Bruins Beat w/ Evan Marinofsky Ep. 399
How Can The Bruins Get Back on Track?
Conor Ryan joins Evan Marinofksy on today's Bruins Beat to discuss how the Bruins can regain their footing after stumbling into the Christmas break. Could the break serve as a mental reset and get this team back on track, or will it take more than just that? Could a trade still be on the table, and if so, how could the Bruins make that work with their very limited cap space?
Topics:
- Bruins have been struggling of late
- Why they’re having issues in the offensive zone
- Would a wing make more sense for the deadline?
- What would it take?
This episode of Bruins Beat is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook!
21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234
This episode is also brought to you by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/50bruins and use code 50bruins for 50% off plus free shipping!
How Can The Bruins Get Back on Track?
Conor Ryan joins Evan Marinofksy on today's Bruins Beat to discuss how the Bruins can regain their footing after stumbling into the Christmas break. Could the break serve as a mental reset and get this team back on track, or will it take more than just that? Could a trade still be on the table, and if so, how could the Bruins make that work with their very limited cap space?
Topics:
- Bruins have been struggling of late
- Why they’re having issues in the offensive zone
- Would a wing make more sense for the deadline?
- What would it take?
This episode of Bruins Beat is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook!
21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234
This episode is also brought to you by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/50bruins and use code 50bruins for 50% off plus free shipping!
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SportsTranscript
00:00 If you're getting a guy like Henrique or Duclear or what have you, you're still gonna have to move out NHL assets to make a deal like that work.
00:05 Just because you're... I think last time I checked, Gruen's had about 56,000 in available cap space.
00:11 Not great. You're gonna have to get a little creative if you really want to bring in any NHL talent, let alone a guy like Lindholm.
00:17 Let alone anybody in any job. That's not a lot of cap space.
00:22 [Intro Music]
00:32 And welcome into the Bruins Beat on CLNS Media.
00:35 My name is Evan Marinovsky and today I'm joined by Connor Ryan. Connor, what is up?
00:41 Evan, I'm doing well. How you doing?
00:44 Doing great. Doing great. How was your Christmas? Was Santa good to you? Did he get you everything you could have dreamed of?
00:50 Of course, yes. It was a great time. Got a new rollback polo. Got a new little hat.
00:56 So, showing off the new fit. Still a little festive. It's got little bulldogs on it.
01:00 I did not go to the University of Georgia, but who doesn't love bulldogs?
01:04 So, rocking the new Christmas fit, Evan. How about you? How was your Christmas?
01:07 I like it. It was good. It was relaxing. I think holidays are best, personally, when they're relaxing.
01:13 It's fun, you know? You get to do different things. You can feel fat sitting on the couch.
01:19 There was a lot of football and basketball to watch. That was great.
01:23 In terms of gifts, the biggest things were things I picked out myself.
01:28 New pants, things like that. Because nothing's worse than getting clothes for Christmas and being like, "Ah, these don't fit."
01:34 And then you know it's going to be a while until you go back to get them returned.
01:38 Because, you know, you know that a couple days after Christmas, the malls and the stores are just zoos.
01:46 And then, you know, it starts to go towards New Year's and you forget about it.
01:50 So, I did all my own shopping in terms of pants and things like that.
01:55 So, that was perfect. Some new clothes. I don't have any of them on right now, unfortunately.
02:00 And what's funny is, as we were sitting down to record this, I was like, "Man, I could use a new light for these."
02:09 And I could use new AirPods. And I was like, "Huh. If only there was a holiday where I could have gotten those as a gift."
02:14 I was going to say, yeah, I got a new little microphone. I don't have the plug for it yet.
02:19 But moving forward, I'll have a – moving forward, it'll be a little bit clearer.
02:23 It's not just through the AirPods. But, no, I feel your pain, Evan.
02:26 Nice. No, that's good. That's good. That's smart.
02:29 I was – yeah, I had to go to Best Buy last minute. I saw the podcast stuff.
02:34 I was like, "Damn, I should ask for some of that."
02:36 But anyways, we play on. I think we do okay with what we got.
02:40 I'll last until next Christmas when I can ask for those things.
02:44 I'm sure I'll forget about them by then.
02:46 Anyways, the Bruins have been on a three-day break.
02:50 They had the 24th, the 25th, the 26th off, as they do every year.
