Haggerty On Toucher & Rich: Disconnect Between Bruins GM And Coach
BOSTON (CBS) - The 2015 NHL playoff matchups are set, and none of them include the Boston Bruins. The Bruins ended the season on a three-game losing streak and subsequently played themselves out of a Eastern Conference wild card spot.
Joe Haggerty of Comcast SportsNet New England joined Toucher & Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub to discuss problems the team must address in the offseason, starting with the disconnect between general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien.
Just one week ago, the Bruins were winners of five straight and held a three-point lead in the Eastern Conference wild card standings. Fast forward seven days and the only game the B's have to look forward to is golf.
"I think behind closed doors, certainly there's been some back and forth between the coach and the GM and a disconnect this year," said Haggerty.
Missing the postseason for the first time in eight years, the 41-27-14 Bruins were inconsistent and unorganized from top to bottom all season long.
Haggerty noted that early in the season coach Julien was unhappy with management decisions regarding the roster.
"[Head coach] Claude Julien talked about how the roster isn't as good as the teams in the past and they're trying to work with young kids and players that are underachieving. That's not something you heard in the past. It was always a unified front," said Haggerty.
After parting ways with Jarome Iginla and Shawn Thornton last offseason, the B's spent the 2014-15 campaign dealing with a multitude of injuries while tweaking the roster all year long. The team ultimately never came together as a cohesive unit.
"I do think there's a little bit of a philosophy difference being at odds between what [Bruins president] Cam [Neely] wants and certainly the bedrock of what [head coach] Claude Julien believes," said Haggerty. "One side wants certain things and the other side is slow to change in some ways."
Listen below for the full conversation:
