What Should the Bruins Do at the Trade Deadline? w/ Pete Blackburn | Bruins Beat - video Dailymotion

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Bruins Beat w/ Evan Marinofsky Ep. 408  Pete Blackburn of the What Chaos! Podcast joins Evan Marinofsky on the show today to discuss the Bruins' future, what they should do at the trade deadline, and what the realistic expectations are for the Bruins' playoff run. That, and much more!    Topics:    Pete’s thoughts have changed on the Bruins   ….so have Evan’s   Where do the Bruins rank among East teams?   How does this shift their trade deadline strategy?   Some potential candidates to deal for   Can Jeremy Swayman be the main man?   Fun in Utah       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.    This episode is also brought to you by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/50bruins and use code 50bruins for 50% off plus free shipping!

Transcript

00:00 I still don't know if I look at them as being like a real cup contender, just in the sense

00:06 like I'm trying to limit my expectations. And also I think that there are several teams in

00:13 the Western Conference that are better than them. So like, obviously only one of those teams can

00:18 come out of the Western Conference if they were to meet in the Stanley Cup final. And by then

00:22 that remaining team might be banged up, whatever. Like you can, you can say all these things.

00:27 It's like, I think the Bruins are the best team in the Eastern Conference, but like there are like

00:30 maybe three, four in the league.

00:33 And welcome into the Bruins Beat on CLNS Media. My name is Evan Maronofsky and today I am joined

00:48 by Pete Blackburn. Pete, what is up? Hey buddy, how are you? I am good. How about you? I'm good.

00:54 Thanks for having me back. I like the abs hat coordinated with the maroon sweatshirt. It's like

01:00 hearkening to my UMass love. So I appreciate that. That's, I like the getup you got going on.

01:07 Yeah, of course. With the new show, we've been like stocking up on NHL stuff, like not just

01:12 Bruins, not just Bruins merch. We got merch for like basically every team. So no matter what

01:18 color I'm wearing, I have a matching NHL hat that I can throw on with it, which is nice.

01:22 Well, you know, it's funny. I was, whenever I see the clips or I watch the pod on YouTube,

01:26 I'm always, there's always a part of me that's a little stressed out because, and this is going

01:33 to sound dumb, but like when we, when I do this, I can throw on a sweatshirt. I could be wearing

01:38 jeans, sweatpants, no pants maybe if I'm really feeling crazy. That has never actually happened.

01:45 But on, on what chaos? A little spicy here on a Friday, huh?

01:49 Friday morning, right? No, I've never not worn pants. That was always a fear of mine, like Zoom

01:54 classes. Like I'd always have like good pants on it. Cause I'm like, what, like, you know,

01:57 what if they have me stand up and show that I'm like wearing khakis or something? But with what

02:03 chaos? You have, like, you gotta, you gotta look good. You gotta have like good shoes on. You gotta

02:08 have like solid pants, you know, you can't just like scrub it up in there. And so you must have

02:13 to have your whole wardrobe kind of like, you know, done up.

02:16 Well, I mean, the, the thing is you just got to look like you, you care and you try like in,

02:22 and that doesn't necessarily mean you got to dress up. Like I wear sweatpants basically every episode,

02:27 but it's like, I don't wear gray sweatpants because number one,

02:30 that, that leaves little room for imagination sometimes. But also like, I feel like gray

02:38 sweatpants have the, uh, the appearance of being like the sloppy or like the lazy sweatpants.

02:44 I wear like black joggers. I wear like different color joggers and stuff like that. So

02:49 bridging the gap between comfortable and like looking presentable.

02:54 Yeah, no, that's a good, I think that's, I like that the best. I agree with you. I think if you

03:00 had to wear like khakis and a dress shirt or something like that, it would be way too much.

03:05 Yeah. Like the vibe of the show is casual. Like, yes, it's very chill and, and, uh,

03:11 like an approachable hockey show. So yeah, I think if you go back and you watch like the

03:15 first week of shows, maybe I, I like wore jeans and like was a little bit more dressed up. And

03:20 then after a week I was like, this is, this is enough. I'm done with this. Please.

03:25 Yeah. I, and there like, there's a lot of sweatpants you can get out there that are not

03:29 like scrubbing it up. Sweatpants that are just like tipping the normal.

03:33 That was one of the good things about the pandemic. The pandemic like really kind of,

03:37 uh, pushed forward the, the athleisure wear and like the comfort pants and stuff like that. So,

03:43 yeah, that now there's like a million companies that make super high quality sweatpants and

03:50 joggers and all that. Well, even like I have khakis from like Lululemon and stuff,

03:54 and those feel like sweatpants. It's really weird. I know frigging just rolling in money. You know,

03:59 I got my go, my go watch. I had on and I took it off actually. Uh, but like those feel like

04:05 sweatpants and you put them on and they feel weird, but they look good and they feel good.

