Dear Don
Sports columnists are generally not great at apologizing. We all tend to fuss and be almost unrepentant, but I wanted to let you know that I was wrong about your ability to make a Stanley Cup contender. Bruce Cassidy, former Bruins coach , I was wrong to say he does a better job than you do.Tell Cam Neely to stop growling at me at press conferences.
This Bruins team you made is a vulcanized rubber wrecking ball. As a result, we have canceled all vacation plans for June.
I thought you were grabbing a straw and trying to hide your… footprints. When you decide to squeeze another kick in the cup from this core, like the last morsel of ketchup from a used bottle. I laughed when he repeatedly said,
I know you’re an avid cyclist, but I thought you were just spinning your wheels and riding hockey commoners.
Now I want to be a turtle like Claude Lemieux. Your Bruins look unstoppable like Wayne Gretzky in a breakaway. Your unbeatable pack has him amassing 76 points in 45 games (36-5-4) heading into Sunday’s game against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden. Even the gods of the gallery couldn’t have imagined that the Bruins’ team would be so dominant on the ice, with the Bruins’ team suffering one regulation loss in his 25 games.
Thanks to you, this season has been pure bliss for the Spoked-Believers.
You displayed a golden touch of black and gold that was the envy of some of your Harvard classmates in the financial world.
Convincing elder skateman Patrice Bergeron to enter his 19th season on a cap-friendly deal was a coup. Belgium’s age matches his jersey number (37), but you can’t tell from his play. Defeat him to get his 6th Serke his trophy.
but your pack peace de resistance was persuading David Krejci to return from his voluntary sabbatical in the Czech Republic. Admittedly, I thought the plan to lure Craig back to fill the gap in his center line, which devastated the team and Cassidy’s Boston coaching tenure last year, was lazy and hopeless. was But that’s why readers are reminded at every opportunity that I’m not Mr. Hockey.
Craig, 36, still has his trademark playmaking panache. He recorded his 105th career multi-assist in his game on Thursday night, the sixth-most in franchise history over Wayne his cashman. He made magic with his countrymen David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha on his Just Czeching Line. — on his wings.
Pastrnak is a machine that has scored 35 goals in 45 games. Normally I would advise you not to lock him up. His contract price continues to rise with each Frisson-inducing flick of the stick. But apparently he found himself motivated by the ghost of his contract year to create a career year.
Advantage, Sweeney.
Speaking of contracts, I have to commit another sin. I thought the four-year, $20 million deal he gave goalkeeper Linus Urmark before the 2021-22 season was overpaying for a so-so netminder.
Ok, I’m kind. I thought it was another cash-for-clunker free agent move in the Jacobs family like David Backes.
But we knew Urmark would lead Tim Thomas in 2011 this season. He is the only certified NHL goaltender whose average per goal is below his 2.00 (1.89) and leads the league in save percentage (.937) and wins (24).
Everyone keeps looking for holes in their black and gold armor, but there are none.
Your club leads the NHL in goals per game (3.80) and has significantly fewer goals per game (2.07). No team had scored more goals in the third period (67 goals) or fewer goals overall (93 goals) on Friday.
Your team continues to bury enemies just like the organization buried the entire unfortunate Mitchell Miller case.
oh sorry i brought that up. Old habits don’t go away easily.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer kudos and a heartfelt apology for the most successful move of getting Cassidy to hire Jim Montgomery.
I said quite aloud that I thought Cassidy’s Deep Six was your act of self-preservation. I thought you were just saving your hockey skin. Deserves the pink slip, not the straight-shooter Butch, who led the team to the top of the Stanley Cup in 2019 and saw him outdo the team in subsequent postseasons with more talented outfits, especially the blue line. It was you who did… Cassidy boasted the second-highest points percentage (.672) of any Bruins coach for more than two seasons, behind only Tom Johnson (.738).
you were right The team had to change their message and messenger.
Montgomery revitalized the defense and reinvigorated the team’s confidence and elan. Even Jake Debrasque seems happy to be a Bruin.
He had a strong season after scoring a game winner in the Winter Classic before going to long-term IR with hand and lower body injuries. DeBrusk thought all he could do was suffer from a broken ego.
I think Cassidy was too comfortable with the media and too awkward for his players with his candid assessments. Either way, another voice was exactly what this collective needed.
Throwing the coach overboard is one thing. Choosing the right successor is another. You got along well with Montgomery, a former University of Maine captain. praise.
The relentless Montgomery was able to push all the right buttons and squeeze more offense out of the roster, which is a must as it helps mask some of the draft problems the team has had since 2015. .
It was a good sign for Montgomery and team that his kids were kind enough to serve the greedy media members cake from his introductory press conference.
So it’s Don. I just wanted to admit I was wrong and you were right — for everything.
don’t expect a reply. Make sure this team is airtight for the Stanley Cup playoffs, and I’m sure they’ll be busy scouting additions for the trade deadline.
See you at the parade.
Best regards,
Chris G.
Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. You can contact him at christopher.gasper@globe.com. follow him on twitter @cgasper.
