Chowder and Champions Jun 24, 2022
Boston Bruins Rumors: Patrice Bergeron set to return next season
The Boston Bruins have had a rough start to their offseason. They are already going to be without key players such as Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Mike Reilly to start the season due to surgeries each of them got this offseason. Ownership also decided it was time for a change on the […] Boston Bruins Rumors: Patrice Bergeron set to return next season - Chowder and Champions - Chowder and Champions - A Boston Sports Site - Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and More!
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 24, 2022
Rank the Bruins: Coach and front office ratings should be interesting
Photo by Michael Penhollow/NHLI via I know someone who will likely get low marks. We didn’t do one for this group last year, but I think it goes without saying that this year’s turmoil requires its inclusion. We’ve discussed the whole situation to death in posts and in the comments, but now’s your chance to put a number to the name. For the sake of keeping things simple, I decided to just include Bruce Cassidy as head coach. Sure, we could have included the assistants, but it’s kind of hard to determine what, specifically, Chris Kelly helped with as opposed...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 24, 2022
Morning Skate: Gentle
Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Kidding. Happy Friday, folks! Last Friday in June - can you believe it? There’s also a pretty decent chance this is the last day of the 2022 NHL season, as Colorado has a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice tonight in Game 5. It’d be silly to count Tampa out, but after a deflating OT loss on home ice in Game 4, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them with little left in the tank tonight. But that’s why we play the games! The title of this post is due to the fact that later this morning, the poll/grader for Bruins management...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 24, 2022
ONE MORE YEAR
Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Our Captain’s back! I guess Tony Amonte should consider not buying lottery tickets or deleting some friends on Facebook, but the captain of the Boston Bruins is STAYING IN BOSTON! Here’s the report of Joe McDonald: Hearing Patrice Bergeron has decided to return likely on a one-year deal with the Bruins.— Joe McDonald (@JoeyMacHockey) June 24, 2022 He’s decided that he’s going to stick around for one more year, and he’s probably getting a tidy sum to do it. Of course, the reality of the situation is that if every player...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 23, 2022
Rank the Bruins: How did this year’s defense perform?
Photo by Adam Glanzman/ Ups and downs, I think. It was a year of ups and downs for the Bruins on defense, with some growth mixed with some slumps, and everything in between. On the high end, Charlie McAvoy continued his ascent into the league’s upper echelon of defensemen, improving in all three zones. Jakub Zboril had some nice growth in his game prior to getting injured, which made that injury even more disappointing. Then there was some inconsistent play from guys like Mike Reilly, Matt Grzelcyk, and Connor Clifton. Hampus Lindholm barely had a chance to make an...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 23, 2022
Morning Skate: Thanks
Photo by Joel Auerbach/ Not exactly the best reward in Florida. Thursday is upon us, folks - it’s kind of wild to realize that next week is July. Time flies when you’re having fun! As the Bruins continue their head coaching search, an Atlantic Division rival made an interesting hire yesterday: the Florida Panthers hired Paul Maurice as their head coach. Maurice, one of those coaching re-treads I mentioned the other day, resigned as head coach of the Jets earlier this season, citing “diminishing returns” and a loss of passion. He apparently found that passion...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 22, 2022
Rank the Bruins: Cast your vote on this year’s forward group
Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Some good, some bad, some ugly. The Bruins found themselves in an interesting spot up front this season: one major face was gone (David Krejci) and a whole bunch of new guys were in the mix. The B’s signed a glut of forwards during free agency last summer, then elected to head into the season with the “2C by committee approach.” While it wasn’t a disaster (Erik Haula performed admirably, for the most part), it’s hard not to think the Bruins could have gotten more from their forwards. Normally reliable players like Brad...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 22, 2022
Morning Skate: Camping
Youths! It is Wednesday, my dudes. We got another sure sign of summer yesterday afternoon, as the Bruins announced the dates for their 2022 Development Camp. This year’s camp will run from Monday, July 11 through Friday, July 15. As it has been for a while now, the camp will be held at Warrior Arena. Each day usually features a few different sessions, so it’s a good chance to see prospects of all stripes in action. It remains to be seen whether or not the blue-chip prospects are there, though there’s little reason for them to miss it in the middle of July. There are also...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 21, 2022
Swayman named to All-Rookie Team, McAvoy finishes fourth in Norris voting
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/ Not bad! The NHL dished out the remainder of its end-of-season awards tonight, and while the Bruins weren’t really in the running for any of the big ones, they did still take home some nice accolades. Goalie Jeremy Swayman was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team after a solid first season in the NHL. He led rookie goalies in all major statistical categories, including wins, GAA, and save percentage. Swayman also finished an admirable fifth in Calder Trophy voting, an award that was won by Detroit’s Moritz Seider. Elsewhere, Charlie...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 21, 2022
Rank the Bruins: Have your say on this year’s goalies!
