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Pucks with Haggs host Joe Haggerty answers all of your Bruins questions coming off a tough OT loss to the Ottawa Senators. With the team struggling at a 7-7-2 record, Hagerty examines the implications of goaltender Linus Ullmark's return amidst ongoing issues like ineffective power plays and third-period failures.  The podcast raises critical questions about head coach Jim Montgomery's accountability and the potential need for a coaching change if the Bruins can't turn their season around. Fans are invited to share their thoughts on social media as the pressure mounts on management to address these pressing concerns. Tune in for an insightful discussion on the Bruins' path forward and what it means for their playoff aspirations!  0:00 - Intro 4:00 - Bruins' frustrating loss 5:50 - Third period struggles 8:01 - Players not listening 9:57 - Repeated mistakes 11:30 - Player performance discussion 13:22 - Roster comparison debate 17:14 - Shot on net issues 19:00 - Line juggling effects 20:56 - Management wake-up call 22:46 - Coaching change discussion 25:40 - Montgomery feeling pressure 28:42 - Ticket purchasing tips 30:27 - Penalty kill issues 32:25 - Need for coaching change 34:22 - Coaching change needed 36:05 - Team shakeup suggestions 39:01 - Bruins playoff spot   💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!  🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins' credentialed insiders Mike "Trags" Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe "Haggs" Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.  For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1

Transcript

00:00Pucks with Hags is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.

00:04Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast powered by Prize Picks,

00:08the exclusive daily fans and partner of the CLNS Media Network. I believe it's the 139th

00:14episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, so thank you very much as always for listening.

00:18I am your host, Joe Hagerty. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.

00:23Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership. You get all of my NHL and Bruins writing

00:27sent straight directly to your inbox. I also write columns three times a week

00:31for the Boston Sports Journal, so check out bostonsportsjournal.com.

00:36Not just for my Bruins writing, great Celtics writing, awesome Patriots stuff with Greg

00:40Bedard and Mike Giardi, excellent Red Sox coverage as well, so it's like your one-stop-shop

00:46for all Boston sports, so make sure and check out Boston Sports Journal

00:50and get yourself a membership there as well. Let's also thank our sponsors real quick.

00:55We're going to have a mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast today. A lot of questions,

01:00a lot of angry fans, a lot of variations on the same theme. I think a lot of Bruins fans kind of

01:05want to see the same thing right now, especially after a frustrating Saturday night 3-2 overtime

01:11loss to the Ottawa Senators, so we'll be talking a lot about the coaching, Jim Montgomery, a lot

01:16of questions about that and just moves this Bruins team needs to make in general, but let's first

01:21thank our sponsors. PrizePix, of course, as always, we love PrizePix. Download the PrizePix

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01:45if you want tickets, you want tickets to the Celtics, you want Patriots tickets, you want

01:49Bruins tickets, comedy tickets, concert tickets, any kind of tickets whatsoever, take the guesswork

01:54out of buying tickets by going with our friends at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an

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02:12Download GameTime today. What time is it? Game time. All right, let's go over this real quick.

02:20Bruins kind of back and forth at 500, 7-7-2, I think it is right now. They have 16 points.

02:27They're in a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, but another frustrating loss,

02:323-2 overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Linus L. Marks returned to TD Garden, which

02:38was successful for him. He got the win, he played really well.

02:44He got his goalie hug with Jeremy Swayman before the game started. He had a really nice

02:49video tribute and ovation where he got the love from Bruins fans. He got to put his

02:53stick up in the air and give them thanks and really have a warm feeling all around. So it

02:58was a great moment for Linus L. Marks and for Bruins fans. They didn't really get to say goodbye

03:04after he was traded in the summertime and got to give him that last ovation that he really,

03:09I'm sure, wanted in his return to the Garden with the Ottawa Senators.

03:13So that was a big part of the theme of the game, was Linus L. Marks returning to Boston.

03:20I was asked about this actually when I did a sports radio station up in Ottawa, had me on

03:26earlier this week, and kind of asked me how big the hype was on Linus coming back to Boston.

