The PuckUps Podcast with Brian DeFelice, Ep. 56: Have the Bruins put Don Sweeney on NOTICE?

Brian highlights key dates from the Bruins 2026-2027 schedule release and emphasizes the importance of a strong training camp ahead of an 84-game slate. He discusses if a certain front office hiring by the Bruins has put Don Sweeney on notice - and much more - including the debut segment of the show's summer 'what if' series!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to the Puckups Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

It's time to hit the ice with Brian D. Felice.

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Welcome into episode 56 of the Puck Ups Podcast. I am Brian D. Felice and thank you all for joining me. On Thursday afternoon, the NHL released their 2026-2027 regular season schedules across the league. And so on today's show, I want to highlight some key dates for the Boston Bruins. Also, have the Boston Bruins put Don Sweeney on notice? We'll get to 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 info at the puckups.com. You can tweet at me on X at Brian D Felice 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 for the first time in over 30 years, the NHL will have an 84-game slate to their season. And I find that pretty significant. Not only because now you're prolonging the season where teams have more opportunities to gain and lose points, but to state the obvious, the season starts earlier. And I think that puts a higher emphasis on having a more efficient and strong pre-season and training camp. For the Boston Bruins, their home opener and season opener is on September 29th. September 29th. That's when the puck drops for real. Usually it's the first week or two into October. So this isn't just for the Bruins, but for all teams around the league, you have to come out strong. You have to hit the ground running. Because if you don't and you stumble out of the gates, well, listen, you sure as hell can't make the playoffs in October. But if you stumble through October and that bleeds into November, it can be a real uphill battle in a league that has a ton of parody. So keeping it to the Bruins, their past two seasons have been polar opposite training camps. In 24-25 under Jim Montgomery, it wasn't a great training camp for the Bruins. I saw it with my own eyes. It was lackluster, it lacked intensity, and it was kind of just going through the motions. Brad Marshand was coming off of multiple off-season surgeries. David Pashtinach, I'm pretty sure, was dealing with some off-season injuries. Elias Lindholm injured his back training during his first summer as a Bruin. Nikita Zodoroff was in town for the first time as a Bruin. Jeremy Swayman was in a contract holdout, and there was some hysteria with Bruins' management in the media about that. And that was definitely a big distraction. And for whatever reason or reasons, the Bruins just were not ready to go at the drop of the puck. Fast forward to the 25-26 training camp under head coach Marco Sturm, and it was a much different story. That Bruins team was focused and ready to prove people wrong in the upcoming season, and it was intense and it was pretty sharp. So for the Bruins, I don't expect Marco Sturm to lack intensity and purpose in this upcoming training camp, but I will say I just hope that the Bruins do not have a dud, right? Last year they knew that they had to right the wrongs from the previous season starting in training camp. There was a big emphasis on having a big training camp. They knew how everybody talked about how weak their previous training camp was. So how do they respond this coming fall on the heels of already having a big training camp last year? Can they stay consistent? I have no doubts that it'll be a good camp, but for the Bruins and everybody else around the league, they have to because it's only a 13, 14-day training camp in total with only four games. So it's gonna be significant, and I do think that that's one of the changes and challenges that an 84-game schedule presents to not just the Bruins, but everybody around the league is you got to be ready to go even earlier, right? Um players are definitely training right now this part of the summer. They probably took off much of June, those who weren't playing hockey still, and maybe even the early parts of July. But July, August, those two months, certainly in September. Um I expect everybody to get going. And and there's gonna be some teams that aren't ready to go at the drop of the puck with an earlier season this year. And it's not a huge difference, right? September 29th, which is for the Bruins. I think there's only six teams playing on the 29th. So for other teams, you