The PuckUps Podcast with Brian DeFelice, Ep. 50: Are the Bruins WILLING to shake things up?

Brian reacts to trades around the NHL, Don Sweeney's press conference - are the Bruins willing to shake things up or are they too comfortable with being average? Who could the Bruins select at no. 23 overall, and much more!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

You're listening to the Puck Up Podcast. It's time to hit the ice with Brian D Felice. Welcome into episode 50 of the Puckups Podcast. I am Brian D. Felice and thank you all for joining me. The NHL draft is finally upon us, and so on today's show, we'll talk about a few options the Bruins could possibly select at 23 overall if indeed they keep their first round selection. Also, we'll try to keep up with all the trades going on around the National Hockey League. And if the Boston Bruins are willing to shake things up, or are they comfortable with the status quo? We'll talk about all of that and much more. But first things first, if you haven't done so already, please go ahead and subscribe to the puck ups on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else that you get your podcast. And to get in touch with me or be a part of the show, you can email me at infothepuckups.com. You can tweet at me on X at Brian D Flees underscore. You can tweet at the show at the Puck Ups or leave a comment on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, anywhere the show has a social media account and post content. Now before we get into the state of the Bruins and Don Sweeney's press conference availability pre-draft on Wednesday, we have to start off by listing some of the trades that have gone down over the last handful of days. And full disclosure, I'm recording as of Thursday evening. So I'll try to keep up to date. And if things break on Friday, well, I'll just put my reaction in right now because I guarantee I'm going to release this episode Friday morning. And within hours, it's going to be somewhat outdated. So here's my reaction to the inevitable trades that happened when I released this episode. Oh my god. Holy shit. I can't believe Team X just traded for player Y. That's insane. Wow. Okay. A lot to process here. We'll put a pin in this and get back to it later. But for now, let's talk about the trades that happened earlier this week. How's that for a transition? Not bad. Okay. So it started with a sign and trade of Darren Radish from Tampa Bay to Toronto. We had the Brady Kachuk trade from Ottawa to Florida. Simone Nemitz went to Calgary. William Eklund went to Ottawa for the ninth overall pick that they got in the Brady Kachuk trade. Jordan Cairo to Washington. Alex Tuck to Washington. Bowen Byram to Chicago for the fourth overall pick. That's crazy. So now not only do you have the Toronto Maple Leafs with the first overall pick in the draft in terms of Atlantic Division competitors for the Bruins, but now you have Buffalo, who just kicked your ass in a six-game playoff series, that already has more speed and skill on their roster and youth than the Bruins. Oh, here comes the fourth overall pick to the Sabres. Now, maybe they moved that fourth overall pick for something else. We'll see. But damn. Damn, that sucks with the Bruins. Ever since they had an opportunity to draft six or seven overall with Toronto's first round pick and then at least won the lottery. It's been bad luck, Bears, for the Bruins, since then. Now, as I said last episode, not a full excuse because you can't just bank on the fortunes of teams around you. There was always a chance that Toronto kept that pick, even though it was very unlikely at the time of that trade. Even heading into the draft lottery, Toronto had decent chances to keep that pick. So it is what it is. And the Bruins still have a lot of draft capital themselves to try to make things work in some roster players. We'll get to that in a little bit. Uh Valerie Nick Nakushkin went to Columbus. So we'll see what happens with the Blue Jackets because they are in rumors regarding Zach Rorensky and his future and Karill Marchenko. Some other players in the rumor mill. Obviously, Dylan Larkin and his trade request is still out there. Connor Halibuck seems to be wanting out of Winnipeg. And I've seen Florida linked to Hellebuck. I've seen Buffalo linked to Halibuck. I've seen the Hurricanes linked to Halibuck. Uh Vinnie Trochek, where does he end up? So Jason Robertson, that's that's the other one, too. Where does Jason Robertson end up? And others. Mason McTavish. As of this recording, Mason McTavish and the New York Rangers appear to be in advanced talks. Or I should say the Rangers and the Ducks are in advanced talks regarding Mason McTavish. So we'll keep an eye on that throughout the course of this episode. So there's a lot