03:33I said, you know, he's going to get his ovation, he'll get a video tribute, it'll be warm,

03:36it'll be appreciative, they really like Linus L. Marks, there'll be goalie hugs with Swayman,

03:40all that stuff. I said, but at the same time, I think it's way overshadowed and hasn't really

03:44been talked about because Bruins fans are obsessed right now with the Bruins not playing well and not

03:50playing consistently. It's like one step forward, one step back, where it seems like they're kind

03:55of figuring things out and then they shoot themselves in the foot with the same mistakes

03:59and end up losing. And in this game against Ottawa, it was 3-2 overtime loss, Brady Kachuk,

04:06awesome game, he had like 20 shot attempts, like 12 shots on net, ends up with the game-winning

04:11goal, was just dominant, best player on the ice by far, and showed everything he could do.

04:17And if there's any fans out there that wouldn't be ready to trade like half their roster for Brady

04:24Kachuk, even the Bruins, if the Bruins could get him, I don't care what the price would be,

04:28I would pay it because he is the prototypical power forward in today's NHL, dominant offensively,

04:34physical, big, strong, can set up his teammates smart, like good teammate, all that stuff,

04:40good leader. He showed all that stuff in the game. And then he finally breaks out 19 seconds

04:45into overtime, it's a three-on-one odd man rush, and he just snaps one past Jeremy Swayman and

04:50wins it for the Ottawa Senators. But I would say the big things to look at, the big problem

04:57areas in this game, once again, penalties, the Bruins took a bunch of penalties. Once again,

05:02they gave up a power play goal, the penalty kill continues to be a problem, the power play

05:06is letting them down, it did again in this game. And there are just disappearing acts for this

05:15Boston Bruins team, especially offensively. And we saw that in the third period, zero shots on net

05:22in the third period of a two-to-two hockey game, not a single shot on net, they couldn't manage to

05:28get a single shot on net in a game that was tied, where they could have won it in regulation,

05:33and instead just went into offensive hibernation, got outshot 12 to nothing by Ottawa,

05:39couldn't scrape up anything offensively, couldn't do anything or get any traction whatsoever,

05:44and didn't even land a shot on net. And then they end up losing it very quickly in overtime.

05:48So it seemed like they were kind of limping to the finish of that game. And even more concerning

05:55after the loss is Jim Montgomery's asked about the third period being a problem and like how you

06:01solve it or what the answers are. And he basically says, I don't know, I don't have any answers for

06:06it. And, you know, I just don't even if you fake it till you make it, as a coach, I think you have

06:12to come up with something after a loss and say, these are the reasons or this is who's being held

06:16accountable, or these are the problems. Simply having a look on your face, a kind of blank look

06:22of I don't know, I don't have any answers for it right now, we're going to have to get answers

06:25is not good enough as the head coach of an NHL team. You better damn well have answers after

06:30every time you lose and have explanations, have players that weren't pulling on the rope,

06:34have issues that need to be corrected. You know, that it just not good enough,

06:40like just like it's not good enough for the players to not have a shot on net in the third

06:45period, it is not good enough for an NHL coach to have no explanation for it afterwards, and no

06:51answers and be like, I'm I don't know, I'm gonna we're gonna have to think about it more, we'll go

06:55watch the video. Like that's not the coach has to have answers, some kind of answer, even if it's

07:01like not necessarily exactly the right answers, have something, you know, have something that you

07:06say, we're going to work on this, or, you know, this is a problem area, or this really bothered

07:10us in the third period, if you watch your team do nothing, get new do jack for 20 minutes,

07:16in the third period of a tie game, and you kind of say, I'm not even sure I don't have any answers

07:21for it afterwards. That's just not, that's not really what anybody's looking for. I think you've

07:25got to project confidence, you've got to project that you know, what the problems are, and how are

07:31you going to fix them, like immediately after a loss, you need to be the face after the loss

07:35that's projecting strength, resiliency, like all that stuff. And I think there's just times

07:41and it's happened in the playoffs to where you just get these strange answers from Jim Montgomery

07:45as to explaining how they're going to do better or what just happened, and how they go from there.

07:51And I think it's it's part of the reason why there's eventually going to be a coaching change

07:56here and a replacement is it's just, I think there are times where the moment gets too big,

08:02or where the speed things speed up. And you know, the there's no explanation afterwards,

08:09and there's not an ability to really dissect what just happened quickly afterwards and dissect the

08:15problems and be able to articulate it. And I think you kind of have to do that. As a head coach in

08:20the NHL, you have to be able to do those things. So I took that as a problem. And also like the

08:26shark, the sharks are cutting this starting a circle here, like Kevin Paul DuPont asked for

08:30the game friend of the podcast, been on here plenty of times, I'm sure we'll have him on again

