People are underestimating the Bruins kids. They played essentially all prospects against the Rangers a few nights ago and those kids worked their asses off and gave us all we could handle.

They still have Begeron, Kreijci, Marchand, Rask...Chara is older but still good.

Don't underestimate how far hard work can go. It got the flames to the 2nd round last year.

I had the same thought.

I expect dougie to do even better then he did last year.
- david22

He is a stud and will get even better. Best part is that he is only 22! That would have made him the youngest Bs player on D this season.

That's the "logic" part I do not understand...........if we have a bunch of kids that we are "hoping" make the leap to become relevant NHL players and they are OLDER than him.........why wouldn't he be able to make that same leap? Especially since he was already considered very good by most other fans and executives and players?

But, as in most things time will reveal who is correct.

More than likely no.

I think the team on changes alone is worse. Now add injuries and age to the defense and it will make it real tough.

The wild card however is Rask. The forwards are still quite strong so if Rask can stand on his head there is a chance they sneak in. Not sure if there is cap space, but if things are looking good then maybe after x-mas Boston could add a d-man to help out.

I do not think the Bruins make it. Injuries were a big factor in them missing, but the team is weaker this year. They made moves that were to improve the team in the long term. Aside from the Hamilton deal, the Bruins were investing in the future. This year will be a struggle, but they are about to get a lot of young guys getting their shot, and they have stockpiled some good draft picks.

People says Lucic was declining, but he is still a very good power winger. Don't kid yourself, he is a loss that will be felt. I'm not sold on Belesky, but he is trending in the right direction. I'm not sure he makes up for the loss entirely, but in a couple years, the Bruins will be glad they have him.

I'd say Hayes for Smith is pretty much a wash. Hayes is bigger, but Smith seems to have a higher skill to his game.

Pasternak is going to be good, but he needs some seasoning still.

Lucic, Solderberg, Hamilton, Bartkowski are all gone, and they brought nothing back that helps the Bruins this year.

Chara, and Seidenberg are out for a good amount of time.

They have some good young D prospects, but I wouldn't think they are ready for the tough minutes for 82 games yet. It will be a bit of a tough year for the Bruins. Rask will keep them in a lot of games, but Bruins are preparing to transition to younger guys. That is gonna take time.

I don't think it's really hard to say how they've changed... they got younger, faster, more physical... I said that it's hard to see if they've gotten any better or worse. I'm not saying that they're guaranteed to make the playoffs either. I'm just finding it hilarious to see everyone writing them off like they don't have a shot.
- mixturebill

Anything can happen, but I don't see the Bruins in the hunt. They were right to trade to get picks though. If things work out their youth will be hitting stride while a bunch of the vets are still in good production years. It would be bad to wait until you have no useful vets for the youth to learn from.

I'd love to hear your opinion on how the Sens got better though... what exactly did they add in the offseason that makes them a better team? Also let me remind you they have ZERO chance of Hammond winning like 49 of 50 games again or whatever ridiculousness he did last season...
- mixturebill

Simple. Philips won't be logging top pairing minutes as an aging vet who had his time pass years ago. Methot starts the year healthy and slots the D pairings where they are supposed to be. Hoffman was a burst out rookie, but he's now playing for a big payday. Ryan starts his big contract this year, and should *hope* rebound. Karlsson now has a year of being a captain under his belt and shouldn't feel the pressure to do too much like the beginning of last year.

Hammond is the back up. Everyone close to the team knows it. He played amazing to close out the year, but his numbers weren't sustainable. He will be fine to fill in for Anderson if / when he goes down for any stretch. Prince is an upgrade over Greening and Smith playing. Smith at 4th line C is better suited to the role than Legwand ever was.

A lot can happen, and people talk about the amazing finish to the season, but the forget the crazy slow start. I'd say those cancel out. Streaks tend to balance out over an 82 game season. I think the youth developing and the small moves made make the Sens better. Not thinking they catch the Habs or Lightning though.

