Crickets on Causeway

 NHL free agency started last week. Even before the start date teams were franticly making moves to free up some money and cap space. Other teams have decided to just throw caution to the wind and spend money like Scrooge Mcduck. The Penguins were rumored to be losing the core 3 of their team or at least some of them. But in some late night dealing they came to terms with Kris Letang to keep him a penguin for life. That led a lot of people to think well, Malkin is leaving now. Surly they cant afford him also. Nope wrong again! The day after it was reported that Malkin was going to test free agency and that he felt Pittsburgh didn't think he was good anymore he turns right back around and signs a 4 year 24 million dollar deal to stay in Pittsburgh. This deal will in theory keep the core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang as penguins for the remainder of their careers and push back the inevitable rebuild there for a few more years. 

Some other big names that will have new homes this season and for the next few years actually would include goaltender Cam Talbot. After being relegated to the bench in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury, Talbot said he did not wish to spilt time with the 3 time Stanley cup champ. GM Bill Guerin heard this plea and did the right thing by moving Talbot. It just so happened that the team he went to, The Ottawa Senators have decided they don't like watching hockey in June anymore. Not only did they bring in Talbot, They shipped out Matt Murray and brought in Claude Giroux and on draft night they traded for Alex Debrincat. Of all the teams in the Bruins division Ottawa seems to have made the most moves in order to improve. 

Like him or not everyone had their eye on Evander Kane during last season and especially during that playoff run by Edmonton. Kane had 13 goals and 17 points in the Oilers playoff run this season. Playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl he found his way back in to the light. The Oilers were going to let him test his worth in free agency but decided to lock him up instead with a 4 year 20 million dollar deal. Again, Like him or not he makes that team just that much better. 

A few other things of note have happened in the very short time of the off season. 3 time Stanley Cup champ Duncan Keith has decided to call it a career. One of the best shut down defensemen and the backbone of those 3 cup winning black hawk teams he will be missed by everyone in the league and probably thanked by some goal scorers who no longer have to go into a corner with him and attempt to come out with the puck. 

One last big story to shake up the NHL this off season already. Johnny Hockey! People have known for a while that he is not happy with how things have gone in Calgary. He was essentially passed over for the captaincy and there has been rumors he did not get along with GM Brad Treliving. Even still a player of his caliber should be kept. The Flames knew this and offered him an 8 year deal worth somewhere in the range of 90 million dollars. Gaudreau turned it down saying this was far beyond money. He shocked everyone by signing with Columbus. In his introductory press conference a reporter asked him if he was happy with his decision, The response was "I'm not in Calgary anymore so yea I'm happy." I don't think this makes the Blue Jackets and instant contender but it definitely ups their chances.

After all of this now i can get to all the moves the Bruins have made. Oh right! THEY HAVE NOT MADE ANY MOVES!!!!!! They traded Eric Haula and got Pavel Zacha. But other then that its been cricket on causeway. I've said all along they need to have a plan in place in case Bergeron decides not to come back. So far they have zero plans. With all the reports of Krejci possibly re signing there is hope but also, What if he doesn't? You have no plan in place should these 2 things not happen. You fired the coach. Brought in a coach with more DUI's then wins in the NHL and you think not having a back up plan is a great idea! I am so sick of this management just sweeping everything under the rug. If you are going to rebuild then do it. Trade everyone, Re sign Pastrnak and then build around him. But stop feeding the fans this "we are still competitive" Bull shit. The Leafs are competitive but they still don't win. Is that what we are becoming? The Toronto Maple Leafs? First round exits while the fan base is lied to about "making moves". I will say it now, The Bruins will be a 500 team this year. Maybe worse. The issue is that still wont be bad enough to get a high draft pick. So we will be stuck in this boat again next season until management gets their heads out of their asses and either admits to and starts a rebuild or we get some new management in there to shake things up. But i for one think it is dark days ahead for the black and gold faithful. 