Photo by Rich Gagnon/ Lots of hugs...but lots of love? Heading into last season, the Bruins had Tuukka Rask’s “will he or won’t he?” question looming over the crease for the early part of the season. Throw in a rookie goalie in Jeremy Swayman and a free agent signing in Linus Ullmark, and the Bruins’ crease was as uncertain as it had been in more than a decade. However, concerns about the B’s goaltending turned out to be largely unwarranted: Rask sadly retired, but the other two guys performed pretty well overall. To refresh your memory: Linus...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 21, 2022
Rank the Bruins: Kicking off the 2022 player ratings
Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Democracy at its finest. It’s time for everyone’s favorite summer pastime! No, not baseball — player ratings! We do this every year, and we’re going to follow a similar format to last year’s, as that seemed to go over pretty well. The basics I’m dividing the team into four categories: goalies, forwards, defensemen, and (new this year) management. Each group will have a separate Google Form that allows you to rate each player/person on a scale of 1-10. I’ve created separate forms for readers and writers. At the...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 20, 2022
Friedman: Bruins looking for someone “newer” and “fresher” for their head coaching position
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Someone with experience, but not necessarily in the NHL. Fans often joke that the NHL has 32-ish head coaches and that when one is fired, he just rotates to a new team. See guys like Peter DeBoer (rotating to Dallas) and John Tortorella (adding a name to his Metropolitan Division checklist in Philadelphia) as illustrations of that point. The NHL isn’t exactly known as a wide open, “let’s try a new guy” league, I guess is the point here. When the Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy, many fans assumed it would be one of those...
Stanley Cup of Chowder Jun 17, 2022
Morning Skate: Space
Photo by Bruce Bennett/ A little bit, anyways. Happy Friday, folks! Another week of June is in the books, with the offseason rolling on with little in the way of news for the Bruins. Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final won’t be until tomorrow night, so you’ve got another NHL-free night on your calendar. Game 1 certainly lived up to the hype though - quite a match-up. The league did unveil a bit of news on Thursday evening, announcing that the salary cap will rise by a whopping $1 million next season. Rosters will be capped at $82.5 million, the first time the cap has...
NESN.com Jun 16, 2022
Ex-Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy Not On ‘Revenge Tour’ With Golden Knights
Bruce Cassidy is ready to achieve the ultimate goal with the Golden Knights. Vegas introduced its new head coach Thursday at T-Mobile Arena. Cassidy was relieved of his duties with the Boston Bruins and was out of work for just six days before the Golden Knights came calling. Cassidy reunited with George McPhee 20 years […] The post Ex-Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy Not On ‘Revenge Tour’ With Golden Knights appeared first on NESN.com.
NESN.com Jun 16, 2022
NHL Unveils Logo For 2023 Bruins-Penguins Winter Classic At Fenway Park
The NHL on Wednesday unveiled the logo that’ll be used for the 2023 Winter Classic featuring the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park. The event, sponsored by Discover, is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, and marks the second time the Winter Classic will take place at the home of the Boston Red […] The post NHL Unveils Logo For 2023 Bruins-Penguins Winter Classic At Fenway Park appeared first on NESN.com.