04:09 So that's all that, uh, that matters. Uh, anyways, Bruins, we got, we do have to talk a little bit

04:14 of Bruins. I know what chaos is not a Bruins podcast, but this is, so we got to discuss

04:17 had to inject some, uh, some grab ass at the top of Bruins.

04:21 That's I always love when, uh, you guys were mentioned on Felger and Maz recently and

04:27 Felger's like, that's too much grab ass for me. I can't do the grab ass. You know, I got to,

04:31 what are they going to talk about the one, two, two and stuff, which I got a kick out of. Um,

04:36 well, I mean, really, when are you going to talk about the benefits of the one, two,

04:39 two versus the one, three, one? I think that's compelling stuff. You guys just,

04:43 you're afraid to talk about it. I mean, let's, let's right here. We're cowards.

04:46 You're cowards, cowards. That's exactly it. Uh, but anyways, Bruins have won five of six,

04:51 five of six. Uh, they won in Ottawa on Thursday night. Uh, they had a little hiccup against the

04:56 hurricanes on Wednesday. They've had a weird schedule this week, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,

05:00 but then after Saturday's game, they're off for a week. Um, in the past six games, I know they had

05:07 a little skid before out West. Um, have, have your feelings changed on the Bruins at all?

05:13 Yeah, they actually have, I won't lie. Like I was heading into like this kind of stretch

05:19 thinking that there was really like no best team in the Eastern conference. Like in my mind,

05:25 the Eastern conference was wide open and, um, you know, in, in, in large part, I still think that

05:30 that's kind of true, right? If there is a team, it's definitely the Bruins that stands above the

05:35 rest. Um, I've been impressed with how they've been winning games as specifically like the Ottawa

05:41 game last night was crazy to me. It reminded me of the, um, of the, the game last year against

05:47 Calgary, where it's like this team for sure did not deserve to win this game. And everything was

05:53 stacked against them and they still found a way to win the game and do it in a way that was like

06:00 to steal word from what chaos galvanizing, even though the Bruins didn't necessarily need to be

06:05 galvanized, but like the fact that they came away from Ottawa with that win, especially, uh, after,

06:11 um, uh, uh, a loss the previous night, really, really impressive. It makes you feel good about

06:16 this team and where they are right now. So yeah, I do think that they are the best team in the

06:20 Eastern conference. And that to me right now is not really debatable. I agree. Cause the East has

06:27 kind of underwhelmed at times. I mean, other teams like the Flyers have kind of come to the forefront

06:32 that we didn't really expect, but the hurricanes aren't playing to the level that I think everyone

06:36 thought they would. Um, and you even look at in the East, like the Panthers right behind the

06:41 Bruins, but the lightning have struggled at times. The Leafs have not been without their struggles.

06:45 Um, the Rangers are in a crazy skid, like they're not looking good. Islanders had to go and hire

06:52 Patrick Wall. Like when is, when is Patrick Wall going on? What chaos? I think that's what the

06:56 people are really wondering. Um, but to me, like throughout the year, I talked about this with you

07:03 earlier this season. Like I, I kept being like, they're cool story. The Bruins are, but I, I,

07:10 do I think they are a favorite? No, but that I grew through it's changed with the landscape,

07:16 with the way the rest of the East is with the way the Bruins are playing with the Ascension of guys

07:20 like Charlie coil and Pavel's Aka down the middle. Uh, I mean, coil is playing the, I've said this

07:26 every week, I think for the last like three months, he's playing the best hockey he's ever played.

07:29 I know everybody looks at that 2017 season is like his career best. He, you know, knock on wood is

07:34 going to soar past that this season. And I, to me, like, I just think they are, they work, you know,

07:41 they have the goalie tandem in net. Uh, I want to get to sway him in a little bit, but like,

07:45 in terms of being a cup contender, I've said all along, I don't look at them as that,

07:51 which is crazy to think, but I just, there were flaws in this team. There were holes there,

07:55 you know, you look at last year, you know, no Bergeron, no crazy.

07:58 There were, they're a legit cup contender. I think, I think the page has turned on that in

08:03 that there, it is not just, Oh, get in the playoffs and see what happens. It is get in the playoffs

08:10 and you are expected to go deep. I think the things, I think the expectations have changed

08:14 with this team. Yeah. I'm in a weird spot where like, uh, I, I think that they should go deep and

08:20 it will be disappointing if they don't again, based off of like what else there is in the

08:24 Eastern conference. But obviously there's, there's plenty of time for that to change.

08:26 And we'll see kind of where we are at the end of the season. Um, with kind of how some of these

08:32 other teams in the East have rebounded or, you know, kind of shaped up with deadline acquisitions,

08:37 things like that. But like the Bruins should, should be able to make a run this year. I still

08:42 don't know if I look at them as being like a real cup contender, just in the sense that like,

08:49 I'm trying to limit my expectations. And also I think that there are several teams in the Western

08:56 conference that are better than them. So like, obviously only one of those teams can come out of

09:01 the Western conference if they were to meet in the Stanley cup final. And by then that remaining

09:05 team might be banged up, whatever. Like you can, you can say all these things. It's like,

09:10 I think the Bruins are the best team in the Eastern conference, but like, they're like,

09:12 maybe three, four in the league. Yeah. But I still put that in cup contender territory.