Dark days ahead

 My last post was a hopeful entry about the playoffs and how i thought the Bruins would make a deep run and things would be good. Clearly i was very wrong. Not only did they get completely embarrassed in 7 games by Carolina, They decided to make things worse by scapegoating Bruce Cassidy. Sweeney, Who by the way doesn't have a contract after next week decided the coach was the reason they lost in the first round. Yea. It was definitely the coach. Not the missed drafts you have had. Not the fact you've blown the trade deadline the last 4 years. Not the fact you never replaced Krejci. No No its definitely the guy who won coach of the year 2 years ago and had made the playoffs every year he was here. Yea definitely his fault. Now I'm 33 years old. I grew up at the tail end of the Harry Sinden Era. I suffered through the gap years of Mike O'Connell. Don Sweeney for all the good he did as a player in Boston is by far the worst GM the bruins have had in the last 33 years. To add to that point, Cam Neely should share some of the blame. He is above Sweeney. if Sweeney has failed this much then Neely should be blamed for letting it happen for so long. The title of this post is Dark Days Ahead. That statement could not be more true. Just on a very basic level of the information that is known as of now. 2 out of your top 5 guys are going to be out until at least mid November. Marchand and McAvoy both had off season surgery. Bergeron still has not decided if he will hang up the skates or not. DeBrusk still wants to be traded, Although now with Cassidy gone he may change that tune. Add to that they will end up with a new coach and a new system. None of those things equal fast success. When i say dark days ahead I very well maybe understating that. 

Which brings me to my next rant. The Bruins fired Cassidy and have zero desire to go out and hire a big name. The list i saw of the guys getting interviews was an abomination. One has prior NHL head coaching experience. David Quinn. This leads me to believe that management has decided that the next few years are going to be down years. The list of available coaches this off season has never been better. Sure there are a lot of personalities on that list and Barry Trotz turning down 7 million was laughable but your telling me and the fans that the 5 names you put out were the best you could do? If that is the case then fire everyone, Tell Bergeron to retire and lets blow everything up start fresh. At least then we would know that's the plan. What really pisses me off though is that even if the Bruins wanted to try and tank the season and try to get a top pick to go out and draft Connor Bedard, They couldn't. With the way the roster is built now as is. They couldn't lose that many games even if they tried. We have a better roster then the bottom half of the league and would not lose the amount of games required to put them in the lottery. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe they stay strong and competitive this season but if my hockey experience has taught me anything its that all these signs point to a very dark time for the Boston Bruins.

 

Playoff Preview

 Last week I promised a more in depth preview of the NHL playoffs. Well, It starts tonight so the following is how I think the first round will go. 

Boston-Carolina

This series is going to be much better then people realize. Yes, the Hurricanes destroyed the season series with the Bruins. Yes, They out scored them 16-1. But this is the playoffs. Things change. Carolina is going into this series with their 2 back up goalies. Both of which have never played in the playoffs. Raanta has not faced the bruins since 2016. Not that that matters for much but its something. In terms of the games inside the game, things like powerplays, faceoffs, last change. I think both teams have ups and downs in these areas. It is widely known the struggles of the Boston powerplay but i think the in game coaching of Cassidy will be a bigger factor then some think. Patrice Bergeron is the best faceoff man in the league once again and that will come in handy for those late game wins in the defensive zone. 

Could this be Bergeron's last hoorah for the black and gold? My personal thoughts are that it will depend on how this post season goes. If Boston makes a deep run and either wins the cup or losses in the ECF or even the cup final then I say he comes back. If they get handled in the first round or even a short series second round I think he hangs them up. Sadly, as much as I love the Bruins. I think their window has closed and it may be a while before the cup is back on Causeway St. 

Toronto-Tampa Bay

Everyone who watches hockey as much as I do is foaming at the mouth for this series. The 2 time defending champion Lightning against the on fire during the regular season Maple Leafs. Toronto fans are in full playoff mode again. "This is our year" "Matthews is a god". There is a reason Tampa has won the last 2 years. It has been 18 years since the Leafs have won a series. 2004! Toronto may be the higher seed but it will take a lot for them to beat the Lightning. Tampa Bay is entering this post season actually having a healthy core of Stamkos, Kucherov and company and if you think that they are just gonna let the hopes and dreams of a city starved for success dictate when their summer starts well then fans are in for a rude awakening. 

