Remember those Boston sports radio voices who conveniently withhold credit from the Celtics when it doesn’t fit their narratives?
They’ve got a new target: the Bruins. Apparently, smiles and comfort in Beantown are signs of complacency, according to a recent, unconvincing debate on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz Show.
On Monday’s show, Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti discussed a report from ESPN showing Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark nixing a trade at the league’s trade deadline. Geography reportedly played a factor in his decision. After an emotional week, Ullmark expressed strong contentment with Boston while emphasizing his desire to remain with the Bruins, his appreciation for his group of teammates, and the overall situation.
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That should hint to fans that the Bruins are fostering a good culture, but that’s not how Felger saw it. He asked his oft-outspoken and controversial co-host if he ever worried about the Bruins and whether they were too comfortable or happy with their current situation.
“Yeah. Look, I worry about that with people in general and athletes in general,” said Massarotti. “But yes, and I’ll tell you, in one of Ullmark’s comments, he said something like, ‘Yeah, you know, this was really hard on me. It was difficult to play this game. You know, there’s a lot of pressure, almost like the playoffs.’ And I heard that and went, ‘Oh, so this is why he sucks in the playoffs? Like, you get really anxious before the playoff games?’ And I’m thinking, then, ‘What did you come to Boston for? And why were you so eager to come to Boston? Although he needed the no-trade to do it, you didn’t think you’d be in playoff games, and you get anxious? Like, that scared me when I heard that part of it.”
“Look, I worry about that with people in general and athletes in general.”
Hold on a minute. Forget about Ullmark. Since when did happiness become a bad thing in Boston sports? The Bruins are a top team in the East, with the second-most points in the conference and tied for second in the entire NHL. Their record (38-14-15) is stellar, and they’d be a lock for a high playoff seed. Yet, because the players seem happy and their goalie used his no-trade clause to stay, some Boston media are calling them complacent.
That’s a head-scratcher.
“The Bruins players, no one wants to leave,” said Felger. “No one ever wants to leave; they don’t want to let anyone go, and even when the guys leave, they bring them back, and they’re thrilled to come back! All of them. From Milan Lucic to Danton Heinen, they all come back. They never want to leave; the team never wants them to leave. It’s like, boy, you’re all a bunch of happy campers for a group that hasn’t won squat in a long time. And it’s like maybe just a little too comfortable there. A little too happy there. Because certainly it doesn’t look like Linus Ullmark is going to be the guy now. It feels like they’ve given up on the goalie platoon already. Like, good job!”
The Bruins boast a strong goaltending duo in Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. At 25, Swayman is likely the future starter, with both having split playing time this season. However, this situation presented a unique challenge. Despite potentially not being in their long-term plans, Ullmark’s 16-team no-trade clause gave him significant control. A potential trade fell through when Ullmark exercised this clause, leading to some questioning—Felger and Mazz—the team’s complacency.
And this is all because Ullmark is simply exercising a clause he negotiated in his contract and is seemingly too happy with his current team.
