After finishing first in the Eastern Conference regular season standings in 2008-09 and advancing to within one game of the conference finals, the Bruins entered this season as Stanley Cup contenders. But as they embark on a four-game road trip, they’re not even in playoff contention and have yet to show any sign of consistency. Questions are starting to build and many are doubting that this team can live up to the preseason hype.
After watching his team come out flat in what he termed a “big game” — one in which his team was “battling for a [playoff] spot” — Bruins head coach Claude Julien indicated that he had basically had enough.
"When you coach a team, you're in a partnership situation," Julien said. "A coach can guide you and help you, but players have to do their share, too."
Julien has appeared to reach his boiling point with a Bruins team that cannot seem to give a consistent effort — and one has to wonder when management and even ownership may do the same. Sure, it’s only mid-November — and as the Penguins proved last season with a monster second-half run and an eventual Stanley Cup win, a team can certainly rebound from a bad start.
But here's the reality: We are now at the quarter point of the 2009-10 season, and the Bruins stand at 8-8-4, third in the Northeast and 11th in the East. And if memory serves, the Penguins turned things around only after firing then-head coach Michel Therrien.
The Penguins waited until February to make that change, but if history proves correct, that is one of the greatest turnarounds in NHL history — and the Bruins may not be patient enough to take the chance that they can make a similarly historic recovery. We’re only 12 days shy of the four-year anniversary of the Joe Thornton trade that shocked the hockey world, and that came as a result of management and ownership concluding Jumbo Joe wasn’t the one to lead them to the promised land.
Just as ownership entered this season with visions of the Stanley Cup coming back to Boston for the first time in 37 years, they held the same aspirations back then. But when those dreams became blurred, they didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a major move. Right now, the Bruins are underachieving and are mired in their second three-game losing streak, searching for answers.
“We shouldn’t be answering these questions of why we didn’t do that or why we can’t do the right things consistently at this point,” said defenseman Derek Morris after Monday's loss to the Islanders.
Whether they want to admit it or not, the Bruins need to answer those questions now — and they need to answer on the ice. They’re approaching that point where either the players will be dealt or the coach will pay the price. That’s just part of the way it goes in today’s NHL. Obviously, the players don’t want to see one of their teammates be dealt away, and they don’t want to see their coach — the reigning Jack Adams Award winner — become a sacrificial lamb.
There was already a quiet shock wave sent through the dressing room when Chuck Kobasew was dealt away for cap relief on Oct. 18. The next move, however, won’t be made to create more cap space, but rather to try and salvage a season that began with Stanley Cup aspirations.
Julien has a right to be frustrated, and as he pointed out Monday night, it’s time for the players to be held accountable.
"I don't know why I have to answer for them," said Julien. "You ask them why they came out flat, because they were well aware of everything. They were well aware of what was on the line. I know I'm the coach, and I know I have to stand up here, but I don't have to answer questions that they should answer."
The Anaheim Ducks, who beat the Bruins 6-1 on Oct. 8, are experiencing similar issues after going 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and are sitting last in the Pacific Division. Ducks GM Bob Murray recently put to rest any rumors that Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle could be fired as a result of his team’s poor start. Instead, he called out his players.
“Let’s get this out of the way,” Murray said. “I did stand very firm behind [Carlyle], and I am telling you the same thing I said last year. There’s going to be a lot of players shipped out before the coach is. We have a damn good coach and he’s proven he can coach in this league. It’s about time some of these people prove that they’re good hockey players. That’s enough. The coach is going nowhere.”
Based on the fact that Chiarelli just extended Julien — and given their strong working relationship — chances are that Julien is staying put. Sources told NESN.com that Chiarelli is already looking for help on his blue line, where players like Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick have struggled.
Chiarelli will obviously wait to make any moves until after Marc Savard and Milan Lucic return this week, but if the team doesn’t improve and display a consistent work ethic, changes may be on the horizon.
