Zolak & Bertrand: Were The Bruins Not Equipped With Enough Talent?
BOSTON (CBS) - 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand discussed the complications of the Bruins roster and whether it was even good enough to compete from the start.
The Bruins currently sit out of playoff position after losing to the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Thursday night. With the Bruins having to rely on the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators in order to have a shot at making a playoffs, most people never thought the Bruins would be in this position.
Some have settled on the fact that if the Bruins do in fact miss the playoffs, then it's time for general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien to start packing their bags. On the other hand, there are people who feel like the fault lies with the players.
But Scott Zolak feels the majority of this disappointing season falls on the hands of Chiarelli and Julien.
"If you love the combination of Chiarelli and Julien, then you're pretty much putting this on the players and not the coach and general manager. If you like the style and system and think that they're very successful, and if you look at the track record, there's some success there. But there is a reason why it has fallen apart," Zolak said.
After his team's disappointing loss last night in Sunrise, Claude Julien suggested to reporters that his roster is simply not where it was in previous seasons, and Zolak happens to agree.
"If you look at the last six weeks of the season, why has Ottawa found a way to crank it up and this team fall flat on their face? That comes down to team DNA. That's like with any sport. Teams that tank in the end or can't kick into its next gear, [that means] you don't have talent," said Zo. "So if this hockey season is such a disappointment, if you're a Julien or Chiarelli guy, then this is all on the players. But it's hard to put it on the players when they don't have depth."
In the last week of the season, Marc Bertrand has no idea where the Bruins stand at this point.
"We're only in the last week of the season and they haven't really established their identity yet. I'm not really sure what the hell they are. That's being honest, I don't know! I don't know what this team is, but I don't like it," Bertrand added.
Listen to the full segment:
