On this episode of the Pucks with Haggs podcast, host Joe Haggerty is joined by guests Steve Conroy and Mick Colageo to break down the rough 8-2 loss for the Bruins to the Hurricanes, and where the B's go from here. Can the Bruins turn things around? it may be early, but the B's find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic and run the risk of digging themselves a deeper hole if they don't find a solution soon.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Pucks with Hags is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.
00:05Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast powered by Price Picks,
00:09the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network. I believe it's the 137th
00:14episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. I have with me today the Boston Herald Steve Conroy,
00:19longtime friend and colleague Mick Colaggio. Thanks for joining me, boys. I'm Joe Hagerty,
00:24the host of the Pucks with Hags podcast. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
00:28Subscribe and get a premium membership. You get all of my writing sent straight directly to your
00:32inbox. I also write columns three times a week for the Boston Sports Journal after Bruins games.
00:38Before we get into it, and we're going to get into the awful 8-2 loss to the Carolina
00:42Hurricanes last night, really just a bad month for the Bruins. So far, we're going to talk about
00:47that, talk about the struggles, talk about Jim Montgomery, all that stuff. I first want to thank
00:51our sponsors real quick. Price Picks, download the Price Picks app today and use the code CLNS
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01:06Price Picks run your game. Let's also thank the folks at GameTime. Download the GameTime app,
01:12create an account, and use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply,
01:16but again, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code CLNS for $20 off
01:22your first purchase. Download GameTime today. What time is it, Mick? GameTime. GameTime. All
01:28right. Dreadful, embarrassing, really bad, like worst of the season clearly and worst of the last
01:36few years. 8-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night. A lot of different things going wrong.
01:44A lot of different elements of things that have gone bad for the Bruins that we've seen in this
01:506-1 start to the season. Or is it 4-7-1 now? I can't remember.
01:554-6-1. 4-6-1. Thank you. Last place in the Atlantic Division. Third worst goal differential
02:02in the Eastern Conference ahead of only the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens.
02:07Steve, your thoughts just on last night as a game and what we continue to see out of this team here
02:14in the first month or what was the first month? Yeah, I mean, it's more of the same times 10
02:20last night. Can't make simple passes. They're giving the opposition, and Carolina was able to
02:28take advantage of it more than any other team, giving the opposition all the skating room in
02:34the world to gain the zone and come at them with speed. They got, what, four even-strength shots
02:42through two periods. It was just ridiculous. I can't remember a time where they've had
02:52team-wide yips with the puck. They just can't handle the puck. They're getting stripped behind
02:59the net. The first goal, what were they on the delayed call? They had four guys below the goal
03:06line on it. Everybody's trying to do everybody else's job now. I don't know how much the wholesale
03:14line changes had to do with it. I was definitely in favor of splitting up Elias Lindholm and David
03:20Pasternak. That just wasn't working. But blowing up the fourth line and sprinkling them throughout
03:27the lineup was some pretty out-of-the-box thinking, I thought. But they look like a team that
03:36had never played together last night. Yeah, zero chemistry, simple mistakes.
03:44There was another goal where, I think it was Brezow and Max Jones, the Orlov goal,
03:49where Lofnit back up the ice on the back check. Didn't even come into the picture
03:55until the very end when Orlov gets the puck and scores, and just very slow coming back
04:00to help out the rest of their teammates. The one below the goal line where Roslovich was
04:05wide open in the slot, and he scored again later in the game, wide open in the slot again,
04:09just not covering the middle of the ice at all defensive zone coverage-wise. Bad penalties,
04:15as you said, just no offense, five on five. And the passing was very obvious last night,
04:22watching some of the decisions they were making and some of the passes they were throwing to each
04:26other. They simply couldn't get the puck up the ice, complete one or two passes in a row,
04:30and get it up against Carolina. And they can't even get the puck deep.