know, they're starting a little bit later. But some teams will stumble. And for the Bruins, their challenge is not so much their schedule in the early going, but it's who they will be without. And that's Charlie McAvoy for the first six games of the year, because he had to Paul Bunyan, Zach Benson, at the dying seconds of game six, whether you want him to do that or not, it was short-sighted. And Charlie has put his team down early to start next season. Now, sure, that can be an opportunity for somebody else, but you're talking about a blue line that's pretty a little bit unstable right now. The Bruins' defensive numbers under the hood were not great last year. They gave up a lot of chances and they relied heavily on Jeremy Swayman. So you enter next year with no Charlie McAvoy for six games, and I'll get into those opponents that he'll be missing against shortly. But you have Hampus Lindholm and Nakita Zodoroff on the left side. On the right side, you have Will Borgan, who will be making his Bruins debut, Connor Clifton in his second going round as a Bruin. So theoretically, you could be looking at the Bruins' top two right shot defensemen for the first six games being guys that were not even here last year. Now, we all know who Connor Clifton is and what he can bring, but playing in a top four role is gonna be probably a little bit higher than he probably should be, I think, as we all know. Now, I don't know exactly what the pairs will be. Maybe Mason Laura is still around and he's on his right side on the second pair. Maybe it's Henry Oki Haryu who's still around and he's in the second pair because of familiarity with Zodoroff or Lindholm or whomever. Maybe it's Frederick Brunei, who they give an opportunity to playing his offside. I don't really know. But what I can tell you is that the Bruins decor, especially without Charlie, is I would say unstable. That doesn't mean they're terrible, but it's unpredictable, right? So now let's talk about who their opponents are in those first six games. You start off against the Rangers on home ice. So that is September 29th at 8 p.m. You start the season against the Rangers. Not the hardest opponent based off of last year, but it's a new season, and I'm sure the Rangers will be looking to rectify the wrongs from the previous year. So you go against the Rangers, and then you have to go on the road against Minnesota and Winnipeg. Now the Jets, bit of a wild card, but hey, early in the season, you never know. And they certainly still have some talent over there. Do they still have Connor Hellebuck? That's a big question that remains to be seen. But Minnesota, that's a real tough opponent out the gate as well. So you have the Rangers, you have Minnesota, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Utah, and Philly. Those are the Bruins' first six games. Now, fortunately for the Bruins, four of their first six games are on home ice, so that's a positive. But I want to say seven, six, six of the Bruins' first 10 games overall are on the road because after those first six games, they go on to a West Coast trip against San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and then Dallas, which is also a very tough game. And those California teams are not going to be a walk in the park either. San Jose is on the rise. Anaheim continues to be on the rise. I know they had some personnel changes already this offseason, and we'll see exactly if they're the same team as they were last year if they take a step back at all. But again, the first week of the season, not easy. Not easy. Dallas is Dallas and the Kings. Listen, the Kings, I wouldn't bet on them long term unless there's some big trade, like Austin Matthews going to the Kings over the next couple of years or something like that. But right now, the Kings are kind of a team. They have a couple of exciting players over there, like Adrian Kempe and Panarin and Brant Clark and some others, but not exactly a team that's expected to do too much damage next year. But again, week one of the season, week two of the season, it's a crapshoot. Some of the best teams play bad to start, some of the worst teams play good to start. You just never really know. But I do think that this Bruins schedule, the first six games, it could be a lot more uh difficult. It could be more of a gauntlet for them. Without Charlie, I think it's definitely a competitive schedule. That's the NHL in today's game. There are no easy nights. But for a six-game sample without their top defenseman, the Bruins kind of got off not easy, but not as bad as it could have been, especially with four of six games on home ice. So that's what I noticed to the Bruins to start their schedule. A couple