We’ve Moved!!

If you keep being directed to this site, you need to update your browser!! Over the course of the offseason, A Cup A Bruin has been involved in a variety of different things. From being a part of Puck Daddy’s August Project to changing site affiliations. We are pleased, proud and excited to announce that we are now a part of the Faceoff Violation network, run by women for, well, anyone! While we are saddened to no longer be affiliated with Aerys Sports, we wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.

So, with a new network and improved site comes a new mission statement. This season, not only are we focused on bringing you up-to-date coverage on Boston, but Providence as well. We’re also going to do the best we can to provide you with information on the team’s ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Sting Rays.

In addition to the added coverage, we’re bringing back the weekly Beast of the Beasts posts that we originated during the 2011-2012 season. Each week we will ask our followers and readers to provide us with who you feel has had the best week and deserves to be known as the ‘Beast of the Beasts,’ or most valuable player.

We’ve also added a new feature to our site called Fiction for the Soul. Here you will find a page that is solely dedicated to stories written by other writers featuring members of the Bruins. It’s something that we thought was a neat idea that would make us, well, unique. We’re also looking into featuring fan photos like you see on SB Nation sites as well as a few other cool ideas.

So, stay tuned as this season is going to be one hell of a ride! We’re looking at a fresh startwith a fairly new looking team. Fasten your seatbelts and lets get this train rolling!

 

Stay up-to-date with us by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook!! We’re also on Tumblr!

The Day After Puck Daddy, Defending Canada

Ray Bourque (Photo Credit: leedifilippo_x33sports/ Flickr)

In light of our post on Puck Daddy we’ve received a lot of comments as to why Ray Bourque and Cam Neely weren’t mentioned. Well, you asked, we’re answering. It’s not that we don’t feel they were qualified enough to be mentioned as history shows, they have every right to be etched in stone as the Best in Boston. However, we were given a criteria to follow, choose the all-time Best representative. We felt that Bergeron made a strong case with all of his accomplishments that he’s made. However, the greatest of all-time is and always will be Bobby Orr.

We made our choices based on how well players represented the Bruins, taking into account ONLY their time and efforts made in Boston. For this reason players like Jaromir Jagr, Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar and Hal Gill weren’t considered.

All of that being said, we have compiled a list of the players we feel best represent Canada since we honestly couldn’t put them all in the PD post.

As it’s been stated, there have been so many Canadian hockey players that have come to play for the Bruins, in addition to showcasing Bergeron and Orr, there has to be light shed on Cam Neely and Ray Bourque, we know!

Cam Neely became a legend with his hard-hitting style and high-scoring. He ranks fifth among goal scorers in franchise history with 344, averaging .66 goals-per-game. All of this despite being littered with injuries throughout his ten-year tenure. In 2004 his number (8) was retired by the Bruins and the following year he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Personally, my argument is and was for Ray Bourque, but this site is represented by two people, not just myself. Ray Bourque, while he may have retired in Colorado after hoisting the Cup in 2001, will forever be the greatest defenseman I’ve had the pleasure in watching. In his tenure with Boston, Bourque captained 11-seasons, playing in 1,518 games, the longest of any Bruns player. He holds a franchise record of 1506 career points, along with most assists and most power play goals. He tops all defensemen of the NHL with his career points and was the Norris Trophy recipient five times. In 2001 his number (77) was retired and in 2004 Bourque was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Adam Oates spent six seasons with the Bruins throughout the 1990’s, appearing in 368 games.  He recorded 142 goals and 357 assists, his best season being 1992-1993 where he posted 142 points, the second highest single-season total in Bruins history. In 2012, he was officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and is currently the head coach of the Wahington Capitals.

Another prominent player to ever come into the Bruins organization was Cecil ‘Tiny’ Thompson. He was the first Bruins elite goaltender, helping to bring them to their first Stanley Cup Title in 1929.  Throughout the 1930’s he won himself four Vezina Trophies and ranks  first among goalies in franchise history in minutes played (28,948), wins (252) and shutouts (74). He has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959.

Terry O’Reilly was picked by the Bruins in the 1st round as the 14th pick overall in the1971 NHL Amateur Draft and spent his entire career in Boston, captaining the team for two seasons (1983-84, 1984-85).  He was best known for his physicality, racking up over 200 penalty minutes throughout the course of five seasons. He was often seen alongside Phil Esposito who deemed him ‘Taz’ for the way he carried himself with his often reckless behavior on the ice.