04:36No. They can't even dump the puck in right now. Which is what they should be doing, right? If
04:41they can't complete passes and if they're having a problem making the fancy plays or the complicated
04:46plays, they should just be getting it in deep and playing simple hockey, and they're not doing that
04:51either. And frankly, the mixing of the lines last night, doing what he did with the fourth line,
04:58I think this is desperation from Jim Montgomery. I think this is Jim Montgomery trying everything
05:02he possibly can do or can think to do to try to get some kind of a different result or some kind
05:06of spark with this team. And the spark plugs aren't working. The jumper cables are not working
05:12with this team right now. Everything they're doing right now is not working and not getting
05:16any kind of a result or a jolt out of this team. Mick, where are you at right now after this loss,
05:21what you've seen this entire month with this team? Well, I just saw Steve take a sip of his coffee
05:28from that very tall, skinny travel mug, and I have the same exact one. So we have team chemistry.
05:37That's good. I'd say last night, one pass, two pass, and then the third one would be somehow
05:42rushed, screwed up. The puck bounced, it went off the stick the wrong way. And next thing you know,
05:49three guys are going this way and the opponents are coming that way, and now the puck and the
05:54pro scouting has now changed. Here's the Bruins. Get them to panic. Rush them,
05:59because they're fragile. They can't complete three passes now. Go after them. So it's almost
06:04a good thing for when the time comes that this team finally gets out of this, because we know that
06:10bad hockey from a good hockey team eventually becomes, they go on a streak. And that's because
06:17the pro scouting, I think what happens is, is rather than being fundamental based on the Bruins
06:21are playing well, it's now based on how poorly the Bruins are playing. And so by rushing the
06:27Bruins, they're getting more spectacular results because it's really Lucy and the chocolate factory
06:33right now. But if the Bruins get it figured out, then the pro scouting will stop working in a
06:40spectacular way. They're rushing the way they're trying to rush the Bruins. Right now the Bruins,
06:45they'll start looking like the Bruins playing them. But we're nowhere near that yet. Right now
06:50we're at that desperate point where the locker room talk has now shifted to, we need to stick
06:55together. Obviously the speeches were made before the media access after last night's game, that we
07:01need to stick together. And that was echoed by Montgomery, by Trent Frederick, I'm sure by others,
07:08that this is where this is going now. This is now they're circling the wagons. It's us
07:13against the world. And this is now going to be their strategy going forward. Who knows what
07:19executives thinking? And I know you're going to bring that up in a bit. But yeah, that's how I
07:24felt about it. Because I think part of the thing that I saw when they isolated and watching on
07:32Nesson, the four Bruins below the goal line, all at once, their own end, they all sunk down there.
07:39I think Carlo was last to go. And when you have that many down there, then you have a lack of
07:45awareness of where your teammates are, a lack of belief where they are, which is a lack of trust
07:49where they are. So that's the huge problem right now. They're all trying to do too much, and it's
07:54all becoming exaggerated. It's a big pie in their face. Yeah. And here's one issue I have, and one
08:03problem I have with what's going on. And I'm of the belief, and we'll get into this later, but I'm
08:10of the belief that something needs to change in order to snap them out of this. I think they're
08:14in a spiral right now where I don't think they're going to be able to just circle the wagon and say,
08:20we're all in this together, and we're not going to point fingers and pull themselves out of it.
08:26I think something's going to have to change, and something's going to have to happen with this team.
