Bruins needing to change their shootout approach following loss to Maple Leafs

(Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

As much as the NHL knows how much fans and players alike seem to hate the convention of the shootout, the absolute way of determining a winner in EVERY hockey game has it going nowhere.

As a result, the Bruins, who were most recently hurt by the shootout in New Year’s Eve game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are in desperate need of an internal overhaul to their approach to the shootout. With it likely being a part of hockey for many years to come, the Bruins need to find out how to win shootouts. This is simply because right now, that is not happening.

Their December 31^st game that ultimately ended in the shootout loss began uneventfully. The Bruins fell behind 1-0 but kept pace when Tuukka Rask stopped a key penalty shot in the first period. The Bruins came back firing following the first intermission, tying the game and eventually trading goals with the Maple Leafs in the second period. They finished regulation tied with the Leafs at three goals a-piece.

After bouncing through overtime without a game winning goal, the game went to the shootout.

The TD Garden rang with boos of the shootout convention while its few supporters tried to explain its rules to still others who did not understand it.

As the Zamboni drove off the ice and the administrators of the dry scrape walked down the maintenance tunnel, the Bruins and Maple Leafs conferred with officials.   

The home Bruins elected to have Toronto shoot first as they finalized their own shooters.

Needless to say even that was not enough to stave off the shifty shootout goals and five round win enjoyed by the Leafs.

But it was not their talent that doomed Boston, it was the Bruins’ own mismanagement of their shooters that prevented them from closing out 2014 on a winning note.

Accounting for the sudden death rounds of the shootout, the Bruins sent five shooters to center ice. They started with Reilly Smith, then they sent Tory Krug, Brad Marchand, Seth Griffith and finally David Krejci who missed on a must-make shot that ended the game.

The lineup was bizarre to say the least with a defensemen taking the second shot and a 50% career penalty shot shooter in Patrice Bergeron never taking the ice. Of a fundamentally talented Bruins attack, Claude Julian selected a group of five players with a career penalty shot conversion percentage of 19%. Furthermore, he did so against a Toronto shootout attack that came in with some of the best numbers in the league.

Boston was swiftly embarrassed by Maple Leaf shooters who entered with a shootout conversion percentage of 39% and nailed two of five shots on Rask.

So what is the problem? How can this be fixed?

Well, not too long ago mind you, the Bruins were, hands down, the best team in hockey in terms of winning shootouts.

Two seasons ago, in the season of their dominant run to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, the Bruins reaped the benefits of a near immaculate winning percentage in shootout games. That sterling reputation was the direct byproduct of their lights out shooting lineup.

Each time the shootout was needed, in almost painful repetition, the Bruins would send Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Davis Krejci to the puck.

Those players would constantly score on 40-50% of shots. They legitimately capped off hours of play with three minutes bearing three darting goals from the top of the opponents crease.

Things changed though after Seguin left Boston following the season. The Bruins started sending Marchand out in the top three and testing Loui Eriksson in the number two slot. They dropped Krejci out of the traditional shooting lineup and over time even let Bergeron fade.

And what for; so that they could let Seth Griffith shoot, so they could let a lucky Tory Krug pound a shot off Johnathan Bernier’s pad?

The Bruins need to rework their shootout approach. Bergeron needs to get back into the mix and we need to see somebody come through as a prime shooter for the team. 

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Matt Fraser claimed off waivers by Oilers

(Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

Bruins forward Matt Fraser, who was placed on waivers following the team’s 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets Saturday, was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers Monday morning. The signing ended his short tenure with the Bruins.

Fraser came to the Bruins back in 2013 in the ill-fated trade that sent Tyler Seguin to Dallas. Since the trade he has logged 38 starts with the NHL Bruins and spent 44 games with AHL Providence. In two seasons, he scored 5 times for Boston and 20 times for Providence. In between goals though, Fraser struggled to produce.

The team plugged him in on the fourth line where he unfortunately lacked physicality and struggled to win battles along the boards.

“I would have liked to have produce more but maybe that opportunity wasn’t there as much. I just had a conversation with [coach] Claude [Julien] and he has kind of alluded to that but at the same time you’re in the NHL for a reason, you’ve got to find a reason to stay here,” Fraser said. “It didn't happen here as I had planned but at the end of the day you’ve got to move on and realize that this is a job.”

Very simply, Fraser’s place in the NHL does not lie on the fourth line of any team. He is a front of the net scorer, not a win-your-own-battles kind of guy. As good as he may be, his individual playing style did not cohesively match that of the rest of the Bruins. Such is likely why they made little effort to retain him.

Fraser understands that and is not bitter.

“For whatever reason it didn't work out but that’s not going to make me think anything different of this organization or anything like that,” Fraser said. “I have nothing bad to say about this organization, about the guys or anything like that. That’s just part of the business.”

The Bruins at times gave Fraser first team looks, greatly increasing the body of game film teams have to look at of him in the future. Also, though it did not work out, Fraser’s competence on the fourth line helped him discover versatility within a system while the Bruins’ willingness to put him into playoff situations helped create some key moments in his career.

With that, Fraser moves to Edmonton with hopes of getting starting time within a team currently focused on rebuilding.

Fraser is excited to play again. He understands the fit in Boston was never there and he leaves cordial, satisfied and eager to live the promising career ahead of him.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I have the best job in the world,” Fraser said after Edmonton snapped him up. “I really do. Every day that I came to the rink, I never took it for granted. With that being said, take the rest of the day and understand that you’re going back home and you’re going to play for the Oilers. You’ve got to make the most of it.”

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July 4th, 2013: They day Reilly Smith just fell into the Bruins lap

He is the leading scorer of the Boston Bruins, he has since become the Bruins top finisher on the power play and 2 and a half months ago, he was completely unknown.