Florida-Washington

I have said in conversations that I didn't want the bruins to play Florida in the first round. President trophy winners. First trip to the post season as the favorites since 1996. So many years of missing the playoffs. They have finally put it all together it seems. I think they are gonna steam roll the first round. Shock everyone with their skill, speed and hockey sense. But then that's it. They will explode in the first round and not have anything left for a deep run. That's ok. They have built this team for success for future years and that is what they will have. This year however I see them going one and done. Which when you think about it is more sad then normal as this has got to be the last shot at a winner for Jumbo Joe Thornton. He is the new Ray Bourque. Guy plays close to 20 years and has come close a couple times. He deserves a winner. 

New York Rangers- Pittsburgh

For years the Rangers have been an after thought in the league. Good but not great. This year could be different. Between the scoring explosion from Kreider or the rough veteran leadership of Reeves the Rangers seem to have put together what could be a solid playoff run. Pittsburgh on the other hand is i think on the downward slide. You cant take away the talent and skills of the core 3. Letang, Malkin and Crosby but are they enough to keep the Penguins in the cup conversation? I don't think so. Those 3 have maybe at most 2-4 years left and for the team to commit to building around those guys for that short of a window doesn't seem like a good plan. This could be the last we see of the Penguins dynasty of the 2010s.

Colorado-Nashville

Colorado is the odds on favorite to win the cup. They have almost the complete package of things needed to win. They have grit. Youth. Goaltending. Pests. Coaching. All of it. I have them picked to win the west and play for the cup. Unfortunately  Nashville just doesn't have what is needed to stop them. This one could be a very quick and ugly series. 

Minnesota-St. Louis

Marc-Andre Fleury has missed the playoffs only once in his entire career.  Prior to the trade deadline it looked as though that streak would be stopped. But the hockey gods understood their job and come deadline time the flower was sent to Minnesota. Add his solid net minding to an already potent and fast offense and you have the set up for what could be a long playoff run. On the other side of the puck. St. Louis is no push over. They have a tough hard nose team who always find ways to dig down deep for a win. In all the first round match ups in both the east and west this series is probably the most evenly matched and the hardest to pick a winner.

Calgary-Dallas

The Flames have flown under the radar this season to the point of being first in their division. They have an odd mix of talent. Definitely enough to get them deep into the playoffs. Dallas on the other hand has had an amazing season from Joe Pavelski. They signed him for cheap money and he has more then earned his pay. But is he enough to get the Stars over the hump? Sadly i don't think so. The flames are to talented and have much more star power no pun intended. 

Edmonton-LA

I will bet Wayne Gretzky is praying TNT doesn't pick up one of these games. This one is shaping up to be a great series. Will this be the year Connor McDavid finally wins a round? Will Dustin Brown have one last moment in the sun before calling it a career? This series has so many intriguing story lines. It's hard to pin point just one of them. This will be a fast moving high scoring series that will no doubt have a lot of pushing, shoving and general dislike for one another. I do however think that Edmonton is the far superior team but if recent history has taught us anything it's that anything can happen in the playoffs. 

That's it. That's all i got. I hope some people agree but i hope more people disagree. If you disagree please make that known. I would love a good back and forth. With the success of the regular season could this finally the year that the cup goes back to Canada? The 3 Canadian teams in the playoffs are all high seeds and have what it takes to win. But of the 3, Calgary is the only one not snake bitten over the last few seasons. Toronto as everyone has seen cant get out of their own way in the first round. Edmonton has the best player in the NHL and still cant win a round. Could that change this year? Lets find out. IT'S PLAYOFF TIME!!!!

 

Playoffs

 Its that time of year again. The NHL playoffs are upon us. While the regular season still has a couple games left, Most of the first round matchups have been set and we are ready to go. The Bruins baring anything crazy and unforeseen will face the Hurricanes in the first round. Some might think this is not a good match up for Boston. I can see that point. Carolina went 3-0 against them outscoring the bruins 16-1 in those 3 games. Some might say that is a bad omen for a playoff series but you have to take into account a few factors. First, In one of those games the Tuukka experiment was still in full swing and he let in 5 goals. Second, The teams haven't met since the trade deadline. In one of the game Boston was with out Bergeron and Marchand. I am not saying all these things mean that Boston is primed to just steam roll the hurricanes but these things should be considered. Now you also have to add in the fact that Carolina's Starting goalie and the only netminder on their roster with playoff experience is hurt and not sue to return until at least mid series if at all in round 1. That would leave the hurricanes with career back up Antti Rannta and young rookie Pyotr Kochetkov the latter of which has only played in 3 NHL games in his short stint. All these things point to good news for the Bruins. Right? Well before we start gassing up the duck boats you need to remember that Carolina still has a very dangerous offence. Powered by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. They can move the puck very well as a team and will take a deficit and turn it in to a lead in the blink of an eye. Should Boston make it past the first round it would almost certainly mean a matchup with the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers.

