The 2011-2012 Boston Bruins season is presented by the Massachusetts State Lottery.
Maybe that is the chief reason why things are not going as well as planned in this "Stanley Cup Defending Champion mode" type of year? It's been a roller-coaster type of ride instead: starting slow, going up to the top again before it fell flat again.
At blogging time, it is one of those valleys again - but we shall not fear as we travel through the valley of death, right? WE BELIEVE!
Truth be told, things were not always going perfectly on the actual, eventual Championship season either... And I haven't the foggiest idea who or what entity was officially "presenting" us with that one...!
I never paid any attention to those things - because, to me, as it is for coach Julien, it is the players' effort that mattered. And year in, year out, whether it was a good year or a rather mediocre one (though true mediocrity was hard to find in the Boston Bruins' camp in the last 40-odd years: they made the playoffs in the great majority of them and were true top contenders in a cyclical and extremely respectable period of five years - consistency was thus to be found throughout the "valley" in-between two Stanley Cup titles, basically! There never was anything to be ashamed of in Bruins Nation not even when they had forwards named Roy and missed the playoffs for an extremely rare occasion by the same occasion... But we are digressing.)
The team always gave a decent effort, therefore, even on those rare seasons in which their record was not good enough to qualify for the "Big Dance"... The team was always battling, against all comers. The team was a true TEAM - and even more than that, the Boston Bruins have always been like a fraternity, like a family. Red Sox outfielder Youkilis said that there was such a thing as a "Boston fraternity" uniting all athletes of the region, be they footballers, knuckleballers or apt to shoot hoops. Well, before that, even, there was the Boston Bruins family uniting all generations of hockey players to ever don the black & gold of the team, from Eddie Shore & Léo Labine to Milan Lucic & Brad Marchand!
It is not in itself bad that the MSL is sponsoring the Bruins' season, of course.
Americans always have had these sponsorship deals - one has to accept it as part of the game, almost... It used to be worse - much worse. Television shows in the early days of the medium were literally prisoners of their sponsors and had to accommodate them, often making a plethora of changes to their scheduled shows (usually live broadcasts) at the very last minute, not to "hurt the image" of the sponsor in any shape or form. The Boston Bruins do not have to change a thing about their "show" - they just have to perform. If anything, it is the MSL that is having some sort of effect on the team: making victory or defeat come as it does to any sort of gamblers - through mere luck. And, in today's NHL, where parity reigns and there is virtually no difference between teams, save rare exceptions (teams such as that Original Six team from a French town somewhere north of the border comes to mind: it's them and the team in Columbus that suck royally these days. Aside from that, the rest of the league is pretty equal and anybody can beat anybody else on any given day - almost!) sheer luck is, therefore, a major factor every time out.
Nowadays, a sports team owes nearly as much to their sponsors as they do to actual ownership or the fans. It probably makes complete sense that it is that way, too.
That is why one can never escape the "brought to you by..." messages - ever!
But why in blue blazes did it have to be the State Lottery? It may have jinxed the proceedings beyond repair already (lest it is me who has just done that, by inferring all that at all!) for the odds of winning are always dismal with any given lottery - don't they know that? So why have the State Lottery pass on this nefarious bug to the B's here - especially as they had everything (including Lady Luck - that bitch!) going their way just months ago, really (in June of 2011, of course!) and the odds of winning were, hence, totally fine? If this is not the jinxing factor, what is - the visit at Barack's baraque blanche there? What else can we suspect...?
The team just had a dismal month of February - just as they had a terrible month of October, to kick off the season and the defense of their title, both. In-between, they were invincible, ascending from last place to first in the East and overall even if only for a few weeks... The Boston Bruins have since seen the Canucks, Red Wings and Rangers surpass them in points totals and the likes of the Sharks and Senators come dangerously close to do so, too. Other hated rivals such as the Flyers and Lightning are not far behind at all either. For some inexplicable and totally illogical reason, the Bruins were unable to defeat the pathetic Carolina Hurricanes this season, not even a single time, in four confrontations this season. The good news is, of course, that these pathetic Canes will not even be in the playoffs - and nor will other perennial foes. But who cares about those, as the slate is already full and the championship defence is going to be extremely difficult as it stands right now...
At the deepest of the current valley the team is skating through, additions made to the team are rather discrete and valueless, really: two more defensemen and... Brian Rolston. BRIAN ROLSTON? He was one of the greatest disappointments of the resurging Boston Bruins of the early turn of the century, back when they were contending again under the so-called leadership of Joe Thornton, Mike Knuble, Jason Allison, Bill Guerin, Anson Carter and Glen Murray. Oh, did I forget Martin Lapointe? How could I have: the only biggest disappointment than Rolston was ML! But let's not get into that depressing stuff now - truly, let's NOT.
Alas, GM Peter Chiarelli forced all of the Bruins fanbase to relive those atrocious times: those of the Mike O'Connell regime, the guy he was hired to replace and mend the bodywork of. By recuperating a washed-up Rolston, and through trade to boot, Chiarelli totally wiped off anyone's mind the impression that he might be, indeed, some kind of genius at putting together a winning team. Compared to last year's additions of gutsy elements such as Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley around the same trade deadline, this year's additions are totally devoid of sense. Or impact.
Rolston had good numbers ten years ago but now, to think that he might somehow partially fill the void left by an injured Nathan Horton is pure folly. At best, his experience might have him serve some sort of defensive role on the team: but what good can that be when the team needs a clutch goal late in a game? Of course Kelly, Peverley, Seguin, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Lucic and Caron are all there to deliver those - but, lately, it hasn't come as easily as it had. Recchi is sorely missed at those times - and he is not going to be replaced by Rolston either.
And to think that the organization could have simply claimed B.R. off waivers - and didn't. They then saw only him available, along with defenseman Mottau, from the lowly NY Islanders, and had to trade for both, losing two prospects in order to acquire two temporary assets, one of them way over-the-hill and previously available - for free! Nope - Chiarelli ain't no genius after all. No one is! P.C. hasn't got a computer as a brain: he merely has more luck than his predecessor had...
Luck has deserted Boston lately, though: the Celtics have their leprechaun truly scrambling for his pot of gold these days... The same problem exists there, even heightened: as their three top players are slumping almost as bad as Rolston, and they are the same age too... The Patriots failed to go all the way again, against the execrable Giants again. To top that in the saddest of ways, a mere few days after the heartbreaking loss, quarterback Tom Brady's lifelong coach died. The Patriots have a great team, but these two devastations may be too much to overcome, next season... A collapse like the Red Sox went through just last season could well be in the cards for the Pats as well: and as for the former, here, the loss of several players can only indicate that Red Sox Nation will be suffering some more, as they used to regularly, pre-2004...
Maybe the Bostonian Dreaming can only be indulged in in times of difficulties indeed?
So... Who was "presenting" us with that greatest of recent seasons to remember, again, last year, when the Boston Bruins ended the season in brilliant fashion by simply winning it all?
Oh - it was probably Bob's Discount Furniture Store - again!
Let's stick with Bob, I say: for the odds of him jinxing the team are rather low!
:-!
