Jacobs' First Act As CEO: Put Chiarelli On Notice
BOSTON (CBS) - Just like everyone was waiting for the Bruins to land their first shot on net against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday (and it took them 16 minutes, 55 seconds), again everyone was waiting for someone in power to make a loud and clear statement about the Bruins' atrocious play the past three games.
The Bruins' 2-1 shootout loss to the Hurricanes was the last defeat in their current 0-0-3 stretch. Too much answering for the Bruins' demise had been left to the players and coach Claude Julien before Tuesday.
Surprisingly, the loudest denouncement of the Bruins' play and clearest demand for a better performance, starting with a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, came from Charlie Jacobs on Tuesday.
Jacobs, the son of owner Jeremy Jacobs, has been the principal of the Bruins for several years and has always been part of the club's decision making process. But Tuesday he was named CEO of Delaware North's Boston holdings, including the Bruins, TD Garden and NESN. Although Jacobs described the Bruins' hierarchy as still being as flat as it's always been, it's clear Jacobs intends to exercise more authority while continuing to consult with president Cam Neely and general manager Peter Chiarelli.
Although Jacobs has the least hockey experience of the power trio he forms with Neely and Chiarelli, his words from the podium at his TD Garden press conference were a breath of fresh air. Neely and Chiarelli do the occasional media spots. With the team circling the drain of late, it seemed like a good time for one of them to hold court to assure the public that they're searching for solutions and to alert everyone within the organization they're accountable. Instead of Neely or Chiarelli, it was Jacobs on Tuesday who got onto a podium, spoke into a mic and expressed out loud to the masses what we've all been thinking about the Bruins' plight.
"I'd say without question this has been a very disappointing year," Jacobs said. "It's unacceptable the way this team's performed given the amount of time, money and effort that's been spent on this team. To see it deliver the way it has is unacceptable."
Jacobs wasn't done when he finished stating the obvious. He then put everyone on notice.
"I've had several meetings within the past 24 hours with really all of our senior leadership, and specifically with both Cam and Peter regarding our team. And at this moment and time, we are still evaluating where this club is at, where our shortcomings are," he said. "And this is going back to my consultative process of trying to really figure out amongst the group where we can right this ship."
Jacobs declined to give Neely, Chiarelli or anyone the dreaded "vote of confidence," which is probably a sign that they're safer in the jobs than Jacobs was leading us to believe. Nonetheless, something had to be said not just about how the on-ice product is performing but also how the front-office has been so slow to react. Jacobs, first and foremost, is looking to make money. He and ownership trusted Chiarelli and Neely, who earned the trust by delivering the 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. Nonetheless, that was four years ago and right now the Bruins are closer to the lottery than they are to the Stanley Cup finals based on their standing spot and the lack of heart the team has shown since becoming totally healthy.
Making trades and building teams is more difficult now than it's ever been with the salary cap leveling the playing field. Most teams are able to lock up their best players long-term and free agency is no longer a quick fix. Players signed to long-term deals are typically ones teams won't part with in trades unless they underperform so much no one wants them.
While one can sympathize with Chiarelli's predicament, especially considering his decision to go all-in last year and put his team in "cap jail" was hailed from all corners, the GM has sat on his hands too long. You start with the decision to not replace Jarome Iginla's 30 goals and then move on to the decision to trade top-four defenseman Johnny Boychuk days before the season started. Chiarelli and his staff misread his prospects' ability to fill in the gaps in the lineup and left Julien and his staff without enough time to prepare for life without Boychuk.
The Bruins have lost their identity as a team that's hard to play against and is resilient on and off the ice. It's true when Julien says that the Bruins have won with a team made up mostly of the players who are underperforming now. He believes this group can still get the job done. If Julien is right, maybe the character and play that helped the Bruins reach the Cup finals in 2013 and the Presidents' Trophy in 2013-14 needs to be coaxed out of the player. Julien spent the past two days of practice trying to get the Bruins to perform up to his standards by relaxing them and making hockey fun again.
Jacobs clearly wanted to send a different message. Julien expressed some fear that Jacobs' words might undo some of the coach's work in loosening the players up. But Jacobs' words really weren���t intended for the players. They were ticketed for the brass, and more than anyone Chiarelli.
Chiarelli has done some shuffling of players between Boston and Providence, often without using merit as a reason. He stopped short remaking the Bruins' fourth line, leaving Julien with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille to play like ghosts of their former selves on a nightly basis. And since dealing away Boychuk for draft picks in a move that would usually be made by a rebuilding team, Chiarelli hasn't made another trade.
Now I'm not saying that Chiarelli should've pulled the trigger on some core-shattering deal that would completely change the face of the team. But there are players beyond the Bruins' core who have been here a long time, and a lot of those players are underperforming. These players have been together a long time, and you get the idea from being around them and talking to them that they're comfortable and they really don't to risk their friendships by calling anyone out.
Chiarelli always says he doesn't make trades for the sake of making them. But sometimes that's a requirement of the job. A GM can call up another team that's inconsistent and underperforming (and there are several, especially in St. Louis and Colorado) and asks to swap bottom-six forwards or third-pair defensemen. The goal is not to change the face of the team. It's to change the faces on the team, bring in a different voice and put the players on notice. Chiarelli might've waited too long for something like this and this season could be lost.
That's why Jacobs spoke up Tuesday. More than anything he needs the Bruins to be in the playoffs. Those home playoff dates are crucial for the bottom line. And no one wants to spend to the cap and have the embarrassment of missing the playoffs. Jacobs obviously thinks there's time left to salvage the postseason and maybe make a run.
With Jacobs being the loudest voice of discontent, we now know that beyond the players and the coach, the general manager is also on the hot seat.
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