Try Selling The Truth

Clueless Part II

You don’t need an MBA to understand that every successful business model operates according to a plan, with someone at the top of the food chain who is the catalyst. The people who own the Bruins can probably calculate the profitability of hot dogs and sodas sold down to the penny, so there is no question with respect to their business acumen. But when it comes to “hockey sense”, it’s an open topic for discussion. Fans look at the Bruins’ most recent moves on and off the ice and wonder if the management has a clue, let alone a plan. At the moment, it seems as if the team is simply treading water rather than building toward the future.

The hockey part of the business on Causeway Street (without which there would be no hot dogs, sodas or luxury suites) has been in a state of decline. The last time the B’s made the Cup Finals was in 1990. Since then, they’ve hired and fired a dozen coaches and whatever plan of attack the organization has put forth has brought forth mediocrity at best. It does not have to be that way.

Businesses that have sufficient capital to slowly and carefully build on a plan have a far better survivability rate than do heavily leveraged entities that seek overnight success. They do their due diligence and know when to buy low, sell high or stand pat and wait for a more opportune moment to act. As far as a model, the Bruins need not look further than 25 miles south of Boston to see the manner in which the Kraft Family has transformed what was a long-standing joke of a football team into one of the best-run franchises in professional sports. How have they accomplished this?

It’s simple: When an owner decides that a competent management foundation has been established and does not meddle while the team performs their duties, things have a way of falling into place. Mr. Kraft learned to hire the right people in the Operations Department and allowed them to do their jobs. Perhaps a better analogy is the Detroit Red Wings. A generation ago, the team was a joke. But a new owner came in, hired some of the best hockey minds available and the Wings are what the Bruins used to be: a consistent Cup contender. The direction of the team starts with the owner.

The Bruins have been in business for a long time, and have the wherewithal to profitably compete as a franchise. On top of that, their fan base is loyal to a fault, having gone 35 years without celebrating a Stanley Cup without revolting in the streets. Because hockey is so woven into the winter fabric around here, the loyalists have tolerated the disingenuous business practices of the Concessionaire King for decades. So why does it appear it that the management is aimlessly floundering about as if no business model is in place?

It’s a matter of Mr. Jacobs not honestly selling what the product actually is to the public.
Last year, the Bruins ranked near the bottom in goals for and goals against. That demonstrates the degree of upgrades that are needed for the team to be a contender in the years to come. They are a lousy hockey club at this moment in time. The issue is whether the team continues a “band-aid” approach to addressing its shortcomings.

For many years, the B’s have been trying to sell the idea that by adding one or two “names” into the lineup the team would be transformed into instant contenders. They ought to try selling the truth: that last year was “Square One” and the team has gone nowhere since. For any idea to succeed there has to be a Point “A” of departure. How about this for starters: The Bruins’ franchise is at a 40-year ebb (“we stink”) and high tide’s a long way off in the distance. It’s not the end of the world, as the team has been down before and had the hockey sense to rebuild from scratch. For the first half of the 1960’s it was Johnny Bucyk and a cast of thousands. But the team was fortunate to have discovered the “Kid From Parry Sound” made a couple of shrewd moves and within a couple of years were winning Stanley Cups. It can happen again, given time, patience and intelligent managers calling the shots.

The solution lies within, not from without. The simple fact of salary-capped industries is that a team floundering in mediocrity needs to hit rock bottom and build wisely from the draft and augment with trades and free agents to compliment a homegrown core group. It’s a vastly different marketplace than the Bruins’ heydays, now there are 29 other teams looking to accomplish the same end. Given the team’s vast resources, they can afford to sell a long-term vision to Bruins’ fans. Media-wise, it’s not as if adopting that strategy would be any worse than continuing the pre-existing charade. All that’s necessary is for the team’s owners and management to be honest with themselves and with their fans. They already have a nucleus around which to build, and a new coach who will hopefully implement strategies that will maximize the players’ abilities. They have a number of highly talented young players who are 2-3 years away from being contributors to the big club.

At a certain point in the players’ respective developments, a shrewd manager knows which prospects are keepers and which ones can be used as bargaining chips for veterans who compliment homegrown talent. But that core group needs to be established first. The Bruins, as constituted, have 2-3 core players (Bergeron, Savard and Chara) and several prospects who may develop into key players, but this is a team that in no way resembles a Stanley Cup contender.

That’s why many fans were bewildered by the B’s latest moves. On June 30th, the Bruins attempted to plug their goaltending hole by acquiring 32-year old Manny Fernandez from Minnesota in exchange for promising forward Petr Kalus and 2009’s fourth-round pick. Proponents of the trade argued that the Bruins received a solid goalie without having to surrender veteran talent. Time will answer that question, as in addition to a bloated salary, as Manny also is recovering from a knee injury.

Critics of the trade countered that this move reeks of desperation on Chiarelli’s part and chances are that his presence will not materially improve the team’s lot next season. We’re not talking about bringing in Ken Dryden in his prime, folks. It has been reported that Manny’s an overpaid, temperamental sort who’s been known as a “finger pointer”. This is just the sort of influence the B’s need in the dressing room…NOT! At one time, he was among the top tier of NHL goalies, but once Niklas Bäckström proved his mettle, the Wild were hot to get rid of their headache, and they found an ideal suitor (sucker) in the Bruins (who traded away one of their most promising young players). The B’s are on the hook for at least two more seasons with Manny at big ($4.33M) dollars, while they’re already cap-constrained heading into free agency. This move appears illogical but for the sense that the GM’s head is already in the noose and the team is caving in to the pressure exerted by the owner and the “win now” numbskulls.