of other notable games. I like to look at some of the holidays too. Like, are the Bruins playing on any holidays or around them? And they're playing on Halloween night at home against the Blackhawks. So I'm sure a lot of Bruins fans will enjoy wearing their costumes at the TD Garden. There will be no Connor Berdard. I don't think he'll be healthy enough to play. He suffered an off-season shoulder injury. So we'll see if he's in a lineup. Probably I'd say more like November, December for Chicago. So if you're a big uh Connor Berdard fan and you're looking forward to seeing him in Boston, I don't think it'll be this season. But still going to be a fun atmosphere at the Garden on Halloween night. The Bruins welcome the Florida Panthers to TD Garden on November 8th, and then the Montreal Canadiens on November 12th. So that's a pretty good competition, some entertaining divisional matchups on Home Mice if you're looking to attend some games. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the Bruins are playing the Maple Leafs at 1 p.m. at TD Garden. December 1st, the Bruins are playing the Colorado Avalanche. This is one that you're going to want to mark. And if you can get there in person, I don't think you'd be disappointed. It's the night that the Bruins are going to raise Patrice Bergeron's number to the Garden Rafters. And just a little tidbit, I noticed this right away when I saw it was Ty Anderson who tweeted out first that it was Colorado. The Bruins are going to raise the banner against. And the first thing that came to my mind is that it has to be a tip of the cap to Bergeron's roots. Obviously, the Colorado Avalanche were previously known as the Quebec Nordiques. And Bergeron was a Nordiques fan growing up, uh, being from Quebec City. So I think that's a pretty cool little detail there. But when that ceremony ends, it's going to be a hard game for the Boston Bruins against the Av. So that's a fun uh game to keep in mind. New Year's Day, the Bruins play the Blackhawks in Chicago. And then one other day I wanted to mention too is February 25th. The Washington Capitals are coming to TD Garden, and that could be the last time Alex Ovechkin, as long as he's in the lineup, plays a game on Garden Ice because this could be his final year. So barring a playoff matchup against the Capitals at some point this year, I think that that could be the last time to see Alex Ovechkin in Boston. Again, that's February 25th when the Capitals visit TD Garden. And then one other note I wanted to mention too about the Bruins schedule is nine of their last 10 games are against division opponents. And to me, that's notable because there's a really good chance that the Atlantic division is very tight and possibly down to the wire for teams battling for playoff positions or jockeying for first round positions, right? And is it possible that the Atlantic ends up being top heavy and the top three teams are locked in to a playoff spot well before this time happens, and some other teams are maybe sellers at deadlines and are kind of just counting up the the rest of the season? Maybe, maybe in that situation, maybe you're having some players resting, teams are resting guys, and and maybe maybe these nine, these these nine out of ten games being being against divisional opponents is kind of not that big of a deal, not that significant. However, it could be the complete other way around. As I said, it could be a very, very tight playoff race. The Atlantic sent five teams to the playoffs last year. Would anybody be surprised if they did that again? Is the Metro? The Metro has the Stanley Cup champions in the uh Carolina Hurricanes, but beyond Carolina, I like what Washington did a lot this past offseason uh or this offseason. They missed the playoffs this past season, so you kind of have to see them bounce back. And if it is Ovechkin's final year, could that turn into a bit of a distraction? Like who knows? Or maybe it's a motivational season for the Capitals. But I I like Washington in the Metro. I like obviously Carolina. And then, you know, pick a team for the other spot. I mean, maybe Columbus, maybe the Rangers, maybe the Islanders, maybe the Devils. Uh the Flyers obviously made the playoffs last year. So did Pittsburgh. So don't count those teams out. I'd probably say off the top of my head, I'd be I'd be surprised if it wasn't Carolina, Philly, and Washington as the three teams out in the metro, but maybe somebody else sneaks in there. Maybe they send four teams to the playoffs. Either way, right, back to the Atlantic, it could be a gauntlet. And you could be seeing five teams from the Atlantic go to the playoffs or at least battling for it towards the end of the year. So I've never seen the Bruins play nine of their final 10 games against divisional opponents. That's crazy. And that's not just an 84-game schedule thing, because if it was an 82-game schedule, I still feel like it would have been a similar circumstance. So those are some key dates on the Bruins schedule that came to my mind. Are there any games in particular that you're all looking forward to? Um what are what are some thoughts that you have on the 84 game schedule? Do you like the 84 game schedule? I know it's been, as I said, over 30, 30 years or so. I think it was since 1993. 