Let’s Talk Pasta

[Shaky Walton]

And not the kind with lots of carbs.

Does David Pastrnak get the love and attention he deserves? Who knows…it’s impossible to quantify. But I get the sense that he’s on the lower end of the spectrum of Boston players who have accomplished as much as he has in his career thus far and who is as incredible all around as he is.

Am I wrong? Maybe it’s a faulty impression and he is in fact fully appreciated. That he’s thrived as much as he has with Bergy and Krejci gone this year is remarkable.

Putting that aside, who is the best comp for him? The player he reminds me the most of is Mike Bossy. I don’t remember a bigger sniper in a Boston uniform than Pasta and so many times he looks like Bossy with his laser shot goals.

There’s a lot more to talk about than his attention level and who his best comp is.

But mine is only to start this conversation…any and all other observations are welcomed.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Michael Felger rips on Pasta for four hours every day which I suspect keeps some of the love and attention he deserves away from him.

Pasta is one guy I was convinced that Bruins management would let walk like Seguin et al and to my immense surprise and pleasure they did not. Bossy is a good comp for him, Malkin might be another. He is a pure sniper and a pleasure to watch.

 

[tims4wins]

We are so lucky to have him (and Tatum). Two young, humble, incredibly talented stars.

 

[Foxy42]

Pasta resonates with youth players in the area more than I’ve seen any Bruin in a long time. Having a player with flair and personality to match top end skills is rare. McDavid is obviously on a plain of his own skill wise, but his personality of ice is nonexistent.

 

[joe dokes]

Michael Felger rips on Pasta for four hours every day which I suspect keeps some of the love and attention he deserves away from him.

Pasta is one guy I was convinced that Bruins management would let walk like Seguin et al and to my immense surprise and pleasure they did not. Bossy is a good comp for him, Malkin might be another. He is a pure sniper and a pleasure to watch.

Pasta is a bit bigger than Bossy and is considerably more physical. Pasta is built more like Jarri Kurri.
I doubt I'll ever see someone whose shot was as accurate as Bossy's. The net could have been half the size and the goalie twice as large, and Bossy would have found a gap. On that score, Bossy is in a class by himself, IMO.

Your Felger point is part of a larger issue. I wonder if *anyone* going forward will get the near-universal praise that Bergeron got, given that the most visible information sources literally pay people to take the opposite side of any point made by someone else.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

He has an outside chance at being a 50g/60a guy. It has happened (as best as I can tell ) 9 times since 95 (a few by guys named Sakic, Lemieux, and Jagr, then McDavid and Draisaitl last year)

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Pasta is a bit bigger than Bossy and is considerably more physical. Pasta is built more like Jarri Kurri.
I doubt I'll ever see someone whose shot was as accurate as Bossy's. The net could have been half the size and the goalie twice as large, and Bossy would have found a gap. On that score, Bossy is in a class by himself, IMO.

Your Felger point is part of a larger issue. I wonder if *anyone* going forward will get the near-universal praise that Bergeron got, given that the most visible information sources literally pay people to take the opposite side of any point made by someone else.

It's a different discussion but I truly believe Michael Felger has tangibly harmed the success of the local sports teams in his time on the air.

Pasta doesn't yet have a Cup which "hurts" him, as if it's all his fault. He has 79 points in 77 career playoff games, a slightly worse rate than his regular season stats but naturally it's against better opponents so really that's not a criticism. But until they win a Cup or he has a ridiculous playoff run, I doubt he'll get the type of praise afforded to Bergeron over the years.

 

[Salem's Lot]

Pasta is a bit bigger than Bossy and is considerably more physical. Pasta is built more like Jarri Kurri.
I doubt I'll ever see someone whose shot was as accurate as Bossy's. The net could have been half the size and the goalie twice as large, and Bossy would have found a gap. On that score, Bossy is in a class by himself, IMO.

Your Felger point is part of a larger issue. I wonder if *anyone* going forward will get the near-universal praise that Bergeron got, given that the most visible information sources literally pay people to take the opposite side of any point made by someone else.

Pastrnak is probably going to be in this market longer than Felger anyway, so it might be a moot point. Terrestrial radio is a dying industry, and his cash cow (trolling Patriots fans) isn’t going to keep people interested during a long rebuild. I give it two years before he’s gone.

Pastrnak on the other hand will have his number in the rafters one day.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

Pasta resonates with youth players in the area more than I’ve seen any Bruin in a long time. Having a player with flair and personality to match top end skills is rare. McDavid is obviously on a plain of his own skill wise, but his personality of ice is nonexistent.

Both of my kids have Pastrnak jerseys and my son wears 88 with his club team (I told him not to...he's quite good but not a sniper. He couldn't be dissuaded) and I'm frankly stunned it was available.

 

[TFP]

Pasta resonates with youth players in the area more than I’ve seen any Bruin in a long time.

As someone with friends who have 10 year old hockey players (boys and girls) - this is very true. The kids absolutely love him.

I think he's incredibly underrated by Boston fans who see him night in/night out and get kinda numb to how special he is (myself included). Add in that his mistakes/bad plays stand out like a sore thumb and I get why. But man it's really hard to produce as much as he does, especially this year when he's literally carrying the team production wise. He's doubled up the points of everyone on the team except Marchand and Coyle, and he's close to doing it to Coyle.