Does anybody see the irony in the fact that the man called TylerSeguin19 can't wait for Dougie to be a bust?!?! Says his attitude is a problem that will be his undoing?!?! You mean the exact same thing they said about Seguin?!?! Seriously bro, your trolling your own team now..

Unless of course that was what you were getting at..
- Flamin_Irishmin

Except Seguin was devastated when he was traded and didnt wa t to leave the Bruins and Hamilton cried his way off the team. Where's the irony is that?

no. they werent last season and still arent. And their roster got worse

I think the defense improves or they trade for some blue line help. I think they make the playoffs.

And they say leaf fans are delusional.

People are underestimating the Bruins kids. They played essentially all prospects against the Rangers a few nights ago and those kids worked their asses off and gave us all we could handle.

They still have Begeron, Kreijci, Marchand, Rask...Chara is older but still good.

Don't underestimate how far hard work can go. It got the flames to the 2nd round last year.
- rangerdanger94

Chara is 39. the defense is worse. they lost some of their toughness identity when they traded Lucic. doesnt equate to the playoffs. tell me how they got better from a team that missed the playoffs last season.

Ty Anderson: Are the Bruins still a playoff team?
- tyanderson

no

No.

6th in the Atlantic in front of the mistakes by the lakes (and I don't mean the Wings).

Chara is 39. the defense is worse. they lost some of their toughness identity when they traded Lucic. doesnt equate to the playoffs. tell me how they got better from a team that missed the playoffs last season.
- Jurco_28

What are they doing? They had a Milbury-esque offseason.

And they say leaf fans are delusional.
- shack67

hello fellow sydney person

Cannot see the Bruins as a playoff team.
'IF' manage a wild card spot then only a tune up team for a eg TB n a quick exit.
PC left a mess n the pain will last a few years.
D is in a mess n the core is aging faster than a speeding bullet.

Someone is fired by Xmas I predict.

It's cool that people don't think the B's will make the playoffs. They are certainly a bubble team. But, my god, if I see another poster say something about how they "gave up" on Hamilton or how the Lucic trade was bad my head might explode. Sweeney knows what he is doing and you do not, end of story. He's got the B's heading in the right direction and if Dougie wasn't a huge female dog people would be calling us contenders.

Chara is 39. the defense is worse. they lost some of their toughness identity when they traded Lucic. doesnt equate to the playoffs. tell me how they got better from a team that missed the playoffs last season.
- Jurco_28

The give a poop factor should be there, and that should count for something. This team had no fight, no will to win, nothing. And some of them even admitted it. You can have all the talent in the world but if you play like a bunch of well fed, disinterested, over comfortable, lazy good for nothings like this team did last year you won't do a damn thing, and they didn't. I wouldn't underestimate what some new blood might do.

I don't know what Milan Lucic you were watching last year but he was a passenger more often than not. Not physical, scoring down quite a bit. Not to say he's done or anything but no more Lucic at least means the team might actually be able to play against Montreal instead of spending half the game killing penalties from when Lucic loses his poop.

The give a poop factor should be there, and that should count for something. This team had no fight, no will to win, nothing. And some of them even admitted it. You can have all the talent in the world but if you play like a bunch of well fed, disinterested, over comfortable, lazy good for nothings like this team did last year you won't do a damn thing, and they didn't. I wouldn't underestimate what some new blood might do.

I don't know what Milan Lucic you were watching last year but he was a passenger more often than not. Not physical, scoring down quite a bit. Not to say he's done or anything but no more Lucic at least means the team might actually be able to play against Montreal instead of spending half the game killing penalties from when Lucic loses his poop.
- PoketheBear

Wear n tear catches up to a Lucic n a change of scenery was obvious.
PC's cap mess meant a jettison of talent. Sweeney is in a tough spot.
Bergeron/Krejci together cannot stay healthy long enough n Chara is on the decline.
Core is showing signs of age n the Draft was a pathetic indication to be patient n expect more bad before it gets better.

It's cool that people don't think the B's will make the playoffs. They are certainly a bubble team. But, my god, if I see another poster say something about how they "gave up" on Hamilton or how the Lucic trade was bad my head might explode. Sweeney knows what he is doing and you do not, end of story. He's got the B's heading in the right direction and if Dougie wasn't a huge female dog people would be calling us contenders.
- Shaundre93

This is what I'm talking about... there's so many fans from other teams chiming in that have absolutely zero clue as to what they're talking about. It's kind of funny to see how out of touch other fans are with the Bruins. Talking about how big of a loss it was to trade Lucic, and basically how we can't win now without him. People look straight up foolish with these comments.

What are they doing? They had a Milbury-esque offseason.
- Snowblind

You mean a John Spano-esque off-season?

no. they werent last season and still arent. And their roster got worse
- Jurco_28

Yeah, well, you know, that's just like uhh your opinion man

This is what I'm talking about... there's so many fans from other teams chiming in that have absolutely zero clue as to what they're talking about. It's kind of funny to see how out of touch other fans are with the Bruins. Talking about how big of a loss it was to trade Lucic, and basically how we can't win now without him. People look straight up foolish with these comments.
- mixturebill

sorry sir.


at what school did u study hockey at exactly?

what about Chara turning 39. losing Hamilton and Boychuck in a short time span....
again, how are the bruins better from a team that missed the playoffs last season?

sorry sir.


at what school did u study hockey at exactly?

what about Chara turning 39. losing Hamilton and Boychuck in a short time span....
again, how are the bruins better from a team that missed the playoffs last season?
- Jurco_28

Lucic isn't going to be a big miss overall, he was too inconsistent. A change of scenery may do him good.

But you are right about losing our #2 and #3 D-man AND having a old and injured #1 and #4 D-man. Ironic that both the guys we traded are better than the older two we still have now, a year or two later.

There is FAITH and HOPE though...........it's the essence of ALL fan bases and the start of a new season.

sorry sir.


at what school did u study hockey at exactly?

what about Chara turning 39. losing Hamilton and Boychuck in a short time span....
again, how are the bruins better from a team that missed the playoffs last season?
- Jurco_28

Well if you ask anyone that frequents this board, you'll find that your Chara argument is falling on deaf ears... I think he hurts the Bruins more than he helps them.

The Hamilton move I'm indifferent about. I would have liked to see him stay, but I'm not torn up about him leaving. The Bruins seem to have enough young D that it won't hurt them terribly in the long run.

The Boychuk move broke my heart... I loved that dude and I would have preferred the Bruins had traded anyone from the D other than him.

That being said, I think the blue line is a big question mark. I was really hoping they were going to sign someone in the off season, but my guess is that they're holding out for Yandle, which I think is a dumb move. But I like the addition of Matt Irwin, I think that was a sneaky good signing by Sweeney, and I think Colin Miller looks like he has the potential to be great.

I think the "addition by subtraction" in moving on from Lucic, Campbell, and Paille were all smart moves. I don't think Soderberg will be missed, and I think that Kempainnen already looks better than he did. I think the shake up to the roster is exactly what the team needed, and again, while I don't think they got noticeably better, I think they definitely got hungrier. And I think they've got a better group of guys that all want to play their hearts out for Boston.

So that's how I think they MIGHT be better than a team that missed the playoffs by TWO GAMES last year. They don't have to be much better, and hypothetically they just need to be the same to make the playoffs this year since hey had the most points an NHL team has ever had without making the playoffs. That's the biggest point all of you other fans are missing. We're not talking about the last place Buffalo Sabers here... the Bruins BARELY missed the playoffs last year, and don't need to improve much to squeak in this year.

Oh, p.s. I forgot to mention that Krecji, one of our best players, missed like half the season last year. If he stays healthy, he puts them over the top.

With a bit of luck they should be able to pass the stinking Senators.