Because of a couple of ill-advised contracts and trades (Murray and Ward) made in previous years, the Bruins found themselves without the cap resources to afford one of the few high-end goaltenders that were available this summer. Once guys like Vokoun were traded and Giguere re-signed, the possibility of obtaining the services of an elite, game-changing goaltender evaporated. Goalies like Martin Brodeur don’t exactly grow on trees. Common sense would dictate that if “The Stoppah” is unavailable, you don’t waste money on a reasonable facsimile. You patiently lay low and wait to grow your own (Rask) or look to see who may be available in next year’s free agent crop.

Let’s hope that the management doesn’t sell the notion that Manny Fernandez is the missing link needed to return this team to Stanley Cup glory. That’s peeing on our shoes and telling us it’s raining. Manny is not a significant upgrade over Tim Thomas, who was overworked to the point of abuse last year. The best this team can do under the circumstances is a “one and done” come springtime and a chance to finish in the middle of the pack for years to come. We’ve already witnessed enough mediocrity and stupidity for the past 35 seasons. What knowledgeable hockey fans want to determine is if the team is actually committed to building a long-term contender.

On July 1st, the NHL’s Free Agency feeding frenzy began in earnest with many of the prize catches having been hauled in within the first 24 hours. These were the “big names” that went quickly off the board:

Paul Kariya STL 3 yrs/$6M
Ryan Smyth COL 5 yrs/$6.25M
Scott Hannan COL 4 yrs/$4.5M
Scott Gomez NYR 7 yrs/$7.36M
Chris Drury NYR 5 yrs/$7.05M
Jason Blake TOR 5 yrs/$4M
Brian Rafalski DET 5 Yrs/$6M
Daniel Briere PHI 8 yrs/$6.5M
Mathieu Schneider ANA 2 yrs/$5.625M
Tom Poti WAS 4 yrs/$3.5M
Todd White ATL 4 yrs/$2.375M

Thank goodness that the B’s had no money with which to play, as the astronomical salaries that were dished out on Day 1 were stupendously stupid. Rangers really took a big plunge with Drury and Gomez, but laying out that kind of cash for guys who will play second fiddle to Jagr (at the expense of not improving their defense) is a surprise. Someone ought to demand a lunacy hearing for JD in St. Loo, after he pulled the trigger on Kariya for three seasons at $6M per. Kariya’s a great player, but nowhere the offensive force he was in his pre-concussion days. The money paid out for the value received doesn’t add up in most of these signings as you’re looking at a group of players who are on the back nine for the most part.

For their part, Boston signed Shawn Thornton, an enforcer who will certainly address one of the team’s shortcomings last year. The deal was for the league minimum and made sense. Thornton’s not there to score goals but to keep the team’s goalscorers from being pushed around (as occurred with regularity last year). Even if the Bruins had cap room, they would not have been well served by making a splash with any of these guys. Most of these guys are very nice players, but would be more helpful to a Cup contender.

As far as moving from Square One, it appears as if the Bruins management selected the ass-backwards formula, which rarely, if at all, produces the desired results. They should have looked within the organization rather than adding overpriced free agents. People who truly love this team understand the reality of things: that it takes time and patience to build a winner. The Bruins owners and managers surely know the intricacies of the business far better than do we. By choosing expensive, post-prime veterans the Bruins will devolve into the Dominique Wilkins-Era Celtics (a team good enough to sell tickets and concessions but a mediocre product).

On a positive note, other than trading away Kalus, the B’s didn’t lose anyone to free agency, unlike the Islanders who lost four of their best players on the first day. What probably stings the most on the Island is the loss of Ryan Smyth, for whom they sold the future only to have his services for a couple of months. So, if Bruins enter next year with their core intact and begin to see some of their talented youngsters being integrated into the lineup, the fans ought to feel slightly encouraged.

During the first week of free agency, it was reported that the Bruins attempted to make a couple of deals to unload salary, but there were no takers. While many were questioning the GM’s ability to make trades (his performance last season in that regard was poor-to-mediocre), it’s probably for the best that no significant transactions were made. Some of their rivals’ signings for second-tier talent will more likely prove to be first-class millstones. Multi-year, multimillion dollar deals on players on the back nine of their careers may sell tickets and concessions but will not contribute to winning Stanley Cups.

…And that is the direction in which the owner and management need focus their attention if they want to regain public credibility and relevance. The jury is still out on whether the team is better off under the direction of the current GM than the previous guy. It may look like it’s Chiarelli’s baby, but we’ll see whether the show is still being directed from Buffalo. Whether Chiarelli can succeed is a dicey proposition, given the owner’s mandate to deliver a championship caliber team without all of the required elements in place. Of course, there are also the knuckleheads who are screaming for his head for failing to instantaneously conjure a winning product. These fools have no concept about what it takes to build a Cup contender.

One of the very encouraging signs is the Rookie Development Camp the B’s started this year, where all of their prospects will have an opportunity to put their best foot forward for a week. Let’s hope that they discover a number of gems for the future, because there won’t be any Playoff runs in the short-term.