head coach: Pat Burns

roster: C - Anson Carter, Dimitri Khristich, Joe Thornton, Ted Donato, Trent McCleary*. LW - Ken Baumgartner, Rob Dimaio, Sergei Samsonov, Mike Sullivan*, Jason Allison. RW - Steve Heinze, Jeff Odgers, Landon Wilson, Jean-Yves Roy. D - Ray Bourque, Don Sweeney, Dave Ellet, Kyle McLaren, Jon Rolhoff, Dean Chynoweth, Dean Malkoc*, Mattias Timander. G - Jim Carey, Rob Tallas.
*-Unsigned free agent.

injuries: None.

transactions: XX/XX - Acquired wing Mike Sullivan from the Calgary Flames for a 1998 7th-round draft pick. 07/01 - Signed free agent left wing Ken Baumgartner (Anaheim) to a three-year contract. 07/02 - Signed free agent defenseman Dave Ellet (New Jersey) to a three-year contract. 07/11 - Re-signed defenseman Dean Chynoweth to a two-year contract. 07/15 - Re-signed center Ted Donato to a one-year contract. 07/17 - Signed winger Antti Laaksonen to a two-year contract. 08/04 - Agreed to terms with center Joe Thornton, the No. 1 pick in the 1997 draft, on a three-year contract. 08/26 - Re-signed free agent goaltender Rob Tallas to a one-year contract. 08/29 - Traded center Jozef Stumpel, right wing Sandy Moger and a 1998 fourth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Kings for left wing Dimitri Khristich and goaltender Byron Dafoe. 09/03 - Agreed to terms on a three-year contract with left wing Sergei Samsonov, their second first-round pick in the 1997 draft. 09/04 - Agreed to terms with free-agent left wing Steve Heinze. 09/11 - Signed center Joel Prpic to a two-year contract.

standings:

1996-97 FINAL RESULTS
RECORD:     
 OVERALL      26-47-9
 HOME         14-20-7
 ROAD         12-27-2        
POINTS:             61 (26th)
GOALS SCORED:      234 (15th)        
GOALS AGAINST:     300 (26th)
POWER PLAY:      14.8% (16th)
PENALTY KILLING: 81.8% (21st) 

game results:

PRE-SEASON RESULTS
9/14 at Florida         W 4-2

team news:

by Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

BEAR SEASON NOW OPEN

The best thing the Bruins did this off-season was fire coach Steve Kasper. It was just about a year and a half too late. The minute that guy benched Cam Neely in Toronto he should have been beaten severely about the head and shoulders and dumped out in the middle of a lake. Replacing Kasper behind the bench is former Montreal and Toronto coach Pat Burns. Known as a disciplinarian, Burns has won everywhere he's coached with a strict defensive game, but he may not have the patience to deal with the young Bruins. Because make no mistake about it, the Bruins are in for a long season.

OFFENSE: Mud

A few weeks ago the Boston braintrust, and that term is used loosely, traded the talented Jozef Stumpel, along with right winger Sandy Moger, to Los Angeles in exchange for Dimitri Khristich and goaltender Byron Dafoe. Exactly what the Bruins were thinking when they made this trade is still not known, however, there are reports of grain alcohol being involved.

Why the Bruins would trade Stumpel is a mystery. The 25-year-old Czech center is coming off the best season of his career and watched his scoring total jump by 22 points. But I guess there is that old saying among GMs, "Always trade talented young players the season after they have a 22-point jump in scoring, that way you don't have to suffer through all those annoying years of superstardom."

The saddest thing about trading Stumpel is he was really starting to form a chemistry at the end of last season with some of the young wingers on the team, especially Landon Wilson. With Stumpel setting him up, Wilson could have become an impact player this season. The former Colorado Avalanche product has great size and loves to work the boards and crash the net. And if he's given room, Wilson also has enough skills to pull off the individual effort. His skating still needs to improve a bit, but Wilson is one of only two cool Bruins.

The other is Anson Carter. Acquired from Washington in the Adam Oates trade, Carter posted eight goals and 13 points in 19 games with the Bruins. His speed and hard work quickly made him a fan favorite, and he played in all situations, even becoming one of the club's top penalty-killers. With Wilson and Carter on board, at least the team has two LCS cult heroes to keep things interesting.

