Should Bruins fans EXPECT FIREWORKS at trade deadline? w/ Ty Anderson | Poke the Bear - video Dailymotion

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Conor Ryan from Boston.com is joined by Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub for a discussion on the latest developments with the Boston Bruins. In this episode, Conor and Ty explore whether Bruins fans should anticipate significant moves or 'fireworks' at the upcoming trade deadline.  This episode of Poke the Bear is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook. Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media Network! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS in BONUS BETS – WIN OR LOSE! Go to https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON! The app is so easy to use and there are so many different ways to bet like:  ● Live Same Game Parlays  ● Find Bets in the NEW Explore Tab  ● Make a parlay in the Parlay Hub – the best way to find popular parlays  ● And more!  DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.    Factor Meals! Visit https://factormeals.com/POKE50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 - Poke the Bear is brought to you by FanDuel,

00:03 the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.

00:07 - And welcome into Poke the Bear, episode 196,

00:10 presented by CLNS Media and sponsored by our good friends

00:14 over at FanDuel and Fact O' Meals.

00:16 My name is Connor Ryan, and once again,

00:18 we are joined by a very special guest here

00:21 in 98.5 The Sports Hub, Ty Anderson.

00:23 Ty, what's going on?

00:25 - What's up, Connor?

00:26 How are we doing today?

00:27 - I'm doing swell.

00:28 I'm doing swell, Ty.

00:30 The Bruins are also doing swell,

00:32 coming off a convincing win over the Colorado Avalanche

00:36 on Thursday night.

00:37 And I think Jim Montgomery kind of said it best,

00:40 that since the Christmas break,

00:43 they've been playing really good hockey,

00:44 they've been building their game,

00:45 but over these last three games,

00:47 you have that OT win over the Blues,

00:49 you have the three nothing win over the New Jersey Devils.

00:51 Granted, they're pretty banged up,

00:53 kind of like Colorado, but still,

00:55 when you look at the Bruins and the game

00:57 they're trying to build

00:58 and getting a full 60 minute effort,

01:01 I think I have to agree with Jim Montgomery.

01:03 They're probably playing, I think,

01:04 their most complete hockey,

01:05 I would say, over this last week.

01:08 - Yeah, and I think their win

01:10 over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night

01:12 is kind of, you know, that's their Mona Lisa of the year,

01:15 I think, in terms of what they're able to do,

01:19 the in-game adversity they had to fight through.

01:22 You know, that's a dangerous Colorado team, right?

01:24 Like, they could come at you,

01:26 even if you think you have it in the bag,

01:28 like, they could score three goals

01:29 in a matter of two minutes, you know,

01:31 like, they're that kind of team.

01:32 So I liked their game a lot on Thursday night,

01:36 so I think that's their best win of the year.

01:39 And I think the biggest thing is that just

01:42 what made them so great a year ago,

01:44 you know, were those shut down third periods.

01:47 And I think you look at Monday

01:48 and you look at Thursday, like, you got those.

01:50 And that's the biggest difference, I think, you know,

01:53 or maybe that's the biggest reason why

01:55 they may think it's their best wins

01:57 or their best three games in a row of the season.

02:00 It's hard to deny them on that front,

02:02 just based on how they looked in those third periods.

02:04 - Yeah, and especially when I think you look at

02:06 the way the Bruins kind of control that game.

02:08 Yes, you'll take the hat trick from David Pasternak,

02:10 of course, you've got, you know, DeBruys continuing to play,

02:13 I think, really well over the last couple of weeks here.

02:16 Guy like Lauko finally, you know, gets off the schneid,

02:18 finally gets a goal there.

02:19 And that's a guy that, if you want to have that fourth line,

02:22 eventually gain some identity

02:24 and have some guys that can impact the game

02:26 and give you some momentum.

02:27 Having guy like Lauko feel confident about his game

02:29 is obviously key, but I think we've talked about this before.

02:33 The biggest issue with this team so far

02:34 has been like the D zone lapses.

02:37 You know, you look at the personnel they have here,

02:39 should be without a doubt,

02:40 one of the best kind of defensive teams out there.

02:42 And there's been way too many games,

02:43 especially early on in the year where you, again,

02:46 empty net, you give up a goal, you lose an OT,

02:48 which seems like it happens every time they go to OT,

02:50 but it's a situation where this defense,

02:55 the way they've been shutting guys down,

02:56 like they took control of the game

02:58 in the third period against the Devils.

02:59 And then, as you said, Colorado,

03:01 who have more than enough guys

03:03 that can just take over a shift

03:05 and can kind of be a cheat code to get you a goal.

03:07 Colorado, I think only had four shots on goal

03:09 in the final 20 minutes of that game.

03:11 Like you look at this team and yes,

03:12 you'll take the added contributions up and down the lineup,

03:14 but I think the foundation of this team,

03:17 we knew this going into the year,

03:18 is going to be elite goaltending and really stout defense.

03:22 And I think you're seeing them play more to that identity

03:24 because I don't care what you want to say about,

03:27 you know, the amount of talent they lost in the off season,

03:29 play games like that where your goaltending's on

03:31 and you can shut down desperate teams in crunch time.

03:35 You're gonna win a couple of playoff games

03:37 if you keep on playing like that in April.

03:39 - Yeah, 100%.

03:40 And I think that, you know,

03:42 what makes last night, Thursday night,

03:44 so impressive is that, you know, you don't have Carlo.

03:48 You still don't have Derek Forbert

03:50 and you're holding McKinnon and Rontanen,

03:53 like you're holding them at bay, right?

