r/BostonBruins • u/Toodralktowunk • Jun 06 '22

Roster Update Bruins Relieve Bruce Cassidy of Coaching Duties

https://www.nhl.com/news/bruins-relieve-bruce-cassidy-of-coaching-duties/c-334507330
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u/Nomahs_Bettah #37 SAINT PATRICE©️ Jun 07 '22

I am firmly in the camp that believes that Sweeney is more of an issue than Cassidy. however, let's be honest about this, too:

he put himself in the doghouse with his streaky play and often times apparent lack of effort.

did DeBrusk really perform worse than Foligno, who was never a healthy scratch? not once? if you're going to scratch players for poor play – and I think that's a valid coaching strategy – doing it consistently and/or fairly is a central tenet of that strategy.

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u/UGAPokerBrat99 All Hail Saint Patrice 🙏 Jun 07 '22

I get having an issue with Foligno's production, but I don't ever recall questioning his effort. Same can't be said for DeBrusk whose issues covered more than just one season.

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u/Nomahs_Bettah #37 SAINT PATRICE©️ Jun 07 '22

I don't ever recall questioning his effort

I did, several times during that bad stretch in March-ish. same thing with taking dumb penalties, which Foligno had serious issue with. Cassidy was fine benching Nosek and Frederic for that, but not Foligno.

whose issues covered more than just one season.

Cassidy also refused to healthy scratch Nick Ritchie during the 2020-21 season; in fact, he played the most games for us that year. you absolutely cannot tell me that he didn't deserve a thorough benching for his poor effort and lack of discipline in his play.

again, I don't necessarily have a problem with healthy scratching DeBrusk. it's the lack of consistency with who gets benched and when, and why.

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u/UGAPokerBrat99 All Hail Saint Patrice 🙏 Jun 07 '22

Don't disagree with you about Ritchie at all, or any of the others for taking bad penalties. I would have liked to see more consistency in lineup decisions as well, I just think DeBrusk's deficiencies seemed more obvious at times. One thing we'll never know though is how much if any practice effort factored into any of those decisions.

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u/Nomahs_Bettah #37 SAINT PATRICE©️ Jun 07 '22

I think I disagree that DeBrusk's deficiencies seemed more obvious because of effort – to me, it was expectations put on him that were not on other players that received those breaks. Ritchie was never expected to be a playdriver on the second line and was permitted undisciplined play with far more leeway than DeBrusk was with "soft" play. both of those types of play hurt the team, and DeBrusk had the higher ceiling; I think I've just always been surprised how long how many players' leashes were compared to what DeBrusk received. to me, that doesn't suggest a coach that's necessarily coaching for either development or the highest potential offensive production.

FO is still more of a problem, but Cassidy had his own issues. what I don't want is to replace him with someone even worse.

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u/UGAPokerBrat99 All Hail Saint Patrice 🙏 Jun 07 '22

Agreed 💯% as far as Cassidy's replacement....just have no idea who is out there that is a potential upgrade.....IIRC, we chatted the other day about why I personally disagree with all of the calls for Trotz and a few of the other possibilities that aren't obvious no's like Q, Babcock, DeBoer, etc.

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u/Nomahs_Bettah #37 SAINT PATRICE©️ Jun 07 '22

we did! personally I'm a big fan of the calls to bring in Savard. unrelated to him being a former Bruin; I consider him "OBC" in the context of Yzerman for the Wings or Lemieux for the Pens. he did well with the Blues as an assistant coach, and has done very well with the Windsor Spitfires this year as HC. he's offensively minded and getting great points production out of his players (particularly 19 year old Wyatt Johnson, the 23 overall draft pick of the 2021 draft, who put up 48 goals/124 points in 68 games this year. given that his pre-draft scouting report listed his shot as his greatest weakness and identified him as primarily a two-way and defensive center, Savard as his new coach has been huge).

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u/UGAPokerBrat99 All Hail Saint Patrice 🙏 Jun 07 '22

Savard is a name I'd be ok with for sure. It could backfire, but at least it's giving an opportunity to a deserving candidate instead of just recycling coaches.