Where is Stock Rocks?? He's gonna laugh when he reads this. Berard (and Laidlaw) were so caught up in their own world that they failed to pull their head out of the sand and take a look at reality. Berard was only a mediocre defenseman last season and the offer the B's put forth was completely fair. He shoulda taken it and ensured a spot on the team. Instead, he/they wanted to hold out for the big bucks even though the tell-tale signs were all over that the market had changed.
If he doesn't sign on with the B's, he'll hook up with someone else. It's just a matter of when and how little...
I still think the Bruins should sign him though. They are mostly void of the quick transitioning skills that come with Berards first pass and puck carrying ability. No defenseman on the roster can skate out like he can. You can't underestimate the dimension that a talented, balanced defense can have on a game.
I would like to see Berard back but find it all amusing- his agent is one week late as far as I'm concerned; he needed the last 2 exhibition games and if MOC told him last week "sign now or hasta la vista" then good for MOC. To be honest, I think the transition game takes a back seat to having 6 guys make sure Potvin/Raycroft sees one shot and out. I wouldn't be suprised if the discussed Berard's actual defense and figured "yah know, maybe its better to give up what he brings to the table offensively and just go with the other 6", I'd like him to play PP point but Jillson should be fine.
All in all I can live with this- the agent overplayed his hand it appears.
I'm good enough with the B's PP and some of the offense they can generate from Jillson, Boynton, McGillis, O'Donnell and Rolston (PP). I think they have nominal skill and they are not without some element of attack on the blueline.
The concern I have is with their ability to transition and get the puck up the ice quickly. They may be able to execute a first pass, but as a group, they don't excel here and their swift puck carrying ability is minimal. Not only could this effect the team as the try to quickly capitalize on opportunities to move the puck up ice, but it may effect their ability to defend against fast-moving forecheckers bearing down on them.
I also wonder how effective the defensemen will be at moving up into the play to create added offense. Those 4/5th man in plays can be the difference in these low scoring games. Some guys will be able to swing down, eg Jillson and Boynton, but without speed, as a group the defensemen will have to be reliant on carefully reading the play and making good decisions. Fortunately, Sullivan is stressing good decision making all the time. Still, there's only so much you can do with your limitations.
Anyhow, I'm not a big Berard booster, but the element of speed, quickness and puck skill is largely void now that he and Girard are gone. Jillson can fill some of the void, but expectations have to be low with him being a rookie and all. Time will tell, but I see this as being a fundamental weakness.
Where is Stock Rocks?? He's gonna laugh when he reads this. Berard (and Laidlaw) were so caught up in their own world that they failed to pull their head out of the sand and take a look at reality.
Not much of a surprise here, I guess.
Berard had a fair offer for an entire month, but chose not to even make an attempt to settle AND GET INTO CAMP WITH ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE SEASON!!!
The team owes Berard nothing. They gave him more than a 100% raise at TWO guaranteed years, yet instead of making good on that offer, he ELECTED to sit at home instead of putting himself in the best possible position to come in and contribute positively. This is all about choices, and before the Berard apologists start whining about what happened in arbitration, they should best remember that the Bruins stepped up and offered him DOUBLE what he made last year. For a guy whose contributions were largely on the stat sheet, but who made a ton of terrible mistakes that cost his team last season, that's a MORE than FAIR amount of compensation. Spare us the victim routine, please.
Why should the Bruins sign him now? Without having had the benefit of camp and preseason, he is OUT OF SHAPE and his TIMING will be off. Can the Bruins afford to let him play his way into shape, KNOWING full well that he plays a mistake-prone brand of hockey to begin with?
DKH said it best- Berard and Laidlaw gambled that Jillson would perform poorly, that Girard's absence would force the B's to panic thereby upping the ante, and that Jurcina wouldn't look close to being ready. That didn't happen, so on the eve of the new season, with no more games by which to get prepared to be the best possible player at that position, Laidlaw comes back to the table and wants to get his client a piece of the action.
Screw off, Berard, you OVERRATED never-was!