Some may be surprised to find I’m not a ‘new’ Bruins fan, in fact, I’ve been watching since 1994. I know the players that have been suggested and agree that Byron Dafoe should have had a mention in the ‘Rest of the World Category’. We make mistakes, that doesn’t make us unintelligent or incapable of knowing a team.

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, any given article is an opinion. People are going to agree with you and people are going to disagree with you. The fact that Neely and Bourque were not mentioned was a massive error on our part. It’s not that they weren’t worthy, it simply came down to we had ONE choice. That final choice was Orr.

Puck Daddy’s National Hockey League of Nations Bruins Edition

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are two Bruins invited to try out for the Olympics. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Every year throughout the offseason, Yahoo! Sports blog Puck Daddy look for other sources of content to try and make the time pass a little quicker. This year, they turned to their readers and asked for any team-specific blogs to take part in a project for the month of August. Naturally, Ariana and myself thought this would be a great opportunity and sent in our e-mail. What do you know, WE GOT PICKED!

The project is “National Hockey League of Nations” where guest writers from all thirty teams were asked to compile an all-time roster consisting of the BEST representation for different countries. This is what our guidelines looked like:

Canada:

USA:

Russia:’

Czech Republic:

Slovakia:

Sweden:

Finland:

The Rest of The World (i.e. any country not listed here specifically):

Every player that ever played for your team is eligible.

 

It’s completely your criteria, as long as you can justify it. We don’t expect every list to follow the same ones. In the end, it’s your opinion and that of your collaborators.

In looking at our choices, there is no doubt there will be some debates, based on the fact that Boston is an Original 6 team that has had over 900 players walk through the doors. Ariana and myself based all of our decisions solely on their performance on the ice (ex: Thomas).  So, go over to Puck Daddy, read our choices then come back here to debate/discuss how you think we did. We want to hear from you!

Also be sure to follow us on Twitter and ‘Like’ us on Facebook! If you really like us, give us each a follow @s_phillips44 and @arimams.

FFTS: Getting to Know Nicki Titus

Ever since we determined we were going to be moving our site to be affiliated with Faceoff Violation we’ve been thinking of ways to make ourselves unique and fun. Naturally we took a look at what other blogs were doing and tried to compile a list of things that we could do, or that we thought would be a neat idea.

Continue Reading

Season Review: Milan Lucic

This year brought a lot of changes for the big and bad power forward. Before the season even started he got married and just as the season got underway, his wife gave birth to their first child, Valentina. Being a new parent is hard enough for anyone to adjust to, let alone a professional athlete that has a set schedule that gets changed with the addition of a child. However, despite getting off to a slow start, he managed to place fifth on the team in scoring with 7 goals and 20 assists trailing the Bergeron line and linemate David Krejci.

Milan Lucic (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Last season, he tied forwards Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand for the team’s leading scorer, tallying  26 goals and 35 assists for 61, one point shy from the previous season. Instead of continuing the pace he set, leaving the fisticuffs behind and soaring on the scoring front, he seemed to revert back to the big, bad bully fans came to love him for. With 5 fights in 46  games, he paced himself for the most fights in a single season since 2008-2009. Whlie he made strides in improvements last season, he took a few steps back this year. Perhaps it was the lack of play in the offseason or the changes at home, either way Lucic needed to find a way to be consistent.

The postseason seemed to snap Lucic out of his funk, showing more discipline and taking only 14 minutes of penalties. He scored as many goals in the postseason as he did in the regular season and was only 8 assists shy of matching his regular season total.  Despite his definite turnaround, there’s still work for Lucic in the season to come. Much like last season, he needs to focus more on setting up plays and finishing his shots rather than finishing heavy hits.

Lucic may have had a rollercoaster performance this season, but he came to play when it mattered most, helping to carry his team through to the Final. Without his strong and disciplined efforts, the Bruins would have had a harder time advancing as far as they did.

Final Grade: B-

Season Review: Gregory Campbell, the Warrior

Perhaps the most underrated player to ever play in Boston, aside from Daniel Paille is Gregory Campbell. Up until his Eastern Conference Final heroics against the Pittsburgh Penguins, fans barely even acknowledged his existence on the ‘Merlot Line.’ The image of Campbell crouched down on the ice for basically the entire duration of the Bruins penalty kill in game 3 will be an image that he is remembered for for years to come. However, this wasn’t the only time the forward embodied toughness and selflessness throughout the season.