Like many other Canadian boys, Reilly Smith was raised in a hockey rink skating with pewee, bantam and junior teams for the first 18 years of his life. He was however, shot down as he looked to bust into the world of big time amateur hockey thus spending 3 years in minor Toronto based leagues before making a far from illustrious jump to the roster of the Miami RedHawks based in Oxford Ohio. 

College hockey has always been a strange venture for Canadian hockey players as given their culture the stranded blueprint for how to excel in the nations favorite sport often necessitates a 4-5 year stint in the OHL or CHL followed by a selection in the draft and an infusion into an NHL team’s system. In the minds of many, collegiate hockey seems like career killer. Smith however thought otherwise. 

“I really enjoyed the whole college lifestyle – it’s more laid back. Being able to get an education while playing hockey is pretty cool." Smith said to a Dallas Stars reporter back in March of 2012. He played better than he had ever played in his life with the RedHawks scoring 68 times in 121 games with the club. It was that sudden ability to put the puck in the back of the net that attracted the attention of a Dallas Stars team that in 2010-2011 scored the 4th fewest goals in the NHL and was in desperate need of a potent goal scorer. 

Smith was drafted 69th overall in 2009 and made his NHL debut during the 2011-2012 season. It was not much but it certainly was a start.

 “It’s an absolute dream come true. I’ve put in a lot of work to get up to this level, so right now I am just trying to act like a sponge and take everything in. I’m just here to have fun and contribute.” Smith said during that same online interview with the Stars. Furthermore, he recognized the differences between college and the NHL knowing that his 185 pound frame could lead a decreasing of his scoring output. "The speed of the game will be a challenge. It’s obviously going to be a lot faster and a lot more physical. When you are playing with guys that almost 20 years older than you, there’s going to be a period of adjustment. There will be a mental side to it as well, but I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
 

Smith would be demoted within weeks of his debut in 2011 but he had since gotten a taste of NHL action that he desperately wanted to turn into a feast.  

Sadly, that opportunity to do so seemed like it might never come as the irregularities in his game made the Stars skeptical of his abilities as a starter. In his only major stint in Dallas, Smith scored just 3 times in 37 games. However, as a situation in Boston rapidly developed that lack of a future was reversed. 

Smith with the Stars

As his 3rd season since being drafted 2nd overall by the Bruins came to a close, Bruin winger Tyler Seguin began to fall under question. There was a suspicion that the star was immature and reports came out detailing situations where the Bruins origination had to station guards outside of Seguin's room during their 1st round series with the Leafs in an effort to keep him from partying late at night. Furthermore, Seguin's lack of professional respect was shown by a team source writing that Seguin had shown up to team meetings on 3 straight days wearing the same dirty t-shirt as the day before. Even during games, roomers of Seguin's immature qualities ran rampant as during that miracle Game Seven comeback against the Leafs he was said to have ignored the orders of his coach and jumped on the ice prior to Bergeron's OT, Game Seven winner.  

Management conducted a 'sit down' with their star forward and from there it was clear that his days in Boston were numbered. 

"I definitely heard the rumors," Seguin said during a conference call. "When the trade was announced, I don't know if I was surprised. As far as the professional comments, I talked with Peter about it right after the trade happened. I come to the rink every day and act professional and work my hardest. My first three years so far have been a big learning curve and I look forward to getting better every day and I'm more motivated coming to a great city like Dallas." 

Tyler Seguin was never fit for Boston and for that reason he was traded to the Dallas Stars on July 4th 2013.  

As first reported by ESPN Boston's  Craig Custance "The Bruins sent forward Tyler Seguin, center Rich Peverley and defenseman Ryan Button to the Stars for forward Loui Eriksson and prospects Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow.”

You notice that the topic of this article was listed as 'prospect' in that sentence on ESPN meaning that for Bruins fans, the only name they really cared about was that of Loui Eriksson. Eriksson had scored 150 goals in 7 seasons with the Stars and had scored 25+ goals in 4 of those 7 seasons. 

"Loui's a big, strong skating, left-shot right wing," Chiarelli told the Bruins' official website following the trade. "He can play both sides, but he would be playing right wing for us. He's had four [straight] seasons of 25-plus goals. We got a real good two-way player. It's been well-documented; we've got to rebuild our right side so he's the first piece. We are going to have a couple younger guys challenging him. We may go out and get another guy, too."  

There was excitement regarding Eriksson but as the season progressed the Bruins soon realized that they would have to look beyond the poster boy of the Boston half of the trade in order to find a positive in it. 

As Eriksson struggled to find the net and he fell victim to a duo of brutal concussions, his former Stars teammate, Smith began his accent to greatness growing his following as well as his goal tally.

Now while it is difficult to pinpoint the point during the season in which Smith officially clicked it seems like the Bruins 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars would be a fair candidate for such a distinction. Prior to that, Smith's 14th game as a Bruin, he had scored just 1 goal while assisting on 5 others while in the 14 games following it, Smith caught fire tallying 3 goals and 5 additional assists. He was beginning to shine and yet it was this December string of excellence that finally made us realize that the biggest benefit the Bruins got out of the Seguin trade was not Eriksson.  

"Just look at the stats," Claude Jullian said acknowledging Smith's unsuspected importance to the team. "He's been a real good player for us. He's a young player that's probably not been overlooked but kind of been in the shadow for a long time and he's emerged with us here. He's played a big role for us. He's a real smart player. He's creative, has good hockey sense and makes good plays. We're really happy. We talk about getting Loui Eriksson in that trade, but I think [Smith's] another key asset in that trade, as well."

"We always seem to overlook his age and he's a young player," he later said. "And the way I think he's handled himself in pressure situations, handling the puck a little bit better and holding onto it. And at the same time, I thought tonight he shot the puck a little bit more; he had a little bit better of a nose for the net and before, [he was] looking to make plays versus shooting the puck. So he's really turned a corner and is really coming along well for a young player." 