 

[NickEsasky]

As someone with friends who have 10 year old hockey players (boys and girls) - this is very true. The kids absolutely love him.

In the Instagram TikTok era, I have to imagine this has as much to do with his style (sunglasses, suits, hats, etc) as his production on the ice. Pasta just seems cool and that is definitely going to resonate with a younger generation. Hell, I'm 45 and I think he's cool as shit.

 

[locknload]

Pasta resonates with youth players in the area more than I’ve seen any Bruin in a long time. Having a player with flair and personality to match top end skills is rare. McDavid is obviously on a plain of his own skill wise, but his personality of ice is nonexistent.

This. The amount of kids out of New England who will go on to have wicked one timers because they spend hundreds of hours practicing it in the driveway because of watching Pasta is going to be something. I had to get a pass-back for my mite specifically for this. As a hockey coach its a (good) challenge to try and get the little ones not to attempt in games. Well that and Michigans but thats another story.

 

[tonyandpals]

Michael Felger rips on Pasta for four hours every day which I suspect keeps some of the love and attention he deserves away from him.

Pasta is one guy I was convinced that Bruins management would let walk like Seguin et al and to my immense surprise and pleasure they did not. Bossy is a good comp for him, Malkin might be another. He is a pure sniper and a pleasure to watch.

I heard rumblings (random item in FB feed) about Felger's take and wouldn't justify it with a click. Sports (local at least) radio is just a cesspool and I'm so glad I went cold turkey on 10/17/2003.

Daughter rocks an 88 on the regular to school. We have a box of Pasta's pasta that I kept and just keep dumping the store brand stuff in, just to keep the box around.

 

[Foxy42]

My son and three of his peewee buddies got mullets pre their state tourney games at the same barber shop Pasta goes to. They were loving life that morning, future photo shaming be damned.

 

[bsl394]

I'll admit that I was initially skeptical of Pasta's ability to be a playmaker - I worried that he was a pure goal scorer like Ovi. Could he drive offense on a line instead of just finishing? This season proved me wrong.

My one complaint about Pasta is the giveaways / blind passes that he's prone to. But I'll take those any day of the week in exchange for his offensive production. I also think it's an easy thing to fix.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Let's not ignore that Pasta has never been seen as the leader of the team like Tatum. He has been overshadowed by Bergy and now Marchand. He'll get there eventually, but until he takes over a playoff series, he won't get the recognition he deserves.

 

[moretsyndrome]

I'll admit that I was initially skeptical of Pasta's ability to be a playmaker - I worried that he was a pure goal scorer like Ovi. Could he drive offense on a line instead of just finishing? This season proved me wrong.

My one complaint about Pasta is the giveaways / blind passes that he's prone to. But I'll take those any day of the week in exchange for his offensive production. I also think it's an easy thing to fix.

It's hard to say what caused what, but it does seem like Pasta has responded to the obvious need for playmaking after the retirements of Bergeron & Krejci. He still seems like a kid, but he's a vet now and it's impressive to see him make this kind of mid-career adjustment so successfully.

 

[burstnbloom]

Good Thread.

I think Pasta will go down as an all time bruins great but I do think there is a large part of the fanbase/city that isn't enjoying it while it's happening. He's the best goal scorer this team has had since Esposito. That was over 40 years ago.

He will finish this year with ~ 350 goals and ~ 718 points. He turns 28 in May. Today he sits at 7th in franchise history in goals. At the rate he's scoring the last 5 seasons (assuming health), if you assume he plays 75 games a year, he will finish his contract with 675 Goals and 1374 points. That would put him second to Bourque in franchise history and he will have just turned 35 years old. He would only need another 125 points to surpass Bourque as the highest scoring Bruin ever. Those numbers put him in the Teemu Selanne, Luc Robitaille, Stevie Y level for goal scoring and Kurri, Robitaille, Brett Hull area for points. He will likely have 3+ more effective seasons left after that. He would need to get to 1590 to be in the top 10 scorer of ALL TIME.

This dude is greatness. I hope everyone appreciates it while he's in his amazing prime.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Pasta is one guy I was convinced that Bruins management would let walk like Seguin et al and to my immense surprise and pleasure they did not. Bossy is a good comp for him, Malkin might be another. He is a pure sniper and a pleasure to watch.

As of right now, Pasta is only 2 career goals behind Seguin. He may catch him before this season ends.

 

[luckysox]

I came back to watching Bruins hockey three years ago. I had always watched them in the playoffs, but I hadn't watched over the course of a season since I was a kid watching them on WSBK on my folks' little black and white bedroom television. I'm so glad there is a way to watch them out of market on a nightly basis now because watching Pasta brings me JOY - legitimate heart-lightening joy. Watching his positive attitude, his easy smile, his never-ending flair, and of course the ridiculous talent - I swear to Goddess that it adds time onto my life expectancy. Watching him play hockey is the antidote to life's every-day stressors and anxieties. For me, the only other athelete who has really done that for me as an adult human was Big Papi.