You had your chance to sign for a two-year guaranteed contract, but it wasn't enough. You only have YOURSELF to blame for this one. When you sign for a lot less than what was offered you by the Bruins in another month or so, the first thing you should do is FIRE Tom Laidlaw for giving you crappy advice. Just go ahead and stamp "stupid" on your forhead- you missed out on TWO years of guaranteed $$$ at TWICE what you made last year. How do you spell chump?
Kind of an extreme reaction to Berard, I'd say. While, as always, he has some culpability with this situation, I'm sure the agent helped lead things to where they are. Given his unusual money/medical situation, can you really blame him for trying to get as much as he can?
At any rate, I'm sorry to see him go. I'd rather have him around than Moran. While Berard has struggled to become a solid NHL defenseman, it is still true that his talent level is beyond that of most players. I would still love to see what a really top notch coach could do with his raw abilities.
Given his unusual money/medical situation, can you really blame him for trying to get as much as he can? .
With all due respect, that's the typical one-way street excuse that let's these guys off the hook every time. Do you use the same reasoning when management doesn't sign players because they are trying to manage their payroll? If management doesn't fork over the dough, they are at fault, but when Berard blows any chance he had of practicing and getting himself into proper playing shape, he isn't at fault? I see a real double standard in your reasoning there.
Let's suppose that you have an employee who is renegotiating a new contract. You give him an offer for a 100% raise because he is a productive employee and want to retain him, just not at what he wants. You have an important presentation to a prospective client coming up and you need this employee to help put together the proposal and everything that goes with securing a contract on a high dollar account. As the time continues to draw nearer to that presentation, when he could be at work preparing for the presentation, he's at home, mulling your offer and telling you he'll get back to you.
Then, on the eve of the presentation, he calls you and tells you he's ready to come to work. Other employees have stepped up in his absence and are ready to go forward for your company.
Now, does it make sense to bring this guy in cold, when others have shown they can get the job done, all the while he didn't think enough of the mission to come to an agreement when there was time and he could've come back to set the conditions for success?
I don't think I'm being harsh at all. There is a lot of demand for accountability around here, and it always is aimed at Mike O'Connell and the Bruins. Where is the demand for accountability for a player who COULD HAVE signed a week ago and at least gotten in 1-2 preseason games. Instead, he waits until he has NO OFFERS from anyone else and then shows up late to the party, pretty much taking the offer as a last resort.
Bravo to the Bruins for telling Berard to pound sand. He was offered twice what he made last year and it wasn't enough. What did he think? That teams were lining up for his services? Instead, he waited until there was no more time for HIM to give the Bruins the chance to get a Bryan Berard who is at the top of his game and in the proper shape to begin the season.
And let's say the Bruins did take him back? And then we, the fans, had to watch while Berard made mistakes that cost his team games in the early going because he was rusty and not ready to compete at a high level? Then what? Would the fans be blaming Berard for his incompetence and poor conditioning? Probably not- they'd be blaming O'Connell for signing a guy who couldn't even be bothered to make a decision in enough time to get to camp.
Is he entitled to get as much as he can? Sure. But how much is enough? He made 850k last year. The Bruins offered him $1.7M per for not one, but two years. How much is enough? And enough with that medical condition crap, please. Now, he gets zero money. He won't make any $$$ until someone signs him. When is that going to be? And is anyone going to pony up a lot of money now that the Bruins have said no? Chances are, he'll make closer to what he did last year, and he won't get any of the money back he's missing out on.
Smooth move, Bryan. Makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I just don't understand the double standard around here. The player was given about 45 days to make a decision and didn't. Too bad, so sad. I really believe in my heart of hearts that Berard is overrated. Could we use his speed? Certainly. Is he going to make the Boston defense significantly better than it is now? I don't believe so. And by turning down Boston's generous offer, he should now call Byron Dafoe and ask him what it feels like to shoot yourself in the foot, because that's essentially what he and his agent did.
i realize that we have only the rights to match, but if they dont offer above that dollar amount, we could realistically match and screw toronto's plans over. if they want him for under that amount, couldnt we squeak a draft pick or prospect out of them for that?
i realize that we have only the rights to match, but if they dont offer above that dollar amount, we could realistically match and screw toronto's plans over. if they want him for under that amount, couldnt we squeak a draft pick or prospect out of them for that?