of moving pieces right now around the NHL. What's the common theme here? The Boston Bruins aren't mentioned in any of them. None of the trades that have transpired, and they're not even linked to any of these rumors, really. Not that other teams heavily are either, but the Bruins are very quiet. Too quiet right now. So this all kind of ties into the part of this episode where I want to talk about the state of the Boston Bruins. And Don Sweeney held a pre-draft press conference on Wednesday. And I want to get to some of his answers. He was asked about a lot of things. And he talked about potentially adding to the Boston Bruins, potentially subtracting to the uh from the Boston Bruins in what appears to be a seller's market right now. So he talked about those. He talked about if the Bruins could possibly trade away their 23rd overall draft pick. He talked about if he thinks the Bruins are close to some of the top teams in the Atlantic. I'm not sure any of us really love that answer. He talked about he's had conversations with uh all of his RFAs to be and let them know of what the future is for them in Boston or not. Talked about the future of Frederick Brunei potentially. Uh he talked about a lot of things. So we'll get to all of that. And I want to start off with part of Sweeney's opening statement and a follow-up question about if the Boston Bruins should be adding to this group.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

And the second part is obviously the uh an important time in the season for us. Uh and it's been busy, you know, obviously around the league and chatter. And uh I don't think the transactions are going to stop between now and uh you know the time frame in July. So um, you know, we're we're eager to to be participating. Haven't yet uh I guess you know we did with Casot, but uh there's been a lot of chatter, so I expect things to continue to uh our player movement and uh and stuff heading into the draft uh to be busy. Yeah, I mean the guys upstairs on the amateur side of things wouldn't never want me to be uh to be claring that it's in play uh because they've done a lot of work and even this year probably more so. Um it it's always on the table, to be honest with you. We're trying to improve our hockey club. You know, we're we're competitively driven, as I said. Uh our players uh you know are gonna be impatient in that regard. Organizationally, we we've tried to to look at this as a you know, what's our window? Um we did a good job to get back and be competitive this year relative to where we were a year ago. Um we had some players in you know, young players get integrated and take steps. Uh we'd like to add to the group, you know. So it it has to be. Um whether that's in a move up or move back, or if that's in player acquisition, um, you know, we have to we have to be in the marketplace.

SPEAKER_03 7:35

So part of that answer was Sweeney responding to the notion of the Bruins possibly moving that 23rd overall pick and in a way to try to get a a more prominent roster player right now. And he was basically saying, yeah, everything's on the table because we're we're trying to add to this group. And uh, you know, I know Don Sweeney is an NHL general manager, but I honestly think he has a future in politics because throughout much of this presser, he talked outside both sides of his mouth. And this next comment is is what I mean. So he's talking about adding to the team, which we've talked about it on this show. What does that mean exactly? Is it a big swing? Okay, great. Is it a marginal around the edges lateral move to stay relevant, to stay relatively competitive, to to say that you're doing things, but they're not really moves of great magnitude because to me that's just what's the goal here? Is the goal to win a Stanley Cup? Yes, that's the obvious goal. So I I just I need to see the Bruins make swift decisions that tell me that they're picking a lane. I I can't see them live in the middle anymore. I just can't, and again, uh we'll get to it throughout this episode. But so Sweeney's talking about how you know the the scouting staff and uh they put so much work into their their pre-draft preparation and diligence, and how he was joking that you know you never want to tell them that you're thinking about you know potentially trading picks, it is part of the business, right? So the Bruins seem like they want to add, clearly, but at the same time, are they willing to subtract and and and are those contrasting philosophies? Well, well, which is it, right? So let's get to this next comment from Don Sweeney.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Don mentioned wanting to add, but seeing some of the prices right now, would you also consider trading off the town for us to get the right output?