The Bruins just don't have a whole lot of proven commodities on offense. Jason Allison, who also came over in the Oates trade, has some offensive talent, but his skating is labored. Jean-Yves Roy has no problem motoring all over the ice and is a natural goal-scorer, but his overall game could use some work. Ted Donato scored 25 goals last season and Steve Heinze had 17 in his first 30 games before Darius Kasparaitis knocked him out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, but neither one has really ever been known as a front-line scorer. Khristich is pretty much the only proven scorer on the team. He led the Kings last season with 19 goals and 56 points. He can play either center or wing, but is probably better as a flanker. He's tremendous around the net at finding garbage. To be at his best, tho', he needs a playmaker to set him up for the tap-ins at the posts. The Bruins really don't have such a player. You know who does? The Kings. His name is Jozef Stumpel.

The Bruins are pinning most of their hopes this season to first- overall pick Joe Thornton. He's a big center with enough skills to maybe one day carry the club, but there's not a lot of talent around to help his adjustment to the NHL. Don't expect him to just stroll in and light it up. Actually, the Bruins' other first-round pick this summer, Sergei Samsonov, may be more of an immediate scoring threat. Samsonov is a little guy, but he's an excellent skater that can create some excitement. The big question with him will be if he can take a full season of NHL punishment. He could either be a star or the next Dmitri Kvartalnov.

Bruins that won't be returning this season are Clayton Beddoes, Kevin Sawyer, Tim Sweeney, and Sheldon Kennedy. The first three all left through free agency, Kennedy, on the other hand, was released. The Bruins were given all sorts of credit for sticking by Kennedy during his personal problems last season and then just when the kid starts to get his life together they cut him. Hey, that's just more class from the Bruin organization. Nice job... ya weasels.

DEFENSE: Mud

Ray Bourque and Dave Ellett give the Bruins a solid top two defenders along the blue line. Ellett, signed from New Jersey over the summer, is a quality veteran that can provide some leadership and man the point on the power play. And Bourque is, well, Bourque. After that, tho', things get ugly.

Kyle McLaren had the usual sophomore slump last season and also suffered through some injury woes. If the 20-year-old can regain the form that made him a rookie standout in 1995-96, it'll go a long way to strengthening the meager defense. The only other defender with any skill is Swiss defender Anders Myrvold. The former Avalanche farm hand is a star in AHL circles with the Hershey Bears and has the talent and skating ability to make some plays. The only problem is he can get victimized in his own zone and doesn't always make the smart play. He's almost like a poor man's Sandis Ozolinsh. The rest of the defense is made up of guys like Jon Rohloff, Dean Chynoweth, Barry Richter, and Dean Malkoc. Bob Beers won't return, he elected to retire over the summer. Considering the current state of the Bruins, that's not a bad idea.

GOALTENDING: Little Better Than Mud

The Bruins will be hoping that Jim Carey can return to his old Vezina form with some help from former Bruin great Gerry Cheevers. The only thing is that Carey wasn't all that great to begin with. If he could regain his composure in net and play strong on his angles, he might be able to hold onto his number one job. But with the state of the Bruin team in front of him, the opposition shouldn't have much trouble working the puck side to side in order to exploit Carey's lack of foot speed and agility. If Carey gets carved up, Byron Dafoe will have no problem taking control as the number one. Both netminders are products of the Washington organization, but Dafoe's quickness and speed might make it easier for him to survive the barrage of shots coming from Bruin opponents.

GEE, THAT'S SWELL

* Carter and Wilson are cool.

* Thornton and Samsonov give hope for the future.

* Burns will turn things around... eventually.

TROUBLE

* The offense is mud.

* The defense is mud.

* The front office is mud.

1997-98 OUTLOOK: Pat Burns is a good coach, but he can only do so much. This club finished last season with a record of 10-28-3 over its final 41 games and 2-10-0 over its final 12. Unless Joe Thornton plays like Mario Lemieux, this team is going to have a painful year.

PREDICTION: Sixth in the Northeast, last in the East, and last overall.

[ issues | web extra | stats | nhl archive | home | chat | mailing list | about us | search | comments ]

1997 © Copyright LCS Hockey All Rights Reserved