09:19 And I think, I think they have played them. I mean, if you're going to finish

09:21 on January 26th, if you're going to be first in the East, you know, vying for, uh, best team in

09:29 the NHL points wise, you should go on a run. Like I am getting to that point where it's like, all

09:34 right, if you're going to keep playing this good, you should continue that in the playoffs. It

09:38 should be expected that you continue that in the playoffs. Um, and I think they have, they've hit

09:44 that and I didn't see that all along. I thought, you know, they would hit longer skids. Um, obviously

09:50 they're not the, the, you know, uh, scorched earth type team. They were at least in the regular

09:55 season that they were last year. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's a good thing.

09:59 They didn't play a playoff game, uh, for like the entirety of the regular season. And now I feel

10:04 like some of these games during the regular season have felt like playoff games and have felt like

10:09 they've needed to really grind it out. And, um, you know, uh, that's why I'm kind of hoping that

10:15 they're there. They have somebody who kind of sticks around them a little bit to, to push them.

10:20 What do you mean by that? In terms of like another, Oh yes. I agree. Yeah. Cause like

10:27 Panthers being on their tail, right? Like if we've seen other teams, um, like who have

10:32 cleared the regular season standings, like the lightning and teams like that, who don't really

10:37 face adversity during the regular season and then the playoffs hit and then they immediately kind of

10:42 flame out. So, um, yeah, I just, I kind of want the Bruins to, to have somebody on their heels

10:47 and to be pushing them during the regular seasons games one through 82. I am with you on that. I've,

10:53 you know, this whole season, I don't, you know, no one thought it would be a cakewalk,

10:57 but looking back at it's funny. Like you look back to last year and it's like,

11:00 the vibes around that team were so good and they were just, they had no holes. Everything was short

11:05 up. And so it was like, all right, well, if you're not going to play any competitive games in March

11:09 and April, so what, you know, we know, you know how, you know how to win. You've got all the

11:14 pieces. You went out at the deadline and, and got two of the biggest fish there were, it might be

11:18 Bergeron and crazy last year. Like this is all setting up to be a storybook ending. And obviously

11:24 it was the fart, the furthest thing from it. And now obviously different story this season with

11:30 different roster, but they're having similar ish success, but they're also facing adversity. Now,

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12:13 So all this kind of hits an interesting thing that I think everyone's going to be getting,

12:24 you know, talking point that everybody's going to be hitting at in the next couple of weeks is

12:27 the trade deadline. What does this team do? What should they do? To me, looking at Montgomery

12:36 sending down low Ryan Beecher, obviously, you know, they don't have to clear waivers. So that's

12:40 a big, that's a big bump. But you look at the fourth line right now with guys like Boquist and

12:45 Heinen on it, and you're going for more of a veteran look, which means you're definitely

12:49 planning on contending instead of playing younger guys down there and things like that.

12:54 When it comes to the deadline, though, obviously this team is not stocked with first round picks

13:00 or even second round picks. What do you think the Bruins should do at this deadline?

13:07 I mean, it obviously depends on what's out there. Like if you can go and make a compelling run for

13:17 a guy like Linholm, like that would be, you know, that'd be awesome. Do I think that that's necessarily

13:24 a, you know, a real viable option? Do I think that they're going to be able to outbid some

13:29 of the other teams that are making a play for a guy like that? Maybe not. And I think that like,

13:37 if you're the Bruins, you can only go in at the deadline so many times. This year, though,

13:42 like this year does feel like you kind of owe it to yourself to once again, go for it because of

13:50 like the roster situation and kind of the one year bets that you got on some of these guys.

13:56 And, you know, you're going to have to transition to a bigger picture at some point. But, you know,

14:02 I would like to see them go for it. And whether that means like getting a big splash or whether

14:06 that means solidifying the back end, either one of those would be fine with me. I do think they

14:11 definitely need to solidify the depth. I think you've seen too many times this year where Jim

14:16 Montgomery has shortened his bench like crazy towards the end of games. And I think that's

14:22 cost them. I think this cost them several games where they've just been running out like three

14:26 lines, two lines and guys have gotten gassed and they have just run out of steam at the end of

14:31 games. So like I would like to see them reinforce that back end. And I know in the playoffs, you

14:37 typically only you can get away with running two pairs for a good portion of the playoffs.

14:46 But I would like to see like no disrespect to Parker Wotherspoon, but like if he's on a playoff

14:52 roster and his playoff starting lineup, probably not going to feel amazing about it. Like he's

14:59 had strides recently, but I do think I would like to see some some extra bodies added to the blue

15:07 line, because I mean, like if somebody goes down in a playoff run, you're kind of screwed. So like,

15:14 yeah, I would like to see some some bodies added. And that doesn't necessarily mean like a big

15:19 splash, but I think they need to reinforce. Yeah, I Wotherspoon I've liked. I've thought he's

15:25 acclimated. Well, I know he's not. I kind of like to my points. I'll say that. But there's been

15:31 points where I certainly haven't. I think he's a fine seventh defenseman heading into the playoffs.