To this point in the season, Smith has scored 12 goals and is tied with Milan Lucic for the team lead. However one of the biggest weapons he has provided the Bruins with has been his power play capabilities. On 4 different occasions this season, Smith has scored on the power play as in situations like that he utilizes a quick release wrist shot to beat goaltenders. However the 8 goals he has scored during 5 on 5 play this season have come as a result of more than quick reflexes. 

"That's a high-pressured situation as a forward and he looks great back there," first line winger, Jarome Iginla said of the man he spends a lot of time watching from the bench"Then 5-on-5, him, [Chris Kelly] and [Carl Soderberg], they seem to be getting better and reading off each other. [Smith's] one-on-one skills, he seems to beat one guy a night going down the wing. … It's great, another young guy who is in high-pressured situations, but he's enjoying it and thriving in it. He looks very confident there." 

Smith has an uncanny ability to shove pucks in-between the skates of opposing defenders as the hand eye coordination he exhibits by making some of the NHL's best defenders look foolish is a kind that in most cases takes years to develop. Furthermore, once he beats a defender, Smith who, as mentioned before weighs just 185 pounds has shown on multiple occasions his ability to brace against opponents and simply power his way into a shooting position. As recently as December 14th, Smith simply held the puck with 1 hand on the stick and released a goal scoring shot right as he barreled into Vancouver goaltender, Roberto Luango. 

Reilly Smith was all but invisible in the Western Conference and yet as we revel in the glory of his current goal scoring ability it still seems ridiculous that prior to the season there was no hint of how great this kid really is. Reilly Smith is no longer a prospect and on this day in December, he is an All Star that no one and I mean no one saw coming. 

“This is the first time he’s gotten a good shot at playing at this level and making sure he has the opportunity to play in the areas we feel he can excel in,” said Claude Julien. “He’s done a great job."

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To win the trade: How Seguin's 4 goal game, Phil Kessel's success in Toronto and Loui Eriksson's lackluster performance in Boston effect the perception of 2 of the biggest trades in Bruins history

When Tyler Seguin was traded to the Dallas Stars back on July 4th we all know the possibility and even likelihood that he would score 400 goals in the season and become the next Wane Gretzky. But frankly after what happened last night, the entire hockey world acts surprised.

Going into the Stars' Friday night game with Calgary, Tyler Seguin had scored 8 goals and 9 assists in 18 games played. Less than 3 hours later his score sheet barely looked recognizable. Tyler Seguin netted 4 goals on Friday night and without a doubt played the best game of his still fledgling career. He improved to a point where he is now an astounding 12 goal scorer and the 4th highest scorer in the entire NHL. Furthermore, the former Bruin winger has already eclipsed the scoring output of both his 1st and 3rd years in the league and however unlikely, it deserves mentioning that should he continue on this torrent goal scoring pace, Seguin will finish 2013-2014 with 52 goals. As a fan of the Boston Bruins, all I can do is relay the single exclamation that came to the minds of all of Bruins nation when they woke up this morning and read the morning paper. Ouch. 

We look around this morning and think what if this kid was still in Boston? What if those 4 goals came during the Bruins mini slump last week? If so, would Seguin's presence have turned the Bruins into the 15 win team that even this early in the season they could be? No. 

Like was said last July, Boston was never the place for Tyler. Here the team is centered around the framework that was laid in 2009 carried out when Boston won the cup in 2011 and intensify when 6 Boston Bruins netted 20 goals in their year of Cup defense that was 2012. This is the team that has seen just 3, 30 goal scorers in nearly a decade and for Tyler Seguin that kind of scoring distribution seemed to be off-putting. He always had this capability resting within him but like Hulk needed anger to trigger his violent power Tyler Seguin needed the Bruins to implement a kind of support they simply could not provide in order to allow him to bring home the goals.  

This is the defining factor that distinguishes Seguin's 208 games in Boston from the 19 he has played in Dallas. He has been moved to center and told that HE is the most important part of his team. There are players who need this kind of its all about me mentality in order to succeed. Seguin and Kessel are two examples of this. Guys like Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic are examples of the opposite. 

However, while Seguin's future in Boston was always a short one when you look into the Boston end of the Seguin trade and by extension the Kessel trade that gave the Bruins the pick the used to select Seguin everything seemed to have flipped from 1 year ago. At the end of last season, it seemed that with Seguin succeeding in Beantown and Kessel succeeding in Toronto the trade seemed even for both teams. Sadly though, once Seguin was shipped out of Boston this means that in a way, the Bruins traded Phil Kessel for a 28 year old Swedish winger: Loui Eriksson.  

How does that sound? 

To spit out a few more statistics, Bruin, Eriksson has scored 3 goals in Boston, 2 of which have gone in off his skate, while Kessel in Toronto has scored 10. Also, as you look towards  Kessel's situation in Toronto and the one he went through in Boston, they unlike the case with Seguin are all but identical. From 06 to 08, the Bruins had no identity and therefore, Kessel was the big man on campus scoring 36 goals in 2008 all while playing the same position he plays today in Toronto.  

Over the past 5 seasons, the ideas and outlooks on the Phil Kessell Trade that changed the future of the Bruins for the better has constantly changed. There was Seguin in Boston who came just 1 goal shy of 30 in 2012 and then Kessel who flipped the tides back in his favor with 3 straight 30 goal seasons in Toronto. Finally with Seguin gone and Loui Eriksson introduced  it seems that the book has been closed, the hatched has been buried. Unless Loui Eriksson turns it around  soon, the Bruins will not only have lost the Toronto trade but also the Dallas one. 

