Tag Archives: Tyler Seguin

Boston Bruins News – Loui Eriksson & The Next 5 Games

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John Scott hits Loui ErikssonBefore we get to this cheap shot, the worst I have seen since the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard, let’s talk about this nice run the Boston Bruins have been on. In this most recent 5 game stretch the Bruins played well enough to win in most of the games, rounding out with a 4-1 record, including three division road wins. The goal tending for the Bruins has been terrific and the Bruins have slowly started to score goals, including Jerome Iginla, finally. I think that Jerome Iginla’s lack of scoring touch this season has been overblown. He has done a great job of setting up his teammates and working hard all season. It is great to see him finally get rewarded with some goals recently.

The two most concerning games the Bruins played were against Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers, a 3-2 win and the one game they dropped to the Devils 4-3. You could even throw in the game they won against the San Jose Sharks 2-1. The Boston Bruins came out of the gates flying, especially against Florida and New Jersey, jumping out to 2-0 and 3-1 leads after the first period. Sometime during the first intermission, Bruins decided that a two goal lead was enough to shut it down for the night and put it in cruise control. They then went on to blow the leads, a tie in the case of Florida, and blow the lead completely against an inept New Jersey team. Now, I realize that these are games in October and in the grand scheme of things that doesn’t mean a lot. That being said, it is hard to believe that it is acceptable for Coach Claude Julian or for the fans to watch a team float around for 2 periods. You won’t hear me say a peep about floating late in the 3rd period up by 2 goals but to do so in the 2nd is unacceptable and needs to get cleaned up.

At the end of the day, the Bruins went 4-1 over a 5 game span and picked up great road division wins. We were even lucky enough to get a crazy game winning goal by David Krejci allowing the Boston Bruins to win a game they had no business winning against the San Jose Sharks.

However, all of that effort feels like it was diminished by what John Scott did to Loui Eriksson up in Buffalo. In one of the most despicable, cowardly acts I have seen, John Scott targeted Loui Eriksson for reasons unknown and has put him out of commission for the foreseeable future. The fact that Scott targeted one of the games nice guys only makes him and the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff look horrible. John Scott Attacks Phil KesselMy question is, why was Scott on the ice during the last half of the 3rd period? This is a man who has 1 career goal and 5 career points. He certainly was not on the ice to try and help Buffalo chip away at a two goal Boston lead halfway through the third period. He even said himself that he is not a goal scorer and that is not his role on the team. Well, what is is role? To attack and intimidate skill players like when John Scott attacked Phil Kessel in the preseason (see above .gif)? This guy should be out of the league altogether and I appreciate that Brandon Shanahan suspended Scott indefinitely, but somehow it still doesn’t justify his disgusting act. We can all only pray for a speedy recovery (or a full recovery at all) for Loui Eriksson.

Who’s Next?

A couple of big games I am looking forward to is a match up on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins this Wednesday followed by a game in Boston against the Anaheim Ducks, a game that will be attended by Yours Truly. But the big game that all of us Bruins Believers, including myself, that we circled back on July 4th is upon us. Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars will be coming down up to Boston on Tuesday, November 5th. That game follows what is sure to be a fun game to watch against the young upstart New York Islanders. After the Showdown with Seguin, the Bruins will wrap up the week against division opponents in Boston, the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. I am sure all of the folks in Toronto have been waiting to get their hands on the Bruins after what happened in the playoffs back in April.  It will be a lot of fun as most of Boston shifts it’s focus away from baseball and back squarely on the Bruins.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @BruinsBeliever for all of my in-game thoughts and don’t forget to tweet at me if you also plan on going to the game against Anaheim. Let’s go Bs!

Boston Bruins Training Camp Report

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Training Camp 2013

This past Sunday, I was able to attend both session of Boston Bruins Training Camp at the TD Garden. Which, I have to admit, is just not the same as it was going to Wilmington because yesterday felt more like a production. I was a little depressed (but not surprised) to find Jeremy Jacobs making money off of what was supposed to be a free event by selling concessions. I was pleased to find players taking the time to sign some autographs after the second session for the kids who turned out.