15:37 Well, that's what I mean. Like if he's in your starting lineup, I'm not. Oh, yes. Yeah. But,

15:42 you know, I'm curious to see kind of how he progresses. I think he's done his job so far.

15:48 Reminds me a little bit of Matt Bartkowski, hopefully a little bit higher of a ceiling,

15:53 but still never forget Matt Bartkowski goal. He scored like his first game in the playoffs where

15:58 he went through his legs against the Maple Leafs. That was pretty cool. That was the start of like

16:03 when he was like, all right, the Bruins are going to own the Leafs for quite a while here.

16:05 I agree with you. I think some depth on the back end would help. You look at, you know,

16:12 uh, right now, obviously you got McAvoy and Lindholm and Grislyk and Carlo. And I know a lot

16:16 of people are like, oh, what's, what do you do with Grislyk? I think w w you know, with this

16:21 team turning into a cup contender, you know, a team that has real expectations. It's not just a,

16:26 you know, kind of team that's in purgatory where they're kind of letting young kids play and

16:30 figuring out where they are. Um, I think the page has somewhat turned. Maybe I'm wrong,

16:37 but I think just judging where they're at, I think the page has turned on potentially trading a guy

16:42 like Grislyk at the deadline or DeBrusque for draft picks. Um, I don't think, you know,

16:48 maybe you package them again, maybe to get a Lindholm. I don't know how that gets it done,

16:52 but if in some weird way, Grislyk could be packaged for a guy like Lindholm and save you

16:57 like a pick, then maybe that's what you do. But I don't see them dealing either of those guys yet.

17:04 I feel like they're, I feel like they're going to kind of go the Tory Krug route with both of

17:08 those guys in the sense that they're just going to kind of let them play out the season and see

17:12 what happens come the off season with, with contract stuff. And I think with like DeBrusque,

17:17 I mean, if you like, if you went out and traded DeBrusque right now, I know he's been hot the last

17:21 couple of games, but you're selling low for a former first round pick for a top six forward,

17:27 who should be getting a 25 to 30 goals. You're not getting anywhere close to what he would have

17:33 gotten, let's say a couple months ago, maybe the real return on him is you let him continue to

17:39 figure it out in the top six and be a valuable contributor for you down the stretch. I know

17:44 that doesn't answer what they should do with the deadline, but it shows maybe what they shouldn't

17:48 do, which is rush off and trade guys like DeBrusque or Grislyk, even though like all season,

17:53 I've been like, if you can get picks for them, do it. I want to restock the picks. I want them to

18:00 look towards the future a little bit. I would go strongly against that. I think you always team

18:05 against, against like stripping away any of the pieces of this team for picks.

18:09 Like I'm not saying I'm, I'm not saying that they should do that. I'm saying I used to think

18:13 they should do that now because they're a cup contender. There's no reason to do it now.

18:17 Yeah. Yeah. I think that that's, that's off the table. I think like more, more likely.

18:22 That's my point is that that's what is this off the table? Cause they've, they've gotten,

18:25 they're too good. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And I think that, I think that it is, and you know,

18:30 more likely than a guy like Linholm, a guy that I'm keeping an eye on, um, that I would,

18:34 I would like to see in Boston as a guy like Adam Henrik, like, he's not going to cost you nearly

18:38 as much. He's playing for a, you know, a bad ducks team. Like he's, uh, from all, from everything

18:44 I've heard about that guy, like the very good in the room, good leader, like has some flexibility

18:50 in the lineup and is a guy that you can slot in on a contending team. And like, might be like one

18:55 of those under the radar kind of middle six depth ads. And, and that like really, really helps your

19:02 team in the makeup of your team. So that might be the most realistic in terms of big fish where

19:08 you're not going to be able to go out and get a Lindholm. And if you can, great. Like if you can

19:12 get a Lindholm and sign him long-term awesome. Right? Like no, one's really going to have any,

19:18 uh, you know, issue with that. Um, but if you go out and give up legitimate assets for a one-year

19:25 rental, then I think there are problems with that. I think I'm with you. You've got to go out and get

19:30 someone who you can try to retain. Um, Henrik's an interesting one though, because there is that

19:35 element, another Anaheim guy Bruins just love, love trading with Anaheim. It's it's their,

19:40 their best friends. Do you see her ho back in? I didn't had his first NHL finally hilarious first

19:45 NHL goal after the, after how long it took him to get on the board, a little, like essentially

19:50 just a dump at the net from the goal line goes off the goalies back skate. And then like, uh,

19:58 at that point you're just like, whatever, I'll take it. Just give me a goal. Fine. Just get me

20:01 on the board. You know, I love how it's like, you know, you try so hard for, you know, sifting shots

20:06 through from the point, you know, getting close to the net, drop it into the slot, all that stuff.