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Bruins season preview: a collection of scouting reports, story-lines and dates to circle as we look at this upcoming 2013-2014 Bruins season

Well I'm not Waiting for the Regular Season

A look at Preseason Fighting

Prior to a September 23rd it seemed that nobody had told Washington Capitals enforcer: Joel Rechlicz that speeding fits colliding with your skull often inflict pain. But not to worry, by the 15th minute of that night's game against the Bruins, Milan Lucic had enlightened him...sort of.

In a ferocious fight that left Rechlicz bruised and out of sorts, Lucic absolutely wrecked poor Joel landing punch after punch while engaging in a seemingly endless fight that seemed only fit to be drawn out in a Roman gladiator arena. But no matter how brutal it is, fighting is a part of hockey, interwoven with the game and completely necessary among the factoids and memories in the NHL's great history. We all know fighting is bad. It turns brains into mashed potato and leaves knuckles un-recognizable by the end of their careers as enforcers. There is obviously a strong argument already staked on the subject of banning these brutal bouts but at the same time it is guys like Shawn Thornton, Zedeno Chara and Milan Lucic that make you finally realize that those futile arguments are well, futile.

But nevertheless there is one aspect of fighting that can be far more thoroughly questioned. Why do preseason fights even exist? The games do not count, the scores mean nothing. These games are almost invisible, meaningless, and free of any weight or value to their winners. But while that may be true, the injuries sustained in these strangely violent exhibition games are anything but nonexistent.

After Bruins fans were treated to their first preseason fight in over 2 calendar years back on September 16th, the black and gold have managed to successfully accumulate a whopping 9 tussles in just 6 games.

“Obviously there’s a lot of cons in fighting in preseason. You don’t want to break a hand or get a concussion or anything like that from fighting in the preseason,” Lucic said after the Bruins won 3-2 in overtime at TD Garden. “But you know the pros are you’re showing that no matter what the situation is or no matter what the game is, you’re going to stick up for yourself and your teammates no matter what the situation is. And that’s what it basically was. I didn’t really have a choice. So like I said, it was just good to get into one. And it was a long one. I had to catch my breath after that one.” 

The fight Lucic was referencing there was the same one in which the picture above was taken and came after teammate Dane Byers was absolutely cleaned out by a 26 year old Rechlicz who was just 2 seasons removed from a 200+ PIM season in the NHL. Insanely, even after Rechlicz stumbled back to his dressing room following the merciful end to that bout, he returned to the ice and decided to pick a fight with yet another enraged Bruin: Johnny Boychuck. 

Once again countless punches were thrown and this time Rechlicz actually took Boychuck down. That fight in particular obviously made Bruins fans mad. The Boychuck hit that spawned that fight was not even hard enough to take its recipient down. But within seconds Rechlicz had Boychuck pinned against the boards while taking a good 2 or 3 defenseless punches to the ribs. If it is even to exist, preseason fighting should be reserved for big time offences. Hitting the goaltender, boarding, charging, those are the kinds of crimes meriting of a fight. Not a simple center ice collision. 

As was said before, the Bruins have accumulated 9 fights this preseason. That is slightly abnormal as these 9 fights are the highest since the team recorded 15 in 2009-2010. Another far stranger fact though is that that with 9 fights in 6 games the Bruins are averaging 1.5 fights per game. That is almost identical to the 1.5 in this last season and the slightly lesser 1.3 fights per game the year before. 

So why fight like this, why is there no discrepancy between regular and preseason fight tallies when in one set of games, wins and losses are treasured like gold and in the other they are thrown away like Twinkie wrappers. Because for some kids playing in these games, this is as close as they will ever get to the NHL. Fights are a product of high stakes, competing players and upped anxiety surrounding a single game and when you have college kids fighting it out to realize their ultimate hockey goal, the amount of anger and competitive nature is as high if not higher than that of a regular season game when the roster is set and the salaries are confirmed.  

There are arguments for and against fighting in hockey but while regular season battles are nearly set in stone, the stories surrounding these 9 preseason battles are in a way, far more intriguing. 

3rd line's the Charm 

Why the combination of Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg may prove crucial in 2013-2014


Chris Kelly celebrating the biggest personal achievement of his career: his OT winner in game one the 2012 NHL playoffs 

The Boston Bruins as a team have played 5 preseason games and are a cumulative 4-1, their only blemish amidst so much foretelling success being an 8-2 beat down last Thursday at the hands of the Redwings.

Jarome Iginla has made his transition to the spoked be seems like it never happened and Milan Lucic has already made the dentist far to familiar with Looch's opponents. Malcom Subban has been great and seems much closer to being NHL ready than many had previously assumed.

For the first time in over 2 seasons, preseason hockey has returned to the NHL schedule and for the Bruins, a host of off season signings left many questions unanswered. With situations like Jarome Iginla an the chemistry surrounding him and his new line-mates, the preseason has ANSWERED questions. But in the cases of Malcom Subban and the combination of Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg is has only spawned them.

Chris Kelly, a 32 year old versatile Bruins forward has been with the team for 3 seasons now an despite his 6 years in Ottowa has broken into the minds of hockey fans as a Bruin not a Senator. He was traded to Boston in the final months of their 2010-2011 regular season before making a strong impression as the teams 3rd line center in the playoffs. There he scored 5 times and saw his team storm all the way to a cup championship. Kelly got off to a good start in Beantown but sported an even better sophomore campaign in 2011-2012. He scored 20 times that year and did not miss a game. Kelly seemed to be the big name answer to a Bruins 3rd line that had struggled for so many years but as quick as the praise began to come forth, he bottomed out.

Chris scored just 3 times in the lockout shortened 2013 season and was a complete non factor in the ensuing playoffs scoring just two goals, both of which came after Kelly failed to score in the initial 3 rounds of the NHL tournament. The Bruins were back to rock bottom. They shipped Tyler Seguin out of town and seemed to be looking to do the same with Kelly. But as time went on, no moves were made so Bruins fans finally looked to fix the problem at hand not simply throw it away.