03:55 And Makar, you know,

03:57 what I loved is I love Coyle's play on Makar,

03:59 you know, like 45 seconds into the game that happens

04:02 and boom, they're on the board.

04:03 Like that's like a statement shift, right?

04:06 That it's not gonna be easy night for you.

04:08 It's not gonna be an easy night for your top talents.

04:10 And I think that goes a long way.

04:11 And so your leaders lead,

04:13 your goaltender is your goaltender

04:15 and you kind of go from there.

04:16 But defensively, given what they're missing right now

04:20 and giving that they went with a load up, you know,

04:22 up top with Lindholm and McAvoy together,

04:25 I think that's what makes it even more impressive.

04:27 It's like, you are able to entrust guys

04:30 that you typically wouldn't entrust

04:32 with certain minutes, right?

04:33 And they didn't drown.

04:34 And I think that's a big difference between now

04:36 and, you know, maybe when they were hitting their lulls

04:38 in December is that they couldn't rely on those guys

04:41 to play those minutes.

04:42 And they had to lean on the star players

04:44 every single shift and it took a toll on them.

04:47 So I think that's what I liked the most about it as well.

04:50 It's just that, you know, as you noted,

04:52 but also like just that defensive buy-in

04:54 from all six guys was,

04:55 I thought was phenomenal on Thursday night.

04:58 - Yeah, it's actually crazy when you look at the way

05:00 this team is structured and the amount of like

05:03 unsung heroes is something that Evan and I talked about

05:05 earlier this week is like, as like a first half review,

05:08 there's so many guys that have pulled on the rope

05:10 that have exceeded expectations or have carved out

05:12 set roles.

05:13 We've talked about JVR, we've talked about Heinen,

05:15 like well guys like Geeky, Shattenkirk,

05:18 lately Parker Wellespoon has been playing

05:19 really, really good hockey.

05:20 And we'll talk about him in a minute here,

05:22 but in terms of unsung heroes though,

05:25 granted he's in a top six role,

05:26 but the way that Charlie Coyle has erased so many fears

05:30 about a critical spot in the lineup, you know,

05:32 it's one thing where I think last year people started to

05:36 really, you know, glean his value as a defensive force,

05:39 right?

05:40 Like he was kind of their third line,

05:41 shut down guy and when Charlie Coyle was on,

05:43 he's such a pain to kind of account for in the offensive

05:45 zone, but he's so defensively,

05:48 accountably such a big body that can make plays as you saw

05:51 in that game yesterday,

05:52 but his overall 200 foot game this year has been immense.

05:55 And you'll take the fact that he's on pace for 30 goals,

05:58 60 plus points, he's driving play.

06:01 He looked good with Martian and Pasternak as a kind of a top

06:04 heavy line early on in that game.

06:06 But if we're looking at unsung heroes,

06:08 the amount of fears that I think a guy like Coyle has calmed

06:12 down for this team,

06:13 you can't really understand how huge he's been for this

06:16 team.

06:17 - Oh, he's been gigantic.

06:18 He's been absolutely gigantic.

06:20 And you know,

06:21 there was a play in the waning moments of Thursday's game

06:26 where he's in a one-on-one battle with Nathan McKinnon for a

06:29 loose puck and Coyle wins it.

06:31 And he really frustrates McKinnon.

06:34 McKinnon wraps his arms around him and tries to slim him

06:36 down. He's pissed off.

06:37 He realized he just lost the game.

06:39 Like, but that's what,

06:40 when Coyle's moving and he's playing his game,

06:42 like he's such a nightmare for anybody, like the size,

06:46 the strength, the reach, you know,

06:48 the defensive acumen that has gotten noticeably better over

06:52 the last year and a half.

06:53 Like it makes it hard for the opposition.

06:56 And, you know, I think it's really interesting, you know,

06:58 on Thursday night,

06:59 their top two centers go a combined 22 for 35 with the face

07:03 off dot, you know, like that's, that's another ingredient,

07:06 you know, to their secret sauce of how they win games is when

07:09 their centermen have strong nights of the dot, like it,

07:13 it helps kind of, you know,

07:15 bridge the gap between them and a star power team like

07:18 Colorado, I think. And, and, but Coyle, I mean, it's funny.

07:22 I had, I got a tweet last night before the game saying like,

07:25 would he be an all-star or an honorable mention for an

07:28 all-star? And it's like, he's playing excellent,

07:31 but there are so many great forwards in this league that it

07:32 kind of flies under the radar,

07:33 how good he's been for this team this year.

07:35 - Yeah. It's also crazy.

07:37 I think you, when you hear like a lot of national people

07:40 talking about the Bruins and we'll talk a little bit later

07:42 on in the show about like trade deadline ads,

07:44 everyone still mentions like, well, they could use a center.

07:47 It's like, I don't know,

07:48 you've been watching them that much this year.

07:49 Like again, maybe down the road, like you,

07:51 you want to find that probably proven solution.

07:53 I know there's a flashy guys out there that you can look at

07:56 further down the road, like a Lindholm or a hurdle,

07:59 what have you, but like Bruins, you know,

08:01 played in the middle has been far from their biggest issue

08:03 even like, I think Zaka has had good games there.

08:07 Frederick, when he's shifted over, has been pretty solid,

08:09 but yeah, like that's not been the biggest issue

08:12 for this team. Like Koyo may not be flashy.

08:14 He may not be what, you know,

08:16 maybe national media was looking at as a proven top six

08:19 commodity, but like he's done more than enough.