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Yeah, I I think I think everything has to be on the table this time of the year. Um you know, ultimately, our our our goal is to improve now and moving forward and and having depth in positions or having, as I said, uh maybe it's a younger player that's able to grow into to a role and situation as we did with with as I referenced earlier with both Frazier and and Murat. Um so we may need to identify the next one. And you know, sometimes that's a half a step back for two steps forward, and that just might be what the the deal represents. And you know, we'll be open-minded about that. But we have to we have to live in all those spaces. We just do. And I'm not promising, but I'm you know, I do believe we're we're we're trying to do a little bit of both.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

So which is it? Do you want to add to this group or are you willing to take half a step back to take two steps forward? Because that's the approach that I think they should be doing, should they not be able to land like a big fish, right? And the prime example of this is Pavel Zaka. To me, Pavel Zaka kind of represents everything that the Bruins are and everything that the Bruins shouldn't be, because he's a good player, he's a respectable player. The Bruins, they're a good team, they're they're an okay team, they're a respectable team. Pavel Zaka is not, as the kids say, he's not him, right? He's not he's not a true top guy. He he's a good piece on a contending team, but my fear is that the Bruins aren't a contending team right now. That's less of a fear, that's more of a fact. And my fear is that by keeping players like him around, you're just prolonging the mediocrity, right? And it's not that I don't like Pavel Zaka as a player, what I don't like is the is the term and the the AAV that he probably is looking for because he has one year left in his contract. And the Boston Bruins can't have Pavel Zaka at a 4.75 million dollar cap hit forever. It it's it's not real, right? So the Bruins need to make a decision. And as I've said before, I'm all about optimizing players as assets. And if the Bruins were contenders right now, if they were going into next year as one of six teams that you could sit there and honestly say, hey, they should go to the conference finals and potentially contend for a Stanley Cup, right? Then in that situation, yeah, you keep Pavel Zacca, you don't even think about trading him. Because even if he wasn't to be extended at the end of his contract, and and you lose him for nothing in free agency, or you maybe you trade him for a late-round pick to somebody for the signing rights for him before July 1st, right? In that situation, if you're a contender, you're hoping that there's a championship before that. But that's not where the Boston Bruins are right now. And how do you get there? Do the Boston Bruins get back to being a Stanley Cup champion, a Stanley Cup contender by holding on to Pavel Zaka and extending him? Or do is is that is that the way to optimize Zaka as an asset? I'm I'm genuinely asking the question, right? Is the best way to optimize Zaka as an asset to extend him to another to a seven, eight-year deal at nine, ten million dollars? Or is it to try to flip him for something now where maybe you're taking a half a step back right away to Sweetie's comment, but ultimately you're taking two steps forward in the long run. Can you trade him for some value right now? Right? Like so Flutoshinzawa, Bruin's beat writer, mentioned that he heard from an NHL executive that Pavel Zaka is believed to garner multiple picks back in a trade, possibly even a first rounder and a roster player from somebody. That's damn good value for Zaka. Now I know, I know that there are a lot of you out there who would say to me, Brian, why on God's green earth would you trade away a top six center and a top six forward who just gave you 60 points last year from this roster that desperately needs all of those things, and that he's a two-way player, and that he plays in all situations, and that he's friends with David Pasternak, and that he's on the still younger side of 30. And he's a player that you can win with long term. I'm not saying he's not those things. I do question if keeping him around ultimately handicaps you in terms of building a true championship roster in in ensuing years to come, but could he be a complimentary you know veteran for the next young young wave and maybe he goes to wing at some point? Sure. But all I'm saying is, and I said this last episode, the Bruins either have to trade him or extend him ultimately. And if the return on a Zaka trade isn't good enough, then I have no problems with them extending him because the caps going up and and he is a good player. Like you'll never hear me say Zaka's not a good player. Is his playoff pedigree great? No, in fact, his playoff performances have not been strong as a member member of the Boston Bruins, but you have to get to the playoffs first, and he has been a good regular season player, he's been just shy of a 60-point guy on average throughout his first four years in Boston. So if the return for Zaka is like a second rounder, which I don't think that's the case, then no, you don't trade him, right? If it if it's a second rounder and a B-level prospect for Zaka, you don't you don't trade him for that. But if what Fludo Shinzawa is saying and hearing is true, and that Pavel Zaka can get can get the Bruins multiple draft picks, including potentially a first and a roster player from somebody else, for a guy that has