Official NHL Thread

[Dojji]

I tell ya, Tim Thomas has been one of the best things to happen to the Bruins in a long time. No more revolving door carousel of goalies, and we can use the stability from holding onto Thomas to develop Rask.

 

I know a lot of fans don't like Thomas for one reason or another but it's hard to overlook the fact that the Bruins have improved each year he's been between the pipes. The young offensemen have been fantastic as well.

[TheKilo]

Wouldn't go that far.

[Dojji]

Wouldn't go that far.

 

Why not? Before Thomas showed up and proved what he was goaltender was a continuous running sore for this team. He's not the most talented goalie in team history but he was the right man at the right time.

[rician blast]

IMO, the Bruins still need a big time...and I mean BIG TIME...goalie. Thomas has performed admirably but he is no Brodeur/Lundquist/Luongo. Neither is, or will be, Manny Fernandez.

 

Rask? Not sure, he's still only 21.

[TheKilo]

Why not? Before Thomas showed up and proved what he was goaltender was a continuous running sore for this team. He's not the most talented goalie in team history but he was the right man at the right time.

 

Thomas is a very inconsistent goaltender who takes far too many unnecessary risks, IMO. He also has very poor rebound control.

 

When he's on a good streak, he's fine, but his bad streaks are bad.

[TheKilo]

 

I know a lot of fans don't like Thomas for one reason or another but it's hard to overlook the fact that the Bruins have improved each year he's been between the pipes. The young offensemen have been fantastic as well.

 

Correlation =/= causation

[BoSox21]

Thomas is fine. the problem the Bruins have is defense...well that and spending $4 mil a year on our reject, Michael Ryder. You have no defense beyond Chara.

[Dojji]

Underestimate Wideman much?

[BoSox21]

Wideman sucks. You guys were WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better off with Brad Boyes

[Dojji]

Pretty fun hockey game tonight.

[rician blast]

Wideman sucks. You guys were WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better off with Brad Boyes

 

Wideman is actually playing very well. He is far from sucking.

 

Boyes was given sufficient opportunity to succeed here, he showed flashes, but his level of consistency was weak, and his work ethic was in question...took too many shifts off, played no 'D' in his 06-07 year, as witnessed by his -17 +/- rating.

 

It was a good trade for Boston, Wideman has given this team more than Boyes was giving them. What Boyes does outside of a B's uniform is of minimal importance at this point.

 

The B's could use a D-man like Rafalski who can skate and lug the puck out of their zone. They do stuggle at times on the tansition game.

[rician blast]

Pretty fun hockey game tonight.

 

If you're talking about the Dallas game, damn right.

 

I have no respect for players like Avery or Ott. Stickwork, dirty hits, always chirping, yet when challnged by a fighter they usually back down. In the B's game, they were disgusting and when Ott was being pummeled by Thornton no one on his team cared. In fact as those guys got bounced from the game, you could see the disgust on the Stars faces...I think they don't respect their own players.

 

Avery finally dropped the gloves...against Ference! What a tough guy, eh?

 

B's beat them in every element of the game. Love to see that.

[Dojji]

Cobwebs are starting to form on Manny Fernandez. So much for platoons. Course, I love TT so I don't have a big problem with this.

[BoSox21]

Wideman is actually playing very well. He is far from sucking.

 

Boyes was given sufficient opportunity to succeed here, he showed flashes, but his level of consistency was weak, and his work ethic was in question...took too many shifts off, played no 'D' in his 06-07 year, as witnessed by his -17 +/- rating.

 

It was a good trade for Boston, Wideman has given this team more than Boyes was giving them. What Boyes does outside of a B's uniform is of minimal importance at this point.

 

The B's could use a D-man like Rafalski who can skate and lug the puck out of their zone. They do stuggle at times on the tansition game.

 

Boyes scored 43 goals playing for an awful St. Louis team last year and he's off to a good start this year. Could you imagine what kind of numbers he would've put up playing with Savard? Hell, you guys wouldn't have had to blow $4 mil a year on Ryder and his big 2 goals if Boyes was still there and could've used that cap room to go out and sign or trade for a real puck-moving defenseman like Brian Campbell or Dan Boyle.

[msubulldogs21]

If you're talking about the Dallas game, damn right.

 

I have no respect for players like Avery or Ott. Stickwork, dirty hits, always chirping, yet when challnged by a fighter they usually back down. In the B's game, they were disgusting and when Ott was being pummeled by Thornton no one on his team cared. In fact as those guys got bounced from the game, you could see the disgust on the Stars faces...I think they don't respect their own players.

 

Avery finally dropped the gloves...against Ference! What a tough guy, eh?

