2022-23 Bruins Season

Dogman

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My goodness. This team is very, very good.

Idiotkicker is right, this is a deep team. I'm hoping Trent is on the 9th floor and Smith stays with Coyle and Zacha while Greer stays on the 4th line.
 

cshea

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Have to sort out the roster move to activate him. Either Studnicka hits waivers or they demote Foligno or Reilly. They still have a few days left of the 30-day window.

Edit: My guess is Reilly goes based on him coming out of the lineup tonight.
 
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BostonFanInCanesLand

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Montgomery confirmed that Marchand wont play in back to backs yet so he’s out against Columbus. They only have 2 more back to backs in the calendar year (Nov 12/13 and Dec 27/28) so that’s a great stretch for Marchand to get back in it.

I have no idea how Sweeney will pare payroll - he has until McAvoy is ready to figure it out. And in the meantime Montgomery can try different combos in the bottom six (and on D too) to figure out who meshes best, and which combos can effectively execute his style of play.

I can’t see Reilly languishing in Providence or Smith staying parked on the 4th line. They seem like trade candidates (or at least a little more likely to be traded than Foligno). But who knows?

The fast start coupled with Grz and Marchy returning early and Ullmark on top of his game makes this all really fun.
 

cshea

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So Zacha to center I'd assume?
That's what Monty said but they also need a LW with Marchand out and Zacha's played a lot with Bergy and DeBrusk. I'm not sure if that's on the table too. They need to call someone up from Providence either way. They had two spare forwards last night (Studnicka and Greer). Studnicka was traded and they essentially lost 2 players from last night's lineup with Krejci's injury and Marchand's planned day off. So they're a forward short. Given Lauko has been with the team, I would think he's coming back.

Greer - Bergeron - DeBrusk
Hall - Zacha - Pastrnak
Frederic - Coyle - Smith
Foligno - Nosek - Lauko?
 

cshea

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An interesting take came up on the Hockey PDOCast last week. Essentially, the discussion topic was about how the Bruins have used internal ceilings in the past to get playeers to sign below market deals and would that apply to Pasta. Essentially for the past 10+ years the Bruins enter negotiations and say "we can't pay you more than Chara or Bergeron" and all the players are like "ok, that's right, where do I sign?"

So, I wonder if this is where the gap is. I bet the Bruins are pointing to McAvoy's $9.5 million and saying they don't want to go much above that. Pasta's market value is probably closer/above $13 million (and frankly McAvoy's probably is too), especially if the cap goes up the $4 million Bettman is talking about.

I think in the end they'll give him what he wants but it'll be a process to get there.
 

joe dokes

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An interesting take came up on the Hockey PDOCast last week. Essentially, the discussion topic was about how the Bruins have used internal ceilings in the past to get playeers to sign below market deals and would that apply to Pasta. Essentially for the past 10+ years the Bruins enter negotiations and say "we can't pay you more than Chara or Bergeron" and all the players are like "ok, that's right, where do I sign?"

So, I wonder if this is where the gap is. I bet the Bruins are pointing to McAvoy's $9.5 million and saying they don't want to go much above that. Pasta's market value is probably closer/above $13 million (and frankly McAvoy's probably is too), especially if the cap goes up the $4 million Bettman is talking about.

I think in the end they'll give him what he wants but it'll be a process to get there.
That is interesting. Obviously speculating, but I suspect the Bergeron/Chara "ceilings" had more force with other players than would a McAvoy "ceiling." So I think your conclusion is right. He'll get more than McAvoy. But it might take some time.
 

Cotillion

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Huh… from watching it live I don’t remember thinking “super dirty” “intentionally swung at him” or anything to make it stand out among the high sticks you see in games a fair amount… guess I need to go back and watch it again or is this just the weird DPS someone is injured wheel of Justice?
 

LogansDad

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I actually thought the slash down was really bad, even though it isn't what injured him. It was like a 2 handed axe chop on the top/back of Krejci's head. I'm glad the league picked up on it.
 

BostonFanInCanesLand

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Still early days but this is promising and matches the impression I get when watching them play this year.


The Bruins have been a below average team in offensive shot quality for over a decade. They currently take the third highest quality shots in the NHL.
 

durandal1707

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Still early days but this is promising and matches the impression I get when watching them play this year.
The early returns on Montgomery's philosophy look very promising. They're currently 7th in expected goals percentage, with some highly suspect teams ahead of them there. (Looking at New Jersey's league-leading 69.2% xGF in particular...) But they're doing it with a modest 52.8% Corsi. And it's not just expected goals, they're actually finding the back of the net with a 10.3% shooting percentage.