Gregory Campbell (Photo Credit Steph Phillips)

Through 48 games this season Campbell managed to post 13 points, coming close to matching his 2011-2012 totals of 16 points posted in 78 games.  Offensively, despite seeing on average 2:15 per shift, he managed to have a fairly decent season. He was successful in getting the puck out of the Bruins zone and end 50% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Despite being a fourth-line center, he went 50.5% of his faceoffs, and proved he was able to fill in for top-six players when they went down with injury throughout the course of the season.

There is never enough praise to give a guy like Campbell who is always willing to step up and be there for his team. In an interview after his postseason injury he stated;

“There are a lot of guys that play through pain. I don’t see myself as different than anybody else in this League,” he said. “I was just trying to finish the play. Do my job.” (via Yahoo! Sports)

While he may have just been doing his job, he symbolizes the mold of what Boston’s organization looks for, the epitome of what hockey players are supposed to do on any given day. Granted he struggled through the regular season to maintain stellar puck possession and only registered 52 shots on net, he did what was needed. He helped lift the Bruins penalty killing unit, finished half of his shifts in the offensive zone and won over half of his faceoffs. All in all, what more could you ask for from your Merlot-line center?

Final Grade: B+

 

Season Review: Wade Redden

Wade Redden is one of the most easily forgotten players of the abbreviated 2013 hockey season for the Boston Bruins. He was acquired at the trade deadline to add some veteran presence among the blue line. He came in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, one that would be bumped up to a sixth-round pick if Redden appeared in a playoff game.

Wade Redden (Photo Credit: slidingsideways/Flickr)

While his time with the Bruins was short, he made a delightful stamp on many fans in Boston.  He appeared in just 11 games total, six during the regular season and 5 in the postseason. However, in the absence of Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg, his veteran presence came to light and his physicality blossomed in the postseason.

At a time where the Bruins needed a leader the most, Redden stepped up to the plate. His most memorable moment? The opening game of the  Eastern Conference Quarter Finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wade Redden helped bring the Bruins to a 4-1 victory , putting them on the board first and instilling the confidence they needed to push past any and all obstacles that came in their way. If Redden had to sacrifice his body to make a play, he would gladly do so without even a second thought. Anything his team needed, he did.

Through eleven games Redden recorded 3 goals, 4 assists and 32 shots on net. While those statistics aren’t the best of the team, he was fairly solid in the games he suited up for the Bruins. While we would have liked to see more of him in the postseason, he found himself watching from the balcony after an undisclosed injury in Game 5 of the ECSF. Once Torey Krug showed his prowess and posed as the nightmare on Causeway, he continued to watch from afar as the kid stole the show. While he may not have landed a roster spot with Boston for the 2013-2014 season, he made a good name for himself heading into unrestricted free agency.

Final Grade: B

Sochi 2014: Who’s Invited?

Over the course of the last few days rosters for the competing countries involved in the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Naturally, players from the NHL are invited to participate, after reaching an agreement allowing players to have an ‘Olympic Break’ from February 9-26. The first team to announce their invitees was Team Canada.

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are two Bruins invited to try out for the Olympics. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

To no surprise, Patrice Bergeron made the cut along with fellow teammates Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand. Patrice Bergeron is no stranger when it comes to the Olympics, being a part of the gold medal team in 2010. He appeared in 7 games and registered a single assist. In addition to winning the gold in the last winter Olympics, Bergeron has also captured the gold in World Juniors, World Championship and the Spengler Cup.

Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand will be embarking on their first Olympic tryout for the first time of their careers. Lucic was invited to camp in 2010, but failed to make the final cut, whereas Marchand is embarking on his first invitation. Both forwards are coming off of great seasons, Marchand had team-high totals for the calendar 2013 season, while Lucic practically pushed the Bruins through the playoffs single-handed after struggling in the regular season. Newly signed Bruin Jarome Iginla did not make the invitation list, despite being a part of the 2010 Olympic gold medal team in 2010 along with Bergeron.

In addition to three of the teams’ best forwards trying out, the Bruins will also have team presence with Coach Claude Julien being named as part of the coaching staff for Team Canada as well as GM Peter Chiarelli being part of the management.

As Finland unveiled their roster, it should come as little surprise that Tuukka Rask got invited. Rask came off of a career-high season, leading his team to the Stanley Cup Finals and posting career-bests. He was among the top five goaltenders of the NHL all season long along with being a part of a Championship team (HC Plzen) which he played for during the lockout.

New to the Boston Bruins this season, after a blockbuster deal, Loui Eriksson will represent the black and gold for Team Sweden after being formally invited earlier this week.  Eriksson, like Bergeron, participated in the 2010 Olympics and registered 3 goals and an assist in 4 games played before his team was eliminated. He’s coming off of a decent season where he recorded 12 goals and 17 assists.

While Slovakia and the Czech Republic have yet to release their rosters, it is assumed that Zdeno Chara and David Krejci will be invited to represent Boston.

Jordan Caron Signs Extension

Today the Boston Bruins announced that they had reached an agreement with Jordan Caron concerning a one-year contract extension in the amount of $640,000.

Jordan Caron sticks around Boston with a one-way deal worth $640,000. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Caron was the Bruins first round draft pick in 2009 and has bounced back and forth between Providence and Boston throughout the course of the past three seasons.  In total he has suited up for 88 games in Boston, registering 11 goals and 14 assists, but that number will grow significantly this season. With Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin being dealt to Dallas in a blockbuster deal earlier this month, Caron could easily fill in the third line roster spot that previously belonged to #49 at a fraction of the cost than what Peverley was making. However, he’s going to have to prove himself.

While he has 25 points in his career with Boston, only 3 of those came from 17 games this season without a single appearance in the playoffs. The 22 year-old is coming off of his worst season yet and needs to find his game, fast if he plans on sticking around in the major league. Despite starting off with a hattrick in the opening weeks of the AHL season, he was otherwise quiet throughout the opening half of the baby Bruins season.   He struggled to find a natural scoring pace and a few weeks prior to the lockout ending, he injured his shoulder, knocking him out of the running for an open third line spot. One that, in the end, went to team mate Chris Bourque.

Caron was given a chance after Bourque failed to meet the expectations set for him, but still continued to struggle along with the rest of his line mates and found himself back down in Providence. It wouldn’t be until the Calder Cup Playoffs that he would seem to find a groove and contribute to the top scoring line of the postseason alongside Carter Camper and Craig Cunningham. Though they were eliminated in the second round against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, Caron tallied half of his regular season points in a 12-game span and was a major factor in the team advancing as far as they did.

This season, Caron is going to have to bring the fire and gumption he found at the tail end of last season into training camp and prove to CJ, Neely and the rest of the organization why he deserves his right wing spot. Worse case scenario he can be placed on waivers to head back to Providence and it won’t hurt the Bruins cap space. This contract is seemingly a win-win, low-risk with potential to succeed beyond expectations.

 

Boston Bruins Release 2013-2014 Preseason Schedule

Is it October Yet? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruins fans if you’re like me, then everyday you wake up wishing for October. The 2013-2014 hockey season is still a few months a way but thankfully today we have something to look forward too. Boston’s seven-game preseason schedule, along with a few other important days were released and we have them here for you now!

Rookies Rookies Rookies:
B’s rookie camp opens up on Tuesday, September 3rd at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington. As with most B’s camp, I can assume that part of this will be open the public. That weekend (Sept 6th through the 8th), the rookies will head down to Coral Springs Florida for a tournament. The roster of this camp will be released as the dates near closer.

The Boys are Back:
Training camp for the Black and Gold will kick off September 11th at the B’s practice rink in Wilmington. The days that will be open to the public should come out as the camp gets closer.

Preseason Games:
The Bruins will start their seven-game schedule on Monday, September 16th against our favorite Montreal Canadiens. Here’s the full rundown of the schedule including times and locations. Note that there’s two home games so for all you Boston locals it’s a chance to see the B’s before October.

Monday, September 16 (Montreal, QC) @Montreal Canadiens (Bell Centre, Montreal, QC, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Tuesday, September 17 (Baltimore, MD) @Washington Capitals (1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Thursday, September 19 (Boston, MA) vs. Detroit Red Wings (TD Garden, Boston, MA 7:00 p.m. ET)

Saturday, September 21 (Detroit, MI) @Detroit Red Wings (Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI 7:00 p.m. ET)

Monday, September 23 (Boston, MA) vs. Washington Capitals (TD Garden, Boston, MA 7:00 p.m. ET)

Thursday, September 26 (Winnipeg, MB) @Winnipeg Jets (MTS Center, Winnipeg, MA 7:00 p.m. CT, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Friday, September 27 (Saskatoon, SK) vs. Winnipeg Jets in Saskatoon (Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK 7:00 p.m. CT, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Note that this schedule is subject to change and if it does we’ll keep you updated!