Felger & Mazz: Who's To Blame For Bruins Downfall Since Cup Run?
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup just five years ago, but now that night feels like a distant memory.
Since making it back to the Cup Finals in 2013, the Bruins have gradually dismantled the roster that hoisted the Cup in Vancouver on June 15, 2011, leaving little more than aging core players without an effective support system. As a result, the Bruins have missed the playoffs for two straight seasons and their once-dominant defensive corps has become a shell of itself through attrition and physical decline.
Felger & Massarotti opened Wednesday's program discussing the state of the Bruins on the five-year anniversary of winning the Stanley Cup. Michael Felger asked who is most to blame for the team's downfall, and to Tony Massarotti the answer is simple: bad roster management from the front office - namely, from former GM Peter Chiarelli and team president Cam Neely.
"They made bad management decisions that ultimately delivered them to a place where they had to deconstruct a team that was short on talent to begin with," said Massarotti.
Felger took a big-picture view of what the 2010-11 Bruins really were and what the team could have done. To him, the Bruins didn't squander a team with generational, dynastic potential - they were never that good to begin with.
"[The 2010-11 Bruins] were a very good team, but they weren't a great team," said Felger. "When I look back on it, and I look at some of the other teams of this era, I do not think the Bruins stack up with the Blackhawks, or the Kings ... I think they may have had a chance to be that kind of team if they had hit and stuck with Seguin and Hamilton and those draft picks came through."
Felger also listed the Bruins' many draft busts as part of their breakdown. Listen to the full podcast below:
