Speaking of Ugh. I haven't posted much about them since the Joey Bananas trade, mostly because there's nothing to say, really. They're a last-place team in what has become the toughest division in hockey, and they have no hope of digging out.
The Bananaman trade was a disaster. Nothing against Marco Sturm and Brad Stuart (and everything against Wayne Primeau, the definition of journeyman), but this trade was a quarter for two dimes. Solidifying the blue line was a win, as we now actually have talent at each of the top 4 positions on paper with Leetch, Stuart, Tanabe and Boynton. Having Mr. Hal Gill on the 3rd pair is a good sign. But we plugged the major hole on defense by creating a chasm on offense. Sturm is a decent second-line wing, but that's not enough for a bona fide superstar talent like Thornton. We already had an underachieving, undersized left wing in Samsonov, so why add another one? Besides, would you pass the puck to this man? I wouldn't.
The pivot situation is just atrocious. With Zhamnov injured (again) we're left with no center better than young Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is underrated and unheralded given his ability and outlook, but it's too soon for him to be your top-line center. Look at it this way... the team on opening night had THREE centers who are better centers than Bergeron (Bananaman, Zhamnov, and Dave Scatchard) none of whom are on the ice anymore. That says it all.
If you look to 2006-07, even the most optimistic fellow ("we're OK at the wings and defense, Andrew Raycroft and Boynton get to take a mulligan and start fresh") has to admit that #1 centers, of the caliber of Thornton, Sakic, Forsberg, Modano et al, don't grow on trees. We can't count on Bergeron to become a front-line center!!! So where do we get one? The best centers due to be UFAs are Jason Arnott, Daniel Briere, and Olli Jokinen... all good players, none of Thornton's caliber. They cannot fix this without putting in a TON of work. They also have to convince one of those guys to come to Boston, where not only will they lose but they will also be shat upon for management's mistakes. Does that sound promising?
Mike O'Connell wanted to send a message to the team, to motivate them... if you don't play up to potential, you get shipped out. The implicit message, though, is that he's willing to burn the team to the ground out of spite, and then blame you for it. Thanks, beautiful.
The Bananaman trade was a disaster. Nothing against Marco Sturm and Brad Stuart (and everything against Wayne Primeau, the definition of journeyman), but this trade was a quarter for two dimes. Solidifying the blue line was a win, as we now actually have talent at each of the top 4 positions on paper with Leetch, Stuart, Tanabe and Boynton. Having Mr. Hal Gill on the 3rd pair is a good sign. But we plugged the major hole on defense by creating a chasm on offense. Sturm is a decent second-line wing, but that's not enough for a bona fide superstar talent like Thornton. We already had an underachieving, undersized left wing in Samsonov, so why add another one? Besides, would you pass the puck to this man? I wouldn't.
The pivot situation is just atrocious. With Zhamnov injured (again) we're left with no center better than young Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is underrated and unheralded given his ability and outlook, but it's too soon for him to be your top-line center. Look at it this way... the team on opening night had THREE centers who are better centers than Bergeron (Bananaman, Zhamnov, and Dave Scatchard) none of whom are on the ice anymore. That says it all.
If you look to 2006-07, even the most optimistic fellow ("we're OK at the wings and defense, Andrew Raycroft and Boynton get to take a mulligan and start fresh") has to admit that #1 centers, of the caliber of Thornton, Sakic, Forsberg, Modano et al, don't grow on trees. We can't count on Bergeron to become a front-line center!!! So where do we get one? The best centers due to be UFAs are Jason Arnott, Daniel Briere, and Olli Jokinen... all good players, none of Thornton's caliber. They cannot fix this without putting in a TON of work. They also have to convince one of those guys to come to Boston, where not only will they lose but they will also be shat upon for management's mistakes. Does that sound promising?
Mike O'Connell wanted to send a message to the team, to motivate them... if you don't play up to potential, you get shipped out. The implicit message, though, is that he's willing to burn the team to the ground out of spite, and then blame you for it. Thanks, beautiful.
posted by Jeff at
5:16 PM
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