Chris Kelly is great but the Bruins need someone for him to feed off of. Fact is, that person was already in the Bruins organisation and had already played briefly with Kelly. That persons name is Carl Soderberg.

After he was drafted by the Blues back in 2004, Malmo Sweeden native: Carl Soderberg returned to his homeland lacking what he so dearly yearned for: an NHL contract. As it stood, the Blues wanted Soderberg but not enough to pay him. Turns out, while the Bruins like the Blues did not want to lock him up for a contract, they were willing to give up some decent assets to simply call dibs on Carl. In July of 2007 they traded backup: Hannu Toivonen for the rights to the Sweed.

But nevertheless, the Bruins sent Soderberg back to Sweeden where he would play 5 more seasons as he would progressively increase his scoring output all before he finally complied 31 goals in this past season leading his team to the playoffs all before he gained the elusive call by the Boston Bruins. Soderberg was comming to Boston.

"You know, Kells and Carl are really good players, they work well together and so I'm just trying to help out when I can and if I can give them a little bit more space, then that's all the better." 3rd line companion Riley Smith said of his teammates.

Soderberg has sported an improved style of play in this preseason accounting for 3 goals and quite a few nice bursts of speed and confert in and around these US rinks that are almost 10 feet thinner than those in Sweeden. As for Chris Kelly, his work in the preseason has accounted for 2 goals of his own as well as an assist on one of Soderberg's 3 preseason goals. The combination of Carl Soderberg seems to be the compliment that Chris Kelly has needed all this time.

My thoughts on Malcom

A brief scouting report on Malcom Subban

Recently, the Worcester Sharks in collaboration with the New England Sports Center and the Providence Bruins organization put on an AHL preseason match-up before a slim crowd of 2,000 people packed into the NESC's small - rink one - arena in Marlborough. 

I was there, clutching a surprisingly helpful lineup-card in hand while I pinned my eyes to the sweater, the name on the back being one I had no clue would be here tonight: Malcom Subban. Seeing that he is the brother of hated Montreal Canadian: PK Subban, Malcom's surname is not one unknown to Bruins fans. What is unknown however is the simple thought of cheering for a man with that surname. 

Malcom is 19 years old and plays for the Bellville Bulls of the OHL (Ontario Hockey League). In his 4 years there however  he has already solicited a whole boatload of cheering from his fans. Many of those cheers were for any one of the 1355 saves he made in a career season in 2012. But those junior hockey stats were soon rendered worthless as the slate was wiped clean earlier this month when Malcom Subban joined the Boston Bruins preseason starting squad. There he started 1 game and appeared in another holding a 29 minute shutout in his Bruins debut back in preseason game number 1. Malcom made 12 saves against his brothers Canadians. 

But before long, trouble struck as after allowing 8 goals in a September 19th demolition at the hands of the Redwings, Malcom was demoted to Providence and his brief tenure as a 2013-2014 Boston Bruin came to a painful close. 

But here in Providence, Bruins fans as well as Subban were treated to a reality check. As it stood, we always knew that there was no way Subban would make the Bruins and in a way his lack of participation in Providence training camp and preseason might have possibly hindered his possible performance as an AHL goalie in 2013. But nevertheless, in the game that I saw him take part in, that lack of participation was not evident. 

Subban made 29 saves in the contest and allowed just 2 goals. His team was handed the loss but there is a strong argument to state that it was not Malcom's fault. As a fan sitting just over 45 feet from the crease, Subban's 2 goals allowed were just 2 tallies among so many shots that without his presence and crucial saves could possibly have multiplied into 4 or 5.  In addition to that, the second goal that Subban allowed came on a delayed penalty where the Sharks were able to pull their goalie for an extra attacker. This advantage was clearly evident as after some good work in the corners, the Sharks were able to work the shot back to a point man who ripped one home from outside the circles to break a then 1-1 tie with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game. 

Yet when you cast aside those two defensive miscues that left poor Malcom out to dry the Toronto native was stellar making stops through traffic and despite an obvious difficulty at handling rebounds off of long range shots, neither of the 2 goals he allowed came off of shots within the hash marks. His comfort in the crease showed from the first warm-ups on as he was almost never sliding around. The edges of his skates were always firmly dug into the ice and he seemed to be fully contempt at staying inside the small confines of the blue shaded goal crease.  This close proximity to the goal and lack of cutting down of the shooting angle was made possible by both a wing span of 79 inches that allowed him to easily cover both posts at the same time and some leg power and reflex skills that were ranked higher than many forwards in the 2012 draft in which Malcom was selected in. 

In my mind, it is true that Malcom Subban is not NHL ready but AHL, that might be a different story.  


Main Notes 

• Strong on shots through traffic, no goals allowed from within hash marks or with screens in front of him.
• Wide wingspan: 79 inches (7 inches wider than the goal itself)
• Comfort in crease: was never sliding around, rarely out of position.
• Slight difficulty at handling glove side pucks and controlling rebound produced from that side. 
• Never lost focus on game even after he was beaten with just 3 minutes to go.  
• Has been with Boston Bruins all preseason, September 27th game was debut with Providence 

Who's 2

A look at the Bruins backup goal-tending situation

Tuukka Rask will likely start upwards of 60 games in 2013. At this point in time, there are no doubts of what this man is capable of. 19 wins last year and a GAA of 2.00. He led his team to the finals, making the saves when the counted and always going 100%. Unlike last year, the situation regarding the number one spot on the Bruins goal tending depth chart is one of fortitude and solidification. Tuukka will, like he was last season, be the face between the pipes for almost two 3rds of 2013-2014 season. The only problem is who plays those last say 20 games.

