Blinksportsnews247The Bruins are currently enjoying their three-day Christmas break, as mandated by the NHL. Now that there are no more games to report, it’s time to share some Christmas present desires for Bruin-related items. Any similarity between this list and a Festivus Airing of Grievances is entirely accidental:
A winning run for Jake DeBrusk. The much criticized winger’s overall play has significantly improved since his trade request was made public two years ago. He can be counted on to play defense and kill penalties for the best PK unit in the NHL. However, he needs to score frequently, and he hasn’t. You anticipate “that tear” every time he scores a goal. It simply hasn’t taken place. He is going to be a free agent come summer, so this lack of output comes at a bad moment for him personally. It also makes it harder for the Bruins to decide what to give him.
Give coach Jim Montgomery some leeway. This season, he has put in more labor than any other person in show business, working tirelessly to provide his club, which has been severely damaged by departures, with the defensive foundation it needs to win. He might be disparaging his team vocally one day and bagging the players the next. In an attempt to maximize rookies’ abilities while reducing the impact of their unavoidable blunders on the squad, he has been a mad line-mixer. But the Bruins simply keep coming out on top most of the time.
The Jack Adams Award is not given to coaches in successive years, and following last season, he will understandably be evaluated based on his postseason performance. However, Montgomery and his group have not only managed to keep this team afloat—they have actually put them at or close to the Eastern Conference’s summit.
A combined Vezina Trophy for Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. Since the goalies will be playing alternate games, it’s likely that neither of them will receive enough starts to win the trophy. Thatcher Demko of Vancouver is also having an amazing season. However, the B’s position in the standings is mostly the result of the tandem.
Although the rush defense needs improvement, Swayman or Ullmark are typically there to make the stop. Unless there is a lengthy playoff run, the discussion about how this rotation will perform in the postseason will only get more heated as the season goes on. However, the way the two are doing currently has the B’s in a position I didn’t think was feasible at the beginning of the year.
A little gratitude to Danton Heinen. He had no contract when he arrived to training camp. Without a contract, he spent the first few weeks of the season hanging around with the team. Ultimately, Heinen agreed to a $775,000. one-year league minimum contract. And after a very successful summer of dumpster diving, it’s been the finest money Don Sweeney has ever spent.
Heinen has been bouncing about the lineup due to the Bruins’ roster changes, but in an ideal world he would be a third line regular. Additionally, he has been helpful wherever assigned. Consistently a valuable asset, he has brought a level of determination to his play that wasn’t fully developed during his initial stint with the Bruins. In fact, the coaches have been using him as a model for younger players when it comes to puck battle strategy.
David Pastrnak is a style icon. It’s not like his wardrobe selections are always flawless. Some of his costumes would make the majority of us appear really foolish. He succeeds flawlessly, though. flowery suits. sneakers in pink. Name it. He even managed to pull off his purple outfit with his huge parka on. George Frazier, a late columnist, described him as having duende. It’s a term used to describe an intangible, magnetic charisma that you can sense when you see it. There’s David Pastrnak with duende.
A look-see for an offensive-minded player in Providence for two or three games. The Bruins should look at Georgii Merkulov, Fabian Lysell, or John Farinacci to see if they can invigorate an offense that has been marginally better than anticipated but is still unduly dependent on Pastrnak’s exceptional abilities. The management doesn’t believe any of the call-ups are ready for that, and whomever steps up would need to be able to play at least a minimally two-way game. However, an infusion would help the offense.
Honors for the Bruins’ musicians. They are all excellent at what they do, from DJ TJ Connelly’s unexpected jewels to organist Ron Poster’s delicate strains of “Hey Nineteen” to Todd Angilly’s booming blockbusters. Connelly was really inspired to play “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” during the break following Brad Marchand’s hat trick on December 3. The thump, thump, thump of pre-game warmups is the lone complaint. This 15-minute mashup of non-songs is not to be missed. except in cases where a defibrillator is required. (All right, I realize I’m older than the intended audience. I simply needed to let that go from my mind. We are free to proceed.
More advantage for the list. Brad Marchand is a tough guy to take lightly after a whistle blow, Derek Forbort has never met a puck he wouldn’t devour, and Trent Frederic is eager to go with almost anyone. The B’s have some hardness to them. However, they could need a player that is a little more intimidating, both defensively and offensively. Locating those folks who won’t be a liability is the tricky part.
A few votes for Brandon Carlo for the Norris Trophy. No, he won’t be given the honor. A defenseman with high point totals nearly usually wins the Norris. It is highlighted by the fact that Zdeno Chara, the most powerful defender of his time, only took home the trophy once in his career and needed to score a record-tying 19 goals to do it. Although Carlo will never reach 19 goals in a season, he is having the best season of his career at a time when the team really needs it. We’re not trying to win any first place votes; occasionally, we might get a vote in fifth place.
Morgan Geekie’s function was well defined. Given the current makeup of the Bruins, perhaps that is asking a bit too much, and Geekie’s adaptability prevents him from securing a consistent spot in the lineup. However, Geekie has proven he has the gritty ability to play a bottom six role and may even be able to contribute more higher in the lineup after settling into the B’s system and recovering from an injury that sidelined him for three weeks. He appears to be a player that only contributes to a team’s victory more and more.
A few objectives for Jakub Lauko. It’s not necessary for the sparkplug wing to score a lot to be good in his fourth line role. What will keep him in the NHL is his ability to throw hits, beat out icings, and generally be a pain to play against. However, it’s satisfying to have one or two goals as compensation for that kind of work.
And lastly, some postseason success for Boston Bruins supporters. The best quality on the squad is sometimes the cause of a postseason disappointment. The B’s just turn up nearly every night prepared to play. Seldom do they accept the idea of a “scheduled loss.” It’s an impressive work ethic that practically guarantees a position in the spring competition.
However, since their agonizingly painful run to the Finals in 2019, they have only won one postseason series. The management of B has made an effort to win back the support of the fans by spending up to the cap in most of the previous years and utilizing future funds to reinforce the rosters for the final stretch, but the season ends much too soon. It would be good if the Bruins made an unexpected run in a year when not much was expected of them. It is possible, and it would be a pleasant change of pace.
Merry Christmas.
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