93-94, I think, was the last time the NHL had an 84 game schedule. So some of you may be alive to remember that for sure. Others um might be too young to to remember that far back or weren't alive that far back. So just depends how old you are. Um, but do you like 84 games, 82? I mean, I I don't really have an issue with more hockey. Obviously, there's a possibility of players getting hurt now. Uh, I'm sure there'll be some teams whose top players or important players maybe get hurt in the final couple of games of the year where their fans would sit there and say, This would have never happened last year with 82 games. This is bullshit. Um, but then insert the rest of your top players argument, which, spoiler, um, that's gonna come up later on in this episode in our in the uh the what if segment that I'm gonna do today. Um, but that's all I have on the schedule for right now. And uh it's not anything crazy, but it is some current event news that we could talk about um regarding the Bruins in NHL right now in the heat of the summer. Now, earlier this week, and since we last spoke, the Bruins actually did announce a series of front office hires worth going over. And I mentioned off the top in this episode, there's one in particular that has me wondering if the Bruins are putting Don Sweeney on notice. Kevin Adams, former general manager of the Buffalo Sabres from 2020 to 2025, has been hired as a senior advisor to the general manager. Now, as Dwight Schroot would call that, the assistant senior advisor to the general manager. Now, again, I'm curious. I don't think that this hire is meant to put the fear of God into Don Sweeney or to threaten him. I think they're trying to promote a good working relationship between Sweeney and Kevin Adams. However, you can't see this hiring a former GM in the NHL entering the Bruins system and not feel like the Bruins are, you know, at least sending a message to Don about, hey, listen, you're not untouchable, right? You're not untouchable, and and we are gonna hold you accountable. And I bet that this is a bit uncomfortable for Cam Neely because Neely, you know, he's good buddies with Sweeney. I think that the day that Don Sweeney has moved on from as Bruins GM, it's not gonna be an easy day, personally, on Neely and probably not even a Jacobs. I I they know it's a business, but that's the problem when you work with your buddies, is one day, especially in this industry, it's not gonna last. And when that happens, somebody has to play bad cop and good cop. And in any event, I just don't think it's a day that Cam Neely's looking forward to. And truthfully told, he's probably hoping it doesn't come to this. But to me, the hiring of Kevin Adams is definitely a bit of an insurance policy for the Bruins going forward. If Don Sweeney doesn't press the right buttons, and I want to hear from Don Sweeney a couple of weeks back after the draft, this is after day one of the draft, after the Bruins had traded for JJ Peterka and not used their first round pick. Actually, they traded it. And he was asked about the rumor of the Bruins hiring Kevin Adams. And I find this interesting because at the time we didn't know what the role was, right? I I thought it might be an assistant general manager role he was ultimately gonna carry. And Evan Gold, who was the Bruins assistant general manager and general manager of the Providence Bruins, is no longer with the organization. So right now, as I speak, the Bruins are without a Providence Bruins head coach, at least one that they've named publicly. They're also without an assistant GM slash GM of the Providence Bruins. Now, Kevin Adams being named senior advisor to the general manager to me, that's a that that's not that's not assistant GM. It's that's not how I take that. So it's interesting now, knowing what his role and title is, to hear Sweeney talk about the impending nature of Adams joining the Bruins organization.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

There's a report that uh Kevin Adams is joining the front office. Is that correct? And did he have any input on the Peterka trade?

