Quiet Offseason Best Option for Bruins

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has caught a lot of flak from B’s fans this summer for what has amounted to an uneventful offseason since being soundly beaten by the Canadiens in the second round. Arguments have been tossed around that he his too loyal to his “core” guys and that a few bad contracts are hurting the B’s cap situation. While there may be some validity to these arguments, in truth Chiarelli has done a masterful job in piecing together an elite roster.

As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Just because the Bruins got bounced in the second round by their kryptonite Montreal doesn’t mean that they have something fundamentally wrong with their line-up. This is a team that finished first in the regular season and made a solid playoff push despite starting four rookie defensemen.

Some of the trade proposals thrown out on the twittersphere are not only ridiculous but so highly unlikely it’s not worth much of a discussion. Names like Evander Kane, Patrick Marleau, and Daniel Alfredsson are being thrown around as possible solutions to play that top winger spot on the first line. Truthfully, with the Bruins tight against the cap and so many young stars knocking on the door, this will likely be a quiet offseason. And that’s okay.

Fantasy Football Experts Disagree on How to Rank Wide Receivers Alphabetically

The Fantasy Football Federation held a Summit on Tuesday evening, calling in experts from around the country to try and consolidate a master ranking list of wide receivers for the 2014-2015 season. Held in Philadelphia, the Summit featured experts ranging from ESPN.com writers to Fox Sports analysts. They were asked to rank wide receivers alphabetically, but after an eight and a half hour conference they were unable to produce a list that they all agreed on.
 
Each year, sports websites and fantasy blogs produce list after list of rankings and projections for players around the league and these lists often vary. In an attempt to rank NFL wide receivers in alphabetical order, the experts not only couldn’t agree but they almost came to blows.
 

Arbella Employee Give Back: Nativity Prep

 

Since my first day on the job, I have heard from everyone how generous Arbella is and how much the Arbella Charity Foundation does for their employees and their community. It didn’t take long for me to see that firsthand. When I saw the posting for the Employee Giving Program, I knew it was a great opportunity and I jumped on the chance. When I won, I wanted to give the money to a place that had a great mission and was doing good things every day. For me, that choice was easy: Nativity Prep.

Located in downtown New Bedford, MA, Nativity Preparatory School is a small, independent school for boys in low-income families to have a chance to get a great education both inside the classroom and out. The school is funded privately by local sponsors who support the school’s mission.

I first heard about this school through my college roommate, Richie Manzi, who completed his degree in Education Studies at Saint Anselm College in 2013. Instead of joining the ranks of young teachers in public schools, he chose to do what is essentially two years of voluntary service in a tough city. He works with seven other teachers and a principal, who are all young college grads, to teach these young men not only how to do well in school but important life skills as well.

Report: Bruins and Sharks Discussing Marchand/Marleau Trade

 

With the salary cap going up, major talent hitting Free Agency, and super star players demanding a trade, this off-season promises to be an interesting one. With rumors recently coming up, it seems as though Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli is already discussing major moves for the Black and Gold.

According to Jimmy Murphy of XNSPorts, the Bruins and Sharks have discussed a possible trade involving pesky winger Brad Marchand and veteran scorer Patrick Marleau. He said no details regarding the specifics of the trade have been talked about yet, but that this is definitely something worth monitoring.

It's no secret that the Bruins have some issues to address this off-season, one of them being to get some speed and scoring up front. Marleau certainly answers those questions. The team will also likely have some cap issues when it comes to resigning their players, so it seems a shake-up is necessary. However, as talented as he is, is taking on an aging veteran with a big cap hit the answer? Let's take a look.

The Pros

If you ask me, Marleau is one of the most underrated players in the league. His name is rarely brought up in discussions of best players in the league, but every year his numbers have consistently been among league leaders. He's scored 30+ goals in 7 of the last 8 full seasons with a goal-high of 44 and point-high of 86. He loves to shoot the puck and he's good for at least ten powerplay goals a season.

Bruins 4th Line Among Priorities this Offseason

One of the pride points for the Boston Bruins over the last several years has been the depth of their offense and their ability to roll four lines every night. The effectiveness of their fourth line, fondly nicknamed the “Merlot” line, has been a thorn in the side of just about every time they play.

For about three years now, the line consisting of Gregory Campbell, Dan Paille, and Shawn Thornton has earned their ice time by playing simple hockey: getting the puck deep, playing physical, and creating offensive zone face-offs. Simply put, these guys are “heart and soul” types, blue collar everymen who put their bodies on the line for the teammates and have a blast doing it.

However, as effective as they have been at times, what we saw from them in the 2014 playoffs was something completely different. They were practically invisible in both series, but this was truly remarkable in the Canadiens series. The Merlot line likes to play a crash and bang style of hockey but they were outmatched by their faster, more talented opponents.

Part of what makes them so effective during the regular season is their ability to beat on their opponents and back it up by dropping the gloves. They play to annoy, frustrate, and create doubt in the minds of their opponents by tip-toeing one the edge.

But in the playoffs, the refs call a tighter game and obviously there isn’t any fighting. On top of that, the line combined for a grand total of 1 goal and 1 assist. So if they aren’t fighting and aren’t scoring, what are they really contributing?