08:30But one concern I've had, and this might be part of the problem,
08:36is I've now heard this a couple of times, Jim Montgomery last night. We had a lot of success
08:41the last two years, and we were first place at Thanksgiving the last two years, and we never
08:45achieved anything we wanted to. Right now, we're not happy. Nobody is happy with what's going on,
08:50but we will get better. We will get out of it, and hopefully it creates a better result come
08:53playoff time. Playoffs, they're in last place right now. I heard Jim Moore in my head. Yeah,
09:00exactly. It starts by sticking together and by working. There really is no substitute for second
09:04and third effort. Now, I agree with the second half of his sentiment, but this is similar to
09:08something that Charlie McAvoy said a week or two ago, where he was basically talking about how
09:15they've always come roaring out of the gate, and maybe this is the way they should do it,
09:18and not being stressed about it, and all this other stuff. This mentality right now,
09:22that they're thinking they're going to flip some kind of switch and be okay, and it's going to
09:27create a different result come playoff time by them basically not showing up for the entire month
09:32of October. That's a horrible mentality. It's a bad... I don't even like that they're going there
09:38saying this kind of stuff, because I think they're excusing how bad they've been and thinking that
09:42they're going to be able to flip a switch and turn it on. Now, I do agree. Everybody's jumping
09:47all over the Bruins saying they're big and slow. They got too many big physical players in the
09:51summer. They're not slow enough to compete. They're a terrible team. They're way better
09:55than what they've shown. There is no doubt in my mind they are far better than what they've shown.
09:59They have much more potential. They're a better hockey team than this, way better,
10:03and I don't think that all of a sudden they've become big and slow, and they can't compete in
10:06the NHL, but I think a lot of what's going on is mental, and emotional, and effort-wise,
10:14and a lot of these different areas that shouldn't be problems with this team, and I do not like,
10:19Mick, what I'm hearing from Jim Montgomery saying that last night, and from Charlie McAvoy saying
10:24that earlier, basically saying, we were leading the division in Thanksgiving the last two years,
10:30so we're going to try it a different way, and just absolutely suck until Thanksgiving this time
10:34around, and turn on a switch. I just don't like hearing that from them. I think that's a bad way
10:38to think about it. The 71 Canadians, the 2009 Penguins, the 2016 Penguins, the 2019 Blues,
10:50if the team start thinking, if the Bruins start thinking this is a strategy,
10:55then that's a very bad, at least optics level. I get what they're saying, and I think there's
11:02merit to it for us to be, if it's us saying this stuff, there's merit there because we've seen it
11:09with other teams, but they all included one thing in common, they had a coaching change in season,
11:15and that was what fired it up. In the case of the 75-76 Bruins, it was the biggest trade
11:22in franchise history. I don't think I've seen so many regulars from the prior season
11:32start off so far off their game as I did back in 75-76, or hasn't come back from his knee,
11:41so he hasn't played his first game yet. The other guys look like they're just going through the
11:45motions, and they're hanging around 500 somewhere, and then boom, Phil Esposito to New York, Brad
11:51Park to Boston, John Vertell to Boston, etc. And now you've got a whole different like, wow,
11:59what just happened to the Boston Bruins? We know they're not going to do the players,
12:04but if things haven't updated while I wasn't looking, and Jim Montgomery's still without a
12:12contract, this looks like a duck and walks like a duck. I've never seen a situation like this go
12:19any other way, so if they're going to sit back here and say, okay, you've got two weeks, or three
12:26weeks, or you've got till Thanksgiving, and I think Thanksgiving's a long time right now, even
12:31though the Bruins have always used it as a marker. I don't know that they're going to,
12:36I don't see, it looks like too long a marker right now. They need signs.
12:40Well, if they're playing this way, it's definitely too long of a marker, for sure.
12:43Right, so they're right now, we've got a stick-together mode, and they think they're
12:47going to find the solution, and I think they're probably using the logic that, look, if we fire
12:53Monty, and it's Jay Leach or Joe Sacco calling the shots here, then it's still you guys. It's
13:01still you, so I don't think they can be thinking this the way McAvoy and Monty talked about it.
13:10It's happened that way, but it can never become strategy. It doesn't work as strategy.
13:15It just has happened.
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15:00couple days ago about them being focused on the results instead of the work that's going to get
15:06the results, and being fixated on that, and wanting to skip the steps of actually doing the
15:11work to get those results. I think that's what we're seeing. That kind of mentality that they're
15:15just going to flip a switch and be able to turn it on after dogging it for a month and conserving
15:23energy or whatever the mentality they think they're doing by having a different approach here
15:29by not going for broke and not trying to be in first place by Thanksgiving. Steve,
15:33this whole attitude and that whole mindset seems problematic to me.
