Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh

- Belichick's 5 rules of effective leadership

- Boston sports fans - love em!

- Ah Dougie Hamilton so glad the Bruins traded you

- Heh heh - footage of the MOAB

- Phrasing!

Dougie Hamilton

The Bruins beat Calgary last night 2-1 but it is Boston outcast Dougie Hamilton that is in everyone's thoughts. The guy didn't want to play in Boston and the Bruins front office shipped him out of town. It's that simple.

Too many Bruins fans overvalue Dougie Hamilton. Yes he was the 9th overall pick of the 2011 draft but the guy has less points this year than Torey Krug (27 to 30) and while Hamilton is a minus 11 in his 63 games Krug is a plus 7 in his icetime in the same number of games. Oh and did I mention Krug is making $2.1 million less than Hamilton?

The Bruins made the right movie shipping the turgid Hamilton out of town.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- If you are a Doctor Who fan - this is pretty cool.

- Godspeed in retirement Abby Wambach

- I know I shouldn't laugh at something like this because sexless Christian marriages are a problem and nothing is funny about the situation to the men (and women) who find themselves in such marriages but.... the part about having sex with your wife like she's Medusa (so you don't have to look at her face) had me laughing out loud.

- Shame on our Republic - A Million Homes Taken Since Kelo

- Very cool move by John Stockton

- The Dougie Hamilton trade is looking better and better for the Bruins

- Agincourt at 600

Bruins Offseason Moves

I fall into the camp of giving new Bruins GM Don Sweeney the benefit of the doubt. He's a Harvard educated guy who knows what it takes to make it in the NHL both from a skill point of view (over 1100 NHL games) and from a heart point of view (nobody played with more heart than Sweeney).

I was surprised as anyone by the trade that send Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for a 1st and two 2nd round picks. I didn't think that was enough and when I heard what he signed for - I wondered how come Boston didn't just offer similar money? Well it turns out the Bruins did make three offers of similar money and were rebuffed. And it is now clear that Hamilton didn't want to be here. Well in that case good riddance!

If the choices were waiting for a team to offer Hamilton an offer sheet and then matching it for a player who doesn't want to be here or not matching and instead maybe getting a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick next year in compensation and then being pilloried by the local media for being cheap - the third option of trading Hamilton as far away as possible makes perfect sense. Could be a case of addition by subtraction.

The Milan Lucic trade has been almost universally praised (Bill Burr being the exception it seems). The trade for Zac Rinaldo has been met with almost universal derision (although I haven't heard anyone who's played against Rinaldo chime in against the trade). Signing Adam McQuaid to his 4-year extension has been viewed as an over-pay but it gives the Bruins 5 out of their top 6 defensemen back for next season.

Boston still needs another defenseman, another forward and a back-up goalie. I trust Don Sweeney to put together the best possible roster with the restrictions he's inherited. This year's Bruins didn't make the playoff with Hamilton and Lucic. Let's see how next year's team does.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

There has to be more to the story behind why the Bruins traded Dougie Hamilton for such a small return... I love Sangria. At some point this summer I will be using this recipe... I like the word "turgid" but think it would be much more effective if it was spelled "turdgid"... The donut tent design actually looks pretty cool... If you were a hiring manager and your only two options were a guy with a large neck tattoo and a white guy with dreadlocks - who do you pick?... Meanwhile in Ireland... I wasn't aware that Michael Herr had a screenwriting credit on Full Metal Jacket. His book Dispatches is one of the best books you'll ever read on Vietnam... Who knew? Humans and giraffes actually have the same number of vertebrae... "Prohibited" means "not allowed". So does that mean "hibited" means "allowed"? I hope "hibited" is a word. I'll be very gruntled if it is...