08:21 It's not like he's just with, you know,

08:23 Martian and Pasternak and his,

08:25 his stats are getting juiced up because of that.

08:27 Like guys being a 200 foot player that's impacting the game

08:31 in a variety of ways. I mean like that,

08:32 that play to steal the puck from the car.

08:34 Who's so good when he gets his feet moving there,

08:37 stop and play kind of in its tracks and then like feed it

08:39 over to Pasternak, get a goal a minute in,

08:41 like that is an impact player making an impact move there to

08:44 set the tone early, which is really good to see.

08:47 - Yeah, absolutely. And you know,

08:48 if you're asking me straight up,

08:50 what are their needs at the deadline?

08:53 Like center is probably number four.

08:55 Honestly, it's probably number four for me.

08:57 I would say number one would be another high impact

09:01 left shot D number two would be a winger,

09:04 like another score perhaps.

09:06 And then I'd say, you know,

09:06 a physical fourth liner who could maybe turn tides,

09:09 you know, like you lost with Milan Lucic.

09:12 And then I'd say center, like,

09:14 because I think that, you know,

09:16 there's time to acquire one of those players,

09:19 but I don't know if that is the biggest difference between

09:22 them winning a Stanley cup in 2024 or not,

09:24 like they're going to need some bounces

09:26 and some favorable things to go their way.

09:29 But ultimately that's like a longer term issue that I think

09:33 you'll have multiple chances to address, you know,

09:36 beyond the 2024 trade deadline.

09:38 So that's why that takes a back seat as well as the play of

09:42 coil Zaka, you mentioned Frederick, you know,

09:44 Patra Geeky's been solid when moved to the middle as well.

09:48 You know, Johnny Beecher has been a great defensive zone,

09:51 center option, I think under the radar in a lot of respects.

09:54 So like they can have enough centers, I think it's just,

09:57 it's everywhere else that I'm like,

09:58 if you want to make a deeper push, like that might be the,

10:02 the more prudent move,

10:03 if there's any to be made this deadline season.

10:06 - This current like roster almost kind of reminds me of like

10:10 Vegas's rosters over the last couple of years,

10:13 like before Ikel showed up where it's like,

10:14 you had guys that maybe people didn't view as being like

10:17 proven top six sentiment,

10:18 like a guy like Chandler Stevenson, where it's like,

10:20 all right, like this guy's definitely exceeding

10:22 expectations, but he's not the best fit.

10:24 When I think people now realize like a guy like Chandler

10:26 Stevenson, like Coyle can be a very good top six guy in

10:29 terms of impact in the game. But for Vegas, it's like,

10:32 all right, we know we probably eventually could use an Ikel,

10:35 a franchise center man, but like, we'll solve it eventually.

10:38 Like we still got a lot of talent.

10:39 We still got pieces in place,

10:41 but we're not like going out there trying to get one right

10:44 now, like when the right situation happens.

10:45 And if you're the Bruins and it's fucking, you know,

10:48 Thomas Hertel wants out and they can eat up some of his

10:51 contract or something like that.

10:53 Clinton Keller, when like eventually Arizona stops being

10:55 good once again, and they run out of money and they're

10:58 playing at like the YMCA and they want to move that

11:00 contract. Like eventually I think the Bruins like are in a

11:03 spot here where whether it's this free agency,

11:06 this upcoming summer or down the road, they'll solve it.

11:08 But right now it's not like it's something that's tanking

11:10 their, their chances this current season at all.

11:14 - Yeah. It's funny you say that, like, like who were the

11:19 golden night centers, you know, before Ikel,

11:22 it was like William Carlson, Stevenson,

11:24 they had Eric Holla for a hot minute.

11:26 - Yeah.

11:27 - Tomas Nosek, I think played center for them.

11:31 He played a little bit of wing too, but like,

11:33 that was truly like our talents on the wings and on the

11:36 back end and in that, and we're that team, right?

11:40 Like, so that's really interesting.

11:42 That's, that's really interesting comp. You know,

11:43 I've always, I've always said that they're going,

11:45 the Bruins right now are going for the Nashville model

11:48 where Nashville had all these horses on the back end and,

11:51 and they had the great goaltending and it made them,

11:54 you know, a contender, maybe not a favorite,

11:56 but a contender, you know, all those years.

11:58 So I think that, you know, like when you look at their play

12:03 right now, I think it's silenced a lot of narratives.

12:07 Like it's silenced a lot of narratives in terms of like,

12:09 A, they're going to be bad.

12:11 B, their centers aren't up for the task.

12:12 Like, like, yes, they could use a high impact center.

12:15 I'm not going to say they could, every team could,

12:17 every team could, but right now with a four point,

12:20 whatever million dollar bonus overage and, you know,

12:24 having to dig in the, in the bargain bin, like you are

12:27 getting a lot from your centermen right now.

12:29 And that's, it's very far on the bottom of my list of

12:32 complaints right now.

12:33 I think when it comes to this Bruins team.

12:35 - Yeah, without a doubt.

12:36 We'll keep on talking about the current makeup of this team,

12:39 especially with some reinforcements on the way for the

12:42 Bruins. But before we do that,

12:44 let's take a quick break and hear from our good friends

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13:30 All right, Ty, when you look at this team

13:32 and the way they're playing,

13:34 it's good news for Boston in terms of the fact that

13:37 you're also having a lot of reinforcements back.

13:39 I mean, Lino Sommaric is already active.

13:41 It looked like he blew out his hip, his groin, his knee,

13:45 whatever the, whatever worst case scenario,

13:47 sure looked like that was going to be the case in Arizona.