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Uh to be determined in terms of who's coming on, uh, is Kevin a resource at this particular time? I would label it yes. Um so uh, you know, General Manager, we're tapping into every resource we possibly can for information when you know in trade scenarios and in every avenue, to tell you the honest truth. Um I'm quite sure that maybe other people had called Kevin if they were with regards to JJ. But um, you know, I I had referenced the other day we were gonna have some some uh additions to our staff. Uh also people that have been in our staff would would fall into in different roles, and and that's gonna you know be unveiled as we go go through development camp.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

So when you hear Don Sweeney talking about Kevin Adams, does he sound like somebody who is very, very confident or comfortable? Or does he sound like somebody who is talking about a guy that wasn't entirely all his his hiring? Because I don't think Kevin Adams was a Don Sweeney hire. I think that was a Cam Neely hire. And again, I think there's a big distinction between an assistant GM like Evan Gold, who doesn't have GMing experience as a as a head GM at the NHL level, being underneath Don Sweeney. I don't think Don Sweeney feels threatened or felt threatened by Evan Gold's presence. I do think he feels threatened behind closed doors, right? In in private conversations with himself or with his loved ones. Like, yeah, no, I think that Kevin's definitely a guy that can that can do my job. And and you know, it it doesn't mean that they're not friends or not buddies or that he's not looking forward to working with him. But if you're not sizing up the competition, are you even a human? Like, like we're all competitive people, um, whether it be in sport, at work, just people are people are competitive. So I don't think Don Sweeney is naive enough to think that Adams is just there to to make his life easier. I do think that Don is understanding here, okay. I gotta I gotta I gotta put up or shut up here because I got two years left of my deal. And if I don't if I don't make stuff happen here. And and move us into contender status sooner rather than later, then there's a guy right over my shoulder who right now is posing and acting as a friend and a confidant and a senior advisor to me. But that senior advisor, I don't think he would hesitate to take Don Sweeney's job if given the opportunity. And I think Sweeney knows that. It's interesting, too, because Sweeney is the third longest tenured GM in the National Hockey League, behind only Jim Nil with the Dallas Stars and Kevin Cheveldeov with the Winnipeg Jets. So this is kind of why, from my perspective, the Bruins moving on from Don Sweeney. I'll believe it when I see it. But on the other hand, this is why I could see change happening because turnover in this industry is inevitable. Coaches are hired to be fired. GMs are hired to be fired, albeit with a longer leash. And so there's gonna come a day where Don Sweeney is not the general manager of the Boston Bruins. And it just kind of feels like right now, for the first time in his tenure, there's been a guy alongside him up here in the Bruins organization that isn't just uh isn't isn't a subordinate to Don, right? Kevin Adams is, you know, he's he's every bit an equal to Don Sweeney in that sense. And and Adams went through a lot with Buffalo too. He was part of the Jack Eichel saga. He he was the GM who traded Jack Eichel to Vegas, right? And and got the best he could for him. He's been a part of some high draft picks with Buffalo. He traded Sam Sam Reinhardt to the Panthers. In hindsight, probably not the best of deals, but in any event, he's he's dealt with some shit being uh being a GM with the Sabres for five years, and he was a part of some good developmental growth with some players and some good draft picks, but at the same time, it was a team that, let's be honest, didn't perform well. And Adams was fired at the start of last season when Buffalo got off to a bad start. And so again, pretty similar situation to what he's doing with Don Sweeney because Yarmo Kekalinen was hired as a senior advisor to the general manager with Kevin Adams, and he took over his job. So um it could happen with Sweeney. I'm not saying it's going to, but I do think that Don Sweeney is at least been put on notice, and and how could he not be? He would he would have to be the most unobservant individual on the face of the earth to not recognize what's going on here. Again, I don't think it's a threat. I just think it's a food for thought. And there's nothing wrong with that, right? Players in the lineup, they have to be accountable, right? Like not David Poshinock, but you know, if you're a third, fourth line guy and somebody behind you is playing better than you, you could lose your spot in the lineup. So it it happens with the players and the coaches. Why not happen with the general manager? So I find that hire interesting, and we'll see how it all plays out. Now to finish things off, I wanted to go over one of the many what-if scenarios that I got from you all. And I promise I'll go through as many of them as I can throughout the course of this summer. I have them all put in a document, and I'm gonna try to get to all of them. But for right now, let's go to this one from Lem524 on YouTube who says, What if Bergeron never got hurt in his final season? Now, to provide some further context for those who may not remember, it was an injury that took place in game 82. Way back when? When they were 82 game seasons. And as I said earlier, this is this is kind of what I joked about with the 84 game schedule going forward. If an important player gets hurt in game 83 or 4 for a playoff team next year, there are going to be fans that come out of the woodworks and say this is bolt, this is BS, like you know, this never would have happened in previous seasons because there were no such thing as games 83 or 4. And now our playoff hopes are jeopardized because somebody got hurt. And during the record-breaking year for the Bruins in 22-23, Bergeron got hurt in game 82. And the only reason, or one of the only reasons it feels like he was playing is because it was his last season, and game 82, was it in Nashville? No. Oh no, no, it was in LA.