15:38Yeah, I think it's all about the narrative that they're trying to create. They're trying to
15:42take the heat off themselves right now. They said, don't worry about it. We're going to figure it
15:46out. But we all have eyes. It's not pretty. I would hope management at least gives the coach
15:57Tyler Johnson at least before they make a move. But there are only so many line combinations you
16:05can try. The whole narrative of don't worry, we've been great in October. So that means if
16:16we stink now, we're going to be great in the playoffs. It just doesn't work that way.
16:21No. So they've got to figure out a way. And they've got good, hardworking guys.
16:28But as I said earlier, they all have the yips right now. They can't handle the puck.
16:33That's not a matter of not working hard or whatever. They cannot make a simple pass right
16:41now. And that's a problem. And I don't know if that'll change if they change a coach.
16:48But that's about the only bullet that management has.
16:54Yeah, I agree. The first shooter drop was Riley Tufte being waived and sent down to Providence.
17:01They could do the same thing with Max Jones, potentially, because he was dreadful again
17:04last night. Minus three, no shots on net. Like I said, was really late. I think it was him
17:10with Breazeau on the back check, was really late getting there on the Orlov goal.
17:15So maybe the waiving of two of them, maybe a sign Tyler Johnson. These are
17:20rearranging some of the chairs on the Titanic as the way they're playing right now.
17:28And you're right, Steve. The yips and the passing and some of the stuff that's going on offensively
17:32and the way Pasta looks consistently now with what he's doing with the puck is really problematic
17:38and troubling when you see the way he's playing. Because he just looks like something's wrong with
17:42him. He's looked like that all season. Even though he's got six goals, some of the stuff
17:47he's doing with the puck, it just doesn't compute and it doesn't look like normal poster neck.
17:53I think it's 50-50 him and whoever he's playing with. Because I don't know how many times have
17:59we seen he's set up and actually open for a one-timer and the puck is in his skates.
18:05Yeah, yeah. And it's not a good pass to him. Yep, that's true too. But that part of it is
18:10definitely an issue. There's no question about it. But I look at more from making the coaching
18:16move of the coverage in the defensive zone, the taking of the penalties, a lot of the mental
18:22mistakes that they're making. They had to do last week during one of those practices, they did a
18:30high school back check drill during Bruins practice that I have not ever seen them do before. And
18:36usually that's something you do to teach young players how to back check and the level that they
18:41need to hustle in order to back check. And they were doing that at a Bruins practice, that drill
18:45where they have the two guys next to, they have the four lines, the two guys on each side, they
18:51pass the puck down the ICO together towards each other, they shoot the puck, and then immediately
18:57they're on the back check chasing the next dude going down the other way and shoot the puck. And
19:01they keep going back and forth. That to me is a coach saying, you guys are not hustling. We need
19:07to take it back to basics and you need to actually hustle as a five-man unit and play well together.
19:13That kind of stuff to me is indicative of a lack of effort and a lack of rolling your sleeves up
19:20and doing the hard work. And Monty mentioned second and third effort last night as well,
19:24which we have not seen from a lot of players. Morgan Geeky was all second and third effort
19:30last year all the time. We have not seen any of that from him in this first month of the season.
19:36So that's the stuff where I look at and I see what's going on right now. And I just don't
19:41think there's a lot of Bruins that are working hard enough right now under Jim Montgomery and
19:46are disciplined enough and are playing the right way, where I see that as the reason the coaching
19:51move needs to be made. I just see so much evidence of a team that's not playing disciplined, good,
19:56well-coached hockey right now. And I think Montgomery's definitely feeling the heat and
20:00rightfully so. They did not extend him. They did not do him any favors by putting him into this
20:05situation. I just don't see any way they get out of this without a coaching change. And Mick,
20:12I was glad you mentioned the 2019 St. Louis Blues because the big impetus there was Berube
20:17coming in and taking over that team. And I do think the most impactful thing that Bruins
20:24management can do to really snap this team out of it is to make a coaching change. And they have
20:29guys internally on that staff with Jim Montgomery that I think they feel confident in potentially
20:34putting into that role. So I'll ask you, Steve, first, do you see any scenario where you think
20:41Montgomery gets out of this and is the coach come playoff time, if they do actually make the
20:45playoffs Jim Morris-style like he's talking about? I just don't see that as there's any way that that
20:51happens with the way things are going right now. I mean, I don't have any evidence. There's
20:58nothing that you can grasp onto and say that, okay, this might be working well right now.