One other first round matchup in the east i wanted to talk about is the potential series of the Leafs and Lightning. Why is this one note worthy? For the simple fact that It will further prove that Toronto is either cursed or just plain not good. They have all this noise around them about being the best and this is their year. Matthews scored 60 this year. Their powerplay is deadly good. Guess what? Tampa Bay is the 2 time defending champs. They are not some team who just snuck into the playoffs by stroke of luck. They belong in the post season. If Leafs fans think they will just breeze into the next round then oh man they are more delusional then i give them credit for.

I know this was short post but i just wanted to get some early thoughts out there. Once the playoff matchups are official I will have a post that breaks down what i think about each match up in both the east and west. 

Thanks for reading. 

Busy weekend in sports

 This past weekend had a lot of good things coming out of the sports world. It was opening weekend for baseball. The Masters tournament took place and the NHL continued its blazing path to the postseason. I wanted to touch on all or most of those things in this post. 

Starting with Baseball. After spending most of the winter not sure if there would even be a baseball season this year we were finally able to crack a beer, Eat some peanuts, Do the 7th inning stretch and watch some baseball. Opening weekend is always fun and interesting. There are new faces in new places and there is always some getting used to new line ups. With the extremely shortened spring training this year the first few weeks of the season should provide some steep learning curves. The Red Sox have come into the season with the same questions they typically have this time of year. What will the bullpen be able to do for them. I think this weekend was a decent indicator that they may not be the big issue everyone thinks. The starting pitching on the other hand that is a question. Just based on the limited watching i did over the weekend. Admittedly i was more tuned into the Masters. The Sox bullpen seemed to plug the holes left by the starters. Will that change as the season goes on? I'm certain it will. But for this opening series they looked like they can handle it. One other notable thing i noticed was the amount of Sox fans absolutely hitting the panic button on Trevor Story. The shiny new 100 million dollar second baseman went a sad 1-9 with a walk. The one hit being a double. The knock on him is having played the first part of his career in Colorado, Curve balls weren't a thing to him. Alas on the road he suffered from what i will call Pedro Cerrano syndrome. He cant hit the curve. That was evident this weekend as Yankee pitching just obliterated him with curve after curve and Story could not catch up to them. Hopefully he will spend some time in the cages as being at Fenway will be a drastic change from the thin air of Coors Field. Story did however look very comfortable at his new position of Second base. One of the questions about his signing was how would he react to being moved across the diamond to second. He handled the transition well making no errors. While Xander Bogerts did have one error at short. Some have said that with Story signing such a big deal this offseason to come to Boston that that could spell the end of Xander's time here. I think there is still a lot to be determined with that and for now the Red Sox and their fans should all be happy with the fact that they have 2 young talented players in the middle of their infield and that's often a luxury teams don't have. If both players hit as well as they have been known to then i think Sox fans might be in for a decent summer.

Thursday began the 86th Master Tournament from Augusta National Golf club. 91 players made up the field with 51 making the cut come Saturday. Now for those that know me this is the one golf tournament i will watch from start to finish. I love everything about it. The course, The stories, The challenge. Everything. One day i will hopefully be able to attend a day in person. There were many story lines from the weekend. For me the main one was Tiger Woods. 18 months ago he was involved in a horrific car crash. Doctor's told him he would probably never play competitive golf again and there was at the time a slight chance he wouldn't even walk right after. Fast forward to last Sunday. Tiger showed up to Augusta and took a practice round. He walked the course. Said he felt good after. He did another of these practice rounds on Tuesday. Again said he felt good. He announced Wednesday that he would play in the Masters. And play he did. He came out on Thursday and shot a 1 over 71. Unfortunately that is all the highlights i can tell you about. Tiger ended the weekend shooting a Career worst 78 at the Masters. Watching him over the tournament you could tell every step he took was giving him immense pain. When he would crouch down to read a green for a putt he was not getting near a low as he used to. It showed in his putts as he had 4-3 putts and 1-4 putt over the weekend. Something i can never remember him doing. After his final round he was asked how he felt and what the plan was going forward. He did commit to playing at ST Andrews for the British open as that is his all time favorite course but we also confirmed he will never be able to play a full time schedule again.  What this means for the 5 time Masters Champion and former world number 1 golfer is that at this stage of his career he may only be more of a ticket grab then anything else. Which in my opinion is quite sad. 