one year left on his deal, why shouldn't the Bruins be considering that? Are they winning the cup next year with Zaka? No. So so so what's it matter? You you have you have internal replacements for Pavel Zaka. They might not be completely ready right now, but between James Haggins and Fraser Minton and Dean Laterno, those guys they're your next, you know, first and or second line center, hopefully first line center and one of them, um, in terms of being a true number one center. But even if they're not, they're one of those guys is definitely a two center, no doubt about it. And what are you getting back for Zaka? A first rounder, a good roster player. So you just need to be realistic, and I'm talking to the Bruins right now, they need to be real about who they are and recognize that in their division they are a jester surrounded by royalty at times. Like and I'm not saying I'm not trying to be mean towards the Bruins. Like, you know, they they they had a good year last year, they they they they they showed that they could compete, they made the playoffs, they had 100 points, and and they probably played over their skis. But come on, none of us here honestly think that they're in the same league as the Florida Panthers. The Panthers were decimated with injury last year after three straight runs to the cup finals and two championships. They had so many key injuries, they shut guys down towards the end of the year. And had they not traded for Brady Kachuk healthy, they still would be the best team in the Eastern Conference heading into next season, in my opinion, with all due respect to the Carolina Hurricanes, who not really a coincidence that they finally go to the finals and win when Florida's not in their way. But you add Brady Kachuk to that room, forget about it. Florida's a playoff team again, no doubt, next year. So that's one spot in the Atlantic. Okay. Is Montreal expected to take steps back? No. Is Buffalo expected to take steps back? Well, they traded away Bowen Byron, but they got the fourth overall pick. They traded away Alex Tuck in a sign and trade for you know a UFA, you know, essentially acquisition by the uh Capitals. But you know Buffalo's gonna make moves, and they have a good young core anyway. So they'll be back. Okay, Ottawa loses Brady Kachuk. Well, they just got Will Eklund in return, who's not exactly Brady Kachuk, but he's a decent NHL player, and we'll see what they do. Tampa Bay, I think Tampa Bay is, I think they're on hole 17-18 right now. Um, hey, no disrespect, they have a couple of cups to show for and they've had a great, great run. But I think Tampa Bay is on the mer on on the verge of having to take some serious steps back, but is that gonna be next season? I don't know. Not necessarily. Uh, what does Detroit do? Can Detroit pull off uh Dylan Larkin for Jason Robertson type of trade? Maybe, right? So uh the division is very difficult, very difficult. And the Bruins need to recognize listen, maybe we can stay comfortable here and and put together a respectable team and stay competitive and maybe make the playoffs, maybe not, but it's like, what does that get you? What does that get you? I know that if you trade Pavel Zacca right now for a first-round draft pick and maybe a roster player for another team, depending on who it is, I know that tomorrow the Bruins are not a better hockey team because of it. How could they be? You're trading away a top six center who does a lot for you for a pick that hasn't been drafted yet, or presumably would be drafted soon. But in the long run, in the long run, you have to imagine that that the fruit would be better for the Bruins, right? Ultimately. And so that's what Sweeney when he when Sweeney says we have may have to take a few uh half a step back to take two steps forward. I'm glad he said that. What I question is, did he really mean that? So let's get to a final comment from Sweeney in this press conference, and it has to do with the Atlantic division, how the Bruins stack up.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

I mentioned more from the angle of like if these teams are reloading, do you think you can bridge that gap, right? Which means, you know, everything now is not the same in say April, but could you build a team that you think is as good as the teams that are loading up right now?

SPEAKER_01 21:20

I mean, I I I if you want me to go through each team, I can. I don't want to do that. Um, you know, referencing Florida, you know, obviously they they had injuries last year. They they were a good team prior to, they're a good team now. Um, you know, Montreal just took a step, Detroit's looking to take a step, Buffalo took a step, they just traded some players. Like the moving parts are there. Ultimately, you're gonna have to show up and win your games. Uh, I think we're competitive within our division we were last year. Um and you're gonna need to be. Um, you know, because you are playing those those games more so more frequently than the others. Um I don't think it's to the point where you're like, oh, our division is is overwhelming us by any strength. I think we're perfectly fine to compete within a division, but you know, we have to address some areas, you know, in order to, to your point, to uh to acknowledge that other teams are are you know have finished ahead of us right now.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

So being perfectly fine with competing in your division is not the same thing as being one of the better teams in your division, or certainly one of the better teams in the NHL. You can you can compete all you want and still lose games. So what's the goal? Is the goal to just compete? And and Don, you know listen, I know at the end of that of that quote he mentioned that they have to address a few areas, and that that's that's as much as you'll hear Don Sweeney pretty much say, Yeah, we're lesser than. And and he knows, he knows that the Bruins aren't Florida, he knows that they're not Buffalo, he knows they're not Montreal or Tampa Bay, he knows that. So that's my whole point is if you know that, whether you admit it uh very transparently or not, he knows. So if you know that, then what are you doing about it to to change it? Because just simply extending Zaka, who Sweeney did mention that it's the Bruins preference and that they want to extend Pav, as Sweeney said, and that he's an important part of their team. Now, I think that he does mean those things. I also, in the same breath, will say if Don Sweeney was intending on trading Pavel Zaka, he wouldn't sit there in the media and say, Oh, yeah, we try to trade Pav and uh, you know, we don't really like him that very much, and uh you do well somewhere else for a cheap price and uh you want to come get him. Like, no, he's gonna sit there and say that he's a very important part of their team, that they want to keep him, because that just verbally uh is a statement to the media, and therefore teams are on the league that if you want pav, then you have to trade for him and truly give us something of value for him. And uh Sweeney's saying that behind closed doors, too, to GMs. That's all they have to hear is press conference on Bruins.com to hear uh Sweeney's leverage or his case. So again, as it pertains to the division, are you content? Are you perfectly okay with just giving Florida a tough game on a Tuesday in February? Or do you want to win the division? Are you okay with just being a wild card contender? Or do you want to be a Stanley Cup contender? Do you want to be a Stanley Cup champion? How's that? Right? So extending Zaka, re-signing Arvidson, re-signing Peak, running it back, all that does is it keeps you mediocre. And given the Bruins division, mediocre is not a good thing. Mediocre will get you sixth place. So like are the Bruins too comfortable? That's my question. Is Don Sweeney too comfortable as Bruins general manager? Because Cam Neely is his best buddy. Charlie Jacobs appears to have a crush on Don Sweeney, like he talks so glowingly of him. And and it's I just where's the urgency to be great? And sometimes the urgency to be great is uh exemplified in subtracting from your team. I know that sounds crazy, but the Bruins, they need to they have a decent NHL roster, but that doesn't win you anything. Again, the goal here is to win champ to to win Stanley Cup championships, not not make the first round of the playoffs, or not not contend for a wildcard spot, which Don Sweeney also said in this press conference was he talked about how they're competing against the the conference and and talked about wildcard spots. It's like okay, so there it is. You you think you're a wildcard team at best, and that's that's not good enough. So if you have to if you have to optimize Pavel Zaka as a trade asset instead of extending him, because the return for him would be great, you should do it. And if you're looking at the return on all these trades, like the best players in these trades this past week, they've been going for a lot, it's been a seller's market. So again, Pavel Zaka can be a good player on this Bruins team going forward, but that's all he'll be is a good player on an average team, and that doesn't result in Stanley Cup championships. So I know if the Bruins play things more patient, that you risk upsetting the apple cart of of David Pasternak and Charlie McAlvoic. That I say tough shit. Like, you guys have had how many years um in Boston to kind of do your thing and do your thing with some really good teams? Like, I you can you you know the last couple of years, I will say the centennial season, the roster wasn't great. The 24-25 season, the roster wasn't great, and then last year the roster definitely overperformed. So I will I I will give Pashtenak and McAvoy credit here where they could you could make the argument that that they've been on bad rosters the last three years. So at some point you're gonna make changes, but in any event, yeah, I just think the Bruins are in a position where they have to pick a lane. And if the return for Pavel Zaka is a first-round pick and a roster play for another team, you gotta really consider it. You really do. And uh because you have Elias Lindholm on a no-trade clause right now, and no one's gonna take him. So I just think the Bruins have to you have to optimize assets where you can. My point bringing up Elias Lindholm is you have a couple of immovable contracts on this team right now, and Pavel Zaka has only an 18 no trade list, and I think he has some good value around the league. So when you have a movable contract, even though it might hurt you right away, you know, is it better for you in the long run? And we all here acknowledge the Burns are not winning us in the cup next year. So, you know, I just think that it's they they have to they have to own up to who they are right now, and who they are is a team that is looking up at many teams in their division. Now, that doesn't mean that you can't just go out there and make some good trades, too. But you know, there's there's rumors out there that Mason McTavish, as I said earlier, is is possibly going to the Rangers. And and I'll try to update before I sign out today if that ends up happening. But