21:03They can't even kill penalties and they've always been able to kill penalties. And, you know,
21:08same coaches, you know, Joe Sacco's doing the penalty kill. He's been the PK coach for a long
21:14time. You know, it's, yeah, it's on the players. If the players are able to pull the coach out of
21:24it this time, then, you know, that's how they do it. But, you know, there's nothing that I can say
21:29that that's a glimmer of hope. Mick? Yeah, from a possibility standpoint, I think they can find
21:38their way. I think the stick together is usually the beginning of that. And I think that as they
21:45rally around one another that way, then they're going to play for one another. And I think that
21:50will be the germ that spreads into more trust on the ice. And we'll hear that cliche very soon.
21:57And then I think that they can find their way. I don't know from a prediction standpoint if
22:04they'll be given that window of time, because I think it'll take them longer than I can imagine
22:10Cam, if not Donnie, saying, okay, that's it. You know, so I don't like the timeline
22:22of what I think it would take for them to figure this out themselves without the coaching change
22:27versus the urgency that I think will come from above, especially because of the money they spent
22:33in the summer to say, we're going to take a team that was better than we thought last year
22:39and put what they need on it this year, and then they should win. And now, and then obviously all
22:45the season-long referendum shifts over to Donnie. But a lot of fans are jumping
22:53way ahead of that right now in our social media conversations and wanting to blow everything up
22:58and making referendums about players completely irrespective of the last two seasons. And just
23:05saying that this is, this is it. This is your test sample right here. It's the only one that
23:08matters. And I'm like, yeah, it's too way too early for me in that regard. You know, what team
23:14Boston sports fans are most excited about this time of year right now? It's not the Patriots,
23:20definitely not the Red Sox. I mean, there's plenty of Bruins fans that are very excited
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25:29No, there's definitely panic in the streets as far as Bruins is concerned.
25:32No question. It's going crazy.
25:34They're playing right now. And you do hear the blow it up thing and like that's not happening.
25:38Like that is not realistic. There's no way that's happening.
25:40Nobody does that when they get the players.
25:42Under the bus after like signing that huge contract and saying, Oh, you know, where's,
25:46where's your 8.25 million now? I've heard people saying that too. And like, this is not a Jeremy
25:51Swayman problem. Like he has not been like great by any means, but like it is what's going on in
25:56front of him. Like you cannot give guys clean, open looks from the slot, center cut ice slot
26:03and expect that they're not going to score goals. This is the NHL. If you give them the middle of
26:06the slot, they're going to score.
26:08That said, I'd like to take the opportunity to say that Corpus Allos been every bit as good
26:15and deserves more playing time during this next path patch of hockey.
26:21Yeah, he's been fine. Like he's been perfectly fine as a backup. I have no issues with Corpus
26:25Allos whatsoever. It's a great point you make about Bruins management. And I do think that
26:30is a big factor here as well, that I don't think there's going to be a lot of patients
26:34because of what they invested over the summer, because the expectations for this team,
26:39because of where Cam and Donnie expect them to be and just where they've been.
26:43And I think the level that they want this team, expect this team to be at,
26:48and it's like, I'm sure highly unacceptable what they've seen on the ice to start this season.
26:54And Steve, I think that's going to be a huge factor when you're thinking about the coach's
26:57fate and what's going to happen here too, is just, you know, whatever, I'm sure there's going
27:02to be pressure from ownership. Like we shelled out all this money for these players and thought
27:06it was going to be a much better team and what's going on right now. Like, I think that he becomes
27:10the fall guy for that kind of a situation with ownership and management as well, Jim Montgomery.