02:54 That was the one thing missing from the last couple days.
02:56 I mean, we had the World Juniors, which was nice, but wouldn't have hated an NHL game on the 26th.
03:02 But fortunately, the Bruins are back. We're recording this the 27th, so they're back.
03:06 They play the Sabres on Wednesday night.
03:09 But the Bruins have been limping of late, really limping of late.
03:13 0-2-2 in their last four, 1-2-3 in their last six.
03:18 Two – well, the Winnipeg performance was brutal on Friday night.
03:23 5-1 loss. That was bad.
03:26 And then 3-2, narrowly edged out in Minnesota.
03:30 What do you make of this? Is the sky falling, Connor?
03:34 No, I wouldn't say the sky is falling, right?
03:36 I think, as we've talked about before, when this team has hit ups and downs,
03:40 are they as good as they were at the start of the year with that crazy record?
03:43 No. Are they as bad as they've been the last four or five games?
03:46 No. They're somewhere in between. Maybe not totally in between,
03:49 but they are a playoff team that should be hovering around the second or third spot in the Atlantic.
03:56 They still – you look at their blueprint in terms of what they should be
04:00 in terms of being anchored by elite goaltending and what should be very strong defense.
04:04 They should be a team that is a tough out night in and night out.
04:08 Have not seen that yet. We know about the scoring.
04:10 I think that's been probably the most stark flaw that we knew going into the year.
04:16 There's going to be a lot of these one-goal games, a lot of these situations
04:19 where this team does not have the firepower to kind of land that knockout blow
04:23 and cruise to a two-goal, three-goal win.
04:26 It's been few and far between this year, but that dearth of scoring,
04:30 plus what I think has been the most uncharacteristic thing, which has been the defense.
04:34 Way too many chances surrendered at the net front.
04:39 Way too many struggles against rush chances.
04:41 All these things that when you look at the personnel should be corrected.
04:44 Again, every team has these lulls where their defensive structure is lacking
04:49 and a lot is left to be desired.
04:52 It's been a trend all season long, and that's something that, yes, you can look at the offense
04:57 and maybe gaining a guy at the deadline or a guy like DeBrus breaking through.
05:01 You have the personnel in place on defense.
05:03 You need to really fix that right now because it's not fair to both Lena Solnmark
05:06 and Jeremy Swainman to be tasked with turning aside 10-plus high-danger chances
05:13 net in, net out. That's unsustainable, even if you've got arguably the two best goalies in net
05:17 every single night.
05:19 Again, you look back at the beginning of the season, and that was what was carrying them.
05:23 That was what made up for some rough defense in front or lack of scoring.
05:30 And they've sort of fallen back to earth a bit.
05:33 They're not bad, but they've just been a little above average.
05:36 You're talking about the two goalies, and you have to expect that.
05:40 I think you have to understand that that's going to happen.
05:44 You're right about the defense.
05:46 They are way too easy to play against, but we've talked a lot about that
05:49 because it continues to be a problem.
05:51 And as you said, this should not be a problem.
05:54 Lindholm, Carlo, McAvoy, you have guys that should be better,
05:59 especially physically, in front of their own net, imposing in the corners.
06:04 They struggled to clear the puck out of their own zone.
06:07 There are sequences. It was both Minnesota games in that third period,
06:12 especially the one at the Garden about a week ago,
06:15 where they could not get out of their own end in the third period.
06:18 There's just a lack of urgency.
06:20 The other thing is people look and go, "Oh, the scoring has dried up."
06:24 And it has. But why has the scoring dried up?
06:27 The biggest reason is they are never in the offensive zone
06:30 for any extended period of time.
06:33 And when they are, the play breaks up.
06:35 It just goes the other way, or there's a bad pass,
06:38 and they can never really find interior ice.
06:41 You also look at-- I was reading Fluto Shinzawa today,
06:44 and he called them the one-and-done Bruins in the offensive zone.
06:47 Chance off the rush, boom, other way.
06:49 And that has to stop, and that's systemic.
06:53 And again, just not being able to get to those interior ice
06:57 and sustain zone time.
06:59 This isn't NHL 23.
07:01 Connor, I'll be honest.
07:03 My NHL strategy was always, if I was playing a better team,
07:07 pack it in in your own zone, win the game 2-1,
07:11 hope your goalie goes off, gets hot.