We'll see if they can keep that up (I'm a bit skeptical) but so far, so good.
 

cshea

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Yeah, it's been quality over quantity. Shot attempts and shots are down, but scoring chances and high danger chances are up. They are getting almost 3 more high danger chances per 60 this season than last. The interesting piece to me is they've yet to sacrifice much defensively. They give up 2.24 xGA/60 which is 5th. Last season they led the leage with 2.01 xGA/60. The xGF/60 has gone from 2.66 last season to 2.95 this season. If these trends continue then they will be one hell of a team. The next two weeks will tell us more. After CBJ tonight they have @PIT, @NYR, @TOR, STL, CGY as the next 5. All bonafide playoff or SC contenders.

This is also the most complete the roster has ever been. Since the all-in Iginla year they were constantly looking for a top-6 forward. First it was someone to play with Marchand and Bergeron. Pasta arrived. Then they couldn't find wingers for Krejci. DeBrusk filled that well for a year or so until falling off but even when he was going good they never had a reasonable RW to put there. That was finally put to rest when they acquired Taylor Hall. Unfortuantely they only got about 25 games out of it until the season was over and Krejci decided to leave. This year they're back to Hall + Krejci and also have a resurgent DeBrusk in the fold.
 

NickEsasky

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It's kind of disturbing to see the same group of guys flourish offensively like this. Kind of makes you wonder what we've been missing out on all these years.
I agree, but Butch also has LVGK playing well too so I don't know what to think.
 

FL4WL3SS

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I agree, but Butch also has LVGK playing well too so I don't know what to think.
He's a great coach. I just think we've always known the offensive potential of the guys on the team was better than what we were getting.

It's hard to distill though because they obviously have all that history of what they learned under Julian and Butch to pull from.

Either way, it's a lot of fun to watch.
 

BostonFanInCanesLand

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Zacha gets at least a 3 game run at 2C (Krejci on IR for at least 7 days).

Reilly called up so back to 8 D (Takes Studnicka’s roster spot).

Krejci to IR, Lauko recalled. 12 available Fs against Columbus then Marchand returns to the lineup and 1 of Frederic, Greer or Lauko likely sits.
 

lexrageorge

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Losing Krejci for what could be multiple weeks (worries about a wrist injury) seems less than ideal.
 

Bergs

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It's kind of disturbing to see the same group of guys flourish offensively like this. Kind of makes you wonder what we've been missing out on all these years.
I've been wondering that ever since it became apparent DeBrusk didn't actually suck, but that he was jerked around by Cassidy.
 

The Mort Report

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Seeing how the D is jumping in more, I do think Reilly is likely the odd man out via trade to offset Charlie. So assuming (big IF) health and that’s the route they go, how much more salary, if any, do they have to send out?
 

j44thor

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Yeah, it's been quality over quantity. Shot attempts and shots are down, but scoring chances and high danger chances are up. They are getting almost 3 more high danger chances per 60 this season than last. The interesting piece to me is they've yet to sacrifice much defensively. They give up 2.24 xGA/60 which is 5th. Last season they led the leage with 2.01 xGA/60. The xGF/60 has gone from 2.66 last season to 2.95 this season. If these trends continue then they will be one hell of a team. The next two weeks will tell us more. After CBJ tonight they have @PIT, @NYR, @TOR, STL, CGY as the next 5. All bonafide playoff or SC contenders.

This is also the most complete the roster has ever been. Since the all-in Iginla year they were constantly looking for a top-6 forward. First it was someone to play with Marchand and Bergeron. Pasta arrived. Then they couldn't find wingers for Krejci. DeBrusk filled that well for a year or so until falling off but even when he was going good they never had a reasonable RW to put there. That was finally put to rest when they acquired Taylor Hall. Unfortuantely they only got about 25 games out of it until the season was over and Krejci decided to leave. This year they're back to Hall + Krejci and also have a resurgent DeBrusk in the fold.
Not to take anything away from Monty because he has obviously been a great fit but it is worth noting that the B's effectively have Bergeron and Krej playing for about 1/5 of what they would get on the open market. The fact they both took well below market deals to allow the FO to keep the roster in tact and add pieces like Zacha is a big part of the reason they look as good as they do. Of course giving Krej linemates like Pasta and Hall is the reason he is back on the cheap so credit to Monty and the FO for doing what Butchy never did.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Not to take anything away from Monty because he has obviously been a great fit but it is worth noting that the B's effectively have Bergeron and Krej playing for about 1/5 of what they would get on the open market. The fact they both took well below market deals to allow the FO to keep the roster in tact and add pieces like Zacha is a big part of the reason they look as good as they do. Of course giving Krej linemates like Pasta and Hall is the reason he is back on the cheap so credit to Monty and the FO for doing what Butchy never did.
The Brady Effect (to the bolded)?
 