unknown 26:42

No.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Oh, right, right. It was in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the province of Patrice Bergeron. Now, Bergeron grew up in Quebec City and was a Nordiges fan, as I said earlier. Not exactly a Canadians fan, but his family's close by. And the thought process was that his his loved ones back home could watch him play, and it would be his last game in this the province of Quebec because the Canadians were not a playoff team that year. So that was the thought process. And I'm sure others would say, you know what, it's never a bad thing to play a game um right before the playoffs to keep your keep yourself going, keep yourself into it. Don't get don't get rusty before the playoffs. But I think most people would agree that if you're a team that has clinched the playoffs, which the Bruins clinched the playoffs, I'm pretty sure back in like February that year, that there's really no benefit to playing game, a meaningless game 82. And so, long story short, he played the game for whatever reasons that he deemed appropriate, and the worst case scenario happened, and and Bergeron got hurt, and it cost him the first four games of the first round of the playoffs against the Florida Panthers that year. Not only was Bergeron out the first four games, but David Crachy was out the first four games. So you would think that the Bruins got swept in that series or lost in five games, and it would be very easy to second guess, well, what if Bergeron didn't get hurt? But this is what's interesting about this question is ironically enough, the Bruins without Bergeron and Cratchie, they had a 3-1 series lead against the Panthers that spring. And then with Bergeron and Cratchie back in the lineup, the Bruins went 0-3. And they lost in game seven. We all know how it went. So it's interesting. Like, if Bergeron was not hurt, would the Bruins have not had a 3-1 lead? Like, would would adding one of the best two-way forwards of this generation to the Bruins lineup not have given him a 3-1 lead? Why would Bergeron's presence have hurt the team? You see what I'm saying? Like it theoretically, it would only help. In fact, maybe the Bruins would have swept him. Um, but yeah, I mean, I don't know. You know, if with a lot of what-if scenarios, I think that the butterfly effect can be pretty extensive for this one. I think the butterfly effect here ends with whatever their fate was gonna be that spring. You know what I mean? Like Bergeron was not going to play the following year anyway. The Bruins were gonna have to pay him and Cratchy's uh bonus overages, they wouldn't have had a succession plan in place for him and Cratche because they were both gonna retire anyway, whether they won the cup or lost. So I guess really the only second guess here is somehow, somehow, even though the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead without Bergeron and Cratchie, is there a way that the Bruins somehow sweep the Panthers if he is in the lineup to start that series? Or maybe it doesn't get to 3-1, maybe somehow, somehow, you know, it's a 2-2 series, and then it goes back and forth. Maybe the Bruins win. Like, I don't know. It's really hard to say what would have happened if Bergeron was healthy to start that series because again, they had the 3-1 lead. So ironically, it wasn't even a disadvantage to the Bruins to not have. I'm not saying that they're a better team with without them, I'm just saying the way it played out, the only way you can do better without a player than a 3-1 series lead is just sweeping the series altogether. So does Bergeron's presence make it a sweep? I I don't know. Like maybe, I don't know. Uh the the margin for error in that series and and and the margin of victory was so small. I mean, again, not to run salt in the wounds. I had a comment mention this um recently, and I'm sorry for the PTSD, but but Brad Martian had a breakaway on on Babrowski in the final second seconds of of game five. And if he scores that goal, the Bruins win the series. They win the series 4-1 in game five. And and Grizzlick and Allmark never had that blunder behind the net. Kachuk doesn't win the game, and and then listen, the Bruins also had a third period lead in game six and seven, including the final minute of game seven. So um the Bruins really screwed the pooch that year, but yeah, what if Bergeron never got hurt in his final season? I mean, it's so hard to say. What do you guys think? Like, if Bergeron's hurt, do they still get the 3-1 series lead? I mean, if he's healthy, is it a is it a 4-0 sweep instead? Because it's a different game being played, does does does the 3-1 series lead never happen? I don't know. Does Bergeron wear on Barkov more in that series? Does Barkov become less effective? Barkov wasn't that effective until later in the series. Um so I guess I'm gonna say