Last season, the answer and filler of those 20 games would logically have been Anton Khudobin.

He played admirably in his rookie year snagging 9 wins in 14 starts while only allowing a GAA of 2.03. When Tuukka had to take a night off, Anton Khudobin was there to fill the void. The only problem with that scenario was that Khudobin was too good per se. Following Boston's elimination from the finals back in June, Khudobin immediately expressed his wishes to move on from Beantown. He knew that with Rask playing so well in his resurgence as a starter, Tuukka would be here for the rest of the decade meaning that long story short, a long term deal between the Bruins and Khudobin would obviously involve a lot of bench warming.

By July 5th, the Bruins had lost their stellar backup. On that day, Khudobin signed a 1 year 800,000$ contract with the Carolina Hurricanes

But as Anton Khudobin cleaned out his TD Garden locker, 2 other men christened theirs. After Niklas Svedberg signed with the Bruins back in 2012, the 24 year old Swedish native iced once of the best seasons in he history of AHL goaltenders. He ripped home an astronomical 37 wins while allowing a GAA of just 2.17 and won the honor as best league goaltender. Following the conclusion of the AHL season there was no doubt that Svedberg would be the backup in 2013 but in the blink of an eye, Peter Charelli made a questionable move bringing in a man named Chad Johnson. With just 10 NHL games under his belt, Johnson may not be the primary choice for backup. But as it stands, through 3 years split between the Rangers and Coyotes he has not been bad. Until game one of the preseason. Johnson allowed 3 goals in just 29 minutes of play amidst Boston's 6-3 preseason opener win over Montreal and he was not happy. 

“It was a tough one, for sure. You want to get into the flow of things, but I didn’t get off to a good start. The first shot I had on me I mishandled the glove, and that wasn’t good. Then there were penalties, so there was never flow to the game as we scrambled along,” said Johnson. “There was no flow to my game, and it showed. I didn’t play the way that I wanted to, obviously. It was disappointing, but you can’t worry about it now while focusing on putting out your best performance in the next game.”

At this point in time, we really don't know who will back up the Bruins in 2013-2014 but regardless of that, the season will be upon us very soon and as a fan of the Bruins, I cannot wait. 

Dates to circle 

Most anticipated games of the 2013-2014 Bruins season

October 3rd vs Tampa Bay Lighting: The Bruins play their first game of the season kicking off against a lightning team that will be looking to begin their year by knocking off one of the best teams in the east.  

October 12th at Columbus Blue Jackets: After an off-season full of different moves, the Bruins will play against Nathan Hornton for the first time in almost 4 years. 

October 17th at Florida Panthers: After Tim Thomas's competitive spirit was reignited by Boston's run to the cup, he will likely play his first career game against the Bruins during a 7:30 home game for the Panthers.

November 5th vs Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin will make his return to the Garden as he will likely be one of the top players on a Stars team that is expected not to be playing very well in 2013-2014. 

November 9th vs Maple Leafs: A little over 6 months after the Maple Leafs saw the Bruins erase their 2 goal lead in the final minutes of game seven they will return to the Garden in a game 7 rematch. 

January 19th at Chicago: The Bruins will likely endure chants of "WE GOT THE CUP" when they head to the Windy City for a Stanley Cup rematch.

February 9th - February 25th: The NHL season will be briefly suspended due to the Olympics in Sochi. The Bruins however will likely have several representatives over in Russia as Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic have all been intertwined with Canadian team training camp. 

April 13th at NJ Devils: The Bruins will wrap up their regular season with a 3 PM meeting with the Devils. 

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Who is Loui Erikson: Why Claude Jullian will love the Bruins replacement for Tyler Seguin

Its a fact: Claude Jullian and Peter Charelli never really liked Tyler Seguin. In fact they hated him so much that they were willing to trade away a guy who literally undermined everything that Claude stood for gaining instead a guy of slightly lesser skill yet still one who might as well be Jullian's son.

Born on July 17th 1985, Erikson, now 27, has played 4 more years of NHL hockey than Seguin did and through those 4 years has literally been Mr. Consistency. The Stars always knew what they were getting out of him. 36 goals in '09, 29 in 2010, 27 in 2011, 26 last year and 12 in this 48 game shortened season. Through the last 5 seasons, Eriksson has missed just 3 games and all of them were in one season. He has no relay history of injury and unlike countless players on the Bruins roster will not be a guy you have to worry about concussions with. He reliably scored upwards of 70 points in a year and despite his natural position being left wing has shown he can perform at any position (a fact that the Bruins will love seeing as at this point in time they pretty much have NO right wings.)

Nevertheless while we all know Eriksson may be the guy we have been waiting for (ie. a 30+ goal scorer) but really the underrated facet of Eriksson's game may be his ability to play defense. You see while in time, Seguin's speed may develop into a useful tool to assist him on the back-check, the departed Bruins draft pick was definitely one of those guys who would wait at the blue line and let other guys work the puck out in order spring Seguin up on a breakaway. For Coach Claude, that style would be hard enough even if Seguin scored on those plays yet what made things harder for Bruins coach was the fact that no matter how hard Seguin tried to position himself for a breakaway, he never was the 50 goal scorer he had the potential to become and that's a problem. 

In Claude's eye's, Tyler Seguin might as well be a monster walking the earth, while another name on the Bruins roster in the complete and total opposite: Patrice Bergeron.

Now a 9 year veteran of the NHL, the former 2nd round pick by the Bruins, plays a very similar style to that of Eriksson, all be it with a little less emphasis on the scoring aspect of it all.  He will spring out on a breakaway if given the opportunity but not afraid to go work in the corners, not afraid to take a hit to make a play. 

"He's an unbelievable guy, the perfect Bruin" Claude Jullian once said and judging by the standard set up by various signings by the team, that could not be more true.  

