The key component in any good hockey team is a great goalie. The Bruins haven't even had a GOOD goalie since Lemelin. Regarding this years team, IMO they had no goalie, and only Chara on D. The other 5 defensemen aren't even worthy NHL players. But the biggest problem with that team is the coach. Lewis is terrible!! Never tape to tape passes, always chasing the puck, no heart or intensity what so ever. What happened to Bergeron? I felt like (and still do) he was gonna be another yzerman. Didn't happen!!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Okay, okay, let me hit those points one at a time sir.
1) No good goalie since Lemelin? Andy Moog might have a bone to pick with you, and Lord Byron Dafoe was quite good until contract squabbles got in the way of him actually playing. Raycroft was a Calder winner, but it looks like the B's passed him off on the Leafs for a potential elite goaltender in one of the greatest trade coups I've seen in awhile. Thomas really is not bad at all, just overworked; the Bruins have bigger problems than goaltending, especially with Rask and Toivonen in the wings. I'm a goaltender myself and always keep an eye on goalies, and I truly believe Toivonen will follow a similar career path to J.S. Giguere, who was traded twice (for Trevor Kidd, then a 2nd round pick) before he broke out around his 25th or 26th birthday (hopefully Hannu doesn't get traded, though).
2) No defensemen besides Chara? Well, Andrew Ference played a signficant role as a #4-5 on a Stanley Cup Finals team the year before the lockout, and, despite being undersized, is still a good player. Aaron Ward was the #2 on last year's Hurricanes squad that won the Cup, and is still amongst the best shot blockers in the league, though he's really more of a #3-4. Andrew Alberts is a great #5-6, though he is a bit of a liability if called on to do too much as the Bruins did. He hits hard and is willing to fight (even if he's not much of a brawler), and is pretty defensively responsible, though limited offensively and will never have a shot. Dennis Wideman could still be a good offensive defenseman, though I'm not a huge fan of his skating ability and I think the Blues stole Boyes. Bobby Allen's a good AHLer, and Jason York needs to retire. But Lashoff and Stuart will be good NHL players; Lashoff's more offensively oriented while Stuart is a (very) poor man's Scott Stevens. The Bruins do need a true #2 defenseman, preferably with some offensive ability, to stick with Chara, but they have alot more holes to fill than just that, especially with their forwards.
3) Bergeron's not Yzerman yet? Come on, man, he hasn't even been legal for a year yet! You can't expect the world of this guy, not yet. He's on a horrendous team and had to assume the mantle of the savior of the Bruins after Joe was traded. That's alot of expectation on a 21 year old! Luckily for him, he's settled more into the second center role with Savard's ascendance (and second future superstar role with Kessel's arrival) and that's where a guy like him shines (see Chris Drury, his equivalent in player type, though Bergeron is slightly more skilled).
Listen, this Bruins team is pretty bad. Sure, they have a stable of good prospects and some good players. The coaching is bad, I'll agree with you there. But at the same time, for the most part, the team is filled with what I term "guys" (or JAGs in football terms). This team runs maybe a line and a half deep (Savard, Murray, Kessel, Bergeron, Sturm), and on defense maybe a pairing deep (Chara, Ward) before you get into guys who would be easily replaceable by any number of players across the league (Thomas is purely average even though I love the guy... but Rask and Toivonen should develop enough to hold down that fort in a couple years). Sure, there are specialist players (Axelsson as the checking forward, Wideman as the offensive defenseman), but those guys are either not that good (Wideman) or pure luxuries (Axe) that need to be replaced with actual players. Sure, you need guys and luxuries on any team that plans to run deep into the playoffs, but this team needs to focus on quitting the bottom feeding first. I think that will take a few years, but luckily the expensive stars (barring Murray) are still relatively young and will be around and good when the youngsters start to hit their strides. I can see this team coming together within the next 3-5 years to become a serious contender led by a core of Savard, Kessel, Bergeron, Chara, and Rask.
Oh, and ADPF, just about every New England kid plays hockey at some point in their life. As a playing sport, it's far more popular than basketball in the northeast (except maybe NYC and Long Island, but they're usually too pansy for hockey anyways).