The Boston Bruins split up the team into 2 practice groups for Training Camp 2013. Group B went first for the 10 o’clock session. The guy who really stood out was Carl Soderberg. He scored 3 goals and hit 2 posts during the practice. 2 of the 3 goals were perfectly placed shots over the goaltenders shoulder, under the bar shots that are virtually unstoppable. That is a skill the Bruins have missed quite a bit throughout the years. From what I have heard, he has been lighting it up all camp long. He looks ready to breakout in the 2013-2014 Season. Soderberg had me wondering if Claude Julien would have to consider possibly moving Loui Eriksson or Jerome Iginla down to the third line to make room for Soderberg. Meanwhile, Iginla looked like he would fit in perfectly with Milan Lucic and David Krejci on that top line.

During the afternoon session, BruinsBeliever was able to watch Loui Erikkson interacting with future line mates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The first thing I noticed was his size. He is a lot bigger than I thought he was and seemed more than willing to go into corners to free the puck up for Bergeron quarterback. I think he will be a great fit for the Bruins and a much better fit than Tyler Seguin would have been. Erikkson did a great job back-checking throughout the session and even lifted a goal past Tuukka Rask during a drill. I am excited to see how these lines play out, especially if Soderberg plays anywhere near the level he has been practicing.

Overall, Believe it or not, I feel better about this team than I did about last years team during their brief ‘training camp’. This team just seems so meticulously put together and each piece seems to fit perfectly together. They lost a leader in Andrew Ference, but then traded for Loui Erikkson who was an Alternate Captain down in Dallas. Heck, Brad Marchand already called Erikkson a “great leader” during a post practice interview. They also signed Chad Johnson as a potential backup for Rask who is a great locker room guy as well. Not to mention the character and desire to win a cup with Jerome Iginla. This team is built to win now and take advantage of everything Zdeno Chara has left in the tank coupled with the younger players entiring their primes. It should be another awesome year. Especially when the preseason starts off with a Boston Bruins win in Montreal. Let’s hope for another great year. Keep Believing and don’t forget to follow me @BruinsBeliever. Let’s go B’s!

Boston Bruins Sign GM Peter Chiarelli to Contract Extension

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Overall, this is a solid move for the Boston Bruins. Chiarelli definitely has his glaring strengths and weaknesses, but when you win the Stanley Cup and come within 4 periods of another, you deserve some level of job security. As a writer, Chiarelli is the perfect GM for me because it can be so easy to second guess his moves and overall plan.

Chiarelli’s biggest weakness by far is his drafting. He has been downright horrible since he has become GM of the Bruins. Now, I know some of you hardcore Believers are saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, the Boston Bruins have at ton of home grown talent on the team between Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, and the acquisition of Tuukka Rask”. And you are correct, except that Chiarelli had exactly nothing to do with any of those players becoming Boston Bruins. They were all either drafted or acquired by the Bruins during the much-lamented Mike O’Connell era. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not going to say that the O’Connell era was all sunshine and rainbows. I was calling for his head long before Jeremy Jacobs had the guts to fire him only when things hit rock bottom. However, he does deserve credit for this young Bruins nucleus, especially that Rask trade with Toronto, I mean Andrew Raycroft for Tuukka Rask and a pick? That has to go up on the pantheon great Bruins trades. I’ll get back to the trade talk later.
Now, back to Chiarelli’s crappy drafting. Do you want to guess how many Chiarelli draft picks played in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals? If you guessed ZERO you would be right! Remember, Torrey Krug was a rookie free agent and not a draft pick. I don’t think I need to run down the list of Jordan Carons and Joe Colbornes  and other flops that he has taken with his picks. He traded his most heralded pick, Tyler Seguin this offseason and the jury is still out on Dougie Hamilton who lost a spot in the defensive rotation to the aforementioned Krug. It seems as though the Bruins have already addressed the issue by firing the former Director of Scouting Wayne Smith and replaced him with Keith Gretzky (yes, the brother of Wayne) who has a more European focus. Hopefully, the Bruins will start seeing some improvement on draft day.

Chiarelli has been very good at moving pieces around via trades. He brought over some major contributors to the Bruins success, especially Dennis Seidenberg, Matt Bartkowski, Nathan Horton, Gregory Campbell (all from the Florida Panthers acquired in a couple of different deals), Daniel Paille and Johnny Boychuck. His one stinker of a trade so far was the Tomas Kaberle trade, but then again, who knows if the Bruins win the Stanley Cup without him in 2011, so I am willing to give him a pass on that one considering most of his other trades look great so far, except for the Kessel trade. For me, the jury is still out on the Phil Kessel trade Tyler Seguin has already been traded and Dougie Hamilton still has a lot of growing up to do.