Nevertheless as Bruins fans learn more about Eriksson, the Boston front office is already singing the praises of their incoming budding star. 

"Loui’s a big, strong skating, left-shot, right wing. He can play both sides, but he would be playing right wing for us. He's had four [straight] seasons of 25-plus goals. We got a real good two-way player," Peter Charelli said last night. "I had a certain idea of a player and the type of player that we want," he then went on to say when asked for some insight into the trade.  

Nevertheless as I hinted at before, the one big dilemma now spread before the Bruins organization is: where to play Eriksson? In those 9 years in Dallas, he played his natural position: center. Yet with his talents now shipped off to the B's, he may be used to fill a crucial hole in the Bruins lineup: right wing. 

"With Nathan [Horton] gone, we've got to look to our right side to see and assess how we are going to reconstruct the right side. We got some players from within that may be able to fill. I want to do a sweep of these players that will be available in trades and free agency. I’d like to think that we’re a destination for an older player - old, relatively speaking - that wants a chance to win. So I've got to canvas that. It’s about turning over all the stones and going through the free agent list player by player. We’ll have our [staff] in here. We met all day [Tuesday]. We will meet again [Wednesday]. You make calls and you gauge how the market’s going. You act when you think you have to act. I’m going into it with the approach that we are going to be diligent in talking to these guys and seeing what the trade opportunities are also."

So      Horton gone, Jagr likely soon to follow and now both Tyler Seguin AND  Rich Peverley traded away, the Bruins right wing position is mostly empty: MOSTLY! This is where the versatility of Eriksson once again will likely make Claude Jullian smile. If the chips fall as they stand, the Bruins will begin next season with Eriksson playing with either Bergeron and Marchand or Krejci and Lucic therefore filling the roles of Seguin or Honrton respectively. 

Seguin is gone, off to places where he will hopefully someday thrive. In the words of Peter Charelli "he is a good kid" but the Bruins were never the team for him so, not wanting to delay his success any longer, the rid themselves of the controversy and speculation surrounding Seguin gaining in return a guy who will probably not score 40 goals but will regularly get you 25 or more. For the Bruins and Loui Eriksson, this is a match made in heaven and as a fan, i cannot wait to see this one pan out. 

"These are moves that are predicated on being a successful franchise going forward and making the prudent moves in a timely manner so that you can capitalize the market as it stands. Let me say a little bit about Tyler, because I think Tyler comes in here with much fanfare. He’s a real nice kid, dimensional speed, dimensional skill and he’s only 21. He’s got the whole world ahead of him. Probably better suited as a center but he did well for us as a winger. We find ourselves a little bit - because of the cap going down - we've got to make some hard decisions so we got some very good return and lower cap numbers with trading Tyler. I had a talk with him. I think he understood - maybe in five years, he’ll understand better. He’ll thrive there [in Dallas] and he’ll thrive playing center." ~ Peter Charelli on Tyler Seguin

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Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverly sent to Dallas for Loui Erikson: What happened to cause this star to fall apart

Towards the end of last week, rumors surrounding an impending Tyler Seguin trade flew out of Boston like little fire crackers. Mere days later, even after those rumors were forcefully silenced, they have sprung up again this time looking to be far more distinct than petty roomers or little firecrackers. On this steamy 4th of July, fireworks of news have flown out the mouths and articles of Bruins insiders reporting one consistent story. The Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars are prepping for a mega trade, the sheer number of players involved breaking records in it of itself.

Nevertheless with the basics of the trade following the skeleton of Seguin to Dallas, and Loui Eriksson back to Boston, we had to know that at least the Bruins half was coming. You remember mere days ago when Bruins GM Peter Charelli called out Seguin saying: "He’s got to commit his mind and focus to the one task at hand. He’s got to become more of a professional. You know what? I can say that about a lot of 21-year-olds. I know he got criticized for playing on the periphery and all that stuff. He did. He’s got to commit to being a professional and focusing on the game: simple as that. He does that, we don’t expect him to be crashing and banging. Just play your game."

Now in the immediate wake of that and with Seguin still in Boston, speculations arose. Was this just a fear tactic: trying to scare Seguin into shaping up and becoming a better player? Did Boston not really get any good offers, or was nobody really that interested in Seguin? Well as all that has gone down in the past few hours, the Bruins have proved that NONE of those above reasons for Seguin staying in Boston was correct. Tyler Seguin stayed in Boston because he stayed in Boston, and now he is leaving Boston because the Bruins are done with him and well, Loui Eriksson is a pretty good player.

Nevertheless, the main reason for this mega trade is not the name coming to Boston, it is the money that is leaving. You see with the cap going down to 64 million dollars next season, the Bruins have been treading dangerously close to the ceiling all season long and a big part of that has been the contracts binding Seguin and Peverly meaning that by unloading them to Dallas, the Bruins will now have crucial money available to put towards resigning guys like Tuukka Rask and Patrice Bergeron.

Regardless of that, while Eriksson HAS managed to put up 4 25 goal seasons and scouring wise may be somewhat comparable to Seguin, Bostonians cannot help but feel a small slice of remorse about Seguin's departure.

After being drafted, 2nd overall back in 2010, the mighty speed of Seguin caught eyes especially in an explosive 2011-2012 season with 29 goals the biggest of which won game 6 of that Washington sires in OT to force a game seven (which Boston went on to loose).