08:34soon, started in on asking him why if he feels like the players aren't listening, if he feels

08:39like the message isn't getting through. And he denied it and basically got a little sort of,

08:45you know, the motive, like you write what you want, or you're going to write what you want,

08:49or you know, you figure that out in the media, that kind of a thing, throwing it back at us,

08:54which I think it's a legitimate question. And I think when the players are making the same

08:58mistakes over and over again, taking penalties, failing on the penalty kill, not scoring on the

09:02power play, disappearing offensively, some guys continuing to struggle, when all these things

09:08are consistently happening, and the same mistakes are happening over and over again, I think you

09:12have to start asking if the players aren't getting the message. If you talk about discipline,

09:16and then the next day, next game, you talk about fixing discipline, being better, all that stuff.

09:21And then the very next game, you take a penalty, the first shift of the game, like an offensive

09:25zone penalty, like, are you showing that you're actually like receiving the message? Are you

09:30showing that you're paying it lip service, and then going out and doing whatever you feel like

09:33doing? Like, these are legitimate questions. And I think we've seen this a lot with this Bruins team

09:38this year, where they're mentally making a lot of mistakes. They're making effort mistakes,

09:43they're making, you know, simple mental errors that they shouldn't be making. They're definitely

09:48having execution problems when it comes to the special teams units. So when you look at all these

09:53things, and they're repeating mistakes over and over again, I think that's when you have to A,

09:58certainly hold the players accountable. But B, I think, like wonder if the message isn't getting

10:03through if like things aren't getting being corrected. And if things aren't getting any

10:06better, that have consistently been a problem all season. And like, let's be honest, like the last

10:12couple of years, and I would say all three years, but certainly the last two years, the penalty

10:17thing has been huge problem. Under Jim Montgomery, there has been a very big lack of discipline when

10:22it comes to not taking penalties on this team consistently, for the last few years. So this

10:27isn't a new problem. This has been something that's been going on. I mean, we saw what,

10:31eight or nine too many men on the ice penalties in the playoffs last year. I think we've seen a

10:36lot of real big problems when it comes to this that have not been properly addressed. And that's

10:42a reflection on the coaching as far as I'm concerned. That's my opinion. And that's what I see.

10:47Um, and I'm, I'm wondering if the Bruins see if their management sees the same thing. I'm

10:52wondering if this, even though I'm sure there's negotiations going on for a contract for Jim

10:57Montgomery, like if they were certain he was their guy, they would assign him to an extension

11:01in the summertime. I don't think it would have spilled over into the regular season. And I think

11:05now, uh, we're seeing a lot of questions about him. We're seeing not exactly any vote of confidence

11:11from Don Sweeney or Cam Neely when it comes to the coaching. And we're seeing a lot of questions

11:16when they struggle. So I, you know, I think they've kind of made this situation. They don't

11:21allow it to get to this point. And I think now it's getting to a point where it needs to be

11:24resolved one way or the other. Um, you know, otherwise these questions are going to continue

11:29to linger. And I think the players and the way they play and the way they perform and respond

11:34to what's going on, uh, is, is, you know, very much a legitimate question as well.

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13:22questions here. Bruins J Raps on Twitter. Hard to say roster is any worse than last year. I agree.

13:30It could even be better on paper. I agree. Just looks like guys are checked out almost top to

13:35bottom. It's hard to pick more than three or four guys pulling their weight. And I would say

13:40game to game. It's that way. Usually there's three or four guys within a game that are absolutely

13:46getting it done. Um, you know, and it can change from game to game or like a pockets of game,

13:52which is where they're playing well. Um, and then it goes to somebody else.

13:56But I think the players are getting sick of the constant line juggling. This has to drive them

14:00all insane. Personal gripe. Trent Frederick is ridiculously overrated. Guys may love him in the

14:05room, but he's just not, not a guy on the ice. All right. Thanks. Bruins J Raps. Ah,

14:12I disagree with you on Trent Frederick. I think he's a good player. I think he's got a ton of

14:15potential. Uh, he showed it last year. He put up good numbers and he like does it while being a big

14:21strong power forward type that when he's right is, is a big physical factor on the ice. There's

14:27no doubt about it. Um, is he dominant? No, he definitely isn't, but I think he's a good player

14:32and I think he's definitely the kind of player you want on your roster. Um, if you want to be

14:36a good successful playoff team. Uh, I think he's obviously going through struggles right now. He's

14:42having as tough a time as anybody in the beginning of the season and he's been busted down to the

