Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins: Has Claude Julien Lost His Team?

Since Claude Julien was hired as coach of the Boston Bruins in June 2007, the Bruins have gone from basement dwellers to Stanley Cup contenders. Making the playoffs for three consecutive years, and reaching the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in back-to-back years for the first time since 1992.

But coming off of the now infamous playoff collapse against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins needed to make a statement in the regular season. They needed to prove that they were tough, they were resilient, and that they were ready to compete for hockey’s greatest prize. So far this year, it looks like just another Claude Julien era Bruins team.

Grand Larsson-y: NHL 2011 Mock Draft – Holiday Edition

Today’s article embarks on my first mock draft of the season – Holiday Edition. The first round results are revealed in this article, with the second round to follow.

Notes:

* At this point in the season, the mock is, for the most part, based upon teams taking best player available (BPA).
* Draft order is based on the NHL standings as of the morning of December 17th. Standings and thus team drafting positions will obviously fluctuate on a day-to-day basis from here on end.
* Shots From The Slot is a brief rationale for each selection.

NHL Top 100 Prospect Rankings (Part 4: 1 to 25)

#4 Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson EDM F 2009-10th

One-Timer: MPS. MSP. MP. Now known as simply Magnus Paajarvi. Call him anything, but call him one of the most talented young players in the game. Even at 10th, the Oilers got a gift. I had him ranked 7th in my my 2009 Draft Preview and here’s an excerpt:

MSP is a super creative winger with speed to burn. Known more of a playmaker, the talented Swede still knows how to finish. The powerful and smooth skating MSP is also very tough to knock off the puck. At 7th overall, he could prove to be a steal even at this rank.

Fantasy Hockey: Right Wing Rankings

There isn’t a ton to like about right wing.  To say it is shallow is an understatement.  Joe Pavelski didn’t even sniff our top 40 centers, yet finds himself as…

Bruins’ Superlatives for 2010-11 Success

By Mike Miccoli, Boston Bruins correspondent

First things first. The Boston Bruins roster, as it stands now, can not be considered as a Stanley Cup contending team. This is perfectly normal. In fact, I can only think of maybe three teams in the entire league that are legitimate threats to win the 2010-11 Stanley Cup; two of which are in the Western Conference. Can the Bruins follow up on their late season success while trying to discard all memories of the four-game collapse against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals? That might be a trickier question to answer.