right now, if Bergeron didn't get hurt, do the Bruins still beat the Panthers? Do the Bruins beat the Panthers in that round? This is hard. What do you guys think? Like this is tough because not to sound like a you know, I'm repeating myself, but they got him back in the lineup with a 3-1 series lead. Like they had three chances to ice that series with him in it. So I don't know. I don't know. Um I'm just gonna I'm listening I'm not gonna disrespect the Panthers. I'm gonna say Florida still finds a way to win that series because I can't it it's hard to imagine why they wouldn't win. They the they they still have to come back from a 3-1 deficit. So unless Bergeron was healthy from the start, and instead of a 3-1 series lead, it was a sweep. Um, you know, but let's just say Bergeron was healthy and the Bruins won that series. Do I think they win a cup? I think they would have been a lot more, a lot less pressure on the Bruins. I think I think that spring, the biggest problem the Bruins have or had was the pressure of being a record-breaking team in the first round. And that and that team, you know, they had some injuries near near the trade deadline that allowed the Bruins to have some salary cap circumvention, and they put some guys on IR and stuff, and then they brought in the guys of the deadline, like the Tyler Bertuzzi and Hathaway and Orlov. And you know, they were in the lineup why other while other guys weren't, like like Debrusque and Taylor Hall and Nick Felino, those guys were kind of out injured a little bit still, and then Bergeron and Craitsy got hurt towards the end of the year, and so the Bruins didn't even have their full arsenal of players due to being on IR, due to being hurt, or whatever, because until the playoffs, you had to be cap compliant, and then once the playoffs happened, it's kind of all bets are off in terms like like in terms of who you got who you have as rostered. So, you know, the Bruins didn't ice a lineup with Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnett Hathaway and Dimitri Orloff and Nick Felino and Taylor Hall and Bergeron and Craichy and Debrusque all on the same ice together until like the middle of that Panthers series. And by that point, you have no time for chemistry. So that team was a collection of talent, not a collection of chemistry. I can promise you that. But in any event, had they got through Florida, I think the pressure would have then been off a little bit more. And then you have a fresh new series in round two to start to build some chemistry and make up for lost time. And I do think the Bruins would have found a way to who did Florida beat in round two that year? It was Toronto. I think the Bruins beat that Leafs team. No doubt. Well, I shouldn't say no doubt, but I think the Bruins beat that Leafs team. And then in the conference finals against Carolina, close, but I still take the Bruins in that series. And the in the Stanley Cup finals against Vegas. I might like Bruce Cassidy and uh Jack Eichel and company that year over over the Bruins. They still had um a damn good team in Vegas. Uh that could have been a coin toss. So, you know, it's kind of two separate questions. What happens if Bergeron never got hurt? And what happens if the what happens if the Bruins beat the Panthers? If the Bruins beat the Panthers that year, I do think they go all the way to the cup finals. I don't know if they win against Vegas, but I do think they go to the finals. But if Bergeron wasn't hurt in game 82, did the Bruins beat the Panthers? It's so hard to say yes because without Bergeron, they had it they they had a 3-1 lead, and then they went 0-3 with them. Again, I'm not saying that they're a better team without without without him, but that's an interesting one. So I appreciate the question. Uh Lem 5-2-4. What do you guys think? How would that have played out in your mind? Do the Bruins sweep the Panthers if Bergeron's healthy? Maybe. I really I really don't know. Um, but I doubt it. That Florida team was they were they were too good to bend over and just get swept like that. Clearly, uh they proved that that that spring was no joke, no fluke. The year before, they were a president's trophy winner, and then they swapped out Kachuk and Huberdo, and he brought in um I think they brought in Montor. Obviously, Mackenzie Weegar went to Calgary, but that was a very good Florida Panthers team the year before. They weren't they weren't your typical eighth seed that year. And then the following two years, they win the Stanley Cup. So clearly that team was a lot better than an eighth seed. Um, but in any event, thanks to the the question, Lem524. And again, I've collected all the what-if scenarios, and I promise I will try to get to as many as I can throughout the course of the summer. And with that, thank you all very much for listening. Have a great weekend, and I'll talk to you on Tuesday.