Bruins DieHard: B's New GM Must Bring Fresh Perspective To Job
BOSTON (CBS) -- Enough already!
As a lot of people like to say, let's think about the entire body of work. That work being that of the recently fired former general manager of the Boston Bruins, Peter Chiarelli. During his nine-year tenure, the Boston Bruins have won a Stanley Cup and made it to the Final another time. They've also been eliminated in the second round three times, once when they had a 3-0 series lead and another having a 3-2 series lead. The were also dispatched twice in the first round, while not qualifying for the second season twice, including this year -- which ultimately led to his dismissal.
There have been countless writers/bloggers/talking heads saying the Bruins were wrong in letting Chiarelli go and the matter in which Bruins president Cam Neely and CEO Charlie Jacobs decided to make that move. And there are just as many people saying that he needed to go and that Coach Claude Julien should be right behind him.
Personally, I have never been an advocate for anyone losing their job except Dave Lewis, which brings me to whether I think the Bruins did the right thing. Yes, I think it was time for a change. However, was it the right change and should another head roll? Let me try to explain without being too wishy-washy.
I think both the coach and the GM had a shelf life, like with any job in any professional sports entity. And since the quote issued by Chiarelli a few years ago saying that as long as he is here, "Julien would be his coach," guess who would be first in line to take the bullet. Ever since June 15, 2011, both Chiarelli and Julien were given a lifeline and it seemed they were living off what happened that year. The team almost did it again two years later, but did they really have what it takes after that to get back to that competitiveness they had a few years ago? That is the crux of the firing. At least one of the reasons. The cap issues, and more importantly, depth and drafting, were critical parts of the Bruins' decision.
The team has become stagnant the last two seasons. Not progressing, not scoring, no identity, cannot beat their major rival, unhappy fan base. And in Chiarelli's final press conference, his quote "business as usual" was probably the final nail in Chiarelli's coffin.
So yes, relieving him of his duties is a good thing, at least a start. The next GM has to have fresh ideas and keep some of the Bruins philosophy. He will need to add someone who can score at will and some really good complementary players to go along with said scorer should they get one. And no -- I do not want to see a Don Sweeney or Mike Milbury. The Bruins and their fans deserve something other than the same old thing.
Oh, and the complaining that Neely hasn't the stones to fire Julien is hogwash. Just remember -- when Chiarelli was hired, Mike Sullivan was the coach and he was let go by the new GM.
Ric Duarte has covered hockey and the Bruins for various media outlets since 1986. You can follow Ric at BruinsDieHard.com and on Twitter @bruins_diehard.
