Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
I find all this talk of Boston being one of the big tough teams hard to understand. They're not especially big or tough. Let's look at the core of the roster that want to the finals last year.
Chara
Lucic
Definitely big, tough guys. After that?
Bergeron
Krejci
Marchand
Seguin
Seidenberg
In recent years you could also include Kessel and Savard in that group. Not exactly the 74 Flyers. Even the depth players aren't especially big or tough. Peverly, Campbell, Ference, Kelly, Paille. Now they have Krug and Erikkson, and an Iginla who is a perimeter player. They definitely have a roster full of guys who play a strong two-way game. But that's a different thing entirely from the 'black and blue' roster that Burke is advocating.
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Is that much different than the Anaheim team he built that won the cup?
Sure Pronger and maybe Getzlaf and Perry are black and blue but Penner (big but soft), Kunitz, Selanne, MacDonald, Niedermayer, Pahlsson aren't big tough guys.
There were a few on the bottom lines but in terms of the top 9/top 4 they look fairly similar to the Bruins in that they have some big bodies but also a lot of skilled softer players as well.
The current TO team has a lot of skill and isn't a ton of big, dumb, bruiser as well.
Vancouver had a team built around guys like Naslund, Morrison, Ohlund, Jovo, the Sisters, Linden. Not exactly huge behemoth bruisers.