2022-2023 Boston Bruins Season

[SparzWizard]

The biggest choke jobs in Boston sports this century:

2007 Patriots
2023 Bruins
2010 Bruins
2013 Bruins
2011 Red Sox
2019 Bruins
2011 Patriots
2010 Patriots
2010 Celtics
2018 Celtics
2003 Red Sox

The Bruins have been a part of more recent chokes than I can imagine. Boston is called Title Town, but have to take the goods with the bads. And these are like really bad lol

I would add the 2017 Eagles/Pats SB to the list. That was probably the worst defensive game we've seen in the BB era. No competition whatsoever. That to me is far worse that 2007 or 2011. Yes, the o-line got crushed in those games. But imo the Giants' d-line was historically good.

I think it's far less of a crime than letting Nick Foles look like an MVP QB.

Good call. Wasn't that Brady's statistically best SB in terms of yards? I think three Pats receivers had 100-yard games in that SB, and they still lost! That defense couldn't stop a Pop Warner offense.

I would rank 2017 Patriots up there too, but not worse than 07 Patriots. That's more of a Belichick problem-- the mysterious benching of Malcolm Butler and all. Brady had like 505 yards in that game? Unbelievable stats.

[Phantom255x]

The biggest choke jobs in Boston sports this century:

2007 Patriots
2023 Bruins
2010 Bruins
2013 Bruins
2011 Red Sox
2019 Bruins
2011 Patriots
2010 Patriots
2010 Celtics
2018 Celtics
2003 Red Sox

The Bruins have been a part of more recent chokes than I can imagine. Boston is called Title Town, but have to take the goods with the bads. And these are like really bad lol

It brings back a lot of bad memories (including 2017 Pats-Eagles), BUT I think this is a bit too far lol. I mean we have still won 12 titles since 2001, and most of our teams have been competitive and in contender-level for a long time. Most cities would KILL for that kind of run. And the B's and C's are still pretty good, with the latter still in the mix for a title potentially in 2023.

The chokes have been brutal, but many cities have that too

[GetLucky]

The biggest choke jobs in Boston sports this century:

2007 Patriots
2023 Bruins
2010 Bruins
2013 Bruins
2011 Red Sox
2019 Bruins
2011 Patriots
2010 Patriots
2010 Celtics
2018 Celtics
2003 Red Sox

The Bruins have been a part of more recent chokes than I can imagine. Boston is called Title Town, but have to take the goods with the bads. And these are like really bad lol

I would add the 2017 Eagles/Pats SB to the list. That was probably the worst defensive game we've seen in the BB era. No competition whatsoever. That to me is far worse that 2007 or 2011. Yes, the o-line got crushed in those games. But imo the Giants' d-line was historically good.

I think it's far less of a crime than letting Nick Foles look like an MVP QB.

Good call. Wasn't that Brady's statistically best SB in terms of yards? I think three Pats receivers had 100-yard games in that SB, and they still lost! That defense couldn't stop a Pop Warner offense.

I would rank 2017 Patriots up there too, but not worse than 07 Patriots. That's more of a Belichick problem-- the mysterious benching of Malcolm Butler and all. Brady had like 505 yards in that game? Unbelievable stats.

It's amazing that we can claim our 4 sports teams have had 11 legitimate "chokes" (multiple in championship games/series) in 20 years and be justified. We're truly spoiled as Boston fans, and I love it! 

[kraidstar]

The biggest choke jobs in Boston sports this century:

2007 Patriots
2023 Bruins
2010 Bruins
2013 Bruins
2011 Red Sox
2019 Bruins
2011 Patriots
2010 Patriots
2010 Celtics
2018 Celtics
2003 Red Sox

The Bruins have been a part of more recent chokes than I can imagine. Boston is called Title Town, but have to take the goods with the bads. And these are like really bad lol

I would add the 2017 Eagles/Pats SB to the list. That was probably the worst defensive game we've seen in the BB era. No competition whatsoever. That to me is far worse that 2007 or 2011. Yes, the o-line got crushed in those games. But imo the Giants' d-line was historically good.

I think it's far less of a crime than letting Nick Foles look like an MVP QB.

Good call. Wasn't that Brady's statistically best SB in terms of yards? I think three Pats receivers had 100-yard games in that SB, and they still lost! That defense couldn't stop a Pop Warner offense.

I would rank 2017 Patriots up there too, but not worse than 07 Patriots. That's more of a Belichick problem-- the mysterious benching of Malcolm Butler and all. Brady had like 505 yards in that game? Unbelievable stats.

We need to add the 2023 Celtics to the list. Almost every other contender has major injuries or concerns, Milwaukee is done, Clips are done. So what do the Celtics do? Coast their way out of the playoffs in the second round. Because hey, why not?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

The biggest choke jobs in Boston sports this century:

2007 Patriots
2023 Bruins
2010 Bruins
2013 Bruins
2011 Red Sox
2019 Bruins
2011 Patriots
2010 Patriots
2010 Celtics
2018 Celtics
2003 Red Sox

The Bruins have been a part of more recent chokes than I can imagine. Boston is called Title Town, but have to take the goods with the bads. And these are like really bad lol

I would add the 2017 Eagles/Pats SB to the list. That was probably the worst defensive game we've seen in the BB era. No competition whatsoever. That to me is far worse that 2007 or 2011. Yes, the o-line got crushed in those games. But imo the Giants' d-line was historically good.