Mason McTavish was one of those younger players that maybe the Bruins take a swing at him. Maybe the Bruins take a swing at Simone Nemetz, gone. McTavish, possibly gone. Um, you know, Dylan Larkin, I don't see coming to the Bruins. Jason Robertson, I would love it. I don't see him coming to the Bruins. So if you if you can't find, you know, some of those bigger pieces, like a Robertson or a Larkin, and even on Larkin, I don't want to give up the price we'll probably take to get him, then you're you're gonna be stuck as average, and that doesn't get you anywhere. So I like I I think, and and I've said this before, but Elias Peterson is somebody that I think a lot of people don't want to hear it. And I I understand that, but Elias Peterson, I think, is like the only center Iceman out there who may be available for trade because I think the Canucks might want to run it back with him. Now you have the Sadines in place, and maybe they want to work with him a little bit. But I think Elias Peterson, if if Vancouver could eat some salary a little bit, and you know their previous regime was said to want a player of equal value in return for Peterson, and their current regime is more so talking about we just want some couple of assets back and and that are younger that we can that can grow with our team. I don't think the price for Elias Peterson will be all that crazy um compared to the price it would take to trade for a Robertson or a Larkin or something like that. So, you know, is Elias Petterson the type of move you could make, right? Like, okay, out goes Zaka, or you know, maybe maybe even you keep Zocca. I don't really know. It depends what the what the what the act the ask is, but um, you know, you could bring in a bring in an Elias Peterson who I'm sure could try to find an offensive rhythm again um in Boston with some pretty good players around him. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But you know, that that's a move that I think could be realistic if the Bruins wanted to do something like that, because he has true top center skill uh when he uses it and and and plays uh the right way. Where you know Vinny Trochek isn't that, Pavel Zaka isn't that, Elias Lindholm isn't that, Fraser Minton isn't that, James Haggins isn't that right now, Dean Laterno isn't even in the NHL right now. So it's like it's a long-winded way of me saying I just think the Bruins need to they have to start to take some calculated risks. You can't just be comfortable with running things back and oh, we're competitive and uh you know, maybe maybe make the wild card and uh lose in round one, and it's like that doesn't do anything. The goal is to win a Stanley Cup. So ultimately, I'm curious to see what the Bruins do uh on draft day. They've been very quiet, a little too quiet. And I I I there are some players I'm looking at that they could move. I'm looking at Zaka, I'm looking at Middlestad, I'm looking at Laura, um in terms of players that played some decent minutes for the Bruins last year. And then there's some lesser players like a Sean Corale's name could be out there to trade, a Mikey Ace-Mont. You know, can they move on from Corpusalo? Can they move on from Yoki Haryu? I'm not saying they move on from all these guys, but these are names I'm looking at in terms of can the Bruins move on from them. So that's my takeaway uh from Sweeney's press conference on Wednesday. And again, would make a great politician, talks out of both ends of his mouth, and I don't know, he just seems too comfortable for me. His body language, the way he speaks, I just there's something about him where it's not even that he hasn't been part of all these trades so far. Because to be honest with you, I haven't felt like the Bruins should have been in on any of these trades so far. But if they don't make, if they don't show some real aggressiveness uh in the trade market, even if it's like a smaller trade, like a on up for upside, like a Kent Johnson, like something like that, you gotta try, you gotta try to make some moves. You have to try to find some players that could be regressing assets on other teams that could soar in a different situation, like because you're not always gonna be able to find that established stud on other teams because other teams don't want to get rid of those guys unless those players ask for trades, like the Kachuk situation or the the Larkin or the Hellibuck, right? So I'm curious to see how it all goes. I'm curious to see how it all goes, and we'll find out soon enough. Now, before getting into some of the draft options for the Bruins, if they indeed do select at 23 overall, bit of Bruins news to also touch on, and that is Ryan Mujinel appears to be leaving the Bruins organization to coach with Manny Malhotra uh in Vancouver with the Canucks. And so the Providence Bruins are out ahead coach. I'm throwing my name into the hat. Uh I'm curious if the Bruins would be interested in my resume. Uh had a pretty good stint as a as a New Hampshire JV high school hockey coach. Uh I don't want to speak out of turn here, and I I often fact check this, but I do think I'm among the the winningest coaches in New Hampshire JV hockey history. So, you know, I don't want to brag. Only gotten a couple arguments with parents over the years, and uh the kids seem to like me. So um, you know, I'm confident in my ability to develop uh young talent. And but at the same time, I do have a pretty serious commitment to my men's league in Burlington. I can't leave the uh leave the boys high and dry there. So I'm gonna withdraw uh my name from the candidacy and um appreciate