Nevertheless as the lockout began, Seguin exploded over in Europe scouring 22 goals in 29 games and prompting many fans to project a similar performance once he made the switch back to American ice. We could not have been more wrong. By the midpoint of the year Seguin had put in just 5 goals one of which wasn't even on a goaltender (Seguin scored his first goal of the year on an empty net) and when the regular season came to a crashing halt on the 28th of April, this guy who was supposed to carry the Bruins had scored just 16 goals and 32 points (4th on the team).Yet by the time the playoffs rolled around, scouring was the least of the Bruins worries about Seguin more an more reports came out stories surfaced, the most prominent of witch being a report that multiple times during the Bruins first round sires against Toronto, Seguin was caught partying late at night thus prompting many Bruins officials to conduct a "sit down" with Seguin all to no avail.

You see, it has long been known that Seguin is a Gronkowski comparable guy who loves to "have fun" IE partying or drinking and it has seemed that up until this playoff year, that sleepless lifestyle hadn't really taken its tole on young Seguin. Well, his luck ran out this playoff year as with the exception of one single goal in the Rangers series, Seguin saw his goal column remain empty despite taking 70 shots on goal throughout his 22 playoff games.

"Just play your game." Peter Charelli said in that verbal dart directed a Seguin last week and well, while Seguin may finally learn to play his game, it won’t be in Boston.

The Bruins were never a good fit for Seguin, he does not hit, he does not take hits so by default he was never free of the scrutiny that Bruins fans relentlessly bombarded him with. Tyler Seguin was never a true Bruins and at just after 3:30 PM on this July 4th, he was no longer one on paper.

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Bruins offseason moves flying a mile a minute: Horton gone, Seguin also enveloped in trade talks

In the span of about an hour, a previously dormant Boston trading block has almost literally blew up.

Coming into today, we all knew the stories surrounding Jaromir Jagr and Andrew Ference. Jagr: gone in reaction to a lifeless score sheet. Andrew Ference: a guy who the Bruins would love to retain but with their intent to resign Tuukka Rask and the pressure of the falling cap, the B's were willing to let their veteran blue liner go.

In addition to that as time went on and while guys like Danny Briere and Vincent Lecavalier were announced as buyout opportunities in the NHL, the Bruins were quick to express interest in not only Lecavilier but also Briere (although they were most interested in Lecavilier).

Nevertheless at exactly 1:00 this afternoon, coveted Bruins insider Joe Haggerty came out with a jaw dropping report that the Bruins were "interested in listing to trade proposals for Tyler Seguin." As that report circulated the web, it was quickly backed up by TSN reporter Bob Mckenzie up in Onterio. McKenzie then went on to add that the basic framework for an offer the Bruins may accept would include: an all-star player in addition to a top 10 draft pick. Well that narrows this down.

Following that criteria, the 10 teams that could give a top 10 pick for Seguin would be: the Stars, the Devils, the Sabers, the Oilers, the Flames, the Hurricanes, the Predators, the Lightning, the Panthers and the Avalanche. Yet when you look at that, really only teams like the Sabers and  Oilers would be able to boast that criteria of a top 10 pick AND an all-star forward although for both those teams, neither of them would likely be willing to give up both their pivotal rebuilding tool (the draft pick) and any of the few pieces they already have to build around (the all star player the bruins would need in exchange for Seguin).

Regardless of that, the only definitive story coming out of this fire storm of roomers today has been that of Nathan Horton. In the minutes following the Seguin story, one of the speculations about the possible trade was that, the Bruins were looking to get rid of Seguin in order to open up some money to resign winger Nathan Horton yet at 1:37 today, the same Bob McKenzie out of TSN reported that Horton's agent Paul Krepelka had told the media that "Nathan has told BOS he wants to explore free agency. It's not a financial issue, just a decision to move on." So. Now what. With Horton gone, you begin to think that, much like their  game six loss, things look to be falling from Boston’s fingertips yet when you look into the reports and twitter blasts of this crazy afternoon, this may be a carefully orchestrated plan on the part of the Bruins front office.

After the Jaromir Jagr trade back in April, the Bruins ended up surrendering their 1st round pick to Dallas and while after going on to become the second best team in the league, that pick would end up turning out be a pathetic 29th selection, this draft has been dubbed by many as one of the deepest drafts since 2003 and not having a pick until the end of the second round (61st overall) is not a good idea. So with that in mind, according to yet another Haggerty report, the Bruins are "Desperately trying to move up in the draft" which is without a doubt a huge factor in the Seguin roomers.

But now after learning about the Horton departure and the Bruins thirst for draft picks, you may ask: why don't you trade Horton for picks if he is already leaving? The main answer for that question is that: you can't. With 5 and a half million dollars paid to him this year, reports said that with Horton going into free agency, he was looking for a pay day around 6 or 7 million dollars,  meaning that unless the Bruins were willing to give that to him, he would not be their ticket to a top pick: Seguin would be.

Yet after examining the stories of what the Bruins plan to do with Seguin, another question surrounding Horton begins to arise. Why leave a team that was 2 wins away from giving you your 2nd Cup in 3 years. One reason suggested by radio show Jonsten and Flyn, included that, that "the style that the Bruins employ with such a skill and flood of success in largely based around beating the cr*p out of an opponent" and, after several injuries sustained on brutal body checks (the shoulder injury in this playoff and both concussions in and around the 2011 cup run) and a crippling hand injury he was given when he punched the helmet of Jarome Iginla during a late April fight, Horton would not want to risk a career ending injury by staying in the physical atmosphere and style of the Bruins organization thus opting to get out of his longtime relationship with the city. 

Horton is gone, Tyler Seguin might be hot pursuit, and the B's are looking to trade the rights of fleeting D-man Andrew Ference. Long story short, this has been a crazy week in Boston sports and time will only tell if this week will get any weirder as at least for the talks surrounding draft picks they must be completed before 3 pm tomorrow when the draft commences.

On a normal day I would say go Bruins with a gleeful ease but after what may turn out to be a mega roster turnover over 24 hours or so, this Bruins team might not be the Bruins we came to become acquainted with after the 2011 Cup Run.

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