27:14Yeah. And the two big hires have really underperformed. You know, last night,
27:21you know, they tie up the game on a, you know, a lucky bounce on the five on three.
27:26And then Marshawn makes a great feed down to Lindholm at the side of the net.
27:31You know, for, I wouldn't say an easy tap in, but for, you know, a high-skilled guy like Lindholm is,
27:37you know, you redirect that into the net and he heals it wide. And he hasn't, it's eight games
27:42now without a point, I think. I don't know if he picked up a point last night on one of those goals.
27:46I don't think he did. Maybe on the, I don't know, but. Still not good enough. No, no, he hasn't been
27:56good. You know, you know, Zdorov started off the season, what, seven, eight straight games,
28:01taking a penalty. And he had that, you know, he, on the, I think the goal that kind of changed the
28:09whole, you know, complexion of the game, the third goal last night, he couldn't handle the puck at the
28:15blue line and then he falls down and then it's a, you know, it's a mishmash. So they haven't
28:21gotten enough out of those guys. I think Zdorov is really trying to make things happen. Last night
28:27he was trying to, you know, throw his weight around a little bit. But, you know, it's just
28:33not working right now. And, you know, let's face it, some of the young guys, some of the promising
28:38guys on the team, you know, are, you know, going through some going pains right now.
28:44You know, Patra in the Philly game, he did a fly-by on the goal, you know, that was the
28:50difference in the game. And last night, you know, throughout the season, Lorai has, you know,
28:56had trouble with turnovers. Yeah, there was that one shift where Patra and Lorai last night just
29:01got completely manhandled by Jordan Stahl and all the Carolina Hurricanes veteran guys behind the net
29:06and it turns into a Carolina goal. That was just classic man against boys, like, learning lesson
29:12in the NHL time for young players. And you knew that was going to happen at some point during the
29:16season, but you thought you had enough, you know, experienced veteran guys who could, you know,
29:22you know, that you could absorb those, you know, those bumps in the road. But it's not happening
29:26right now. Nobody's, nothing's working. And yeah, I don't know how they get out of it without
29:33a major change. And like you said, you can't just, you know, pack up a Filesposito caliber
29:40player and ship them out of town anymore. And they've already done the blockbuster with the
29:45two offseason signings. Right, right. Or actually three when you count the all-mark trade.
29:52So one thing I did like last night, Mick, was Lorai on the point for the top power play unit.
30:00And I know they didn't get a ton of results for it. That was kind of lost. What's that? That was
30:06kind of lost and everything. Yeah, it was. But I liked that change, especially after the power
30:12play and their special teams in general let them down so much against the Flyers. I think they
30:16really had to make a move to do something like that. And frankly, I think he should be there
30:21anyway. I just don't, Charlie McEvoy is a very good defenseman, not having a great year, but he
30:25is, I just never have never felt like he's a quarterback on a top power play unit. And I think
30:30Lorai's skill set more matches that kind of a role on a top power play unit more than McEvoy's
30:37does. That was something, an adjustment I did like to see last night from Montgomery in the
30:42coaching staff. I mean, McEvoy's such a dynamic, beautiful skater and powerful athlete that it's
30:50natural to think that you can develop that side of his game. But he wasn't, that wasn't his role at
30:54BU. And yeah, and he didn't, you know, he never really developed that part of his game. He'd have
31:00to do it in the NHL. And, and it's come very slowly and unevenly for him. And right now,
31:06in the middle of this, you know, it'd be nice to see Kevin Shattenkirk back in this lineup right
31:13now, because right now they're desperate. But one of the things, I know it's a little off topic here,
31:19but I don't want people to think I'm ignoring it or that we're ignoring it. But a lot of
31:23Marcian's captaincy is getting a lot of backlash right now on social. And I think he's been a
31:29better captain than a player this year. Everything I hear him say has been very on point and very
31:36insightful and insightful the good way. S-I-G-H-T. I just don't think his game has been good. His
31:46skating hasn't looked good for the most part. And, you know, so it just seems like every line
31:52except the Castellic line has had some sort of weak link or discombobulation point or somehow
32:01lack of chemistry. There's been like every line they throw out there has been fatally flawed in