14:46fourth line the last couple of games as a result of it. He's got like one goal in 16 games. He's

14:51a minus player, you know, he's having a hard time. Uh, but I think he's going to come out of it. I

14:56have no doubts about him. Um, you know, one thing I did see, uh, when I'd watched him specifically,

15:02I've watched him the other day just to see if there was anything I could pick up on that he was

15:05doing. And the one thing I did notice with him is that he was forcing the puck to the point a lot

15:11in the offensive zone and it was getting turned over. It was turning into like a play that wasn't

15:16really going to lead to anything. And then the puck started going the other way. He did it three

15:20or four times, uh, where he, or at least a couple where he was forcing it to a defenseman at the

15:24point or he was forcing it to the point in general where I think the play for him and in

15:29whatever line he plays on is to, and he was doing it much better against Ottawa, uh, on Saturday

15:35night was just getting the puck down low in the corner or behind their net and getting to work

15:40and either letting, putting it in a position where his teammates could make a good play on it

15:45or putting in a position where he could go after it too and use his size and strength to really

15:48keep them, um, trapped in. And I think he's much better doing that than trying to work, uh, you

15:53know, trying to make these really complicated, uh, difficult plays to, to the point, uh, when,

15:59when keeping it simple and just dumping it down low is a great play always. And I think for him

16:04until he gets his confidence fully back to where it is, I think that's a great thing for him to do

16:09is, is to play simple, get pucks down low, uh, just like really like pound the D and work on

16:15keeping them hemmed into their end and putting pressure on them. And like I said, somebody else

16:20must've mentioned that to him because I thought he did much better at that particular part of the

16:24job, uh, on Saturday. And I've actually thought he played pretty well on Saturday. The problem

16:29with Frederick too, is he doesn't, we've seen a lot of special teams in the first month of the

16:34season because the Bruins are taking a lot of penalties and he doesn't really work on either

16:38special teams unit consistently. So he becomes a guy that like loses his feel a little bit and

16:44isn't playing and can go a while and fall out of rhythm when he's not getting a regular shift

16:49because of special teams fest has happened. Um, and that's part of it too. And I think that's a

16:54challenge for him. And I think that's a challenge in general to keep him sort of, uh, playing his

16:58best when, when they're going through stretches like that. So, uh, but to your bigger point,

17:04uh, yes, it does not look like the team is all going at the same time. It looks like there are

17:09passengers and a lot of them game to game. There was like, I believe eight players that didn't

17:14have a shot on net in Saturday night's loss to Ottawa, eight players that didn't have a shot on

17:19net. That is awful. That is a tremendous amount of passengers. That is way too many players that

17:25did not bring anything to the table in that game, bring their even B or C game into the, to the

17:30table. And this is what the problem becomes when it comes to coaching is when you have that many

17:36guys not showing up and you have that many guys not at their best and not doing their best and

17:41not putting everything out there, especially in the third period, we get no shots on net.

17:45Like something has to change. You can't get rid of all those players, but something has to change

17:49when that's happening over and over again. Like you, you can't live that same day and not do

17:55something different and not make a change. And especially when the coach afterwards basically

17:59doesn't have any answers for it. Like, that's just not, it's not a good situation. It's I would look

18:06at that if I were running the Bruins and say, what are we doing here? Like we're not getting

18:12traction. We're not getting like on a roll. We're not going anywhere right now. And it seems like

18:18there are no answers as to how to fix this. Like it's, you know, that somebody needs to come in

18:22that has answers to these problems and these issues and fix it. Like we can't sit there and

18:26say afterwards, I don't know. We'll have to look at the video and figure it out. Like that's not

18:30good enough. The players might say that the coach shouldn't be saying that. And I think I've been

18:36pretty clear on that in this podcast, but that's like just how I feel. Alright. Um, but thank you

18:41for the, the, the, and I do think the players are sick of the constant line juggling. I think part

18:45of the reason they played well, uh, in the last few games was players were playing with guys they

18:50wanted to play with. And I don't know if the coach said to the players, Hey, you guys make the lines,

18:55like, let's do it your way and see what happens. But like Zaka was at center playing with Pasternak,

19:00Zaka has had goals in his last two games. I think that's the best he's played. I think

19:03pasta looked better playing with Zaka. Um, I think Lindholm and Marshand are a really good

19:08combination together and, and, uh, played well together. And I think Lindholm brings a little

