There is nothing I love more than lounging around and watch my favorite team, the Boston Bruins. Unfortunately, this year’s hockey spectating has been anything but relaxing. In fact, I often find myself being even more frustrated as the Bruins continue to lose over and over again. Plagued by poor management, injuries, and lack of talent, the Bruins have disappointed me and other fans everywhere.

The Boston Bruins absolutely suck this year. Last year, the Bruins had the best record in the league, a playoff run and an impressive win streak of 12 games. The team has met a disappointing decline.

It started at the beginning of the season when management allowed the first line, right wing player Jarome Iginla to leave the team. It wasn’t like they wanted him to the leave, but they were so strapped for cash, they believed they had no choice. In addition to Iginla, they traded away Johnny Boychuk, an integral part of the defensive squad, and Shawn Thornton, an important leader and enforcer. In return for these players, the team received multiple draft picks, which is great for securing a successful future, but it is not worth completely giving up in the present. There must be a balance of managing current talent and preparing for the future.

Another issue with the team is the horrible trades made by the general manager Peter Chiarelli. Boychuk is gone in exchange for a draft pick, which presently does not help us. And the Tyler Seguin trade was one of the worst trades in Bruins history. When he was traded two years ago, we got players Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith. While Smith is pretty good, he is no Seguin, who happens to be one of the best current players in the league.Oh what could have been.

The Bruins money management has been notably poor the past few years, and now they were unable to afford a successful team. The consequences are manifesting themselves. The team has a disappointing record of 19-15-6, which is 18th in the league of 30 NHL teams in the NHL. The Bruins have suffered a massive drop in the standings, going from first in the league to 18th in just one season.

I believe the biggest reason the Bruins are unable to produce wins is the lack of leadership within the team itself. When Thornton and Boychuk were forced off the team, the Bruins lost two well respected players who are known to lead and discipline their teammates. The remaining Bruin leaders have yet to find their voices and they are quite soft spoken. The young players require strong, veteran leaders to help them lead them and ultimately improve their performance. Recently, players Brad Marchand and Torey Krug got in a fight during practice. While fighting in hockey is pretty common, two players from the same team getting into fight shows the problems of discipline and emotion on the team.

And the final issue is injuries. It’s bad enough that we have a talent drought, but to have captain Zdeno Chara and first line center David Krejci out injured for a good portion of the season is just the icing on a poorly made cake. It’s basically like watching the Providence Bruins at this point.

Although we are clawing our way to a playoff spot, there is still hope. There is still time to make a rebound. I have faith that the veteran players will step up and take the roles as leaders for the team. Hopefully, management will have the situation figured out to make sure the team will meet continued success. As for fans, stick around for the black and gold and don’t give up hope.

(Author’s note: As of 1/23/15, the Bruins have made quite a turn around and they are climbing the standings. This piece may be considered a little irrelevant now since they are continuing to improve.)