It’s a small mailbag this week because there were multiple questions about the Brad Marchand suspension and even more regarding the Jake DeBrusk trade request.
I’ll start with the Marchand suspension. I really have nothing to add. Was it suspension worthy? Yes, in my opinion it was. Were three games too many? I don’t know. Department of Player Safety does what it does and nothing can be done about it. If Marchand or the NHLPA had decided to appeal the suspension, it would be worthy of discussion. In my opinion, it’s just best to accept it and move on.
As for the DeBrusk situation, the only thing I can say is what I wrote last night. You can read it here. I don’t wish to get involved in conversations pertaining to whether his dad was involved or who is to blame. The fact of the matter is that the request is in, it’s public and the Bruins will try and appease DeBrusk while doing the best they can for their club.
So, to some of the other questions:
Mr Tenkrat via Twitter asks
Question – With MTL hiring Gorton as VP (obviously they have their unique reasons) it has made me wonder what duties do the VP/Pres. have that differ from what the duties of the GM are? As it pertains to Sweeney/Neely who makes what decisions and who has what duties?
Answer – It varies from club to club as they set out the duties to suit their franchise. Generally, the General Manager looks after the day-to-day roster decisions, contract negotiations and trade discussions while also checking in on prospects from time to time as well as some scouting for the drafts. The President, or Executive Vice President looks after the day-to-day business of the hockey operations and its staff which includes, but not limited to everything from marketing, negotiations with corporate sponsors to making sure charter flights and hotel rooms are booked for road trips. They are usually handled by staff but the President oversees them. It’s safe to say Jeff Gorton will be very hands on in Montreal with the roster makeup just like Cam Neely is in Boston, or John Davidson in Columbus. That’s different than let’s say, Brendan Shanahan in Toronto who almost always leaves the roster decisions to Kyle Dubas. That said, all contracts/trades have to be signed off on by the President.
Anish via Twitter asks
Question – Can we hear your thoughts on Taylor Hall’s production so far this season? He hasn’t looked as good as he did last year. Is it an issue with line chemistry, his own play or does he have some underlying numbers that indicate that am I overreacting? Thanks!
Answer – Boy, what a difference an offseason makes. With Taylor Hall, we saw how well he did when David Krejci was driving the line. At times, it was a thing of beauty. With Krejci gone, Hall is being asked to drive the line – I think both Don Sweeney and Bruce Cassidy have talked about it – and it’s not working as they’ve liked. So, I ask myself whether Hall is no longer capable of driving a line or if he (and his linemates) need more time adjusting? I don’t know the answer to that. But that trio needs to find a way and take some of the burden off the Perfection Line.
GeeWally via Twitter asks
Question – With Moore out on injured list in Providence can Bruins gain anything on his retained salary at NHL level?
Answer – They can not. Even if they could put him on LTIR, you want to be as close to the cap limit as possible to gain maximum relief. Because the Bruins have more salary cap space than Moore’s actual cap hit, they would gain nothing.
William Clark via email asks
Question – Does Jakub Zboril’s play merit a look in the top-6? They’ve tried virtually everyone else with Brandon Carlo and nothing has worked. Why not give Zboril a look. Of all their left-shot D he has the highest ceiling. It would mean someone else playing their off side on the bottom pair, but is it not worth trying?
Answer – I actually wrote about that Tuesday. I don’t know how you take Jakub Zboril out of the lineup if he keeps playing like he is. Has it been perfect? No, but it’s been a lot better than anything we’ve seen in the past so I say keep him in there and let his confidence keep building up. I even touched a little bit about a Zboril and Brandon Carlo pairing because the numbers show that he is the only one really fitting in next to Carlo – although it’s a small sample size.
If you’d like to get questions in for next week’s mailbag, you can email them to ohlwriters@gmail.com
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Dom - Hockey 