20:10 And it's the shot from the corner that, you know, pinballs off the goalie and goes in. So, um,

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21:48 So you hit it with the Henrik thing. I think to me, that is the biggest need with this team.

21:53 Depth on the back end is also a need. I'm not saying it isn't. But if you can go out and get

21:58 a middle six forward, I'm trying to be realistic here. Obviously Lindholm helps. If you can go and

22:03 get a middle six forward who veteran guy like Henrik, who can come in, you're not going to

22:09 have to give up a ton for. I'm for that. Like that, I think is reinforcements that help you.

22:14 I mean, to me, and we'll get into the goal tending right now. Playoff wise, A, I want to see them

22:22 use the tandem. I've said this all along. I want to say they will. Exactly. That's another thing

22:27 Felger has been going on and on about is the tandem. I want to see them do that. And I want

22:35 to see Coyle and Zaka down the middle as a one and two centers. Again, if a Lindholm thing doesn't

22:40 work out. Because Coyle's playing too well. Zaka's playing well. He had a really nice pass,

22:46 a great pass to Frederick on that goal on Thursday night. I want to see them. I want to see it work.

22:53 I want to see those two inaction and elevated roles doing their thing. And to me, like I just,

23:00 a reinforcement in the middle. Do you have any other names trade deadline wise that you would

23:04 want them to go after? I mean, like I haven't poured over the list all that much. Because I

23:09 have, I haven't poured over the list either. So I was curious, because I was curious if you had any

23:13 other people aside from Henrik. No, Henrik was a guy that struck me early on in the season where I

23:18 was like when he was playing well, I was like, OK, this is a guy that I would like to see on the

23:23 Bruins or see the Bruins make a run at at the deadline. And that was like an early thing.

23:27 And I still think that makes a lot of sense. Like if you're going to make another guy that I think

23:34 that like if you're going to try to go make a big splash and this would be very difficult to do,

23:38 obviously. But a guy like Tomas Hurtle is a guy that I wanted to see the Bruins go after when he

23:44 was nearing the end of his contract with the Sharks years ago. And then he signed that big

23:50 extension. And I'm like, oh, damn, OK, that's off the table now with like the position that the

23:53 Sharks are in. I don't think it's necessarily off the table. And I do think that it would make sense

23:57 for the Bruins. But obviously, it takes it would take a lot to make that happen. And I don't

24:02 necessarily see that as a realistic possibility. But just that's one of the guys that like jumps

24:06 to mind is like, you know, bucket list wish list type guy. Tomas Hurtle would be very fun on the

24:12 Bruins. Hurtle to me would be the top. I think Hurtle would be a great fit here. I thought that

24:16 when they were when there was all that was that that was the year before last when he signed that

24:21 extension. Then they fired the GM and hired Greer. And Greer probably came in and was like,

24:25 what the hell is this? Why? Why would you sign him to this deal? It never made sense for them

24:29 to give him that extension. I feel like they should have traded him. Maybe that was a biased

24:33 take or whatever. But like the Sharks were not going to be competitive for most of the years

24:38 of that contract. No. And so, again, good for him. We're getting his bag. We're pro getting the bag

24:43 podcast. I'm sure you're probably pro getting the bag as well. But like, get it somewhere else for,

24:48 you know, for the if you're the Sharks, because, again, now, if they draft Celebrity this year,

24:53 and you've got a one to punch for the next 15 years of Max Celebrity and Will Smith,

24:59 that's not bad. That's a pretty good down the middle tandem you got there. So again,

25:04 we're not Sharks beat, but we'll Sharks. But I agree with you, though, that hurdle would be

25:11 a great addition. Goaltending wise, Swayman has been kind of the go to guy. Oh, Mark, you know,

25:17 hurt for a little bit there. Oh, Mark, at the start against Montreal. But Swayman's got the

25:21 majority of the starts recently. I know we both like the tandem. I still I'm not ready. I'm

25:26 nowhere near ready to be like, oh, just make Swayman the guy and don't play. Oh, Mark at all.

25:31 But I think Swayman is proving that he could play multiple games in a row in the playoffs and be

25:39 fine. I know it's not the playoffs now, obviously, but our only thing we can go off of is that he

25:44 continues to play and continues to play pretty well. Are you getting similar feelings of like,

25:49 huh, Swayman could be the guy at some point? I mean, I think that he could be like the one

25:54 a the you know, I think that you definitely want to have both guys in your pocket and be able to

26:01 use them both. And that's always been my my we've talked about a lot of chaos, like having a goalie

26:06 rotation in the playoffs does not does not mean that you have to go away from the hot hand.