19:13bit of a Bergeron-esque game and presence. So he probably should be playing with Marshand

19:20given the way he plays and what he does. And I think you could see that, that they were a good

19:24combo and they, they did some good things. So, um, maybe that will stick. We'll see. But, uh,

19:31like, uh, I think that's a temporary fix when you turn it over to the players and say, Hey,

19:35who do you want to play with? Or we're going to like do exactly what you guys want to do

19:39and see where it gets us. Like, there's only so long you can do that before that doesn't work

19:43either. And then what do you do then? Um, but yeah, I think in general, the players will say

19:48it doesn't matter who they play with, but I think they, the juggling gets on players after a while

19:53and they, they probably want to be on consistent lines where they get used to playing with each

19:57other. All right. E Fijoli 17 on Twitter. When does Don Sweeney wake up here? And if he doesn't

20:05wake up, when does Neely or the Jacobs wake up? Well, truthfully, there are not going to be like

20:12heavy consequences until fans stop buying tickets. Uh, and I don't see that happening.

20:18Like this is still a good team. This is still an entertaining team on most nights. I will say

20:24the not playing well at home is a, it can be a problem. Like obviously if they don't perform

20:29well at home, that becomes an issue where the natives get restless because they're

20:33paying a lot of money for these tickets and they're not seeing the effort. And, and, you know,

20:38and especially if they start struggling in the middle of the division or start going into the

20:42lower half and falling out of the playoffs, like that's when it would be major changes that need

20:47to come. I'm not seeing any of that as of yet. And I think that's the only time, uh, the Jacobs

20:52would get involved really. Uh, but I do think it's got to be getting to a point where Don

20:57Sweeney and Kim Neely say something's going to give, cause they've done other things, right?

21:00They, um, put Riley Tufte and Max Jones on waivers. They signed Tyler Johnson. Johnson's

21:06looked pretty good in the first couple of games. He certainly looks like he's going to help.

21:10You know, they've, they've made some moves there as far as with the roster to try to stir things

21:14up and, uh, you know, to have like wake up calls by like guys sitting next to you is on waivers

21:20and gone down to Providence. And, and that should be a message to everybody that like,

21:24you need to pick it up and you need to perform. Um, and, and by the way, I think especially Max

21:29Jones and maybe even Tufte too, we'll see how he does down in Providence, but I think you'll see

21:34those guys again this year. I think Max Jones will help this team at some point, and he'll probably

21:37be back up again. And, uh, you know, we've, we've seen that with other players. Um, we saw that

21:42with Jeff's provoke quiz last year, who really wasn't a good fit at the beginning of the year,

21:47went down to Providence. And then the second half of the year really like found a job,

21:51found a niche. And I thought, uh, played pretty well. So I think we'll see those guys again,

21:56but they had to sign Tyler Johnson. They had to make the salary cap space by waving,

22:00um, those two players and see what he could do. Cause I think he just showed he's a higher end

22:04player than they are and that he's going to be able to help them more. And we've seen that in

22:08the first couple of games, he hasn't scored any points yet, no goals, no assists, but he does

22:13have, um, a plus he's a plus player, like plus three. He's had some shots on that. And I think

22:18he's shown that he can play top six wing and be very useful. Uh, I think he was playing with Zaka

22:23and Pasternak and, um, he looked good, you know, they looked good as a trio together.

22:28They definitely looked like they could play together and he could keep up with them. So

22:33you'll, they, they're, they've been awake. The Bruins have been making moves. The Bruins have,

22:37uh, tried different things, but it's been sort of like minor fixes or minor messages that they

22:43have been sending out. The, the major ones haven't come yet. The big trade hasn't come yet.

22:47Uh, changing the coach hasn't come yet, but I think if they continue to, to languish, uh,

22:53in the Atlantic division and, you know, play 500 hockey and win one, lose one, I think at some

22:59point, especially if they're making the same mistakes, if it's the same problems over and

23:03over again, I think you have to make a move of some kind to shake things up. Uh, apparently the,

23:08you know, it doesn't seem like they're there yet, but I think they are trending in that direction.

23:12If things don't turn around, I really do. Uh, but we'll see. Uh, but I, you know,

23:17the they're, they're methodical and they're not going to like panic and they're not going to make

23:21a, a, a move just for the sake of making a move. They're going to make a move that makes sense to

23:25them. This would be, I will say this, um, the Bruins are off today on Sunday after, um, the

23:34loss last night, they have a practice on Monday. They have two days between games. If they've

23:39really, really wanted to make a coaching change, this would be the time to do it.