the consideration from from Swens and the Bruins organization and the Jacobs family. So um Ryan Mujinel out of Providence, heading to Vancouver. And at the end of the day, I I think this is a good thing for the Bruins, depending on who they they hire, but I'd rather you know anybody uh than Ryan Mujinel. Uh if we're going based off uh the Providence Bruins regular season record in his tenure, sure, good coach. If we're going and judging him based off of talent developed in Providence that is now in Boston, small list, very small list. So I I have my questions about his ability to develop young talent, and I hopefully the Bruins can get somebody in to Providence that that can get the most out of their young players, especially where the Bruins prospect pool is starting to get better, right? So uh I don't know how much time uh Dean Laterno or James uh or not James Hagen's uh Will Zellers or Cooper Simpson or a William Moore or Vashek Blenar or Elliot Gronwald, um just name a few, like I whenever they get to Providence um at their stage of the development. I'm not sure how much time they'll spend there, but you want you want the right people in place when the Bruins finally have some good prospects coming up. And are they the deepest prospect pool in the NHL? No, but they're they're they're they've come a long way in the last 24 months or so. So there's that news to report out of Providence. So Jay Leach is out of the organization now, uh Ryan Mujinel is out of the organization, and uh, and that's that. Now, as far as the draft on Friday night, I'm just gonna go over a couple of names that I think could be available for the Bruins around 23. I'm not gonna name all the names, and um, I'm certainly not a uh a prospect expert, but just a couple names that jump off the page. First one's Tommy Belial, obviously. Um he is kind of mocked to go at 23 for the Bruins. And we had uh Chris Peters of Flow Hockey on the skate pod last week, and Chris is a uh draft and prospect um expert. And and he mentioned that Tommy Belial, who's a right shot defenseman, played for the the Moncton Wildcats in the in the queue this past year, he mentioned that he, in his opinion, is the best skater in the entire draft class. The entire draft class. So Belial had 81 points in 63 games in the queue as a rookie defenseman, which means he obviously has a knack for for the offensive side of things, but also when you're a great skater like that, um, I just think that's the type of player the Bruins would ultimately um you know be wise to consider, right? I I want the Bruins to keep drafting on upside. So when it gets to 23, whoever most people deem is is is best available in terms of upside at that point, I want the Bruins to take that guy. I don't really care uh the position he is, but Belial's a name that I'd be um happy uh for the Bruins to draft. Uh JP Herlbert uh is a right winger. He's projected to maybe go right before 23 or so, but he spent some time um with the Cam Loops Blazers of the WHL. He's a Michigan commit. Uh Belial, by the way, Michigan State commit. But Herlbert uh had 97 points in 68 games played uh in the WHL. So he's a right winger. He's a guy that again seems to have a lot of offensive skill and upside, and he appears to be in the Bruins range. Jack Hextahl, uh center iceman in the USHL this past year for Youngstown. Michigan State commit again, so he'll be going with uh Tommy Belial. Um 58 points in 59 games, I believe. Uh in the USHL. He's a center iceman. The Ruck Twins, Marcus and Liam, both led the not just the WHL, but the CHL as a whole in scoring, both have a really high NHLE. They're projected late first round and and potentially early second round. So obviously the Bruins don't have a early second round draft selection, but if if if Liam Rock, who's projected to be the the player to go first, if he's around at 23 and the Bruins want to grab him, I think anybody who who drafts Liam Rock will probably try to see if they can they can land Marcus uh shortly thereafter. Now, there's a lot of teams in the first round of this draft that have multiple picks. St. Louis has four, a couple teams have three, a bunch of teams have two. Um, there's 10 teams in the NHL without a first round pick this year, uh, as things currently stand. So there's a lot of teams that are in better position to draft the ruck twins than the Bruins are, because the Bruins have to essentially trade for uh uh an early second round pick somehow, some way. But in any event, those are a couple of names just to rattle off. Because I mentioned those names, none of them are gonna go to the Bruins. Uh, it's gonna be somebody that I didn't mention, but uh it's tough to predict, and certainly uh upon the conclusion of the draft, we'll definitely um discuss who they ended up taking if again they indeed keep that 23rd pick and and don't trade up or trade down or trade it for uh a ready now player. Who knows? We'll see. So there's our brief prospect minute, and uh we'll see what happens. Okay, so thank you all very much for watching. Enjoy the draft, enjoy the craziness that I'm sure is going to ensue. And uh don't forget my my disclaimer earlier. Um I'll say it again for when this episode comes out and an hour from its release, a bunch of trades happen, including ones involving the Bruin. So my reaction to that is oh my, I can't believe, I cannot believe that Team Y just traded for player X. That's crazy. That is insane. Leave your comments here if you think that uh the trade was fair. Um, in the meantime, thank you all very much for watching and listening, and I'll talk to you next week.