I think it's far less of a crime than letting Nick Foles look like an MVP QB.

Good call. Wasn't that Brady's statistically best SB in terms of yards? I think three Pats receivers had 100-yard games in that SB, and they still lost! That defense couldn't stop a Pop Warner offense.

I would rank 2017 Patriots up there too, but not worse than 07 Patriots. That's more of a Belichick problem-- the mysterious benching of Malcolm Butler and all. Brady had like 505 yards in that game? Unbelievable stats.

We need to add the 2023 Celtics to the list. Almost every other contender has major injuries or concerns, Milwaukee is done, Clips are done. So what do the Celtics do? Coast their way out of the playoffs in the second round. Because hey, why not?

If they keep playing like they did tonight, they ain't winning a title.

[ozgod]

So where do the Bruins go now? Some questions that need to be answered during the offseason:

What Bergeron and Krejci's plans are - will they be back? Should the Bruins want them back?

What the plans are for the following FAs (in addition to Bergeron and Krejci):
- Bertuzzi
- Orlov
- Clifton
- Foligno
- Nosek
- Hathaway

How to get under the cap while (re)signing some of the FAs

[Roy H.]

So where do the Bruins go now? Some questions that need to be answered during the offseason:

What Bergeron and Krejci's plans are - will they be back? Should the Bruins want them back?

What the plans are for the following FAs (in addition to Bergeron and Krejci):
- Bertuzzi
- Orlov
- Clifton
- Foligno
- Nosek
- Hathaway

How to get under the cap while (re)signing some of the FAs

I have no idea how the NHL cap works.  Losing Bertuzzi and Orlov would sting like hell, but I think it's inevitable.

[Vermont Green]

So where do the Bruins go now? Some questions that need to be answered during the offseason:

What Bergeron and Krejci's plans are - will they be back? Should the Bruins want them back?

What the plans are for the following FAs (in addition to Bergeron and Krejci):
- Bertuzzi
- Orlov
- Clifton
- Foligno
- Nosek
- Hathaway

How to get under the cap while (re)signing some of the FAs

I have no idea how the NHL cap works.  Losing Bertuzzi and Orlov would sting like hell, but I think it's inevitable.

I don't know the Hockey cap either but I am expecting both Bergeron and Krejci to retire.  That is what the body language after the game told me.  Then hopefully, there is a way to keep Bertuzzi and Orlov.  I think Nosek may be the one keeper of the rest.  Hathaway, Foligno, and Clifton are probably gone, to be replaced with younger, cheaper players. 

Maybe trade Ullmark and go all in with Swayman to free up some money?  We may have seen the best we are going to see from Ullmark.

[Roy H.]

Maybe trade Ullmark and go all in with Swayman to free up some money?  We may have seen the best we are going to see from Ullmark.

I've been thinking the same.  I don't want to judge Ullmark too harshly, because he was playing through a painful injury.  But, teams don't need two #1 goalies.  We can probably replenish some draft capital and clear up some cap room.

One thing that sort of sucks:  there's like a $4+ million cap hit in 2024 because Bergeron and Kreji both earned bonuses that are applied to next year's cap.

[Kuberski33]

They need find a way to keep Bertuzzi.

[SparzWizard]

Well, if it makes B's fans feel any better, the Panthers stunned the Leafs tonight and stole home-ice advantage.

[SparzWizard]

Bergeron is a finalist for the Selke Trophy.

[Roy H.]

It doesn't exactly make me feel better, but at least the Panthers are showing that they aren't some pushover.  They're up 3-0 on the Leafs.

[Redz]

It doesn't exactly make me feel better, but at least the Panthers are showing that they aren't some pushover.  They're up 3-0 on the Leafs.

At least the Leafs fans had their celebration for getting out of the first round

[Vermont Green]

It doesn't exactly make me feel better, but at least the Panthers are showing that they aren't some pushover.  They're up 3-0 on the Leafs.

At least the Leafs fans had their celebration for getting out of the first round

Below was my comment from a week ago:

And people seem to still be saying that FL is not a good team.  I am not so sure about that.  They looked like a really good team to me in this series.  They had the best regular season record last season.  I am curious to see how they do against Toronto in the next round.  Based on what I saw, I expect FL to blow through Toronto.  I guess we'll see.

Toronto beat Tampa which is still a good team.  Toronto is no slouch of a team.  And now Florida is blowing through Toronto.

None of this makes me feel better about the Bruins either.  But down our two top centers (missed games/not 100% otherwise), we lost in 7 games in overtime to what is actually a very good team, not an 8th seed level team.  It is still very disappointing, a missed opportunity and really the closing of a window on an era for the team.  A very inglorious end to an era.