This is not to bash “Soupy,” “Thorty” and “Paillsy.” They’re effective players and were a huge part of the 2011 Stanley Cup team as well as the deep run in 2013. Boston will never forget Campbell’s famous shift in which he blocked Evgeni Malkin’s slapshot that snapped his femur but didn’t stop skating. Thornton’s rough and tumble antics made him a fan favorite since day one of his tenure in the Hub of Hockey. And Paille is a smart, fast player with occasional flashes of offensive prowess.

However, as the old saying goes, “Adapt or Die.” The league is changing and the role of the enforcer is becoming less and less prominent in today’s NHL roster. It might not be long before guys like Thornton, George Parros, Matt Cooke, and even John Scott (shudder) are a thing of the past.

With head injuries coming more to the forefront over the past few years, we’ve seen the NHL begin to take exception to these kinds of players. It’s a slow process, but that is the direction the league is heading. On top of that, we just saw how a speedy, skilled fourth line is much better suited for the playoffs than it would have been even five years ago. It worked so well for the Canadiens, but the Black Hawks, Kings, and Blues are built this way too.

Earlier this offseason, GM Peter Chiarelli already indicated that he wasn’t sure whether or not he was bringing Thornton back this summer. He acknowledged the changing role of the enforcer and indicated in a not-so-subtle way that the team would be heading in a different direction.

The Outlook

So what options to the Bruins have? There are a lot of guys in the league suited for this type of role. However, I’d like to see them look in house first because the Bruins have a wealth of talent down in Providence and it’s time we see some of them contribute at the NHL level.

Justin Florek got a few looks on the Bruins third and fourth line and he looked good at times. He’s a big boy, strong on the puck and plays well positionally. He reminds me a bit of our old friend Benoit Pouliot. We even saw the best we’ve seen from Jordan Caron in his short career, just when I was ready to finally call it quits on him. He was scoring, finishing checks, and skating hard when he got his chances. And then there’s Matt Fraser, and who doesn’t love what he brings to the table?

How about the fresh faces we haven’t seen yet? Maybe we replace Thornton’s brutish style of play with the speed and skill of Alex Khokhlachev, the young Russian forward who just seems to spark offense at every level. Or perhaps we look at Jared Knight, the strong righty with a wicked shot and tenacity to his game.


Personally, if I was Peter Chiarelli the guy I would have at the top of my whiteboard is Anthony Camara. The third round pick from 2011, he brings a physical presence, scoring ability, and some of those “honeybadger” qualities that we love in Marchand. He’s a favorite of guys like Chiarelli and Cam Neely and was one of the final cuts last year.

I’ve gone to the Development Camp in Wilmington the last few years and I really like what I’ve seen from Camara. At 6’0″, 192 pounds he’s not physically intimidating but this is a strong boy who loves to play the body. He’s one of those guys who just plays 110% every shift and you can see in his eyes how badly he wants to win. This is the guy I want on my team.

Either way, this is one of the tough decisions that Chiarelli must make this summer. As much as I love Thornton and what he’s brought to the team, I think it’s time the Bruins part ways with him. The B’s need to get faster and bring some fluidity to the game and I think this would be the first step in the right direction.

Bruins Seeking Answers after Early Playoff Exit

Is the President's Trophy cursed? No, that would be ridiculous. But maybe...

It's been pretty well documented that teams that dominate during the regular season and win the President's Trophy for first place finish in the league seemed to be doomed in the playoffs. Year after year, these teams tend to lose in the first or second round and all their high hopes and expectations wither away. There are several factors that go into this; maybe being the top dog means that all other teams bring their "A" game to them, or possibly after their high level of play for the first 82 games, they just don't have enough left in the tank for a long playoff run.

Curse or not, the President's Trophy winner went home early again this year as the Bruins lost to the Canadiens in Game 7 in their own barn in front of a packed TD Garden crowd. I'm not going to get into the game itself, but let's just say it was a major disappoint not only that they lost but that they showed an abysmal lack of effort and intensity.

Instead, let's take a look at some of the pressing roster questions this offseason and what changes could be coming to the Black and Gold.

Bruins have no answer for Canadiens, fall 4-0 in Game 6

Well, now we know how other teams felt all season long when they played the Bruins. From start to finish, Boston has dominated teams in every facet of the game during the whole regular season. We had better goaltending, could score goals, played physical, and played smart. However, last night was a different story. The Canadiens instead trumped the Bruins 4-0 and forced a Game 7 back in Boston on Wednesday night.

The first period was barely underway when a bad Kevan Miller turnover in the defensive zone left Lars Eller alone in front of Rask, who tucked it in backhand to put the Canadiens up 1-0 just 2:11 into the game. The play electrified the crowd and sucked the life out of the Bruins.

The Bruins got the first powerplay of the game but were unable to piece together some quality scoring chances amidst some brilliant penalty killing by the Habs. The Carl Soderberg line continued to create chances when the big Swede overpowered the Canadiens' defenseman and got an off man rush, but Loui Eriksson rang the crossbar. There were a few more scoring opportunities for the Bruins early in the first, but they were unable to capitalize against Carey Price.