Couldn't the B's sign Berard to a lower contract, then trade him to the Leafs?
I do think his situation is a little exceptional compared to that of the random pro athlete, due to the insurance money issue. If I'm not mistaken, he has to pay back a lot of money, with a serious lump sum due.
But the team dynamics you are talking about are valid issues and I'm not protesting the way that O'Connell handled this thing. I just think the result is unfortunate all around.
I do think his situation is a little exceptional compared to that of the random pro athlete, due to the insurance money issue. If I'm not mistaken, he has to pay back a lot of money, with a serious lump sum due.
But the team dynamics you are talking about are valid issues and I'm not protesting the way that O'Connell handled this thing. I just think the result is unfortunate all around.
It is unfortunate for a guy in his situation. His agent should be kick out the door by Berard for not realitically looking out for his clients best interest......a paycheck.
I feel bad for the guy too, but he was offered a substancial raise by the B's and I don't see anyone topping it. Too bad all around...
i realize that we have only the rights to match, but if they dont offer above that dollar amount, we could realistically match and screw toronto's plans over. if they want him for under that amount, couldnt we squeak a draft pick or prospect out of them for that?
Well, yes- I suppose so, but why wouldn't they have signed him already if they were going to do that? Why wait? I just can't see any team having an interest in Berard right now. That will probably change, but for now, he gets nothing. Kind of hard to pay off a settlement when you don't have any cash coming in... This is a monumental blunder by Tom Laidlaw and will probably cost him his client in the end.
Berard will sign somewhere eventually, because some team is going to have a major injury and open up a need for someone of Berard's experience. And when they do sign him, it will be for shorter money than he got from the B's, and then they can still match if need be. Money is tight for teams these days, and why is anyone going to shell out $2M-plus for damaged goods AND a guy who missed all of camp and the preseason? It could happen, but honestly- if you were willing to go that route with Berard, then you would've done it in August, not October.
But my vitriol is directed at Berard and his agent for good reason- they had ample opportunity to realize that the offers weren't forthcoming and agree to terms on what is a very generous offer- only 700k away from the original arbitration figure. I could understand Berard's position if the Bruins were pulling the old 10% raise from 850k, but they didn't do that. After walking away in arbitration, they stepped up to the plate and gave him what was IMO- far more than what he's worth. He wanted more, but got burned. This is an object lesson in the old "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" saying. I understood his holding out UNTIL we got into the last couple of weeks of camp. It was at that time that Berard should've stepped up and agreed to the offer so that he could do his part to be in shape and ready to start the season. He had to know that he was going to be rusty and not conditioned by missing all of camp...so my question is- what did he and Laidlaw expect?
Bad, bad advice from agent. And bad judgment from Berard. It's entirely possible that he was angry at the B's for what happened and didn't want to sign. But he now looks like the a-hole for crawling back to the table after the fact.
For now, he rolled the dice...and came up snake eyes.
It would not be the first time that a player's ego got in the way with the Bruins. While I still regret the loss of Allison, I have always said that he is partly to blame for what happened. Jason was very hung up on the contract conveying him the respect and star status he believed he was due. When it didn't happen easily that way, I think he dug in his heals and acted rashly. Berard probably carries some of the same baggage. He is a talent, he was maligned in Boston last year - he is probably having a hard time accepting his journeyman status, which is kind of where he is heading.
Until we get the full details of whey Berard did not sign, let's not throw too many stones... The guy may not be a stellar D-man but he gave up mucho dinero to play again knowing the risks and rewards - he obviously has a lot of charater and desire and is certainly kicking himself as he watches the games on TV...
Yes, he played the market incorrectly and his agent obviously is working off a different hymn sheet than the rest of planet earth but that doesn't mean we have to villify him (only his agent ;-)
Best of luck to him to sign with someone else - I guess $1M or less now that he doesn't have a choice but to make some money to pay off his insurance.