 

B's beat them in every element of the game. Love to see that.

 

That was a beat down.

[Dojji]

Boyes scored 43 goals playing for an awful St. Louis team last year and he's off to a good start this year. Could you imagine what kind of numbers he would've put up playing with Savard?

 

I hear this argument every year in some form, in some sport, and it makes just as little sense each time.

 

How many goals? Probably not nearly as many, if only for the simple reason that the puck wouldn't be routed through him as often. Bergeron, Lucic, Kessel, Sturm, Ryder, Savard himself, and when he gets healthy, Kobasew, would all be in line for as many offensive chances as Boyes. A bad team will go to a guy by default because he's the ONLY guy and then you'll see him score a lot of goals simply because of so many greater chances with the puck. We're not a bad team so Boyes doesn't get to do that here.

 

Also, if Boyes doesn't leave and go to St. Louis he possibly doesn't take that step forward at all. When you get a lot more chances it helps your development, this is true in every sport.

 

Frankly, Phil Kessel's development from a speedy "floater" to an aggressive 3 zone player with quick hands and a scorer's touch makes me not miss too many of the offensive players who are gone. Bout the only guy I'd still like back is Joe Thornton.

[BoSox21]

Patrice Bergeron: Still remains to be seen whether he can ever recover from that concussion.

 

Milan Lucic: A budding star, I'll give you that but he's not a pure goal scorer. He's a gritty power forward with 20-25 goal potential.

 

Phil Kessel: This could be his breakout year after questions of his effort level, I'll give you that.

 

Marco Sturm: Has done well in Boston, I'll give you that as well.

 

Michael Ryder: Please.....I had to suffer first hand with this guy for a few years, the book is out on him, he's been figured out and is probably the least talented guy to ever score 30 goals in history.

 

Marc Savard: One of the NHL's top playmakers who would benefit greatly from having one of the NHL's top snipers.

 

Keep in mind that if you still had Boyes, you probably wouldn't have or need a few names on that list, you guys certainly wouldn't have Michael Ryder. There's also a lot of money invested in the afformentioned guys, money that would have been better served to shore up that weak defense

[rician blast]

Boyes scored 43 goals playing for an awful St. Louis team last year and he's off to a good start this year. Could you imagine what kind of numbers he would've put up playing with Savard? Hell' date=' you guys wouldn't have had to blow $4 mil a year on Ryder and his big 2 goals if Boyes was still there and could've used that cap room to go out and sign or trade for a real puck-moving defenseman like Brian Campbell or Dan Boyle.[/quote']

 

 

Like I said, what he does in St Louis has little relevance because while in Boston he had a terrible +/-, and was a no show all too often. That is why he was moved. The b's recognized he had some talent, but also recognized he wasn't giving the organization his best, for whatever reason. You don't keep guys because they might score 40 with someone else.

[Dojji]

Patrice Bergeron: Still remains to be seen whether he can ever recover from that concussion.

 

Milan Lucic: A budding star, I'll give you that but he's not a pure goal scorer. He's a gritty power forward with 20-25 goal potential.

 

Phil Kessel: This could be his breakout year after questions of his effort level, I'll give you that.

 

Marco Sturm: Has done well in Boston, I'll give you that as well.

 

Michael Ryder: Please.....I had to suffer first hand with this guy for a few years, the book is out on him, he's been figured out and is probably the least talented guy to ever score 30 goals in history.

 

Marc Savard: One of the NHL's top playmakers who would benefit greatly from having one of the NHL's top snipers.

 

Keep in mind that if you still had Boyes, you probably wouldn't have or need a few names on that list, you guys certainly wouldn't have Michael Ryder. There's also a lot of money invested in the afformentioned guys, money that would have been better served to shore up that weak defense

 

My point wasn't whether these guys were or were not better than Boyes. My point was that this is a good, balanced, deep offensive hockey club right now and so Boyes would definitely have much less opportunity to thrive here since he isn't The Guy, which means I very much doubt he gets the chances to develop into what he became with St. Louis.

 

Besides, if Boyes was with the club, Blake Wheeler probably wouldn't be since my impression was that keeping hold of him was a last-minute decision. Wheeler's looking like a very talented forward and a great pickup so I'll take him and not worry too much about what might have been with Boyes.

 

Besides, Wideman's doing pretty good, eh?

[BoSox21]

yea, Wideman's doing fine but my point is, if you allow guys like Boyes to leave, you're forced to go out and make stupid signings like Michael Ryder.