13:50 Miraculously, he misses what?

13:51 Five total games.

13:52 He's already back on the ice last Saturday.

13:55 So Bruins dodged a major bullet there.

13:57 Brendan Carlo and Matt Potcher are on the brink of returning.

14:01 They, you know, sure if that was a playoff game,

14:02 you probably have them potentially back for Thursday's game

14:06 against Colorado, but they're right there.

14:08 Derek Fullbert's still a little bit of a ways away,

14:11 but still he's back on the ice.

14:12 It's good news for him.

14:13 And he's been a guy that I think we all know

14:15 how good he is on the PK,

14:16 but his five on five numbers this year have been

14:19 pretty zany in terms of how impactful he's been.

14:21 So all good news for the Bruins in terms of just having

14:25 more capable guys back there,

14:26 but specifically looking at the defense,

14:28 when this team is healthy,

14:30 and again, that's maybe best laid plans, right?

14:32 We never know what one guy comes in,

14:35 another guy comes out to you in injuries,

14:36 but if they have like their full assortment of guys

14:38 and you've got Carlo and Fullbert,

14:40 and you know, we have Parker Witherspoon,

14:42 who again, we mentioned earlier,

14:43 but he's playing really strong, simple hockey now,

14:48 who are kind of the odd men out?

14:49 'Cause I think we look at like Lowry obviously is,

14:51 you know, the first guy that sat him down to Providence,

14:53 have him keep on working on his game,

14:55 should benefit all parties, but then who is it?

14:58 Is it Grzyk the odd man out?

14:59 Like how do you think the Bruins are gonna approach

15:01 if they have a full six man unit

15:03 and how they kind of tinker with that decor?

15:05 - Yeah, it's a really great question.

15:08 I think the easiest first guy out is Mason Lowry,

15:12 just so you can get him more minutes down in Providence,

15:14 you know, versus playing 12 to 13, 14 minutes up here

15:18 every night, but then you go beyond that.

15:21 And I think Witherspoon and Grzyk,

15:22 that's a real conversation right now.

15:24 And you know, Grzyk just hasn't looked

15:28 like Grzyk consistently.

15:30 I think he's had some really good games.

15:32 I thought the game that he had in Vegas was tremendous,

15:37 but overall, like he's a guy that you're seemingly

15:42 consistently asking for a little bit more out of this year.

15:46 And you just wonder what that means for him.

15:48 You know, like we've talked about the playoffs last year

15:51 and he's a scratch, you know, and a key moment.

15:55 And then you look at his usage this year,

15:59 and contract year, typically, you know, I think that,

16:04 and this is a weird way of saying this,

16:07 but like wouldn't Sweeney have taken care of this by now?

16:10 Like it's not a contract that's gonna hold everything up.

16:13 - Right, not the Bruins or anything like that, you know.

16:15 - Right, it's a very Kevin Miller-esque

16:17 kind of contract, you'd think,

16:19 in terms of hammering that out.

16:20 That hasn't happened yet.

16:22 And so it's kind of a weird year for him, right?

16:25 And Waltherspoon has been great on the left side,

16:27 the right side.

16:28 Now he has limitations.

16:29 That's very obvious that he's gonna have limitations.

16:31 But if you're just putting them side by side right now,

16:35 it's hard to take Waltherspoon out of this lineup right now.

16:37 It's just really hard, I think, to do that.

16:40 So you may have a legitimate conversation there

16:44 between Waltherspoon and Grisloch,

16:46 especially if they're going with a Hampus-Lindholm,

16:50 Charlie McAvoy top pairing.

16:52 - Right, yeah, that's the whole thing.

16:53 Because again, in a perfect world,

16:55 and we've mentioned this before with a guy like Grisloch,

16:57 like you can talk about the limitations,

16:59 talk about the playoffs, which again,

17:01 I don't think he was really a net negative last year

17:04 against Florida's floor checking and all that pressure.

17:07 I think it was a couple of other guys

17:08 that had far worse series still.

17:10 Like the writing's kind of on the wall

17:12 when he's only playing 13, 14 minutes a night

17:15 in a playoff game, gets scratched.

17:17 Who knows how that game six would have been different

17:20 if he's in instead of a guy like Clifton

17:23 who just unfortunately had a really rough game.

17:26 Forbert had a really rough game there.

17:28 But that was the first sign of like,

17:31 does Montgomery not view him as a long-term asset?

17:33 'Cause I think there's a lot to like about Grisloch

17:34 when he's on his game,

17:35 especially in terms of his versatility

17:38 and how I think he also elevates other guys.

17:42 The play he has with McAvoy

17:43 has been well-established for years,

17:45 but that's probably been the most shocking thing is,

17:47 all right, you can say individually

17:49 that you don't like Grisloch's game, what have you,

17:51 but when he's with McAvoy, McAvoy tends to play better.

17:55 It's like a line you don't have to worry about,

17:56 a pairing you don't have to worry about.

17:57 Montgomery can put those guys together,

17:59 can put a very, very good defenseman

18:01 in Lindholm with Carlo.

18:02 You're all set.

18:03 Your top four is locked in there.

18:05 Hasn't been the case this year.

18:06 I think the Bruins have only outscored opponents

18:07 eight to seven when Grisloch and McAvoy are out there,

18:10 when they've been a five-on-five cheat code for years.

18:14 They've been about as steady as you can get

18:16 in terms of how impactful they can be at five-on-five play.

