Bruins State of the Union

Bruins GM was on the Locked On Bruins podcast today to discuss the team, the deadline and the playoff push. Here are some of the excerpts.

Ian: "First of all congrats on the job, first time we have chatted."

GB: "Thanks, looking forward to it."

Ian: "When you came in, you made a trade very quickly. (McLeod for Jarnkrok) And then there was rumours about Tavares, Barkov moving but nothing materialized?"

GB: "I am a big fan of McLeod.  He is a super quick two way forward that can score, kill penalties and is cost controlled and only 25.  That was a no brainer.  As for the other things there were some things on the table and things just didn't work out.  John Tavares is a point per game player.  We aren't just going to weaken our team to move a salary.  Especially the way the team is performing."

Ian:  "Let's talk about the team performance.  You lead in Goals for with 270 on the season.  Goal differential is plus 94.  Eighth in shooting percentage, Third in save percentage. Fourth in PP, second in PK.  You have taken 636 more shots on goal than you have given up.  Is there anything you need to improve on?"

GB: "At this point it is just about staying healthy.  No one remembers who was the President's trophy winner.  We just want to keep our game fine tuned and ready to compete for the big prize."

Ian: "So nothing?"

GB: "Well, we could improve the farm team. [laughs] What are they 0-75-1?  I think they have played the entire season with 6 skaters.  I don't think we have a goalie on the farm.  Who cares about them anyway? [laughs again]"

Ian: "What about long term vision?"

GB: "Like most teams we like to draft and develop.  You would think that the cupboard would be bare when you are pushing for a title, but we actually have some really nice prospects in the hopper.  Cagnoni looks like he can play.  Gidlof looks good.  Kantserov might come over.  Mukhamadullin on the farm looks good.  Pretty excited but this year, the draft might be light unless we move some pieces around."

Ian: "So to the fans, what do you think about your chances to win the cup this year?"

GB: "I don't make predictions.  I will say that if we stay healthy, we are going to be a tough out.  We are going to contend and try to achieve the ultimate goal."