The 3 Amigos ride again!
Dom, Reed and I are back with our 3rd podcast together, recapping the 1st week of NHL free agency with a decided Boston bent, covering David Backes, Anton Khudobin, Riley Nash, Tim Schaller and Alex Grant to name a few. Dom will tell you why he thinks Khudobin for two years, beyond the solid addition of a proven backup, has key implications for Malcolm Subban not getting snapped up in the expansion draft.
We also issue a Danger, Will Robinson! alert to fans of the Edmonton Oilers as we look at the impacts of recent signing and additions to that club’s cap picture and we see some eerie parallels to how it all came unraveled in Boston.
We also discuss (about 55 minutes in) the Bruins and Don Sweeney’s still pending move to upgrade the NHL talent on defense- that kind of a move to shore up the club’s right-shooting depth chart has been curiously lacking. Dom mentions an interesting name with Ontario connections and Reed has had plenty of looks and shares his thoughts on why this particular player (an RFA) might be a stealth target of the Bruins via trade.
All in all, it’s a little over 90 minutes of hockey talk, unvarnished and calling it like we see it. Ole!
scoutingpost 
great one, guys. a thing I didn’t really fall in line with was the potential for Schaller. yeah, it looks like the role will be “first up” for him, but I think he sticks, possibly right from the start of the season. I can imagine Randall being the up/down guy and even Nash being the pressbox star. anyway, insightful as always. color me as a Semin over Caron OR an Eriksson over Backes guy, as that superstar skill is potentially enough to put a team full of role players over the edge, regardless of their lack of leadership by more than examples of talent. I certainly understand the point made, but you KNOW that a team full of Carons is going to lose (with integrity). Washington has (somehow) recently proven that you can get a selfish superstar to play a team game… eventually. oh, I also have trouble getting worked into a frenzy over giving a huge contract to Ceci, or any other zero-sum player. just being an upgrade over Morrow isn’t much of an accomplishment. blah, blah, blah… let’s do it again, soon, eh?
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We’re doing something right if your lead beef was that you think Tim Schaller should be a favorite to make the big club from jump street. We’ll see- have been watching him since NE Jr. Huskies (EJHL) days so that would be fine. As for Semin, unless you know something I don’t after covering him for 4 years & his being hands down the least impressive player I have seen in 16+ years of doing this character-wise, you’ll forgive me if I don’t put much stock in your rebuttal. The great thing about opinions is- there are some that are informed & some that aren’t so informed. We’ll provide the information & let the listeners decide for themselves.
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I think I misspelled Randell, and my shame will live indefinitely. I take it posts need to be approved, as I don’t see any evidence of my suspected transgression.
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yeah, hey, if you say Semin is that big of a problem, personality-wise, I believe it. but his skill makes him desirable, at least more than Caron. hyperbole aside, I get the Eriksson wasn’t a team leader, but when the team is already in place, the superstar can be the thing that makes the difference in successes. feel free to email me some Semin anecdotes, and I promise to never type of them. have a good weekend!
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Thanks for the support. Sorry, don’t make a habit of emailing inside info to random folks who comment on the blog. If my general word about Semin & my firsthand knowledge of his lack of character is not good enough, then so be it. We’ve put out the various thoughts on multiple topics- we’re not looking for 100% consensus or validation, here. It’s up to each individual to decide whether they want to agree with the content or not.
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First timer here! Enjoyed it very much. Wasn’t even sure what a “podcast” was… Anyway I am HUGE lifelong Bruins fan born in 1965. The 2011 Championship was the most rewarding to me as a Boston fan of all the titles from the four Pro teams. I hope that you guys are right about the recent draft picks panning out. Not very many picks from the Chiarelli (? spelling) era made an impact. Any team needs to draft well and then develop players to stock the NHL team. I hope that Sweeney can find a way to bring in at least one solid top 4 D. The team needs it. If not then the upcoming season will likely be a disappointment. There are still a good group of forwards and Bergeron is a guy where you want to maximize his window not waste it. Which of the young guys like O’Gara, Carlo, Lauzon and Gryzlyk (? spelling) will be ready to contribute first? These young D take a while to be NHL ready. I am not full of confidence with Sweeney at the moment… I hope that he proves me wrong.
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