18:19 So I think when you look at Carlo, obviously coming back,

18:23 you saw him back in there,

18:24 and Fulbright's a guy that maybe going into the year,

18:26 you're like, all right, maybe you can swap him

18:28 and Grisloch out or what have you,

18:29 but Fulbright's been pretty solid.

18:31 Again, the PK's been good.

18:33 Wetherstone stepped in in those minutes.

18:35 Again, he's not flashy, as you said,

18:36 but he's playing simple, smart hockey

18:39 that is not putting him on the wrong side of highlight rules

18:42 where he's trying to do too much

18:43 or getting burned in the D zone.

18:45 But the fact that I think Fulbright's had a really strong

18:48 year that when he does get back, and again,

18:50 who knows what this nagging injury,

18:52 like whether it's gonna be managed, what have you,

18:54 but it's definitely makes for a tough conversation.

18:57 'Cause I don't think Wetherstone's a guy

18:58 that you wanna be sending back down to Providence,

19:01 having him put on the wire or anything like that,

19:03 because he's been solid.

19:04 Even if he's not starting every day,

19:07 Wetherstone's kind of what you're looking for

19:08 as an ideal seventh defenseman, especially for the playoffs.

19:11 That's a guy you wanna bring in for a game or two

19:13 if you need to change the complexion

19:14 or maybe add a little bit of sandpaper to your game,

19:17 'cause he can provide that.

19:18 - 100%, and I think the other part of that too is that...

19:21 So, and people know more about this than I do, I admit.

19:26 I am not off the top of my head,

19:28 well-versed in the waiver wire rules

19:32 and what an emergency recall is versus non,

19:35 but I believe because Wetherspoon is an emergency recall,

19:39 he doesn't have to go through waivers.

19:41 But if he is, you wanna avoid that regardless.

19:45 He's a guy that gets scooped up by somebody

19:47 who's defense needy right now because he's cheap

19:50 and he's been playing well.

19:51 He's been playing well in an elevated role on a good team.

19:55 So, listen, if Spencer Martin gets claimed,

19:59 I think Wetherspoon's gonna get claimed by somebody.

20:01 That's just how I feel.

20:03 But ultimately, yeah, like, like, Forbert's in,

20:06 you know, and I think he's in whether you like it or not.

20:10 He's the rock of the PK.

20:11 He limits the exposure of hard, heavy, you know,

20:15 high leverage minutes for guys like McAvoy and Lindholm

20:18 and even Carlo, you know, to a degree.

20:21 Like, so he's gonna be in

20:23 and it really comes down to who's gonna sit.

20:26 So, I think with Wetherspoon,

20:28 I think that what's really impressive about him to me

20:30 is that like, I don't know about you,

20:32 but during training camp, I didn't see anything.

20:34 I was like, okay, this is just, this is a Providence.

20:36 This is Tommy Cross, you know what I mean?

20:39 And like, those guys have value, obviously,

20:42 but I didn't see him pushing for the spot.

20:44 Whereas Ian Mitchell and Mason Lorai were looking like,

20:48 okay, wow, you got something here.

20:49 But I think with Wetherspoon, like he's really come on

20:54 and he's coming into his own.

20:55 And I think comfort is the biggest thing with him right now.

20:58 Like he's kind of a guy that Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco

21:02 can clearly look at and say, yeah, go do this.

21:05 And they're not worried about it.

21:06 They just know it'll get done.

21:07 It may not be pretty, but it's gonna get done.

21:09 - Yeah, absolutely.

21:10 So, definitely some tough decisions for the Bruins.

21:12 Again, I think we're expecting Carlo back

21:15 as soon as possibly Saturday,

21:16 or if not, you know, in the next couple of days.

21:18 Fulbert, we'll see.

21:19 I think he's still probably technically week to week.

21:21 Like Dave Montgomery said,

21:22 he's still just starting to get back up

21:24 to a swing of things.

21:25 And I think when you're considering how much

21:27 that lower body injury has been really bothering him

21:29 all year, really, take your time.

21:31 Especially when you're like,

21:32 your defense is flying like this right now

21:33 and you have guys like Wetherspoon or what have you,

21:37 you've got the time to let that guy rest up

21:39 and hopefully be ready for when the games

21:41 really start to matter in March and April

21:43 and all that kind of stuff.

21:44 So, obviously some tough decisions there.

21:47 Before we go to our next commercial break here,

21:51 I figured we should might as well talk about

21:53 the rumor going around, Ty, about one Patrice Bergeron.

21:56 I know it's been a bit of a flurry here

22:00 with obviously spitting chiclets,

22:02 mentioned breathe life into a potential rumor

22:05 of Bergeron skating.

22:07 Bergeron reaching out to the esteemed Steve Conroy,

22:11 the Boston Herald, has denied it.

22:13 I can't see any situation.

22:15 Again, like there's a lot of secrecy involved

22:17 with some of these things.

22:18 Bergeron is not a guy,

22:19 a guy that tends to keep his cards close to his chest anyway,

22:23 but I have to imagine that's not something

22:26 that's going to be an actual viable discussion

22:30 as we get to the second half here.

22:32 - I'd be very surprised.

22:33 To your point, yes, the Bruins will make it a point

22:37 to break it themselves.

22:38 - Yes.

22:39 - There is a, he's the most protected player,

22:43 I think, out of anyone I've ever covered in my life,

22:44 in terms of like, they will not let you scoop Bergeron.

22:48 Like they will not let it happen.

22:50 And you respect that, right?

22:53 Like Bergeron's contracts are broken by the team.