Eddie Jurak

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An interesting take came up on the Hockey PDOCast last week. Essentially, the discussion topic was about how the Bruins have used internal ceilings in the past to get playeers to sign below market deals and would that apply to Pasta. Essentially for the past 10+ years the Bruins enter negotiations and say "we can't pay you more than Chara or Bergeron" and all the players are like "ok, that's right, where do I sign?"

So, I wonder if this is where the gap is. I bet the Bruins are pointing to McAvoy's $9.5 million and saying they don't want to go much above that. Pasta's market value is probably closer/above $13 million (and frankly McAvoy's probably is too), especially if the cap goes up the $4 million Bettman is talking about.

I think in the end they'll give him what he wants but it'll be a process to get there.
That is interesting. Obviously speculating, but I suspect the Bergeron/Chara "ceilings" had more force with other players than would a McAvoy "ceiling." So I think your conclusion is right. He'll get more than McAvoy. But it might take some time.
"Internal ceilings" will have no impact whatsoever on Pastrnak. I think those are a long-time holdover from the days when hockey free agency wasn't real and the Bruins' best player was Ray Bourque.

I mean, if I'm Pastrnak's agent I say:

1. I understand your unwillingness to pay anyone else more than your best player is making, but your best player is David Pastrnak now, so pay up.
2. That being said, if you are still dead set on paying no one more than McAvoy, we will respect that... and get ours in FA. It's been nice working with you for the past 8 years.

There may be potential to get him to take a bit of a discount in order that the team can have more money to spend to build a team around him. But even that will be limited.
 

BostonFanInCanesLand

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Krejci is day-to-day per Monty. They’ll know more tomorrow after some imaging.

They also didn’t end up placing him on IR.

View: https://twitter.com/nhlbruins/status/1586115337413881857?s=46&t=9Xrb5Optf7P_pgxccWFd_A
Still haven’t seen any updates on Krejci. B’s have the weekend off so we probably won’t hear anything before tomorrow.

Beat reporters (and AHL transactions) originally reported and then retracted Krejci to IR. So that meant that Reilly remained assigned to Providence (but as a paper transfer I think).

If CapFriendly and AHL transactions are to be believed, Lauko has been sent back to Providence, leaving the Bruins with 22 on the roster (13 F including Krejci, 7 D, 2 G).
 

cshea

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McAvoy was a full participant at practice today. Based on Grzelyck and Marchand, that probably puts him roughly 10-14 days away from being able to play in a game.

Krejci did not practice but did skate prior to practice, as did Reilly. I suspect Reilly couldn't skate with the main group because he's not on the roster.
 

j44thor

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What cap magic needs to happen to get McAvoy off LTIR? Do they need to clear the full 9.5?
 

burstnbloom

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What cap magic needs to happen to get McAvoy off LTIR? Do they need to clear the full 9.5?
approx another $1.4 mil with Wagner and Reilly assigned to providence - trading Reilly outright would get them there. If not they'd need to move another guy.
 

cshea

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Yeah, it's like $3-4 million. If they leave Reilly burried iit's roughly $2 more million to go.

I think Reilly probably gets traded. I'm sure they are a little skittish given Carlo's injury concerns, but when they are healthy that's 9 D and they can't carry them. Maybe they bury Reilly and then trim along the edges but I don't think that's viable. It'd probably take burying another veteran and I can't see Reilly and Foligno being happy campers down in Providence.

The only other reasonable trade candidate is Smith. He's been healthy scratched twice and appears headed to another one tomorrow. It's usually pretty easy to trade wingers and the Bruins have depth. The only real issue here is it doesn't make a ton of sense from a roster construction standpoint because they'd still be left with the 9 D dilema. I guess an option is they could trade Smith and bury Reilly until injury strikes.
 

Murby

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I’d personally rather trade Smith than Reilly given both Carlo & Gryzlek’s checkered injury history.

Only catch is I know Reilly was pretty bummed after he sat when they acquired Lindholm and when they him on waivers earlier in the year…I wouldn’t want that turning ugly then you really have a problem.
 

BostonFanInCanesLand

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Let the wild rumpus (trade speculation) begin!

According to NHL media site, David Krejci is on IR. Depending on date they're placing him on (can be retroactive), he would be out for seven days. The Bruins can use that roster spot.
Lauko practiced with the team today. If he’s been recalled that makes 14F/7D/2G (Including Krejci).

And the nhl.com roster does have a *IR next to Krejci. But it could be incorrect. If Krejci is on IR and they’re not recalling Reilly, that does leave a spot for McAvoy (provided they make room under the salary cap).

Or, David K is still on the active roster and may be back for Toronto. Who knows.