07:14 I think the reason I don't love NHL 24 as much
07:16 is because the goalies get tired, and they start to let in goals
07:19 as the shifts go on and on.
07:22 But that's been the Bruins thing this year,
07:24 and I think a lack of offensive zone time has hurt them
07:28 just as much as their shortcomings in the defensive zone.
07:32 Without a doubt.
07:33 This is something that's been talked about time and time again.
07:35 I go back to that road game against the Rangers.
07:38 They gave up seven goals, and a lot of those high-danger chances,
07:43 those scoring plays by the Rangers were generated either off the rush
07:46 or them capitalizing on a really tired Bruins team.
07:50 Charlie Coyle kind of mapped it out best.
07:52 Yes, they've got the high-end talent in place, the Bruins,
07:56 with guys like Pasternak and Marachan and what have you,
07:59 but they need to do the dirty work before those plays.
08:04 It has to be cycling the puck, getting the opposition tired,
08:08 exploiting those kind of holes in the defense,
08:10 and having a guy like Pasternak deliver the knockout punch.
08:14 You can't just go in for, as you said, a one-and-done chance
08:18 or plays off the rush.
08:19 You don't have the depth or the overall skill set to do that.
08:23 It has to be, all right, you wear them down, you hold on to the puck,
08:25 you exploit those soft areas of the ice, and that's where a proven goal scorer
08:29 like a Pasternak can generate his chances.
08:32 That has to be the formula, and you're not seeing that.
08:35 Again, it's something they just keep struggling to kind of find that rhythm
08:39 or find that area of strength.
08:41 It's every time when you've had these games where guys are holding on to the puck,
08:45 extending no-zone time, you're like, "Yes, keep doing that."
08:48 It's a pretty set formula, but it's so few and far between this year
08:51 in terms of consistently doing that night in and night out
08:54 that they fall into these same really kind of bad habits
08:57 that are just unsustainable for putting together a winning product.
09:00 It's also a lack of physicality too.
09:02 I mean, if you're struggling to maintain the puck in the Ozone,
09:05 that means you're getting hit off the puck.
09:07 But the other thing is you're not forcing turnovers on the forecheck,
09:10 and that comes from being physical.
09:12 We've seen this a lot, that other teams do this to the Bruins.
09:16 They've got to start being the aggressor.
09:18 They've got to be the tougher team to play against,
09:20 the team that is annoying to play against.
09:23 They need to be more of that, and they haven't been that.
09:26 And it's a weird thing because, again, obviously with the loss of Lucic,
09:31 you do lose that physical element, but that's a fourth-line guy.
09:34 He was never going to be the one creating tons of sustained offensive zone time.
09:40 So, again, the fact that they're having these issues isn't good.
09:44 We knew that they weren't going to score as much.
09:46 That's understandable. That's okay.
09:48 But you do also have the personnel offensively who can cycle a puck,
09:53 who can have sustained Ozone time.
09:55 I don't think that it's too much to ask of guys like Dubrusk, Frederick, Coyle, Zock.
10:01 I mean, all of them, whether or not they're going to put up 20 goals and 50 points,
10:05 you can still have that sustained Ozone time because Conor, the best defense, is good offense.
10:11 People forget. People often forget.
10:15 And to me, unless I'm just going full negativity mode here,
10:20 there hasn't been anything in the last couple games that I've been like, "Oh, I like that.
10:24 I like how that's working."
10:26 Really right now is – and that's why – I mean, I saw some people saying with this three-day break,
10:32 "Oh, they need more practice. They need more games."
10:35 Part of me, yeah, sure.
10:37 But another part of me is like, "No, you need to reset."
10:39 This is not like – and again, they do need to practice a bit more, sure.
10:43 I know they've been kind of lacking in the amount of practices they've had over the last month.
10:47 But I also think this is kind of a good time to reset, take a break, get away from hockey,
10:52 and just sort of focus on having a better second half.
10:56 Yeah, absolutely.
10:57 I was talking to Ty Anderson about this on our last Poke the Bear.
11:00 As a writer, it's not necessarily that fun to write about the team because –
11:05 I mean, listen, it's great. I'm not saying it.
11:08 But in terms of day in and day out, like scheming up new things to write about
11:12 because a lot of times it's the same storyline playing out.
