Bruins Stanley Cup hopes stung

And the Yankees are not a World Series team now or in the future

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a better start than it is for the Boston Bruins.

I do not know if Carter Verhaeghe’s name will rank up there with that of Bucky Dent’s in Boston sports history, but when the puck he slapped slid under goalie Jeremy Swayman at 8:35 in OT on Sunday night to snap a 3-3 tie, it was like a dagger to the heart of Boston fans, much like another object hit by Dent landed in another net 45 years ago. The Boston Bruins, supposedly enroute to another Stanley Cup title, had been stymied in the first round.

On Monday, the Boston sports media was in a solumn mood, despondent over this shocking finish. It was not supposed to be this way. The Bruins had canned fan favorite Bruce Cassidy, for supposedly being unable to deal with today’s players, and replaced him with Jim Montgomery as coach. It appeared to be a brilliant move, as the team established a new NHL record with most wins (65) and points (135) in a season. Owners of the number one seed, the B’s were destined to make shortorder of the 16th-seed Florida Panthers. When they went up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, it was only a matter time before Round Two got underway on Causeway St. Somebody, however, forgot to tell the Panthers, coached by Paul Maurice, the last coach of the Hartford Whalers.

Perhaps Maurice reminded his players about that long ago trip up I-84 between Hartford and Boston and a rivalry of a bygone era. Whatever, Florida produced what appeared to be a blip on the screen with a Game 5 win in Boston. Concern started to creep in among the Boston faithful, however, when the Panthers won a thrilling, 7-5 win in Game 6 at their arena in Sunrise, FL.

As it turned out, the sun would set on the Bruins in Game 7. With under one minute in regulation, the Panthers tied the game, after Maurice pulled his goalie, giving Florida an extra man on the attack. That set the stage for Verhaeghe’s heartbreaker.

As for Montgomery, the post-mortem has begun in Beantown. Should he have gone to Swayman earlier in the series, when Linus Ullmark started to show cracks in his game? Was he making too many changes in his lines, rather than sticking with a more consistent approach?

And if you’re wondering, Cassidy is now the coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. They will be hosting Edmonton in Game 1 of the Round 2 Western Conference playoffs on Wednesday night.

Speaking of hockey

What is interesting about the NHL is how the league is proving expansion is not a roadblock for a new team to wait years, before having an impact. If you remember, the Golden Knights made it to the Stanley Cup finals in their first season, before losing to Washington. Now the Seattle Kraken, in their second season, have advanced to Round 2 in the west against Dallas, after bumping off defending champion Colorado in Game 7, 2-1, on Sunday.

When other sports decide to expand - MLB will be next - they might want to study how the NHL has managed to make its expansion blueprint work for the new teams.

The Yankees are in trouble

The New York Yankees are supposed to be the signature team in baseball. They have, after all, won more World Series (27) than any club. I think it is safe to write the Yankees have only their history to fall back on these days. This might not be the post-1964 Yankees, who collapsed after winning five straight pennants and two World Series, but there is no question the ball club is in deep do-do.

Entering May the Yankees were eight games out of first place. That is the most games they have been out of first, starting that month, since 1984, when they were 8-13 and 10 1/2 games out under Yogi Berra, who was launching his second stint as the Bombers’ manager. Prior to that, the disasterous 1966 club (which finished last) entered May nine games back with a 3-11 record.

Of course, Yankees diehards are blaming the club’s 15-14 start through April on injuries. Have injuries been a factor? Yes. The problem is, injuries have become a major factor with the Yankees, season after season. In other words, it is more than just bad luck.

Yes, the Yankees two big bats, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, are sidelined with injuries. Except, outside of last year, when Judge managed to avoid injury, he and Stanton have always missed considerable time with injuries. The reality is, even if those two were healthy, the Yankees would still be a flawed club. Their starting rotation, even when healthy, is inconsistent, the bullpen is suspect and the prospects they have called up are mediocre at best. From my perspective, that includes the much-hyped Anthony Volpe, whom scouts love, but who is not exactly setting the league on fire in the early going. In other words, Volpe may have a bright future at shortstop, but at the moment, he is not reminding anybody of his idol Derek Jeter.

Under Brian Cashman, in his 26th year as GM, the club has made one disasterous signing and trade after another. Still, he maintains his job, finding cover with a diluted playoff structure that enables pedestrian clubs like the Yankees to make the post season most years. However, advancing to the playoffs does not cut it with Yankees Universe, which knows only one thing, World Championships.

The New York Yankees have won just one World Series since 2001. That equals the same number won by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals and Kansas City Royals, among others. Repeat: one World Series title with one of the sport’s highest payrolls. According to the “experts,” their farm system supposedly has top-notch prospects, but I don’t see it.

Having broadcast games for years, involving their AA club, I can relate that the Yankees are great at hyping their prospects. Outside of Robinson Cano, however, I have never seen a Yankees prospect that had that “Wow” factor, such as a Pete Alonso, Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, Oneil Cruz or Rafael Devers, just to name a few. Pitcher Deivi Garcia, for example, was going to be their next great starter. After stumbling badly at the major league level, he is trying to make it as a reliever, toiling at AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Luis Severino was another cannot-miss pitcher. He has been sidelined since spring training with an injury, after missing much of the last two years with injuries and Tommy John surgery. Or has it been three years? After awhile, you start to lose track.

Will the Yankees turn it around? Perhaps. With baseball’s watered-down playoff system, they could very well be playing in October again. That might satisfy ownership; just don’t expect the fanbase to be exuberant. In reality, under the current regime, roster composition and farm system, there is not a World Series title in the Yankees future this season or beyond. It could very well be that Judge, signed to the most expensive contract in Yankees history, will join Don Mattingly, another Yankees great, in never earning a World Series ring.

That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.

SPORTSCASTER DAN