26:12 You can play the hot hand and then also, you know, give that guy a break and play all market game

26:18 like, yeah, doesn't doesn't mean you have to rotate by going back and forth, back and forth

26:23 every other game. You're not tied to one guy. You can play multiple games. So, you know, that's how

26:30 that's how I feel. I think we've seen in the past, like the league is moving away from a one goalie

26:36 league in most cases, like I have a truly elite of the elite. And I think there's maybe a handful

26:43 of those guys, maybe fewer. So a buck Soros like it's a small crew, very small crew. And I think

26:53 that if you know, if you've got the guys in your stable, use them. And I know Jim Montgomery

26:59 regrets the way that he handled it last year. And so I will expect that he handles it differently

27:06 this year. And I do trust Jeremy Swainman to be the guy, the one a versus the one B.

27:11 I agree. Now, I want to get your take on this because this is a this is a take I've been

27:16 throwing out there recently. And, you know, looking ahead to the offseason, which I know

27:20 nobody cares about, it's January, but I think it's interesting to look ahead.

27:23 With Swainman's comments recently, obviously a lot has been made of his contract, arbitration

27:31 hearing, what he'll get on a future deal. And he's going to get paid. He's not taking a hometown

27:37 discount. He's going to get paid as he should. We're pro pro get in the bag. We're all about

27:42 getting the bag here. I remember Sarah Sivian once, I don't know, I think she said it on the

27:48 podcast. She was like, if you can sell out, that's a good thing. I'm not saying Swainman's selling

27:52 out, but like if you can sell out, that means you've made it. You know, you sold out. You

27:55 you traded everything in for money. So I guess we're pro selling out at times, too.

27:59 I guess it's not a great thing to admit, but it doesn't really matter.

28:03 Money's cool. I like money.

28:05 Money buys happiness. People forget that. Money does buy happiness.

28:10 I don't know if it buys happiness, but it can buy you things that make you happy.

28:14 Yes, yes, it can. But so with with Swainman, with the offseason, do you think they're going to have

28:24 to trade all mark this offseason? Because when you look at the money, I don't know if you'll

28:28 be able to do both of them. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely on the table. And I think that I mean,

28:35 I think that if you asked even all mark, he would be like, you know, it's I know that it might be a

28:43 possibility. I think that he if he would admit that he thought it was a possibility last summer,

28:47 like, you know, it just it is what it is. It's the business. It comes down to I think it's going to

28:52 come down to it's hard to answer right now because I think it's going to come down to

28:55 like how they approach the rest of the roster. Like, you know, are they going to,

29:00 you know, are they going to try to fill out this roster to remain competitive,

29:09 like in the immediacy, you know, or are they OK with having a bridge year? Are they OK with I

29:18 feel like this was supposed to be a bridge here. It was I think it was in a lot of ways. And it

29:23 just didn't didn't really work out that way. But yeah, I don't know. I definitely think it's on the

29:29 table. I don't necessarily know what their answer is. But are you do you want to pay like more than

29:36 10 million dollars for a goal for a goaltending tandem? Probably not. No, I don't think you do.

29:45 So I don't know. I don't know what the answer is there. It's going to this is going to be a

29:50 fascinating, fascinating summer for the I. I agree. I also look at I think a lot's going to go

29:58 down to what do they do in the playoffs. Right. If you go out and you win a cup, you can make

30:03 it a lot easier to trade Lena Solmark. Yes, because it's like, all right, we've won a cup.

30:10 Let's move on here. Now, if you're out in the first round, same thing where it's like, all right,

30:14 this tandem is not working. We got to stick with one guy and have a backup that like a lock that

30:19 plays like 40 games or whatever and does OK. But you're not really expecting to come in much in the

30:24 playoffs. Whereas if they go deep, like if they get to the conference final or something and they

30:29 kind of have a hiccup, they don't you know, they just lose in seven games. It's like it's tougher

30:34 decision. But you look and you hit it with the 10 million thing. Right. Like let's say Swain in this

30:38 offseason gets somewhere in the range of seven. Right. That's probably what he's worth. Seven,

30:43 seven and a half. And then Omar's on the length of the deal, obviously, too. Like, you know,

30:48 if you're going a long term deal or if you're going to one year deal that changes the A.V.

30:52 Yes. I just don't see him taking a one year deal at this point. I know he's in our face still. So

30:58 yeah, right. Choice. But I I think that he'd probably want to go long term.

31:02 But again, Omar's up the next offseason, too. So then Omar has value. Omar has you know,

31:10 I know last offseason's trade market wasn't great, so it wasn't really the optimal time to trade him.

31:15 But if this trade market is good, Omar has a ton of value. Like we mentioned Dubrovnik

31:20 Griswick being guys that if this if the Bruins were a wildcard team or even third in the Atlantic

31:26 and they just kind of look to be an OK playoff team, you could make the case. All right.

31:30 Trade Dubrovnik, trade Griswick, get pieces back, you know, kind of retool on the fly a little bit.