11:14 If it's a loss, they're losing a game where they fail to extend the lead.
11:19 They're giving up a goal late.
11:21 It's the same defensive struggles.
11:22 But then offensively, in games where they're winning, it's like, all right,
11:25 the goaltending is bailing them out.
11:27 David Pasternak scored two goals.
11:29 It's Coyle or Marchand or Zaka.
11:32 It's not like – it's great last year when obviously they win – they set a record for points.
11:37 But it was every game, it seemed like there was another guy stepping up.
11:40 There was the Frederick game, Dubrusque, Taylor Hall on the third line, the fourth line.
11:45 A guy like Nosek had a – everyone had an "insert player name here" game, right?
11:50 You're not really seeing that as much this year where this team – of course, you've got Dubrusque to get going.
11:54 But you need a – I even look at the last game at home, right, where Lauco, they lose that game,
11:59 but drops the gloves, tries a lacrosse goal.
12:01 That's a Jakob Lauco game, right?
12:03 You need more of those where other guys across the lineup are stepping up
12:07 and pulling maybe more than their weight to get this team two points.
12:11 You're just not seeing that nearly as much this year so far.
12:13 No, you're not, and that's why it is incredible they're still first in the Atlantic.
12:19 It really is unbelievable.
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13:09 Connor, I don't know if you saw, was it Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas,
13:15 that Jeremy Swayman and Jakub Lauko got stuck in the elevator going to Kevin Shattenkirk's apartment?
13:21 I thought that was pretty gritty.
13:24 I mean, listen, I'm just surprised that Derek Fulber wasn't involved in the elevator-related hijinks
13:29 because that man, I think on at least two or three times, has talked about how his elevator has broken down in the North End.
13:35 I don't know. It might be very similar to whatever old-ass, Titanic-looking elevator that Swayman and Lauko were on.
13:42 I don't know when that thing was built.
13:44 Fucking Steamboat Willie was just in theaters when Hoover put that elevator together.
13:49 But it's just shocking that Fulber was not involved in that.
13:52 It seems like every time that man is on one of those modes of transportation, something's going awry.
13:57 Millard Fillmore was president.
13:59 Yes, Rutherford B. Hayes.
14:01 Rutherford B. Hayes, not Millard. I don't know why I thought it was Millard Fillmore.
14:04 I mean, listen, another great president. Not really.
14:07 The Civil War happened very shortly after his tenure.
14:10 But I'm just saying that Rutherford B. Hayes, those lackluster regulation oversight on engineering wouldn't happen on our good friend, Rutherford's watch.
14:19 No! Oh my god. He would have had that locked down.
14:22 It is true, though.
14:23 Whenever I am in an elevator that looks remotely old, it always enters my head.
14:27 I'm like, "Could this be it? This could be the one that, you know, the halt?"
14:32 And I don't want any part of that.
14:34 So hopefully they're out by now. Hopefully they're in Buffalo.
14:38 I would hope so.
14:39 They escaped.
14:40 We'll find out in a few hours.
14:41 It's been long enough.
14:42 It'd be funny if it was Game Time came and said, "Oh, Swaiman and Lauco are inactive. They're still stuck in the elevator going to Kevin Shattenkirk's apartment."
14:50 But anyways, they are out and good, thankfully.
14:54 You know, I mentioned earlier, I was reading a story from Fudo Shenzawa on Wednesday morning about how, you know, we've talked a lot about, you know, should the Bruins acquire a center?
15:05 Should the Bruins acquire a defenseman?
15:07 But the answer might lie at wing.
15:10 Because we knew going into this year that center was going to be an area of less depth.
15:16 But it's actually worked out pretty well.
15:18 Even with Patra gone, you still have Coyle, who's playing really well.
15:21 Pavel Zaka, you have Morgan Geeky, who looks prime to step in.
15:25 Johnny Beecher's been really solid in that 4C role.
15:28 You know, and on defense, obviously, we've mentioned the inefficiencies and the issues.
15:32 But you have the guys.
15:34 I don't, you know, I think another big body wouldn't hurt them back there.
15:37 But I don't think it's the pressing need.
15:40 Where you might really need someone, and what might be cheaper, is a wing, which I like this idea.
15:46 We've touched on this a bit. I think we've talked more about training Jake DeBrusque than we have adding a wing, per se.