23:42They would do it right now. Um, they would do it today. They would, you know, maybe have a

23:47press conference tomorrow and they would do it. And I'm don't think they're going to do that. It

23:51doesn't seem like they're going to do that. So, and I've not heard any word that they're going

23:55to do that. So I think that tells you that, um, they're going to continue for at least the time

23:59being and see how things continue to progress. Um, and we'll see, you know, Thanksgiving is a

24:06big deal. Uh, you need to be in a playoff spot. The Bruins are in a playoff spot today. They've

24:09got 16 points. They're third in the Atlantic. Um, they're definitely down as far as the regulation

24:14wins go, and that's going to hurt them in the tiebreakers. And that's important too.

24:18Uh, they're blowing a lot of regulation wins and having them go into overtime and not really

24:22playing hard for, for regulation wins. And that's a problem. Um, but I, I don't sense,

24:29uh, even though I, I think it's not going to get better for Jim Montgomery. I think he's going to

24:33start getting the hard questions, uh, the more the results aren't there. Um, and that may be when

24:39a move comes, but like at this point, it seems like the Bruins don't see enough, uh, that they

24:43have to make that move. Uh, even though I think there's evidence that, uh, that should be coming

24:48at some point. Um, all right. Beantown, and I find it hard to believe he's going to sign an

24:53extension, get signed to an extension based on what we've seen on the ice. I just do.

24:57Um, uh, hard for me to believe the Bruins are going to do that. Even if the contract talks

25:01are ongoing. Beantown fan eight. I think he knows, I think Montgomery knows he's done and

25:06he's coaching like it. Let's hope they hire someone competent, not the cheapest option this time.

25:12Um, I, I think he's definitely stressed. I would say that about Jim Montgomery and

25:19understandably. So I would be too like, um, you don't have the answers or you don't feel like

25:25you have the answers. You feel like a lot of players are struggling. Um, you feel like, uh,

25:30the message you're getting out there isn't getting received and executed on the ice.

25:34Uh, you don't have the security of a contract extension and you're, you know, feeling the

25:41heat. And I think he had multiple times this year, he has felt the heat and he has reacted to it.

25:46And at least he's fighting to keep control of the team. Like that part, I understand. And it's good

25:51that he's doing that and going down his way and his terms if it happens. And that's what indeed

25:55happens. Um, but I also think like you get to a certain point and if you're going down that road

26:03and you're holding the players accountable, you have to just do it. Um, you know, you, you,

26:08you can't, uh, pick your spots with that, with the, the best players, uh, to send messages to

26:16once and hope that that continues to be like an accountability thing for everybody on the team.

26:21Like I think you need to, you know, spread it out and everybody has to be accountable at certain

26:26points. And he has done that to a degree. There's no doubt about it, but I think it shows that he

26:31feels the pressure when he's doing that. When he's benching posture neck for a third period,

26:34when he's like yelling at Marcian on the bench, when he's being publicly critical of players,

26:39or like there was a game the other night where he benched a Beecher as well, the win over the flames

26:44or Beecher didn't get a lot of ice time and he shortened the bench, uh, dropping Trent Frederick

26:50to the fourth line. A lot of the stuff that's going on, uh, is him trying to get accountability

26:54and trying to get players attention. And, uh, it remains to be seen if that's going to continue to

26:58work. But, uh, I do think I would say he's coaching at times like he, the desperation is there and he

27:06knows that, uh, the pressure is on and rightfully so like that's the situation that Bruins have set

27:11up here with him in the last year of his deal. You know, what team Boston sports fans are most

27:17excited about this time of year right now? It's not the Patriots, definitely not the Red Sox.

27:22I mean, I, there's plenty of Bruins fans that are very excited about the Boston Bruins,

27:26but I've got to tell you, I think the team that everybody's most excited about is the

27:31Boston Celtics. They're excited about NBA hoops coming back. They're excited to go to the garden

27:35and watch the Celtics play defending that world championship and watching Jalen Brown and Jason

27:41Tatum and all of those guys that they've loaded up on, on their roster. And you know, we're the

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29:21All right. Sergei Bubtinsky on Twitter. Maybe management should look into changes when the

29:27team constantly does the same thing, regardless of wins and losses. And this is my thing. Yes.