31:35 Omar might make up for that if you traded him in the offseason where like you would get a first

31:42 a prospect, you know, like they're a thing. Maybe you could somehow if there's a team out there that

31:48 wants to give you a top six forward that you have under control for a long time. But to me, I go

31:53 back to what you said, where like I don't think it's feasible to have both of those guys at,

31:57 you know, all right, seven and five for next year. So that's 12 million. And then the next season you

32:03 you bring Omar back again. Like you don't want to lose Omar in free agency because you have a trade

32:08 chip. So I think depending on how this season goes, I think they're going to have to have a

32:13 decision with him. I think you're willing to lose Omar in free agency if it means that like

32:17 if you still believe in that being the biggest strength of your team and you believe that you

32:21 can contend for a cup again next year. Like I think that's OK. But it's obviously you have to

32:29 weigh asset management versus like really, really pushing in this window. And again, like I think it

32:37 really comes down to what you believe next year's team and the expectations are going to look like.

32:43 Like if you don't think that you're going to be a top of the league team or that's not what you're

32:47 essentially building to for that particular year, then you explore asset management. And would it

32:54 make a lot of sense for the Bruins to trade Linus Omar in the name of asset management? Absolutely.

33:01 Do you think that like do you think they would lose considerably more games if next season,

33:10 let's just say they said we're going to we're going to go with Swayman and Bussie? We're going

33:14 to go with those two guys like do they? I agree. They're not top of the NHL 100 percent. But to me,

33:22 I think they're still in the playoffs. Like I don't I again, it depends again, as you said,

33:28 on the rest of the roster, because they also have cap space. You know, are you are you

33:30 re-signing Jake Dubrask? Are you re-signing Grizzlik? Are you going out and trading for

33:36 guys? Are you signing guys? I get that. But let's just say they roll back the same rosters this

33:40 year, right? Patra, Coyle, Zaka, you know, those guys are older, low rise a year older. Maybe he

33:47 makes the team out of camp and you go out with Swayman and Bussie. Like I don't know if the

33:53 expectations change that much in terms of, OK, maybe they go from first to second place. But I

34:00 don't I don't think I don't think I would necessarily categorize that as like a bridge year.

34:05 I don't I think it depends, right? Like it's not necessarily like a massive drop off,

34:12 but there are big questions that you have to consider. It's like, is is this the Jeremy

34:17 Swayman that we're seeing this year? Is this the Jeremy Swayman that we can expect for many years

34:21 to come at this level? Is Jeremy Swayman going to be the same goaltender without Linus Hallmark,

34:29 both as like a like a mentor, like a best friend here? Like obviously that doesn't necessarily

34:36 mean that if you take away Linus Hallmark, he takes Jeremy Swayman's powers with him.

34:40 But like this is a proven sorry, kid. See, yeah, yeah. On the VCR out of the VCR tape,

34:45 this relationship has really pushed Jeremy Swayman. It has really pushed Linus Hallmark.

34:50 They're getting the best out of each other. They're clearly enjoy each other's presence

34:54 and things like that. You know, so does does taking away would taking away Linus Hallmark

35:00 have an effect on Jeremy Swayman, both from like a workload standpoint and, you know,

35:06 like maybe a competitive standpoint, maybe a a mental standpoint? These are things that you

35:11 have to consider. I'm not saying necessarily that like they will, but I think there could

35:17 be a drop off. I believe in Jeremy Swayman, but I don't. But like goaltending is very fickle, too.

35:22 And it is a strong mental position. And I wonder just like what what it's going to look like when

35:30 when you take away half the tandem. I agree. I think it is something you have to consider.

35:36 I look at Swayman's makeup, though, and I know this is again, this is judging from what I saw

35:41 with him at Maine, how he's been in the NHL, his easygoing nature, all that stuff where I think,

35:47 OK, I think he could handle it. But you're right. It's not guaranteed. It's sort of like

35:52 I know you're a big franchise mode guy in franchise mode when you deal off a player and it's like,

35:56 you know, you trade Jake Dubrask for something and it's like Charlie Coyle's morale has decreased,

36:00 you know, minus six or whatever. And it's like, you know, Charlie McAvoy's morale. And I think

36:05 it's the same thing if you did deal in all mark like Sway. My guess is Swayman would be heartbroken.

36:10 But I do think that they're going to have to make that decision. And I don't think to be an easy

36:15 one. But if you get a good enough package, I don't see a huge issue with that in the offseason,

36:21 depending on how things go. If you get all the way to the conference final and it's like,

36:24 all right, we needed a little more scoring. We're going to go out in the offseason. We're

36:27 going to get that scoring. We're going to run it back for one more year. Fine. Like, I'm OK with

36:32 that. But as I said, if they win the cup or if they're out in the first round and it's not even

36:36 close and it's like, all right, the tandem didn't even freaking work in the playoffs. I think then

36:39 you have a different decision that you have to make. Anyways, that's been this week's Bruins

36:46 Beat. I think we kind of hit on all the hot button topics. We didn't get to re-signing Jake

36:50 Dubrask, but we can get to that a different day. That's a whole another topic. So we can save that.