15:52 But, you know, like I was reading what Fluto was saying about how, you know, to get Elias Lindholm, it's going to take a lot.
15:59 It's going to probably take a first-round pick, other strong assets, which the Bruins don't really have.
16:06 But on the wing, I mean, there are guys out there on struggling teams like an Anthony DuClaire, a Tyler Johnson, and Adam Henrique.
16:12 Where maybe that's worth kind of taking a flyer on.
16:15 The question is, you don't want to be giving up a ton for what could be a short-term rental.
16:19 I think that's sort of where I'm like, "Hey, don't give up a lot here for someone that's only going to be here for this year."
16:25 But what would you think about adding a wing who could potentially be in the top six?
16:29 Yeah, no, I mean, absolutely.
16:30 I even look at kind of like how the approach was with a guy like Marcus Johansen, right?
16:34 Who I think they envisioned as being a top six guy.
16:36 Settled into more of that third line.
16:38 We saw how much it can help over a playoff run when you have an established playmaker, a potential scoring threat, further down the lineup.
16:46 Even if it's a guy like DuClaire or Tyler Johnson and they're in that middle six role.
16:50 You look at this team and how slim their margin for error is.
16:53 But how much an extra couple of goals can change a really frustrating third period loss.
17:02 How much that can maybe turn into a nice 4-2 win or something.
17:05 When you just get that extra goal at a critical time.
17:08 So, as you said, a guy like DuClaire, Tyler Johnson, Henry.
17:11 Any guy like that, if it's worth the price, I can see it helping this team.
17:16 Henry's just getting more potent scoring.
17:18 Somewhere down the lineup, right?
17:19 As you said, I think everyone likes an Elias Lindholm and we've talked about him before.
17:22 But the hurdles of bringing a guy like that in for what the cost is, that's going to be the biggest issue.
17:28 And again, let's not say the Bruins would not like a guy like Elias Lindholm.
17:32 But when you look at their center depth right now with Zaka, Coyle, Patra and Beecher.
17:38 You're doing alright there right now.
17:40 It's not really necessarily an area of concern.
17:42 It's just the wing depth, the actual tangible scoring.
17:46 That's been kind of the biggest issue.
17:48 I think just the overall hurdle for it though has to be the fact that if you're getting a guy like Henry or DuClaire or what have you.
17:56 You're still going to have to move out NHL assets to make a deal like that work.
17:59 Just because I think last time I checked, the Bruins had about $56,000 in available cap space.
18:05 Not great.
18:06 You're going to have to get a little creative if you really want to bring in any NHL talent.
18:09 Let alone a guy like Lindholm.
18:11 Let alone anybody in any job.
18:13 That's not a lot of cap space.
18:16 But even if the Bruins can't create cap space, you know what they can do, Connor?
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19:53 Now, back to the show.
19:55 So you hit it there in that for a guy like Lindholm, you don't have the ammo, or it doesn't look like you have the ammo to execute that kind of trade.
20:05 Especially for a guy who's making $4.875 million, who would, again, easy cap hit, lots of value in terms of just two-way play, all that stuff.
20:17 But again, on the wings, it makes more sense.
20:21 But you also said, and you're right in saying this, you're going to have to make an NHL move because you don't have much cap space.
20:28 So then who goes?
20:30 Obviously, Matt Griswold is a name that people look at.
20:34 Jake DeBrusque is another one.
20:37 For guys like Duclaire, Johnson, Henrique, those are guys coming from teams that I would think really wouldn't want NHL talent in return, unless I'm wrong on this, which I don't think I am.
20:50 I think those teams more so want prospects.
20:54 And maybe they want a Kuntar or someone like that. I can't imagine that would get it done, especially in a trade deadline market where you're overpaying for everybody.
21:05 It's never really a fair price at the deadline.
21:08 But as I was listening to myself talk about HelloFresh, I was thinking about, we've talked a lot about Fabian Lysel's value declining, and how right now isn't the best time to trade him, considering you have Mugenel's comments.
21:22 You have spotty play that scouts can easily look to.
21:27 But if it was for someone like a Duclaire or a Johnson, that's clearly a downgrade from where Fabian Lysel would have been.
21:34 A couple years ago, you're packaging him for a much better player, for a Bo Horvat or a Tomasz Hrdel or something like that.
