I was glad to see him pardon his candor for that question.


 i thought i heard a little "yes, mmble mumble".. im not sure..


I think neely was a little frustrated after the buffalo loss and now he has to tiptoe through the tulips for the next few interviews until things get straightened out.

There was too much What the bruins need to do, and not enough How the bruins are gonna do it.

Maybe the beef at practice will start stirring the pot.

http://www.thebruinsblog.net/2010/12/21/poll-result-no-question-about-who-readers-blame-for-bruins-problems/#more-12535

"Today on his weekly interview with the Felger and Mazz show on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Bruins President Cam Neely tried to not sound like he was anywhere but behind head coach Claude Julien. However, after talking about the team’s mindset and inability to get off to better starts in games, Neely was asked point-blank: is Julien’s job is safe.

“Yeah,” he replied, “but everybody’s accountable. We’ve got expectations we all want to meet from the top on down through the players. We’ve improved the last three years. We’ve had improvement. We feel that we have a better club. We feel like we’ve added more skill, but we’re all ultimately at the end of the day held accountable for how the team performs.”

That wasn't a mumble...

If that sounded like a confident "yeah" to you sandog, esp after showed he has the capability of being blunt when asked about seguin on the bench... I dont know brother.

Here is Chiarelli's take on Julien.. doesn't sound like he is even contemplating such a move.. plus again, the call isn't Cam's to make , it is PC.. This is taken from a Pierre Lebrun column on ESPN.com

"Claude is a very good coach and he's going to figure out a way out of this," Chiarelli told me. "He's done it before and he'll do it again."

In Response to Re: Mazz.. straight up: "Is your coach safe?":

In Response to Re: Mazz.. straight up: "Is your coach safe?":

it is absolutley Neely's move to make, he can fire both if he wanted to, he is the President.

In Response to Re: Mazz.. straight up: "Is your coach safe?":


WBOI, you get the gold star! 

If Neely didn't have the authority, he wouldn't have been promoted from a VP to team President this past summer.  Yes, it's that simple. 

Is it just me?
I know these guys are only human. I know it is not easy to get "up for the game" 82 times in succession no matter who you are. BUT, these guys are professional athletes and they are all making mega$$$. For the dollars they make and the guilders the fans pay to go to a game, THEY OWE US BETTER than they have been delivering. At this level, the coach should NOT have to motivate his team. These guys don't need a cheerleader. They need a dose of reality. They get to play the best game in the world against the best competition in the world, and are very handsomely compensated for doing what they love to do most. I (and most of the rest of us) will not make in my whole life what most of these guys make in a year. Lay off Julien. His job is to come up with a system and get them to execute the system. We all know it's boring, but it works when they play the system. Let the coach be the coach. Get somebody else (Neely? Chiarelli?) to kick thes guys in the butt and make them understand what the real world is about.
Sub-standard effort and excuses, "We were flat" etc. are not acceptable and should not be tolerated by the faithful. I've been watching these guys since Teddy Green was a rookie. It's still hockey. The only real change is $$$$$ and the sense of entitlement that goes with it.

Remember, they not only make a lot more $$ than us, but they work crappy hours and pay a lot more taxes!  Glad I apply for a position on the Bruins this year.

I think the battle lines have been drawn.  It's Neely vs. CJ, with Neely supporting a more offensive style and CJ clinging to defense first.  As President, Neely wins this battle and will give CJ a month or 2 to implement change.  If he implements it successfully, CJ will stay; if not he's gone and they hire a more offensive minded coach. 

Is PC safe?  Maybe, maybe not.  If Neely thinks PC's long term deals have handcuffed the team enough so that they can't make the the deals to improve in the short term, PC may be gone too.

Hangnail, I like and agree with the battle lines analogy. Here's the real question though, has ownership given Neely and/or PC authority to fire CJ. Said another way, is the buffoon in Buffalo too cheap to eat CJ's salary or is he willing to pay for a coach no longer in his employ. He'll probably make Neely and CJ live together for another year at least and they'll grow to detest and loathe onanother. Afterall, it's called Bruins.

WBOI, you get the gold star! 

If Neely didn't have the authority, he wouldn't have been promoted from a VP to team President this past summer.  Yes, it's that simple.

The title means nothing .. Neely is just window dressing if you ask me, propped there by Jacobs to appease the masses...Tell me of one change/ initiative  that he has made to put his stamp on the club since taking over that has affected the on ice product.. just one... Compare him to John McDonough of the Hawks a real team President who is front and centre and has made significant changes that resulted in the ultimate prize last season for the Hawks..

Also , do you really think PC would have signed off on Neely if he didn't have absolute control of the hockey operations after bringing in Neely into the organization to be his VP assistant and now would be ok as having Neely as his boss... PC might be a lot of things , but stupid is not one of them.. I refuse to believe it unless Neely proves me wrong..I haven't seen it..

The Battle lines are drawn and it is between Neely and Chiarelli.  Both of them have gotten on the air and proclaimed that they are the "boss".  PC was on the Sports Hub the morning and said that "he" would not fire Julien this year.  Cowboy, you are right, Cam has not put his stamp on the club, however if he decides to can CJ, it will be the start!  And make no mistake about it, if he wants to can him, he will be canned, period!

Cowboys, Chiarelli doesn't get to sign off on promoting a guy to team President.  That's strictly a Jacobs move.  They're not going to go to him and say, "Hey, Peter, can we promote Cam to president?  Don't worry, you'll still have total control of Hockey Operations."?  Of course not.  Pc still makes the moves, but Neely has to sign off on them.

PC and CJ need to go.  Hear PC talk about how CJ is safe, and his reccomendation is to keep him etc.  Common PC, you have the same problem as CJ, even when things aren't good it's always status quo.  Nothing changes if nothing changes! 

If I'm underperforming at work, get approached about it, and say hey I'm staying the course here, I'm not going to get a ringing endorsement to keep me at all costs.  Open your eyes B's fans, these guys are a little better than mediocore as coach and gm.

Not so sure of Neely being "window dressing".  Something tells me the guy isn't interested in being a figure head and wouldn't agree to a job where that is the only expectation.  Basically what you are saying is Neely is a Jacobs shill.  If it was Bourque in the role, I could see it as he's always been a ownership/management guy but not Neely.  He would be a hypocrite and a shill to take that title with no real responsibilities.

I guess I don't that little of my favourite player of all time.

last line should read:

I guess I don't THINK that little of my favourite player of all time.

Comes back to that age old...

"I'm EVALUATING" PC

Chia might as well follow CJ out the door.  Two hand picked coaches in 4 years fired, to go along with some questionable cap management?

It would be nice if they could hire a Dan Blysma or a Peter Laviolette type to light a fire under this dead a-- squad...

I agree with much of what has been said by you guys. It is frustrating at times to watch such a skillful team play without intensity....Here in columbus ohio, we have the BlueJackets. They are one of the most frustrating teams to watch, that I dont half the time. Bunch of mediocre players who only win by working hard day in day out.....No talent on the team what so ever, so they are going to lose more than they win. I do happen to watch all the B's games...

It was said earlier, that its hard to get up for 82 games and thats true...I know its there jobs to play hockey, but sometimes the energy just isnt there. Thats sports..... Although when the B's play with the intesity, they can beat anyone, because they do have the skill.

I will say this....That game against the Ducks was terrible. Probably the worst game of the year for the Bruins. They did throw a lot of pucks on net, but how many were quality chances.....I dont know....maybe thats the mind set when the quality chances just arent there...throw the puck on goal and hope for a rebound or something. Anyway, you'll have those nights...Just happens to stink when they do.

In Response to Re: Mazz.. straight up: "Is your coach safe?":

I do think change is on the Horizon but Neely doesn't have % of this team where he can say "I'll pay Julien to go help Dave Lewis coach in Kazakhstan". Chiarelli beleives that players will come in to help Julien field a better team is what I beleive.

That change will be players being dumped to clear money not a coaching change that many believe. Jacobs just ain't gonna cut that check for the next two years for two coaches.

From the Bruins Blog on the day that Neely was officially named team president:

As president, Neely will oversee both hockey and business operations. Peter Chiarelli will report to Neely, but will still have the final call in all hockey ops decisions as general manager.

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/extras/bruins_blog/2010/06/neely_assumes_b.html

Yeah, just like MOC had the final say on GM matters over President Sinden!  If you "report" to someone do you really have the final say?  It wouldn't take too many instances for PC to do/not do something Neely didn't agree with before PC was dumped by the guy he reported to.  They basically are empowering PC to do the job with that last line...but a true final say?  I don't think so. 

To expand on Chiarelli's comments from June:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/06/17/neely_administration_greeted_by_fanfare/

well said gaaucoin...nice to see somebody on here that hits the nail right on the head...players making millions should not need to be motivated by management.....man you would think those stiffs we call bruins would look at thomas and draw from what this guy has and is doing...big contract ..jerks wanting him run out of boston  ..hearing how rask was our next coming...he could have folded but no way...look at him now....damm how can the players not see that and get inspired....they have to realize this guy made soooo many bruin fans eat crow...  and they can do the same..just show us effert boys..thats all we want