32:05some regard in terms of performance. And, and now the Castellic's line was broken up so that they
32:13could influence the other lines. I'm now more fearful that they're all going to catch the virus
32:18and when they come back together, they'll suck. M-Castellic actually made a nice play on the
32:25Hampus Lindholm goal last night. S-What's that? M-Castellic actually made a nice play on the
32:31Hampus Lindholm goal last night. S-He did. That was a nice pass up the sidewalk. M-Yeah, I'd like
32:37to see that line back together though. C-Yeah, and I think they will go back to that. That felt
32:43like temporary, like I'm going to just try like, you know, whatever I can and hope it works kind
32:49of thing. Like Marcian last night, I actually thought his skating was better than it's been
32:54most of the season. I actually saw him moving last night and getting some separation from other
32:59players. And I thought he actually looked pretty good. Maybe it was, he was energized after getting
33:04the mother of all good bounces on that goal that he scored on the 5-on-3. But like, I agree with
33:10you. I think he said the right things. I think he's done the right things. I think the way he
33:14handled that issue with Montgomery on the bench was fantastic and a great show of leadership.
33:22And I agree with you. I don't think from his perspective and from his standpoint,
33:27I don't think it's a leadership issue that's the problem with this team as far as the players go.
33:33I think he's the right leader for this team. I just wonder, you know, if like a change in coach,
33:43it changes the leadership a little bit too, because you know, as much as the captain is
33:47the leader, as much as all the guys that wear letters are leaders, a team also takes some of
33:51the way they play and some of their approach and some of their attitude from the head coach. I think
33:56it's true at every level of hockey that I think the head coach has a huge influence
34:01on the temperament of the team, on the way the team handles adversity, on the way the team plays.
34:05And I just don't look at Marcian, Steve, as a guy that should be shouldering a lot of the blame
34:11here for what's going on. No, no. Look, like Mick said, you know, he's not playing great
34:18right now. He was better last night. But as far as like the duties of the captain and how he's
34:24set the tone in his conversation with us, and you know, this, I don't want to make us
34:30any more important, you know, to make us sound so important that, but he sets the tone in
34:37those interviews and those scrums. And I thought he's, I think he's done a very good job at that.
34:42You know, we're not behind the scenes, you know, we don't know everything that goes on. But as far
34:48as we can tell, you know, he's been spot on in the things he said and how he's addressed where the
34:54team is. Bruins media came around in the third period of the Philadelphia game and took requests.
35:02I requested Charlie Coyle. We get down there, who's talking? The C and the two A's. That had to
35:08be Marcian McTolgan. Rip up the list. This is what we need to do. That's a leadership move. I loved it.
35:14I agree. And like the thing about Marcian that I've noticed this year is it's been a tough year,
35:19but after every loss, he's there. Like he's going to answer the questions. He's going to
35:23be accountable. He is setting the tone as far as accountability goes and answering any of the
35:28questions that come along that way. And I think in that way, that's an important part of the
35:32captaincy. That's why some guys are cut out to be captain and some guys are not cut out to be
35:36captain. Is that willingness to be accountable, to answer questions, to do it in a clear ride,
35:42a very honest way, accepting blame where it should be accepted and setting the right
35:50mentality for everybody else. He does all of those things. And he does it when they lose,
35:56when they win, no matter how things are going. Those are the best captains that are always there
36:01after the losses and are always accountable and are always going to be there to make sure the team
36:05message gets out. And in that way, I think he's extremely important. I think he's done a good job
36:10this year. And I'm starting to see the game come around too, which is important because they're
36:16going to need him. If there's one thing that's been clear to me, aside from the execution issues,
36:24aside from the effort issues, Steve, it's that this team roster composition wise, and maybe
36:32Tyler Johnson helps in this regard, but he's not a true top six forward in the NHL, I would say
36:37though. It still feels like this team is one top six forward short of being a fully functional
36:43roster too. Able to function offensively, able to be a danger to other teams, able to score a lot.