21:43 But if you gave up a Lysel and you sort of sold mid on Lysel and dealt him for a Duclaire or a Johnson or a Henrik, would you be comfortable with that?
21:54 Yeah, I mean, I think it depends on just how other teams value him.
21:59 I could also see a situation where, again, I don't think the Bruins are necessarily that high on Lysel in his overall game, but I think there's a lot of other teams out there that, for how they like to play, in terms of maybe more run and gun, more rush heavy, they could be like, "The Bruins are offering up this guy a lot. We put him in our system. We really like how he can kind of build and what he can provide for us."
22:18 I think the talent is still there, especially offensively for a guy like Lysel. It's just whether or not he maybe fits with what the Bruins are trying to kind of drill into their players, especially up at this level.
22:30 So, again, if it's going to be the main thing that holds up a deal for a scoring winger that can give you 20 goals, maybe you view that as a necessary move in terms of just helping out this NHL roster for a guy that, again, has potential, but maybe it won't be maximized here in Boston.
22:48 So, that is something you have to consider, I think, but I think the biggest hurdle for any of these trades just comes down to the NHL assets that you're going to have to part ways with and what teams value what you're offering.
23:00 Because we've talked about the Grizzlicks and the Dabrusks, but I mentioned it with the Calgary thing. You need to move NHL contracts to make a deal like that work. Does Calgary, who is in the middle of probably a very long rebuild, do they value a guy like a Dabrusk or a Grizzlick who are in their late 20s, Grizzlicks going to be 30 pretty soon, who are also pending UFAs?
23:23 What's been a trend we've seen all the time with Calgary, where guys get there and they're like, "This arena fucking sucks. This place sucks."
23:31 "I don't want to be here."
23:32 Absolutely. Yeah. And again, of course, like the Brusts from Edmonton, but still, when you're a free agent and you've parted ways with the Bruins in that situation, so you're a lot more, I think, open to hitting the market then and getting your value.
23:45 For the stay up in Calgary that's in a long rebuild and has lackluster facilities, where you hit the open mark and see what's out there. When you look at who the Bruins are probably comfortable with trading on this team, I don't know how valuable they are to teams across the NHL when there are a lot of pending UFAs, guys in their late 20s, when the teams you're trying to do deals with are teams that are maybe looking more for the long-term asset management as opposed to taking off your guys that could be signing elsewhere in just a couple of months.
24:14 And for guys like Grzegorz and DeBrusque, you hit it there with teams that are rebuilding aren't going to want them. Teams that are contending would want them. I think that's who would want them. And I think the fear is, are you going against them in the first, second round of the playoffs?
24:30 Which is why you would have to deal them to a team out west and pray that if you get to the Stanley Cup you're not facing them because, oh boy, that would be quite the interesting storyline. But I agree with you. I think ultimately you're going to have to figure out what you're going to do with the pieces on your NHL roster.
24:47 What does Grzegorz get? Grzegorz has value. Grzegorz has value. Is that a second or third round pick? Potentially. I mean, he's a good, smaller, good puck-moving NHL defenseman who can play every night. I know he hasn't had the best season this year, but he's a proven NHL player.
25:09 And I think that could be worth a second or third round pick. And the Bruins could use that. So if they can get something like that, great. Because if you do that, then you're losing the money and you're opening up more cap space to make a deal like when we said for Duclair Johnson.
25:25 The only holdup I would have with guys like Duclair and Johnson and those guys is that they're very much middle sixers. And I feel like you have a lot of those. And granted, I don't know if you're getting a surefire, top-of-the-line winger at this deadline because that would require a lot.
25:43 But even then, it's just like a logjam of guys that are there. That would be my only holdup with that. But if you can have a veteran like Tyler Johnson who you can kind of count on to produce, Duclair, same thing, Henrique, same thing, I'd be intrigued to see how that would play out. Because anything that can spark anything with this scoring right now I think is a good thing.
26:06 Anyways, Connor, what can the people look forward to from you over at Boston Globe and TheBoston.com?
26:13 Yeah, we're going to have you covered every step of the way this season with recaps, features, columns, breakdowns, all that good stuff over at Boston.com. So please read all of my stuff over there. And if you want to follow me on Twitter, you can at @ConnorRyan_93.
26:27 Go do all that. That has been Bruins Beat. I'm Evan Maronofsky. You Bruins Beat listeners have a great rest of your week.
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