Rounding out my weekend of sports viewing was the continued race for the playoffs in the NHL. The Bruins had 2 very winnable games over the weekend and managed to only win 1. The powerplay is very much feeling the absence of David Pastrnak as it has now gone 0-16 since he has been out. If they hope to climb higher in the final standings they are going to need to figure out a way to supplement his production on the PP. I intend to have a more in depth playoff preview in a couple weeks once the field is set. But for now i will leave you with this. If the Bruins plan to make a dep run they are going to need a lot more from the third D pair and also one of the 2 goalies is going to have to finally emerge as the guy they can ride for 8 weeks in May and June. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me after reading my comeback post last week. weather you come here for a different view on sports that you don't hear on the radio or TV. Or if you come here to support me and my non sense i appreciate it. If ever there was a time for more people to find something to bring them together this would be it. Please share the blog page to your own Social media if you want. More followers means i can do more with everything. 

Thank you all! 

Remember me??

 Hello to all my loyal followers. Yes its me. I know its been forever since my last post. Actually less then a hockey season, My last post was for opening week in the NHL. There have been a few reasons for my absence and just for clarity this is going to be a long post. Sports stuff will be at the bottom so if you want to skip this part fine. The main reason for my absence was timing. I took a good role at work and the timing wasn't great to be at work, come home and make a decent sports blog. Then that led to some depression of not being able to do what has been a passion of mine and that's talking sports. So I took a break. I watched games without worrying about what I was going to say or if I would get a post out in time. For the first time in a while I went back to just watching. Fast forward to early this year. I hit what I am calling a very dark spot in life. I hated my self. I hated my body image. Getting older. Not being where I thought I should be. Wondering if I was good enough for my kids, My wife, My friends and family. It took a lot out of me. I didn't even enjoy watching sports anymore cuz I wasn't in the field anymore. I wasn't working at NBC sports Boston, I wasn't at the Sports hub. But even through all that I wanted to still talk sports. So, In late February I decided id start climbing out. I have a lot of good people around me. Some that probably don't read this. Some that do. But im going to thank everyone of them. Starting with my wife and kids. They have always been there for me and its still the most amazing feeling coming home from work and having my 6 year old say hi dad. Having my 4 year old ask me who the bruins are playing. I know I haven't been the best husband but through it all my wife has stuck by me and I can not express into words how much that means to me. Next I want to thank as loud as I can someone who has become the best sounding board and is one the most genuine people walking gods green earth. Charlie. My introduction to you started with my friendship with your daughter. From there we were texting about BBQ smokers and recipes. Then it changed to the Bruins. And then when my depression hit hardest you were one of the first people to text me make sure first I was ok and then give me advice, An ear, A laugh. Anything. I owe so much of this comeback to you and i promise one day I will find a way to make that up to you. Next is Mike. Mike we have been friends since high school and have played hockey on the same team or some summer showcase together since forever. You sent me a random text one day during one of the harder times I was going through. And simply asked "Hey want to skate" What you might not have known was that at that time I had not skated in close to 18 months. Im pretty sure the last time I did was when I coached a Rockport. So having that back in my life just set the fire going. And is the sole reason I am in such a better place now. That simple hour on the ice with the boys. Doing what I've loved since I was 3 years old was the perfect medicine. Not to put to fine a point on it, I think you may have saved my life. I love you with every fiber of my being for that. Ok, I know there are a lot of other people who have reached out and said if i need anything to call them and I know im forgetting someone as most of these things tend to do. But quickly just to name a few. Angel, Jen, Aaron, Chris, Ryan, Matt, Jackie, Larry, Frank. Again I know im missing a few people and im truly sorry for that. Most likely they don't read my blogs anyways haha.