 

And as far as Blake Wheeler goes, that guy fell right into your lap, I have no clue how or why Phoenix let him go

[rician blast]

yea, Wideman's doing fine but my point is, if you allow guys like Boyes to leave, you're forced to go out and make stupid signings like Michael Ryder.

 

And as far as Blake Wheeler goes, that guy fell right into your lap, I have no clue how or why Phoenix let him go

 

 

Boyes absence doesn't directly lead to signing Ryder and the B's certainly were not "forced" to sign him. IIRC, Ryder played for Julien in Montreal, so that connection likely influenced him being with the B's. Ryder had 2 consecutive 30 goal season before last year, in which his role changed significantly.

 

The returns so far on Ryder are not spectacular, not for the $ he's being paid. However, that signing has nothing to do with the trade of Boyes, per se. You might argue that it has more to do with Glen Murray falling off the map.

 

BTW, Ryder is a +7 thus far, so while he's not lighting the lamp, he also is not killing the B's with crappy defense and lousy effort.

[TheKilo]

This Bruins team is really a joy to watch...I was brought back in after Game 6 last season and have made a concerted effort to follow them this year.

[BoSox21]

Boyes absence doesn't directly lead to signing Ryder and the B's certainly were not "forced" to sign him. IIRC' date=' Ryder played for Julien in Montreal, so that connection likely influenced him being with the B's. Ryder had 2 consecutive 30 goal season before last year, in which his role changed significantly.[/quote']

 

Don't get it twisted, Ryder signed with Boston cause they were the only team stupid enough to offer him a multi-year deal for $4 mil a year when he finished his Habs career by being a healthy scratch in the playoffs and throwing paper airplanes at fans from his seat in the press box

[TheKilo]

I'm confused, are you saying Ryder is hurting the Bruins right now?

[BoSox21]

im saying the Bruins are gonna come down to earth are youre gonna wish the team spent $4 mil on a defenseman instead

 

Ryder is the Julio Lugo of the Bruins

[Dojji]

Ryder is the Julio Lugo of the Bruins

 

Probably more like the JD Drew.

[TheKilo]

"Gonna come down to Earth"

 

What does this mean? I think they're the 4th best team in the conference right now, behind Buffalo, NYR, and Les Habitants.

 

No one is saying they're anything close to a Stanley Cup caliber team right now - but I do think they're better than last season, a season which saw the Bruins take the Canadiens to seven games.

[rician blast]

im saying the Bruins are gonna come down to earth are youre gonna wish the team spent $4 mil on a defenseman instead

 

Ryder is the Julio Lugo of the Bruins

 

As I recall, at the time of the signing I already questioned whether they could have spent the $4m on someone else, not necessarily a D-man. No B's fan I know was stoked by this signing, so you're not telling us anything we don't know. At the same time, I wasn't appalled by the signing because I thought they paid pretty much market price, though I've not checked, until now, to compare to other FA signings. Let's look at some FA signings and see what the dollar year gets you (I show average annual salary):

 

Mark Streit - Islanders, $4.1m per yr for 5 yrs

Wade Redden- Rangers, $6.5m per yr for 6 years

Michale Roszival- Rangers, $5m per year for 4 yrs

Brian Rolston- Devils, $5m per yr for 4 yrs

Damon Langkow Flames, $4.5 per yr for 4 yrs

Pavol Demitra Vancouver, $4m per yr for 2 yrs

RJ Umberger Blue Jackets, $3.75m per yr for 4 yrs

Ron Hainsy Thrashers, $4.5m per yr for 5 yrs

Pitkanen Hurricanes, $6m per yr, 2 yrs

Sean Avery Stars, $3.75m per yr for 4 yrs

 

One of the keys to the Ryder deal was that it is only a 3 yr deal. I'd say the Bruins paid market for him based upon what we see above. Sean Avery for $3.75m per? Same for Umberger? Makes Ryder look like a steal.

 

I'd be interested to see what you think the B's could have done with that $4m and, if it went to a D-man, which current D-man they'd have dropped and who the additional forward would be.

[Dojji]

Nevermind, it's just trendy to suggest that the team is going to head for the celler every time it thrives for a few games, mostly because any negative performance can be used to validate you and make you right. It's the ultimate meaningless statement in sports analysis.

[Dojji]

I'd be interested to see what you think the B's could have done with that $4m and, if it went to a D-man, which current D-man they'd have dropped and who the additional forward would be.

 

Actually I'll bite. I dunno too much about the market, but I do know that the team traded Andrew Alberts away, so that's the D-man. RIght now we've got Hunwick filling in. And did I hear correctly that Vlad Sobotka is currently in the AHL?

 

As for who we could have signed, no clue, but some pretty good D-men changed hands this offseason.