29:32You need to change something when you repeat the same mistakes, when you take

29:35undisciplined penalties, tons of offensive zone penalties, tons of penalties away from the play

29:39that aren't like saving goals. You are definitely flailing on the penalty kill like I haven't seen

29:47in years. And Montgomery attributed to new personnel that they're trying on the penalty kill

29:53and trying to work new people in. And that's definitely part of it. But like some of the guys

29:59that are having a tough time, some of the defensemen are not new. These are players that

30:03have been around for a while. So it's a combination of things, I think. And it's

30:09combination. They haven't gotten great goaltending consistently either from Jeremy Swainman, who's

30:14supposed to be your best penalty killer. So that's been part of it, too. But like the combination of

30:20taking bad penalties and a lot of penalties and leading the league in penalties and having a bad

30:24penalty kill is a dead leg. That's a fatal flaw that will kill you. You will not be able to

30:30consistently win games if those two things are happening. And they've been happening over and

30:34over and over again. And they haven't been fixed or addressed properly. It seems like the personnel

30:41is there for this team to be a good penalty kill team. Like I don't understand where that what that

30:45is about. Joe Sacco is in charge of the penalty kill. He's done a great job in the past. Seems

30:51like they're really having a hard time and having problems this year. So something needs to change.

30:57There's no doubt about it. Same goes power play power play struggling to and really the special

31:01teams in general just having a bad bad time of it. But then you also like the offense part and

31:08the forcing the offense and forcing plays and turning pucks over because trying to do too much

31:13like all that comes with losing and not scoring goals with like the way that they're playing that

31:18one. I understand. And I think that's explainable. And I wouldn't hold the head coach accountable for

31:24that and say that that's his fault. I think that's on the players. That's on everybody. And

31:28it's a byproduct of struggling at times to produce offense and generate offense and score.

31:34Now the one thing I would say is what I said before. The bad penalty is consistent under

31:39Montgomery. The penalty kill now not performing under Montgomery. The power play has been real

31:44hit or miss as special teams I would say have not been consistently outstanding under Jim Montgomery

31:50and definitely not this year. Like those are the kind of areas and defensive breakdowns too. When

31:55you have defensemen that are out of position and you know up ice when they should be in front of

32:01the net and you know are trying to do different things when they need to like focus on stopping

32:06the puck and shutting the other team down first. Or not screening the goalie and blocking a shot

32:11for instance. That happened last night with Nikita Zdorov and that's happened a bunch with

32:15McAvoy where he hasn't gotten in front of shots and blocked them. Like those kind of things you

32:19you've got to change that. You've got to fix that. That's got to that's that's like a problem area

32:24that needs to be addressed like immediately. But the penalties for me the penalties in the special

32:31teams are the things I consistently look at and say this is why I would lean towards making a

32:36change with the coach. Because these have been problems all year. They have not been fixed

32:41and they continue to be problems. And like that doesn't seem like it's getting any better.

32:46And that's when you need to find a different voice if it's not getting better and it's not

32:50improving despite focused attention on improving. Kinshmo on Twitter. Starting to think they need a

32:57major shakeup. Shuffling lines non-stop. Isn't doing it. Benching pasta did nothing. He's lost

33:02the room in quotes. But they also need a seismic shift. I'd listen to offers on Charlie McAvoy.

33:06Get some offense for his giant cap hit. I mean that's a big deal. That's a big one trading

33:14Charlie McAvoy. I would not do that because the potential is there for him to play great. The

33:18potential is there for him to be a number one defenseman. I don't think he's had a great year

33:22but I don't I think Lampus Lindholm has been their most consistent defenseman honestly. I think he's

33:28been the best defenseman they've had offensively. He's created things. He did it again and I think

33:34it was last night where he had a take and took it to the net and somebody scored on the rebound.

33:38It was either last night or Calgary but like he's been more involved offensively. He has been pretty

33:44solid defensively. He's played big minutes. He's like done his role like really well and I think

33:49he's avoided like some of the penalties that he took last year that really stood out to me is not

33:53great either. So I think he's improved his game and I think he stepped it up and I think he's

33:58playing like he wants to stay and he wants to be a member of the Boston Bruins.

