For the next two weeks, much of the New England sports talk will focus on the Patriots, who are headed back to yet another Super Bowl.
Although, local folks are ecstatic about the Pats’ seventh Super Bowl appearance during the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era, the person who may have been rooting hardest for a Patriot victory Sunday night over the Steelers was Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien.
The embattled Bruins’ coach may be sitting on the hottest seat in sports right now, and for good reason. Boston has lost four straight games and eight of the 11 games they have played in January. That’s not a very good recipe for job security, especially when you consider that many believed Julien should have been fired after last year’s late-season collapse that saw the team miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. I remember that clearly, because I was yelling as loud as anyone to ax Julien.
So now here we sit, nine months after last season ended, and Bruins management is still answering the same questions about the coach. Only now, there may actually be more people defending Julien. Usually I like be firmly on one side or other of the argument. But in this case, it’s a bit trickier.
If you are on the “Fire Claude” side of the argument, I know exactly how you feel. You are sick of the Bruins punchless offense, and now that the one thing Julien could always hang his hat on (the defense) is also struggling, you have seen enough and it’s time to bring in someone else with a different system.
Given that the Bruins have been outscored 16-6 in the past four games (and shutout twice during that span), there is little to argue against. The Bruins are awful. Sure, the team is hanging onto a playoff spot. But that is only because they play in a very weak Atlantic Division this season, and the Bruins have played more games (50) than any other team in the league. If the Bruins were in the Metropolitan Division, they would currently sit in sixth place. But the Atlantic Division is weak. The Bruins are currently in third place in the eight-team division, but they are closer to being in last place (five points ahead of Tampa Bay and Buffalo), than they are to being in first place (11 points back of Montreal).
And as teams like Toronto, who have played six fewer games (44) at this point of the season but are only one point back in the standings, catch up in games played, the Bruins are likely to fall out of the playoff chase.
There are plenty of reasons to kick Julien to the curb, and if that does happen, no one will really bat and eye. The one thing that gives me pause before I stick more pins in my Julien voodoo doll is that there is also reason to believe that Julien may have actually done too good a coaching job this season for his own good. Sound crazy? Hear me out.
For all the things you can pin on Julien, roster management is not one of them and it’s no secret that the Bruins needed to make improvements coming into this season. The defense was the biggest area in need of an upgrade, since it was essentially a 39-year-old Zdeno Chara (who plays more like he’s 45 at this point) and a bunch of kids. Management’s response was to inexplicably resign Kevan Miller, cut another aging veteran in Dennis Seidenberg and just call up a bunch of untested kids.
Think this is an NHL recipe for success? A simple look at the rest of the Eastern Conference is all you need to answer that question. The two Atlantic teams in front of the Bruins — Montreal and Ottawa — have a defenseman to build around. The Canadians have Shea Weber, the Senators Erik Karlsson. The same holds true for the Metropolitan Division with Columbus (Seth Jones), Washington (John Carlson), Pittsburgh (Kris Letang) and New York Rangers (Ryan McDonough). When Boston was competing for Stanley Cups five years ago, they had Chara in his prime. That’s what it takes. Right now, that defense has more questions than Jeopardy.
The Bruins do have some talented youngsters in their organization, including Charlie McAvoy, who the B’s drafted 14th overall this past season and is currently playing at Boston University. McAvoy played in the World Junior Championships and was named Player of the Game during the United States’ 5-4 victory in the gold medal game over Canada. And players like 2015 first-round pick Jakub Zboril, 2015 second-round pick Jeremy Lauzon and current blueliners Brandon Carlo and Colin Miller, glitter with hope to the future. But getting there may be a bit ugly, as we are currently discovering.
My point is that Julien inherited a flawed team this season. When Adam McQuaid and Torey Krug are playing top-four minutes on defense, you have a problem. When you have used 10 different defensemen this season and have only four who have played more than 40 games to this point, you are going to have problems. And when you consider the blueline was the biggest area of concern coming into the season and you add all of that in, it’s a wonder the Bruins are even in the playoff conversation.
But it’s not just the defense. The offense is also failing, with many players underperforming. Julien said as much in his press conference after Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh.
“This is a team that needs all 20 guys going to win,” he said. “We don’t have enough talent to think we can get away with a mediocre game.”
Right now, the entire offense is toiling in mediocrity. I keep hearing about how the Bruins lead the league in puck possession at even strength. It is certainly showing in the shot totals of late, with Boston routinely outshooting opponents by a wide margin, including 45 during Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh, and 30 during Friday’s 1-0 loss to Chicago. The problem is that the team is settling for perimeter shots, which are making life easy for goalies. That’s why the team has just one goal in the past two games despite putting 75 shots on net. The possession number is a positive, but the team needs to find a way to translate that into goals.
As for the players, Brad Marchand may be the only one playing well. I know a lot of people are pointing to the recent lack of production of David Pastrnak, who came out of the gate on fire this season with 19 goals in 33 games before missing a few games to a mid-December elbow injury. He came back a week later but has not scored a goal since his return, a span that has now reached 17 games. Coincidence?
Other people have been critical of Ryan Spooner, who has just 7 goals and 15 assists, but he actually has one more point than Patrice Bergeron, who no one wants to criticize but is having a terrible season. Bergeron has just 21 points (10 goals) in 47 games, and he is only a plus-1 at the moment, despite being recognized as one of the best two-way forwards in the league. In fact, take a stab at who leads the Bruins in plus/minus at the moment? If you guessed Pastrnak — who was previously in Julien’s doghouse for not getting back on defense — you would be correct. He’s a plus-12. Maybe that message was received last year when Pastrnak was getting benched.
There are plenty of players who may qualify as issues. David Krejci is third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 19 assists, but is tied for the worst plus/minus at minus-10. The same holds true for Krug, who has 4 goals and 25 assists but is a minus-10 and has been a defensive liability. Even David Backes, who signed with the Bruins in the offseason, has not had a great season in terms of production, and is a minus-5. One other issue is that the Bruins’ lines are currently a mess, especially the third line, which seems to be a revolving door.
So is Claude the issue? Coming into the season, no one thought much of this Bruins team. Preseason rankings had the team in the bottom half of the league, usually checking in around 20th. The fact that they are where they are may be because of Claude. You at least have to give him credit if you are also laying the blame on him. Right?
Canning Julien is certainly the easiest quick fix. Last year, Pittsburgh fired its coach in the middle of the season despite being in playoff position and went on to win a Stanley Cup. But Pittsburgh had the pieces in place. The best thing us fans can hope for is that the Bruins make the playoffs, which is probably better than most thought prior to the year.
What should the team do? Boston needs a defenseman to build around and that should be the priority more than firing its coach. It’s going to take some pieces. If the Bruins can package one of their top defensemen other than McAvoy, as well as a forward prospect or goaltending prospect Malcolm Subban, it might work. Or wait until the offseason and throw some money at one in free agency. There needs to be someone to not only build around, but to mentor the young guys as they move into the lineup.
So, if people would feel better with Julien out of town, then go ahead and jettison him. Maybe that’ll light a fire under the team, but I wouldn’t count on it. The problem is that they are flawed to being with.
Quick update about Manny’s skipper Lee Magee, who passed away unexpectedly last week at the age of 57. There will be a local memorial service Saturday at 10 a.m. at Kostanski Funeral Home in Greenfield.
Jason Butynski is a Greenfield native and Recorder sportswriter. His email address is jbutynski@recorder.com. Like him on Facebook and leave your feedback at www.facebook.com/jaybutynski.