Former NHLer Jeff “ODog” O’Neill has reached the point where he says he can’t even watch Boston Bruins games anymore because of Fraser Minten.
That was the kind of afternoon it was on TSN’s OverDrive, where O’Neill, Bryan Hayes and Jamie “Noodles” McLennan went after the Maple Leafs again, with Toronto’s latest frustration giving them plenty to chew on. O’Neill is a die-hard Leafs fan, Hayes is right there with him, and McLennan is usually the one trying to keep the conversation from going completely off the rails.
The topic on Wednesday centered on Minten’s two-goal game Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks, made even more painful for Toronto because the Leafs also dropped their Frozen Frenzy matchup against the Utah Mammoth. In that setting, Hayes floated a joke that Toronto ownership should step in and stop the front office from ever making another trade with Boston.
That kind of reaction makes sense from the Toronto side, because the Minten-for-Carlo deal is already looking like a brutal one for the Maple Leafs, even if the first-round pick Boston also owns never turns into a difference-maker.
Hayes went a step further, saying the Leafs could be staring at the worst trade in the history of the Toronto-Boston relationship. That’s a bold claim in a rivalry built on bad memories, but there’s no shortage of candidates.
One obvious comparison is the Tuukka Rask-for-Andrew Raycroft deal, a move that gave Boston long-term stability in goal and helped power three playoff series wins over Toronto with Rask in net.
Then there’s the Phil Kessel trade. The Bruins turned that into two first-round picks and a second-round pick for their former first-rounder, and those selections became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton. Neither became a superstar in Boston, but Toronto has spent years trying to find a defender with Hamilton’s type of impact.
Hayes’ idea of banning trades with one specific team was over the top, but the segment made one thing clear: the OverDrive crew thinks this latest Leafs-Bruins deal has the potential to join the list of all-time disasters for Toronto.
And Hayes saved his sharpest line for the end, the kind Bruins fans may want to remember.
In Other News...
Bruins Fans Got Stuck With Frozen Frenzys Worst Scheduling Problem
Frozen Frenzy is supposed to be a showcase for the NHL, a one-night collision of wall-to-wall hockey that gives fans a reason to keep flipping from rink to rink. But for Bruins followers on the East Coast, the setup was less of a celebration than a scheduling test, with Boston lined up against San Jose so late that it asked a lot from anyone trying to stay with it from the opening faceoff.
Boston fans can handle an occasional late night, especially when there is something meaningful at stake, but this was the kind of window that made the leagues all-32-teams idea feel more clever than considerate. If the NHL wants the event to become a true centerpiece instead of a slog for part of its audience, there is a straightforward fix waiting in plain sight: move it to a Saturday or keep clubs closer to their own time zones. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Winning Streak Is Hiding A Problem This Road Trip Could Expose
Bostons fast start has them sitting atop the Atlantic Division at 5-2-0 with a plus-10 goal differential, but the early record has come with some warning signs tucked underneath it. The Bruins have had trouble at times with turnovers, penalties and getting outshot, even as the results have kept rolling in and the standings have looked strong.
The road trip ahead feels like the kind of stretch that can separate a hot start from something more sustainable. If Boston keeps putting itself under pressure in its own end and away from the puck, the margin for error gets a lot thinner away from home, where those habits tend to be easier to expose. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Fans Just Got A Real Crease Decision To Watch
After the Bruins dealt Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers in July, the backup job behind Jeremy Swayman has become one of the more interesting spots on the roster. Michael DiPietro has been in line for the role ever since, and head coach Marco Sturm said the club is ready to give him a real look during the upcoming weekend road trip.
Swayman has handled the bulk of the work early this season, including a 35-save effort in a win over the Sharks, so the Bruins are not exactly forcing the issue at the top of the crease. Even so, the next stretch will offer a cleaner read on how Sturm wants to manage the position, and on how much trust Boston is willing to place in DiPietro when the schedule tightens up. [Read more 🡒]