22:56 They're not broken by anybody else.

22:58 Like it was the same thing with Schauer towards the end.

23:00 Right?

23:01 Like Schauer's contracts were broken by the team.

23:04 So I think there's a respect factor

23:05 when it comes to any former captain of the Boston Bruins

23:08 that they like to uphold.

23:10 Bergeron doesn't strike me,

23:13 and I'm curious if you feel the same.

23:15 He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy

23:17 who would go back on what he says.

23:19 Like, you know what I mean?

23:19 Like he doesn't strike me as like the Brett Favre

23:22 or the Tom Brady type.

23:23 And that's not a knock on those guys,

23:24 but like the way that Bergeron looks at things,

23:27 sorry, I got a light falling here.

23:28 I got a ring light trying to make me look nice,

23:31 and then I turn it off, so I look like shit anyways.

23:33 - I thought Doom was jumping into the shot.

23:36 - No, no, I'd welcome that.

23:37 - Yes, of course.

23:38 - But he doesn't seem like the type

23:41 that would go back on this, right?

23:42 Like it just feels like he kind of truly realized,

23:45 okay, my body's cached.

23:46 I can't do this anymore.

23:48 - Yeah, no, I do agree.

23:49 Yeah, it's something where,

23:51 I think with Bergeron when it comes to his own game,

23:55 his approach, he's always been, I think,

23:57 refreshingly candid with that.

23:58 Like for a guy that is playing in a Stanley Cup final

24:01 with cracked ribs and a collapsed lung and all this shit,

24:03 like he's, I think, very upfront when it comes to,

24:07 like every athlete in the battle against Father Time,

24:11 knowing when, you know, the run has kind of ended here.

24:15 And yeah, you could make the argument

24:17 as has been the case in this whole week,

24:19 like, ah, comes back fresh for February and March,

24:23 you're limited as minutes, haven't run for the playoffs.

24:24 Like, that's great.

24:25 Like that's the storybook ending everyone wants,

24:28 same as last year when everyone thought

24:29 that was going to be the storybook ending.

24:31 But whenever like Bergeron has spoken to the media

24:34 or has had interviews since he's retired,

24:37 the one thing that always stands out to me is,

24:39 one, he seems like he's very much at peace with retired life

24:42 and embracing this kind of next chapter,

24:44 as opposed to it, you know, lamenting the fact

24:47 that what you've built your whole life around,

24:49 that chapter's ended.

24:50 I think he's got appreciation for that,

24:53 but also being candid of like, listen,

24:56 I'm sure there's plenty of times he's watching a game

24:58 or he thinks he still has a little bit of gas

25:00 left in the tank,

25:01 as every uber competitive professional athlete is,

25:04 but then you take your first hit in the game back

25:07 and that whole complexion changes

25:09 and he's been kind of candid about that.

25:10 So I agree with you in terms of just Bergeron's

25:13 overall approach, how he has mentioned things in the past.

25:17 I just can't see it being a thing where he

25:20 kind of switches that narrative

25:22 and tries to make another run when, again,

25:24 the toll it takes, the amount of damage

25:26 that he's put on his body already,

25:28 I think he's just enjoying retired life.

25:30 And I'm sure he'll be back to the playoffs

25:33 as a fan banner captain and the garden will lose its shit,

25:36 but I think that's kind of where he is going to be

25:39 when you get to April and May, as opposed to on the ice.

25:42 - Yeah, and the other part of it too is that

25:44 at the end of the year, he told us that

25:47 he wasn't going to get surgery

25:49 for the back injury that he had.

25:51 Isn't that kind of a sign that you're done

25:54 if you're not going to get the surgery for a back issue

25:56 that could pop right back up?

25:58 So that's another reason why I think that

26:00 he's legitimately done, it's over.

26:03 Enjoy the 19 years, but don't bring it back for a 20th

26:06 because, or don't get your hopes up rather for a 20th

26:09 because I don't see it happening.

26:11 Again, that's just how I look at things.

26:13 The Bruins themselves could,

26:15 the Bruins have lied to me about Bergeron in the past.

26:18 There are things I've heard and things I've asked

26:20 and I've been given answers that are straight up lies.

26:24 So I don't know what to believe,

26:25 but I don't think he's coming back.

26:26 I don't think he's back.

26:28 He's doing commercials now, he's doing alumni games.

26:30 Like I think he's done, man.

26:31 - Yes, exactly.

26:32 And if by the time we drop this podcast

26:35 that a graphic comes up from the Bruins being like,

26:37 Bergie's back, don't yell at us, please.

26:39 Don't yell at us.

26:41 'Cause I know that could actually also be the case.

26:43 So Ty, before we wrap up this podcast,

26:45 let's take another quick break here

26:47 and listen to our good friends over at Factor Meals.

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28:01 Ty, we've hit the point,

28:02 we're in the dog days of the regular season.

28:05 We know it's inevitable.

28:06 There's going to be some trade rumors,

28:09 trade discussions coming up.

28:10 Trade deadline I think is March 8th this year.

28:12 So we know once the calendar flips to February

28:15 and the hot stove starts heating up,

28:17 I'm sure we'll have to write a couple of things

28:20 about trade targets, potential fits for the Bruins,

28:22 potential needs, but figured we might as well get ahead of it.

28:25 So I think we're both on the same wavelength here.

28:28 Should Bruins fans really be expecting a lot of,

28:31 you know, there'll probably be rumors.

28:33 The Bruins are always,

28:34 they're like the Red Sox, they're interest kings.

