Dirty players and Bad deals

 Tom Wilson. If your a hockey fan you should know the name. He is in my opinion one of if not the dirtiest players currently in the NHL. He has more questionable hits and incidents then anyone I can think of and that includes Matt Cooke. When you have guys like Tie Domi and Kevin Stevens saying your should be banned then you have a problem right? Well not according to the NHL. Apparently a repeat offender who put someone head first into the glass only warrants a 7 game suspension. Not to mention no penalty was assed on the play so while Branden Carlo is being taken to a hospital Tom Wilson stuck around to get his 22 minutes of ice time. Now I'm all for good tough physical hockey, Its why I love the sport. But what he does is not that. And the thing that really pisses me off about it. Hes actually a decent hockey player. Hes not just a goon who fights. At least then I could understand why hes such a prick. But no. Hes actually a decent player. I mean he plays on a line with Ovechkin. Granted hes probably out there to protect him or whatnot but as we have seen. Ovi don't need protection. I liked that Tinordi and Frederic fought him in the game. But come on. Tinordi is gonna be on the 9th floor as soon as some D get healthy. But none the less he was the first one to throw down so sticks taps to him. 

What is the Bruins issue on long island this year? I know the islanders are doing pretty good and they have a lot of young hungry talent, but really? They have not beaten them all season and frankly it hasn't really even looked like the Bruins are in the same class as them which is shocking. Travel into the city however and the Bruins are having a very easy time with the old blue shirts. In 5 games so far Boston is 4-1 and a couple of those wins were pretty decisive. Maybe they can channel some of that energy into their team when they play the islanders again. 

The patriots signed a quarterback this week. Paid him 14 million dollars. Oh...wait...It was Cam Newton. I'm not as down on newton as everyone else seems to be. I actually think he could keep us afloat until they find a real QB. The big knock on newton is that he cant throw. Well fine hes got no one to throw to anyways. If Edelman comes back healthy then that's one target and that's a slot target so no need to throw more then 10-15 yards. I do agree with the national media that Its only March and pats fans should relax, that another QB signing is coming. But its always fun to watch the city burn before spring practice kicks off. 

Lastly, I'm gonna call it now. Tampa Bay will repeat as Super bowl Champs. Tom Brady signed a new deal this week that will essentially void his remaining year on his current deal and keep him signed until 2022. The move frees up money for Tampa so that can keep most of their title team in tact. they may loose guys who want more then 1-2 year deals. But Brown, Evans, Godwin, Gronk? Yea I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they will be back. And if Antonio Brown can come into the season healthy and out of trouble and give Brady a full season with him as a target. OHHHHH BOY!!! Its gonna be a fun year in Tampa.

Shot in the pills

 If Alex Ovechkin wasn't one of the faces of the NHL he would easily be looking at a 2-4 game suspension. He speared Trent Frederic in the jollies last night and I actually took hold of my own berries because it looked that bad. I understand Ovechkin isn't a fighter. And I get that Frederic was being a douche like he has been. But come on? Slamming your stick into his nuts. Not good. There was no call during the game as the ref who was right next it must have forgot he had a whistle. But the NHL did fine Ovechkin 5 grand. Which for a guy with his contract is the equivalent of me finding a penny in my couch cushion. Before all this took place near the end of the third period there was almost 55 minutes of hockey that was played. The Bruins did not look good. Their first registered shot on net didn't come until almost 13 minutes into the first. They did have some chances but nothing official. They played slow, finished slow, and for the love of Christ who is picking their shootout line up? I don't know the answer but I can assure you they should be fired from their job. Anyone other then 88 shooting first is wrong for the simple fact when he scores you now have the lead. The bruins overall these last few games have not looked good. 2 blow out losses in New York and 1 decent little victory on the back end of that NY trip. With the beat up D core I'm inclined to give them a little leeway but they need to figure it out fast. Speaking of the D. Whos bright idea was it to bring in Jarod Tinordi? Hes got 1 goal and 10 assists in his entire NHL career. Which is 87 games over the course of 7 years. Sorry but don't we have guys in providence that can do those numbers? They had to go out and sign him? That leads to my final point of this post. I wonder where people think the disconnect is between management and their scouting staff? Aside from signing this JV superstar I'm talking mainly about drafting. Since sweeny has been GM His only notable draft pics in my opinion are Carlo, DeBrusk, McAvoy, Maybe Studnicka (maybe not enough sample size yet). That's 4 picks out of 32 not counting the 2020 draft. I know every pick doesn't pan out. That would be great. But your telling me that in 6 years as GM he has only hit on 4 picks? Now there are guys who are getting their shots now so we will see but I'm going just based off what had been there. Don't forget the complete dumpster fire that was the 2015 draft. Sweeney and company had 3 picks in a row in the first round and only have DeBrusk to show. Some of the names who went after him were Barzal (NYI) Boeser (VAN) Beauvillier (NYI) Connor (WPG). So does the disconnect lie within the scouting staff to not find these players? Or in Sweeney for not taking their advice? Three picks in a row. I've heard the rumor that the plan was to trade some or all of those to move up and get Hanifin. But come on you didn't have a back up plan? That is just poor all around. Hopefully things get better going forward but they need to either start hitting on some picks or trading some of these assets for better players. 

Last point Everyone always give Chiarelli crap for how it ended for him here in Boston. And yes he made some dumb deals. But i wanna list the guys he at least targeted and went out and got in the draft. 

Kessel, Lucic, Marchand, Seguin (no brainer), Hamilton, Grzelcyk, Pasta, Henion (great role player) Bjork. 

He may not have been great at managing them but boy did he hit on quite a few of the key pieces of the bruins core. So don't tell me the talent isn't there because He found some diamonds in the rough. And so far Sweeny is finding horse apples in the mud.