36:56 But anyways, what can people look forward to from you with what chaos and everything going on over

37:01 there? What chaos is heading to All-Star weekend next weekend. Then from there, we have a very fun

37:09 week after the fact. I don't think that we've officially announced what we're doing that week,

37:12 but it is going to be. You're going to Mars. I'll announce it for you. Yeah, we are. Elon is

37:18 sending us to Mars. We're going to have a great time. Mars first hockey podcast. We will be,

37:25 I believe, the only hockey podcast at a certain certain event. So that's coming. And it's going

37:33 to be a big few big few weeks ahead for what chaos. So subscribe to our YouTube channel.

37:39 That's like the most important thing. But we're also on podcasts, Apple, Apple podcast, Spotify,

37:44 all that. So, yeah, just what chaos show on on basically all of them. Before you go, one more

37:50 thing. Utah, what do you think of it? I don't really have strong feelings one way or another.

37:55 I do have strong feelings against more than 32 NHL teams. I don't want more than 32 teams. If

38:03 you're going to put a team in Utah, if you're going to put a team in Atlanta, you're going to

38:06 put a team in Houston, wherever you're going to try to try to move a team, try to add a team,

38:11 just relocate. Like we have some teams not going to name any names because I'm not that kind of

38:17 guy. I root for successful NHL franchises. We have some teams that maybe aren't doing amazing

38:24 in their in their market. So consider relocation rather than expansion.

38:30 I agree. I don't need 33 NHL teams because if you hit 33, you got to hit 34.

38:36 Yes. Yep, you do. And then you just get too big. You see this with a lot of junior leagues, too.

38:41 They have a million teams and it gets completely watered down. I know it's junior hockey still,

38:45 but like with the NHL, I mean, there are teams right now in the league where it's like, I mean,

38:49 this is a I mean, you watch you watch every team you watch every night. You get the million screen

38:56 set up. I don't know how you do it, but you do it. You've you've perfected the art of it.

39:00 But like watching the Sharks or the Blackhawks right now sucks. I know they're rebuilding,

39:05 but there is there are so few just marketable players on those rosters, players that you even

39:10 want to watch. And I take I say that knowing Conor Conor Bedard is out. So again, Conor

39:15 Breds and it's a different story. But like there's just nothing to watch with those teams.

39:20 And now you're going to spread the talent thinner. I disagree. You watch the the Chicago Blackhawks

39:25 are so bad. It's fascinating. They they have a an A.H.L. team playing at the NHL level. And it's

39:33 it's amazing to watch that that team is so bad. Terrible. Thank God for Peter Morazic, because

39:40 Peter Morazic has been awesome behind a team that has not been awesome, although I will say

39:45 and not to get into too much Blackhawks talk, but like after losing Conor Bedard,

39:50 they really have become a much better defensive team just in terms of knowing that

39:54 like, hey, we probably can't score. Let's not let's not get blown out like seven to nothing.

40:00 And so they're just losing a lot of games like two to one, one to nothing, things like that. So

40:04 good for them, I guess. Yeah, they'll get another high draft pick. So but yeah, Utah,

40:10 I saw you had a good one. Did you say the Salt Lake City Soakers? Is that what you said? The

40:14 team should be. I agree. Salt Lake City Soakers would be a hilarious name. I can get down with

40:18 that. So City was thrown out there as like a nickname for like an alternate jersey,

40:23 a Soak City jersey would go so hard. Crazy. It would be so good. And just like if the whole

40:28 arena was themed, which is like, you know, not soaking, but like, I mean,

40:33 soaking team, they should have a they should have a Mormon mascot that jumps on a trampoline

40:39 and and call them like the Humper Jumper. I could work. It's a bed. You know, he's jumping

40:46 all over it. I guess you could really lean bed. Hell yeah. Get into it. I agree. I think there's

40:51 a lot you could do there. Hopefully the people out there could be, you know, they're good sports

40:54 about it. Go for it. But they're going to choose the jazz or boring. They're going to choose a

40:59 boring name and they're going to be a boring thing. You know, I mean, they're going to have

41:04 the crack and the Golden Knights have made it work. But those are also very different markets.

41:08 And, you know, Vegas is Vegas and Seattle kind of went the cool, you know, hipster route. And

41:14 what's Utah going to do? I don't know. The one thing I'll say about Utah is that there's not

41:18 much to do in Utah. No, there isn't. I was in Salt Lake a couple of years ago and outside of

41:23 skiing, there is not a heck of a lot out there. So I think that like the team would do well,

41:28 they would you know, the attendance would be good. The support would be good. But as far as like,

41:34 would it be the most fun market I've ever seen in my life? Probably not. No, I agree with you. But

41:39 hey, if I can go out there, cover a game and then drive 30 minutes to Park City to ski,

41:44 I'm okay with that. I can make that work. Anyways, that's Pete Blackburn.

41:49 I'm Evan Marinovsky. You Burn's Beat listeners. Have a great rest of your week.

41:55 [Music]

41:56 [Music]

What Should the Bruins Do at the Trade Deadline? w/ Pete Blackburn | Bruins Beat

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