28:36 They're always linked to guys out there,

28:37 but should Bruins fans really be getting revved up

28:40 for impactful or even like any sizable news

28:44 coming out of this deadline?

28:45 'Cause it really doesn't feel like this is a year

28:46 the Bruins are going to go full throttle

28:49 to steal from another franchise

28:51 in terms of acquiring talent at the deadline.

28:54 - Yeah, no, I'm not getting all that horned up

28:57 for the deadline.

28:58 You know, if I'm the Bruins,

28:59 I just don't see what move you're going to make

29:04 that A, you can afford to make,

29:07 B, you have the stomach to make,

29:09 and C, you know, is truly worth A and B.

29:14 You know what I'm saying?

29:15 Like, yeah, you could get Elias Lindholm, sure.

29:18 Well, you could also get him July 1st, right?

29:20 Like barring him, you know, going full Bo Horvat here

29:24 and getting traded and signed an extension immediately,

29:27 which at this point, if I'm him,

29:29 I kind of want to see what my options are on July 1

29:32 after being in Calgary for so long.

29:35 So I just don't, like,

29:37 and then you look at the list of guys available, right?

29:39 Like, this is not a knock on these players,

29:41 but like Sportsnet released

29:43 like their top 25 trade targets, right?

29:45 Guys on that list are like, it's like Daniel Vladar,

29:51 it's Andrew Peaky, you know, it's Adam Boquist.

29:54 It's like, what the hell's going on here?

29:56 Like, is this really a great deadline for buying?

30:01 I think that a huge problem, Connor,

30:04 if you look at this, right, like,

30:05 go and look at the players that are on expiring deals.

30:10 The majority of them are on contenders.

30:12 They're not gonna get traded.

30:13 So who's out there?

30:15 You know what I mean?

30:16 Like, and if you're saying to me, oh, well, you can get,

30:20 you can make a John Michael Lyles move

30:21 or at least Empty Act move.

30:22 I'm good, I'm good, I'm all set.

30:24 I'm all set, thank you.

30:25 I'll take my chances with what you have here.

30:28 - Yeah, no, I agree.

30:29 It's something that I think the only one

30:31 that I view as like a marginal upgrade

30:33 that could fit an area is like, as you said earlier on,

30:35 like, if you find like a proven fourth line guy

30:38 that can, you know, you can put in, you can pencil in,

30:41 you add some identity to that fourth line,

30:43 which I think has probably been the biggest issue

30:44 with that grouping is just like,

30:46 something like you need like a halfway this year

30:49 'cause he could really be a guy

30:51 that can give you a goal or two,

30:53 can, you know, finish with five, six hits,

30:55 you know, has done it over a couple of years.

30:57 He's not like a, you know, like a guy like a Greer

30:59 who has shown in spurts, but you maybe, you know,

31:02 you talk yourself into like, all right, you know,

31:04 75 plus games with him in there,

31:06 he can carve out a role like a proven like fourth line stall

31:09 or maybe he's a guy that'd be worth getting.

31:11 But again, it comes down to the price.

31:13 It does not that many like proven guys

31:15 that fit that kind of identity out there.

31:17 And if they are on the market,

31:18 it's gonna be crazy expensive.

31:20 It's like, you look at guys like Luke Shen

31:21 or these guys that, you know, third pairing D

31:25 that can kill penalties and log a shit ton of hits.

31:28 Like those guys are gonna go for a premium price

31:31 'cause everyone covets those kinds of players

31:33 at the deadline.

31:33 So I agree, like, I don't see this being a situation

31:36 where you've got a guy like Elias Lindholm

31:40 or anyone like that, like Noah Hannafin,

31:42 all those guys, if you're the Bruins,

31:43 you wait and see what the free agent market dictates.

31:46 'Cause one, you don't wanna give up the assets now

31:49 when you have the chance of signing them anyway,

31:51 a few months down the road.

31:52 But also comes down to the fact that,

31:55 look at the way the cap situation is on this team

31:58 where I think they've got what, like 50,000

32:01 in cap space, like you're gonna be moving a piece or two

32:03 just to fit these guys on the roster.

32:06 You're subtracting from the current grouping anyway.

32:09 So I think the way you look at it,

32:12 if there's gonna be any moves,

32:13 I feel like it's gonna be more marginal than anything.

32:15 There'll be Lindholm rumors, there'll be all that stuff.

32:17 The Bruins will be interested,

32:18 but I can't see them being the ones that make that move.

32:21 Like, it's been a great year.

32:23 This is still a kind of a bridge year that has exceeded,

32:25 I think, everyone's expectations.

32:26 But I also don't think you should deviate

32:29 from the path of like having it be a year,

32:32 don't trade a first round pick, have a run at it.

32:35 You've got younger guys developing,

32:36 you've got a shit ton of cap spaces off season.

32:39 Stay the course, 'cause you're already on a path

32:41 that I think a lot of other teams,

32:43 whether they're contenders at the end of their rope

32:45 or teams that are trying to build themselves,

32:48 they would kill to be in the spot you're in right now

32:49 with the way the foundation of your team is still set up.

32:52 - I have an aim for you.

32:54 And I don't know if this is realistic.

32:57 I have an aim for you on that front.

33:00 He plays in the desert.

33:01 He had a run in with the Bruins last week.

33:05 Liam O'Brien.

33:07 Liam O'Brien is in the final year of his contract.

33:09 He's making league minimum, has over a hundred hits.

33:14 We know that he fights, we've seen that before.

33:17 He had a career high 11 points a year ago.

