Posted in Ponderings December 31st, 2008
Do any doubters remain?
Let’s put this in perspective. The Bruins were 5-3-3 at the end of October. With the win over the Penguins last night, they’ve been 23-2-1 since. A winning percentage like that is something you see in the NBA, where teams can be disproportionately better than others due to the presence of a franchise player (or more). A 23-2-1 record in hockey is almost unfathomable.
On Christmas day, the Globe ran an article that brushed on a topic I’ve been mulling…do the Bruins really need to do anything to the roster to make this team better? In times like this, and especially with a young team, you wonder if adding a veteran presence would be beneficial in the long run. I think that if this team were in, say, a three-way dogfight for the top spot in the Eastern Conference I’d say yes. However, when you’re blowing away nearly all of your competition, it’s hard to justify tweaking your roster with a trade unless they can do something only involving minor draft picks or minor leaguers. In fact, the only way I can see justifying a trade would be if they suffer any more injuries and need to add some depth.
I think Peter Chiarelli and staff have to be given due credit for the team that’s been put together. With the exception of Ryder, the team was mostly quiet in the offseason thus displaying confidence with the team currently on hand. Lord knows they haven’t disappointed. Even Ryder has been extremely productive of late with him now leading the league in game winning goals with seven.
There’s only been one very minor beef I’ve had with the Bruins this year (besides the Pro Shop). The good thing it’s been with marketing and it’s something I’ve forgotten about since October. What’s with the “They want it as bad as you” slogan? Hey, I want it bad, but shouldn’t the players want it MORE than me? Fortunately, the team has answered this question for me.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 8:40 am and is filed under Ponderings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Comments on this post
Posted by jim buffett December 31st, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I disagree with your last statement. I have been a fan of The Bruins longer than most of this current roster has been alive. They are all new to this team but I have been with them since the early 70’s. I live for hockey and for The Bruins; there is no way in hell (as bad as they do want to win) that they want it as bad as me. They have all had different favs. growing up, some have played on other teams and some will play with different teams again. Some play for the money first.
As bad as they all want to win there is no way you can tell me (someone who has cared about this team for almost 40 years and lived through this team all this time that they want it as bad as I do.
I do think that they all want it bad but to suggest that they want it as bad as me is bullshit! The Bruins are my life!!!
Posted by Doobie December 31st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
How about changing it to “They want it as bad as Buffett”?
Posted by jim buffett December 31st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
lol - how about, “they want it almost as bad as Buffett”
Happy New Year