I know that's not really what the few people who come to read this blog come for but I really needed to get that off my chest and out in the open. If anyone reading this ever needs help or someone to talk to about their own problems i am always here. Reach out VIA text if you have my number or DM me on FB either on the blog FB page or my own. Everyone needs to know there is someone who will just listen and not pass judgment. 

Ok now let's get to the reason that all 7 of you read this blog. SPORTSSSSSS

Starting with the Greatest weekend in sports. The Masters. Tomorrow 91 golfers will descend upon Augusta National and try their shot at winning the Green jacket. I have always said that the course at Augusta is the most beautiful course on the planet. The pageantry of it all just makes for a great weekend of golf. But Tuesday morning the golf world got the best news it has had in a long time. 5 Time masters champion, Former number 1 in the world golfer Eldrick Tiger Woods is going to compete. Now some might ask why this is big news. Especially those that don't really follow golf. But 18 months ago Tiger was in a major car accident. His legs were broke or at least damaged and he said shortly after he would never be able to walk a course with out pain or play competitive golf. Essentially retiring. But thanks to modern medicine and obviously his millions of dollars he and his medical team have got him back to a point where he is pain free enough to walk the grounds of Augusta for 4 days. I've always been a tiger fan. But in hi absence from the game i have come to enjoy other players. Im not saying tiger will win. But his decision to play and the determination he has sure does make it a very good story and it makes for a great weekend. 

As I mentioned my new role at work in the beginning of this post I left out a person who has sort of rekindled my feelings for baseball. I know on this blog many many posts ago i covered a Paw-sox game. I've always liked baseball but haven't really watched much in recent years. Well my co worker Dan Johnson has changed that. He is a baseball fan through and through. And a die hard sox fan. We have been talking baseball all through the lockout and now i have watched or at least followed every spring training game for the sox. So I think you may be seeing a slight uptick in my posts about our boys of summer. So thank you Dan. 

The NHL season is down the final month. The teams near the bottom or at the bottom are slowly starting to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Lets be honest, Some of those teams have been out since November. A few surprise teams that are either in or unless they implode will be in would include the Bruins and the Leafs. The Leafs have been one of the hottest teams all season. As they have been for a few years. But need I remind Bruins fans everywhere that the leafs always die in the first round. The way its shaping up right now it look like the Bruins could end up playing the leafs in the first round for the first time since 2013. I doubt the series will end up like it did then as both teams have a much different look now. But hey I can dream right? Another surprise from this season is the Florida Panthers. Led by Jonathan Huberdeau and his 102 points (as of this post) they have very quickly become the favorite in the east. If anyone watches hockey as much as I do you should recall that 26 years ago the Panthers went all the way to the cup finals where they lost to the newly moved Colorado Avalanche. Looking across the standings and having seen them play this season, There is a real shot that that could end up being the finals this year as well. The Avs are having an incredible season led by Cale Makar. He is probably one of if not the best defenseman in the league. He will lead that team for years to come and be the anchor on the blue line that Colorado has been looking for since the days of Adam Foote. With arenas back at full capacity this years Stanley Cup playoffs will have that loud home ice advantage feel again and that's exactly what these teams have been needing.

I am going to save Football and basketball for another post. I need to get some thoughts together on the NBA and there is just to much for this already lengthy post to put anything about the NFL yet. I may do a blog on just the NFL off season. That being said Tom Brady is not retiring and that's amazing. Im not ready to have a football season without him. No matter who he is playing for. 

I know this post was long and if you have made it to here and read the whole thing then I truly thank you. If you skipped the beginning and came right to the sports that's fine also. At least you gave the main part of this a read. I will try to post every other week if not more. But for now I just wanted to thank people, Welcome my self back. And hopefully bring in some new people on this sports journey. Im hoping to have the podcast back soon as well. I've been looking into some ideas and it might lead to a Vlog instead of a podcast. But that's still being planned. For now just give me 10-12 minutes of your time to read my rants and talk sports. As always there is the blog Facebook page where you can comment on what you think about my takes. It is always where we can interact and have a good back and forth if you have a differing opinion. If its good and its productive I will put it in a post. 

Thank you all again. Its good to be back.

Brad