where Patrice Bergeron lived and having that defensive compliment. I think Zaka still should be the second line center, and then you could have Geeky as a finisher. But then who is going to be that creation transition piece? Are we going to see that job given to a kid?

33:24 Speaker 1: One of the kids. There's a possibility, right, And then you can temper your expectations on Eliah Slintolme if you bump them down the third sea. But it still leaves a mark on Don Sweeney that this guy that you brought in as your potential number one, see who is now? I don't even know what his salary is, but he's getting paid more than he should. Is now going to be your third seat? Yeah?

33:52 Speaker 2: Ideally I would really like to see both Khou'snadinov and Minton quote unquot get promoted.

34:01 Speaker 1: Who's Nadinov has.

34:02 Speaker 2: Played in the league a little bit longer than Minton, I'd like to see him move up. I don't know if Minton is ready yet because he's about to go into his sophomore year, which we all know oftentimes comes with a little bit of a slump. He has the potential, and like we talked about in our player profile earlier this year, he has the potential to take on a two C role pretty early. And there are just so many unknowns because we don't truly know what kind of a player Patrica is going to be with the players that we currently have.

34:42 Speaker 2: Can he produce in the way that he's been known to produce?

34:47 Speaker 1: How about these young kids like James Hagens.

34:50 Speaker 2: Is he going to be that secondary goal scorer that we need right now?

34:56 Speaker 1: I don't know.

34:58 Speaker 2: There are a lot of question marks with a lot of young players or new players that we just don't know how they're going to work within the system. The NHL at one point on their website posted some line predictions, and some of them I think are freaking bonkers. The prediction for the first line is Peterka, Zaka and Pasternach. And I understand why they put Zaka there.

35:23 Speaker 1: Because of the season he had last year, right whatever him long enough that the data and Pasta don't seem to work well together. I don't know what it is they don't. Yeah, and Pasta loved playing with the young kids. He set it us play with the kids. He set it himself at one point during last season. Yeah.

35:47 Speaker 2: And then if you're looking at the second line, for the NHL writers to say it could be Husnandinov, Lindholm and Geeky, I would rather see Linnholm be the third see and Mint take on that two see role because he plays so well with Husnadinov. Why would you separate them. I think that could be a really fun line that could produce scoring that is necessary because Busnadinov is that puck retriever, and you've got Minton who is going to be a really great two way defenceman. And then Geeky is an excellent finisher.

36:26 Speaker 2: I think that's who he is. I really do think that's who Morgan Geek is. I don't think that his rise in the past eighteen months has been out of the ordinary. And then to have on the third line they put Minton and Hagens, I do think that Hagen's he should start on the third line. That's the developmental line. They got to give him a sense of what it's like to play. If he exceeds expectations, he will not be on.

36:54 Speaker 1: That line for very long at all.

36:56 Speaker 2: But he has to do the work and to show that he knows an understands. Now this game because very different than any game that he has ever played.

37:04 Speaker 1: You're going to be taking, potentially taking roles or veterans roles will need to change on this team.

37:11 Speaker 2: Or Yeah, the only line that I would argue probably doesn't need to be touched is the Juno kerally castleg line.

37:18 Speaker 1: Okayed, So then where does Matt Potter fit in? Say, Matt Potra shines during training camp. Right during training camp, he's seizing the moment and taking the advantage of the opportunity that he has presented and earning himself a spot on the roster. Somebody has to come out.

37:36 Speaker 2: I think the only center because he don't really play center right.

37:41 Speaker 1: They've had him play wing before though, right or left wing. I don't I remember. Let me look real quick. They do have an answer to your question. He shoots right, so he's probably the right wing. I mean they still haven't signed the kid, so no, I mean that's the other thing, another problem. They still haven't signed him. So he's played center and right wing.

38:01 Speaker 2: Knowing how things work in that if it were a true meritocracy, Lindholm's job would be very much so threatened.

38:08 Speaker 1: But we both know you and I we both that yes, it's likely not going to happen. He's fricked because we would we would go after swinging with pitchforks. So he's like getting paid over seven hundred and fifty million dollars. What are we doing here?

38:26 Speaker 2: Corally could be without a job. It's the same idea with Mason Laurai and was stuck with him mentill twenty thirty one. At least with LORII because of his age and his blatant mistakes. You can sit him for a little while, but you can't actually sit him for too long because of how much money you're paying him.

38:44 Speaker 1: So it's the same thing with Lindholm.