33:20 Like, is that an example of somebody that, you know,

33:22 you maybe look at and say, okay, that's an upgrade over,

33:25 you know, say Oscar Steen, right?

33:28 Or Jesper Bokvist when your team is fully healthy.

33:33 Like that might be a guy that, you know,

33:35 could make sense for them.

33:36 But to your point, what you just talked about,

33:39 like is his market juiced up?

33:42 And now it's like, listen,

33:43 we're not trading a third round pick for Liam O'Brien.

33:46 Like we're not doing that.

33:47 You know what I mean?

33:48 Like, is it one of those kinds of situations?

33:49 But like, that's the type,

33:51 like that's the type that you're kind of talking about,

33:53 I think, right?

33:54 That fourth line, get it on the four check,

33:57 be a little bit of a piece of shit, you know,

33:59 like toe that line between,

34:01 oh, this guy is just hard and all this guy's an asshole.

34:04 You know what I mean?

34:05 Like there's a little difference there, you know,

34:06 half the way kind of has that, he had that.

34:09 And, you know, so I think Liam O'Brien is a guy

34:12 that I'd watch out for, you know,

34:13 maybe that's something that, you know,

34:16 that's a trade that could materialize

34:18 or make sense for the team.

34:19 What I would say is that Arizona loves to ask for the moon

34:24 with any of their players.

34:25 - They sure fucking do.

34:26 - Maybe there's not a fit there,

34:28 but, you know, he is one of two pending UFAs

34:33 that the Coyotes have up front.

34:35 All their UFAs are on the backend.

34:37 So, you know, you wonder,

34:39 maybe there's a little bit of a trade

34:41 that can happen there, materialize, you know,

34:43 between now and the deadline,

34:44 but you're talking about those kinds of players.

34:46 And I think, again, the problem is that a lot of those

34:48 players are on teams that are in the playoffs

34:50 or in the hunt and, you know, Arizona,

34:53 they're not totally out of it yet.

34:55 They're five points out.

34:56 They have the game in hand over the second wildcard team,

34:59 which I believe is LA right now.

35:01 So like they're a team that, you know, like they,

35:04 like they could make a run, you never know,

35:06 but if not, that's a name that I'd watch from the Bruins.

35:09 - Yeah. Liam O'Brien also from Hingham.

35:12 At least it sounds like his name.

35:13 - Yes.

35:14 - Sounds like he's a man from Hingham, but yes.

35:15 Arizona, again, not the best sitting trade partner

35:18 for most teams, you know,

35:19 I believe they asked for the D to TD Garden

35:23 in order to get Oliver Ekman Larson in discussions before.

35:26 So, but that is a team that I always mentioned,

35:29 like Arizona, as you look at like the guys fit,

35:31 like what the Bruins are looking for over the years, right?

35:33 Whether it's like Lawson Kraus is a guy

35:35 people mentioned before, Liam O'Brien now,

35:39 still keep on going on the Kela train in a couple of years

35:42 when eventually they're going to move on from that contract.

35:45 Team that's definitely worth watching as they, again,

35:48 who the fuck knows what they will be,

35:49 where they will be playing in a couple of years

35:51 and all their insolvency issues.

35:53 But no, I agree though, guy like O'Brien,

35:56 someone like that, that it's kind of the player

35:59 you look for that in like one game of a playoff series,

36:02 drops the gloves, has a huge hit that shifts momentum,

36:05 it's a greasy goal and you're like,

36:07 he's worth it for what that game was, right?

36:09 And I think especially fourth line, the biggest thing,

36:11 I think you've got pieces there that there's a lot to like

36:14 when they're on their game with a Beecher or like a Lauco

36:17 who finally gets a goal going,

36:18 but getting identity and having a framework there.

36:22 And I think when you had a guy like Luchich

36:23 in terms of setting the identity,

36:25 it makes a lot of sense how those pieces fall into place.

36:27 Obviously it's not the case now.

36:29 So if you were able to get a guy

36:30 that is tough to play against,

36:32 can bring along a lot of younger players

36:35 that also play off of motion like a Lauco or a Beecher

36:39 and have that infectious energy of being physical,

36:43 taking the body, all those things,

36:44 I think that can kind of go a long way.

36:46 But if I'm a Bruins fan,

36:47 I look more at those kinds of players

36:49 as opposed to a top six guy or a top four D

36:51 or anything like that.

36:52 So definitely something worth keeping tabs on

36:55 as we get to the trade market.

36:58 Ty, before we wrap this up, where can we read your stuff?

37:03 Where can we listen to you?

37:04 All that good stuff.

37:06 - Yeah, you can find me on 985sportsup.com.

37:09 You can hear me on Saturday mornings.

37:11 I'll do a little call in for the hockey show there.

37:13 You can also find me on x@_tyanderson.

37:17 And that's where I'm at.

37:18 How about you?

37:19 - Over at boston.com where we have game recaps,

37:27 features, columns, breakdowns,

37:29 all that good stuff over there.

37:30 You can also find me on Twitter,

37:32 x whatever it is @connorryan_93.

37:36 So you can find all of my stuff

37:38 over on those various media outlets.

37:40 So once again, this is episode 196 of "Poke the Bear."

37:45 I'm Connor Ryan.

37:46 That's Ty Anderson.

37:47 You fans have a great rest of your week.

37:50 (upbeat music)

37:52 (upbeat music)

37:55 (upbeat music)

37:57 (upbeat music)

Should Bruins fans EXPECT FIREWORKS at trade deadline? w/ Ty Anderson | Poke the Bear

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