What I sincerely hope however is that he has better financial counselors than his agent - if not that spells trouble for not only his immediate future as an athlete, but the rest of his life.
Until we get the full details of whey Berard did not sign, let's not throw too many stones... The guy may not be a stellar D-man but he gave up mucho dinero to play again knowing the risks and rewards - he obviously has a lot of charater and desire and is certainly kicking himself as he watches the games on TV...
Yes, he played the market incorrectly and his agent obviously is working off a different hymn sheet than the rest of planet earth but that doesn't mean we have to villify him (only his agent ;-)
Good point, but at the same time- is Berard not an adult?
Is he not capable of telling his agent to make the deal and forget the plan of trying to wait out and extract more?
Sorry- it's all about accountability here, and once again- the intial reaction is to give the player a free pass because he's trying to pay off an insurance settlement. Hogwash. He has had almost two full months to read the market, realize that the clock was ticking and nobody was biting. He waited too long, and has his part to play in this.
There are many examples of players telling agents to cease the hardline stance and agree to a contract proposal because they want to get in and play. Without knowing the facts I can also say with 100% certainty that Berard COULD have done the same, but gambled.
Now- he deserves a lot of credit for coming back- that isn't the issue here. What is the issue is: how on earth do you risk losing $1.8M guaranteed when there is only a delta of 700k between what you agreed upon in the first place?
We are so quick to justify and defend players around here. This time- it is pretty obvious that Berard has just as much culpability for this as his agent does. A "call O'Connell and agree to the offer" order made last week could've avoided this. Now, he's a man without a team and not ready to play.
You're right 100% on him taking his share of responsibility. I'm not looking to make amends for his decisions, just suggesting that we don't know all the details - did he have a tentative offer from another team, what was his agent saying, etc.
Yeah, very dumb move on his part, and absolutely he should have forced his agent to get the deal done @ the offering price - very good for a 1 dimensional D man - especially guaranteed 2 years income.
Finally, you are right on the stance that the players get off too easy on this - if they want the big $$$ they should show some loyalty and dedication to their team & teammates by getting into camp and getting under contract. The problem however is that there seems to be no loyalty to teams or teammates anymore - just guys out there working for a paycheck.
>> The problem however is that there seems to be no loyalty to teams or teammates anymore - just guys out there working for a paycheck
It's a product of the current contract system. Too many players make "too much money." If they don't perform at or above expectations, they are fair game. Berard - while I like him - is not worth $2.5M or even $2M, I suppose. This just perpetuates his itinterant status. Because he's a name player, he is pushing the envelope of what he is worth. If Berard cost the Bruins $1.2M and quietly got his contract taken care of and stuck around here a few years and focused on improving his game - who would complain? Instead, he's a poster child for that category of player who burdens the team with contract headaches that exceed the return. Nobody wins in that scenario.
It'd be nice to see players stick with teams longer than they currently seem to on average. Maybe a new CBA will help get back to that.
>>
It's a product of the current contract system. Too many players make "too much money." If they don't perform at or above expectations, they are fair game. Berard - while I like him - is not worth $2.5M or even $2M, I suppose. This just perpetuates his itinterant status. Because he's a name player, he is pushing the envelope of what he is worth.
It'd be nice to see players stick with teams longer than they currently seem to on average. Maybe a new CBA will help get back to that.
to take this one step further, if berard would've signed a few weeks ago, is travis green a bruin? if the answer is no, then i'm happy that berard isn't back. i still think there's room for the guy, but agree wholeheartedly with stocker- bryan had ample time to accept the offer, but i guess it wasn't good enough. stupid move by laidlaw and berard- simple as that.
You people know that Berards "payout" from his eye injury is due back in full? I think Berard was more looking to minimize the damage to his personal fiscal situation than he was doing something bad. Anyone of us would do exactly the same thing. He is in for 6.6 mill, and its only logical that he would try to get back as much as he possibly could.
I would seriously doubt it has anything to do with ego, years of contract or anything other than the fact that he has to pay back said insurance company.