36:48It looks like they're going to have trouble offensively, even in the best of times until
36:52they get that other top six forward. Yeah, we all knew that. We all knew they didn't replace
36:57Jake Dabrowski. And Jake hasn't gotten off to a great start in Vancouver either, but they missed
37:04what he brought, the speed especially. Management knew that. We saw him behind the B that Don
37:14Sweeney basically said, we'll get somebody at some point during the season. But you got to be in
37:23playoff position to make that move. And Tyler Johnson, he's not a top nine guy, but he would
37:30help on the power play and they need that help. When they get those opportunities, they have to
37:36cash in on it better than what they are right now. And that would go a long way. So they need to get
37:44him signed in playing and then they go from there. But I'm not sure he's the guy to change everything
37:53for them. No, but they also could use another guy at power play. Absolutely. I was actually
37:59shocked. I didn't realize how good a power play guy was until I looked at the numbers.
38:04But all those numbers in Chicago were power play. Yes. And I think the other thing that he brings
38:10is kind of a veteran competitiveness, savvy experience. There's only so long they can
38:18get by with the Max Jones, Riley Tufte kind of guys, putting them in forward spots where they're
38:25just doing nothing. And Jones is obviously still here. Tufte's not. But there's only so long they
38:31can put one of those guys in one of the 12 spots nightly where they're playing games. And I like
38:36Max Jones personally. He seems like a good guy. And he was a former first round pick. He's clearly
38:40got talent, but he has shown very, very little here in the start of the season. And Tyler Johnson
38:47showed much more in the preseason and in training camp of ways, Mick, he would be able to help this
38:52team before and after they potentially go out and get a top six forward that they know they're missing.
38:58Yeah. And I think that that's what I meant by the Shattenkirk thing is really
39:04Tyler Johnson. It's a different widget, but it's a similar influence. You're talking about a guy
39:10who's better years away behind him, but he's still a crafty individual who when put in those positions
39:17where you're outnumbered, you have to play with your sticks. You can't go hitting people.
39:22So Tyler Johnson can be a very good player there in that kind of game. And that's the power play.
39:26And the fact that the season's been disastrous so far for Geeky, for Frederick,
39:35and Platra looks like he's really struggling to fight through all of the abuse right now that
39:43people are really trying to rough him up and he's trying to hang in there.
39:46But it's not a productive situation right now. And it's coming back around to say,
39:52OK, what do you got in Providence? What do you got? What are we doing with Tyler Johnson?
39:56And as Steve noted on X, the Tufte
40:03waiver clearance and assignment to Providence opens up enough cap space to sign Johnson.
40:09So I don't know what they're waiting for right now. This would not have been on my radar to go
40:15grab him. But at this moment, the way this team is right now, it seems like a no brainer.
40:21Yeah. And we're now past where they signed Denton Heinen last year. That was October 30th.
40:27That was like eight or nine games into the season. So we're past that point with Tyler Johnson now.
40:32I still expect they're going to sign him because I don't think he would be here if they
40:36weren't sure they were going to do it. It wasn't going to happen at some point.
40:40But I would expect that to happen soon. Maybe that is like the next domino. And that's the
40:44last thing they do before they end up making potentially a coaching change. We'll see how
40:48it shakes out. But it's going to be an interesting week regardless, Steve and Mick, I'm sure.
40:53Thank you very much for joining us today. Let's also thank our sponsors, PrizePix. Download the
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41:32GameTime.
41:33GameTime. Steve, Mick, thank you very much for joining us.
41:37All righty, thank you.
41:39Everybody else out there, thanks for listening. We'll see you at the race.