Peter Chiarelli seems to have a pretty good working relationship with President Cam Neely even if they don’t always see eye to eye on everything. Chiarelli and Claude Julien will always be linked together in my mind and seem to have a similar sense of the way a hockey team should be run. It will be a fun ride and I can’t wait to second guess Chiarelli for the next 5 years or so.

2013 Boston Bruins Off-Season: Past, Present, & Future, 2013 NHL Draft

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Past: Andrew Ference & Nathan Horton

Andrew Ference Flipping Off Montreal Andrew Ference was a class act on and off the ice for the Boston Bruins. He really went out of his way to immerse himself as member of the community. Whether it was serving food at soup kitchens or even stopping and talking with fans on the street he was always polite and willing to share his time with us Normal Joes. You could not ask for more in a team leader. He always united and lead the team through his playoff jackets/chains as well as giving fans behind-the-scenes insight with his Twitter account @Ferknuckle. My favorite on-ice Andrew Ference moment will always be scoring his tying goal in Game 6 in Montreal back in 2011 and his subsequent ‘equipment malfunction’. If that is not a way to endear yourself to Bruins fans everywhere I don’t know what does. So long Andrew Ference, you will be missed and you will always be a Bruin.

Nathan Horton informed the Bruins this weekend that he will be looking for a “new beginning” and he will be moving on. I will always look back fondly on the playoff heroics of Nathan Horton. Including when he was injured when Nathan Horton poured water on the ice in Vancouver. His playoff game winner against Montreal will be burned into my mind as a turning point when I knew that Bruins team would be something special. All I knew my entire life watching and believing in the Bruins was that, when it comes to playing Montreal in the playoffs, we always lose. That is, until Nathan Horton scored in Game 7 in overtime. Thanks for the memories Horty.

Present: Tyler Seguin

All weekend BruinsBeliever found myself checking my phone all weekend because every time I looked, there was a new trade rumor that included Tyler Seguin. My first thought was that the Bruins were only using trade talks as motivation for Tyler Seguin to get his ass in gear this off-season. I agree that a message needed to be sent to Seguin because his post-season performance was completely unacceptable for someone making over 6 million dollars per year. Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli all but confirmed that the Boston Bruins were actively shopping him prior to Nathan Horton’s announcement that he will not return. Chiarelli also had this gem of a quote regarding Seguin: “He needs to focus all his mind and energy on hockey. He needs to be a better pro.” That quote makes it crystal clear that the Bruins were dissatisfied at how Seguin handled himself in the off-season last year and that they thought he got a little lazy after signing the big contract. Seguin could be playing for with his Boston Bruins career on the line next season, and I hope he shows some urgency.

The Future: Linus Arnesson and Vincent Lecavalier?

Linus ArnessonOnce the top 10 picks of the draft went by, and Tyler Seguin took a deep breath knowing he was still a Bruin, it was clear that the Bruins were not going to do any trading up and would be stuck with their first pick of the draft being at the end of the 2nd round, pick 60. There, the Bruins selected Linus Arnesson from Sweden. I will be honest and say that my subscription to Swedish League Hockey expired, so I have not seen Arnesson play with my own eyes. I can only share with you what I have read. He is a big defenseman who usually makes smart plays with the puck. He is also an offensive minded defenseman which should help him in an organization filled with stonewall defense-first defenseman.  He is still many years away but it is always fun to think about how he could fit on the Bruins down the line.

Vincent Lecavalier would be an immediate fix to a hole in the Bruins top forward line. The Boston Bruins had a secret meeting with Lecavalier and his agent over the draft weekend. Although he has been a center his throughout most of his career, he has expressed willingness to move over to wing. He doesn’t have much speed left in the tank but he as plenty of creativity left and would be a welcome addition to the Bruins, especially on the power play.

BruinsBeliever is looking forward to following the Bruins this off-season as free agency is coming. Don’t forget to follow BruinsBeliever on Twitter for all of the latest updates.