38:45 Speaker 2: Okay, maybe he's not producing, if he's not causing damage, he's got to be in the lineup because he's seven million dollars a year.

38:52 Speaker 1: You can't have someone like that sitting out for very long.

38:55 Speaker 2: So I think if Patra really shines, he would have to be ten times better honestly in that short period of time at the start, in preseason or in camp than Freezer Minton. Minton would have to be really bad and then possibly Corallly.

39:14 Speaker 1: Those are the two centers that I could see see I don't think I again, I don't think Minton's going anywhere unless he has a terrible success slump and needs to be sad. That's a different conversation. We're looking at this from the lens of last season. To me, the guys in this grouping that we're talking about right now, and I'm couching this as which of the guys that are part of the future and the rebuilt And to me, neither middle Stat nor corrally fits in that bucket right now. What you do with them, I don't know, but you can't sit here Dawn and a spouse about the opportunities that are going to be provided to the young guys, because you've got to provide those opportunities at some point in time.

40:04 Speaker 1: You can't keep saying that you're going to do it and not do it. So there has to be there odd in and out, and in my purview, those would be the two. I'm glad it's not me having to make that decision. But this is the bed that Don Sweeney has made for himself. Now he's gonna have to lie in it and figure it out for real. Sophie's choice over here, except right, right right, this will make honestly, folks, if you ever want to pay attention to training camp or preseason, this would be the season to pay attention to training camp in terms of is the organization following through what they said they were going to do or are they continuing to give us slip service because they still want to have a viable NHL team on the ice.

40:53 Speaker 1: Right that will put butts in the seats, and that will give you the I don't want to say, the pretense of competing, but will draw you in because they're competing in the Eastern conference.

41:05 Speaker 2: Yeah, the couple of wild card people who we haven't explicitly talked about because variety reasons, but we saw for part of the season Alex Steves.

41:18 Speaker 1: He also has.

41:20 Speaker 2: The potential for a role in the middle six finisher job. But we also have Lucas Reichel, who played you only played ten games with Boston last year.

41:32 Speaker 1: I think he came in via trade. He's another guy.

41:36 Speaker 2: He's quite a bit fewer than everyone. I wonder if he's going to be able to crack the roster.

41:46 Speaker 1: I don't know. That would be interesting because if for some reason a Matt Potra or Higgins or Minton don't show you the flash that you might be expecting from them. Again, competition is good. We all know what happened one season where there was no competition at Bruins training camp. Right It turned into a shit show. It was an unmitigated shit show. The organization should not and likely will not let that happen again again. I still think that you have to make difficult decisions and say we've got to cut the cord with some of these veterans that we brought in because we do need to see what the growing pains are or are not with some of these young players.

42:33 Speaker 1: Yes, and I know we said this during a prior podcast this summer, but as we were watching the Stanley Cup Finals and saw the Carolina Hurricanes and the biggest Golden Knights going pretty much toe to toe, we all realized that we, as a Boston Bruins team and as a fan base, have still a long way to go. I have still a long way to go to be able to compete with the likes of teams such as that. Yeah, exactly.

43:03 Speaker 2: Any final thoughts on what we're looking at going into this fall.

43:09 Speaker 1: So I still think, maybe I hope that there's still a hockey trade to be made by Don Sweeney to alleviate some of this redundancy that we have both with defensemen and with forwards and get ourselves something viable in return. Yeah. Short of that, I think Mark or Stern did a very good job last season as his first year. Players seemed to have responded to him. Management appears to be committed in allowing him to cook, so to speak. I expect do expect them to be somewhat competitive. We've got an excellent goaltender, We've got David Pasternak.

43:51 Speaker 1: We do have some young talent that I think has a lot more up than down. If they're given the opportunity righte earn their spots, make their mistakes because they're going to make mistakes, and then see where it all lands. All you have to do in the NHL. All you have to do in the NHL is get into the playoffs. Everybody in the world knows that.

44:15 Speaker 2: Yep, it's a new season when they get When you get in the playoffs, it's a whole different game.

44:20 Speaker 1: The field has become leveled.

44:23 Speaker 2: Until next week, make sure you like and subscribe for more content, and be sure to leave a rating and review to help other Bruins fans find us. You can support the podcast by joining our Patreon or following us on our socials at Tape to Tape mk and on substack at Tape to Tape MK dot substack dot com.

44:44 Speaker 1: Final thoughts, Go Bruins, Go Bees

45:00 Speaker 2: S