34:02And McAvoy has struggled and Carlo has struggled at times and Andrew Peek is now hurt and Mason

34:09Lowry has struggled at times. Zdorov I think has definitely struggled like he's had some moments

34:15but I think he's also like taken way too many penalties and I think he struggled at times to

34:21like being out of position trying to do too much. Like I said last night I think he flash screened

34:27the goalie where he was like skating by the goalie as the shot was coming and Jeremy Swayman

34:34never even reacted to the shot. Didn't even see it. Certainly didn't react to it. It was Adario's

34:39goal. Michael Adario. Didn't even see it because I think Zdorov was just like going by him as the

34:46puck was getting released. So you know I think Charlie McAvoy is not alone. Like great expectations

34:52come with great power comes great responsibility and great expectations. I think he's a great

34:59player and I think you expect a ton out of him because of that and he hasn't lived up to that.

35:04But I don't think you cut bait on him at all. Like I think you've got to be patient with him

35:10and let him get back to his game. I think he's the kind of guy that maybe could be a lot better

35:14under a different coach honestly. And I think that's why you don't go there. You know Morgan

35:22Geeky Trent Frederick those kind of players could they be in danger of being dealt if they things

35:26don't get better potentially. Like I think that would be the level of shake up move they would

35:30make the Bruins would make if they had to especially if they needed to go out and get

35:34more goal scoring and get maybe a different you know maybe change the the vibe in the dressing

35:41room a little bit. But you know for Trent Frederick's a popular guy in that room. People like

35:46guys like him. He stands up for his teammates. He's a funny guy. He's a good guy. He's a hard

35:52worker. Like I think he's all those things. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Trent

35:57Frederick. I think he's a good player a good person. All that stuff. And I think it would

36:01affect the Bruins in a big way if he was dealt. So I don't see that coming. I think you would

36:06make a coaching change before you start trading players off the roster especially guys that

36:10you're still you know very much thinking that they're going to be a part of the long term

36:14picture. But I your bigger point about there being a need for a shake up on this team. I

36:22agree. And I think the shake up is changing coaches. I think that's the the most

36:30reachable most realistic and least potentially high risk or damaging move that they can make.

36:37You know I think they need to do something about the coaching. I need to think they need to make

36:41a change. And I think that's the most logical reasonable area where they can make a high

36:49impact move that will shake things up that will give this team a boost that will definitely like

36:54get them out of the malaise that Jim Montgomery said they were in after the game last night.

37:00And it's unfortunate like NHL coaches don't deserve it. I think they're Jim Montgomery's

37:04done a good job there in the regular season certainly is one last record's been excellent.

37:09The playoffs have been a little spotty here. But I think you know sometimes it's not your fault.

37:15Sometimes you did the best that you could and it's just you know wasn't working out. And I think

37:20it's kind of getting to that point with the Boston Bruins where you know they need to see

37:26I think they need to hear a different voice. They need to go in a different direction

37:31and see if that is the thing that they need to boost them forward and get them out of the funk.

37:36And if it's not okay then maybe you move on to trades. But I think the coach is the next one

37:42in the line after you've waived Riley Tufte sent him to Providence after you've waived Max Jones

37:48sent him to Providence after you've signed Tyler Johnson after you've done some of the things that

37:53you can do with this roster that are not going to be seismic that are going to be like little

37:58wake-up calls but nothing major. I think the next thing is the coach and you see how they react to

38:03that and if that gets them on the right track and if that moves them in the right direction.

38:07And frankly a different voice brings different performances out of some of these players.

38:12And then if it's still the same thing then you kind of move on to the players. But I think in

38:16the line of things that you do as a manager in the NHL to address a team that you feel like's

38:22not living up to their potential I don't think that step is there yet. I think you'd be skipping

38:26a step with the coach and moving to that if you started trading roster pieces or core pieces

38:31from that group when it probably isn't merited or called for. But that's just me. You know

38:39everybody's entitled to their opinion. Maybe people think everybody should be traded from

38:43the roster but I would change the coach first and see if that works and then move on to the

38:47roster after that. We'll see what the Bruins do though. They're in a playoff spot so maybe

38:51they're not feeling the urgency to do it right now but they are definitely treading water and

38:57they've got to get more out of a lot more players on this team that are seemingly going through the

39:02motions of being passengers every night. All right let's thank our sponsors real quick. Thank you

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39:58thanks everybody for listening. Thanks this mailbag episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast

40:03answering your questions out there. We'll be back to your regular scheduled program next week with

40:08a couple episodes with guests but for now take care of yourselves, take care of everybody Jerry

40:13Springer style and we'll see you at the rink.

Opening up the Pucks with Haggs mailbag | Pucks with Haggs

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