According to ESPN, Boston has emerged as a leading destination in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. No deal is on the table (that we know of), but the mere possibility might raise a few concerns.
Boston, MA
PWHL notebook: Boston GM Danielle Marmer feels team turning corner
As her team stands at the halfway point of its inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League season, Boston general manager Danielle Marmer feels her squad has accomplished quite a bit, but still has plenty to prove.
Fresh off a big 2-0 road win last weekend in Minnesota, Boston (4-2-2-4) has posted back-to-back regulation wins for the first time. They have 18 points, moving them into sole possession of fourth place, two points ahead of Ottawa and New York, and just three shy of third-place Toronto.
As they hit the road against Montreal on Saturday at Verdun Auditorium, Boston will look to maintain its winning ways.
“I think we’re getting into a groove,” said Marmer. “We’re excited about the team we have. We’ve got an awesome group of hockey players. It’s a special group and I’m excited about the second half.”
It hasn’t been easy. Boston has struggled to find its identity, especially on home ice. The team has just two victories at the Tsongas Center in eight games, including a 4-3 overtime win against Ottawa on Jan. 27. But the squad is hoping their back-to-back wins, including its stellar 3-1 road victory over Ottawa on Feb. 21, will serve as a springboard in the month ahead.
“We’ve had a tough stretch at home for a bit,” said Marmer. “February was a long month for us with the all-star break and rivalry series, so to cram in a bunch of games for that month with no breaks and not get the outcome that we wanted was hard at times. But I think that those are moments in seasons that define teams. You learn a lot from the losses. I’m happy with how we bounced back the past two games.”
According to Boston defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin, the team has been working hard at turning things around.
“We’ve had some highs and lows over those wins and overtime losses,” said Fratkin. “We’ve run the gamut in all outcomes, but overall we’ve been doing a good job building on each game.”
“Like all the teams, we’re trying to find our footing in this league,” said assistant captain Jamie Lee Rattray. “I think we’re finally starting to hit our stride. We’ve had our ups and downs in terms of consistency, but I really think we’re starting to figure out what works for our group. The two wins in two games definitely helps.”
Frankel fantastic
Goaltender Aerin Frankel made 41 saves for her first shutout of the season, as Boston blanked Minnesota, 2-0, last Sunday in front of 10,186 PWHL fans at the Xcel Energy Center.
Frankel’s shutout came despite Boston being outshot in all three periods, including a 15-7 blitz in the third with Minnesota trailing by a goal. The 24-year-old Northeastern product has now posted back-to-back regulation wins, sporting a 1.72 goals against average, third best in the league, and .940 save percentage.
“She’s been phenomenal,” said Marmer. “That’s why we took her in free agency, because we knew how valuable she would be for this group. We believe in all the goaltenders. We wanted to give everyone an opportunity to show what we had with her and Emma (Soderberg). Aerin has just been so solid that it’s hard not to go back with her. It’s exciting to see her take her game to where we know it could be.”
Müller, Keller lead way
Forward Alina Müller and defenseman Meghan Keller lead Boston’s attack with 10 points each. The pair are tied for fourth overall among the PWHL scoring leaders.
A Northeastern University product and Boston’s top overall draft pick, Müller is also tied for the league lead with eight assists. She has adapted well to the pro game.
“Alina has stepped in and has been able to make an impact right off the bat,” said Marmer. “Her confidence and composure with the puck on her stick is so impressive for her age. We have high expectations for her to continue to develop her game.”
Meanwhile, Keller continues to loom large on the Boston blueline. The former Boston College Eagle is tied for the scoring lead among PWHL defenders with 10 points. She has three goals and seven assists in her first 12 games.
“I think Megan the best defenseman in the world,” said Marmer. “She just dominates. I wouldn’t want to go into a corner with her. I think she makes other players feel that same way. They don’t want to end up in a battle with her, which is a special quality. She’s just a generational player in my opinion.”
Forwards Loren Gabel, new acquisition Susanna Tapani and Rattray round out the top five Boston scorers with seven points each.
Packing them in
Sunday’s game at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota generated the third-highest attendance figure of the season (10,186). More than one-third of all first-half games were sold out.
The league set a women’s hockey attendance record with a crowd of 19,285 on Feb. 16 at Scotiabank Arena for the Battle on Bay Street featuring Montréal at Toronto. Their total first-half attendance is 183,925 for an average of 5,109 per game.
“It’s exceeded expectations by a long shot,” said Marmer. “We felt the product was exciting enough, but just didn’t know if we were going to get it in front of enough people. You can see the success in the numbers.”
“A lot of us were pretty optimistic about what the league could do in the first year,” said Rattray. “I’ve been really happy with the people that have shown up everywhere. The buzz is there.”
Concern numero uno is obvious. Giannis is one of the handful of players capable of altering the championship picture by himself. Pairing him with Jayson Tatum would create an impressive combination of size, athleticism, versatility, and star power. The question is whether Brad Stevens and the Celtics can actually pull it off without creating a new set of problems for themselves.
Boston’s path to Giannis is narrower than it first appears. The Celtics would almost certainly need to move Jaylen Brown, either directly to Milwaukee or through a third team. Reports indicate Brown has little interest in joining the Bucks (in paraphrase: “Milwaukee?! Yuck!”), which complicates matters further. We start moving from a blockbuster trade to a three-team puzzle involving contracts, draft compensation, and competing agendas.
Even if Boston finds a way through that maze, there’s no guarantee the resulting team will succeed.
Giannis may be a better asset than Brown, but championships are not won by comparing players one-for-one. They’re won by building complete teams (case in point: YOUR WORLD CHAMPION NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS ).
Brown averaged more than 28 points per game last season while defending multiple positions. He can create his own offense, punish smaller defenders, and absorb primary scoring responsibilities when Tatum is unavailable (as Tatum was for most of last season, recovering from a torn Achilles). Replacing him with Giannis raises Boston’s ceiling, perhaps, but also changes the structure of the roster.
The Celtics have spent years building an ecosystem around two star wings. Remove one and the supporting cast suddenly becomes more important, which means Stevens would have many more decisions to make before the start of training camp.
What catches me up is, if the Bucks believed that Giannis has more great years ahead of him, would they so quickly offload him to a conference rival? Might he actually be a distressed asset?
Giannis will turn 32 this season. He has generally been durable over his career but has dealt with increasing lower-body issues (especially calves and knees) in recent years, leading to more missed time. To wit:
• 2022–23: 63 GP / 19 missed
• 2023–24: 73 GP / 9 missed
• 2024–25: 67 GP / 15 missed
• 2025–26: 36 GP / 46 missed
Wouldn’t that just be the worst if the Celts parted with Brown to get him, and then Giannis missed extended time due to injury? Like, the absolute worst? (Insert diabolical laughter.)
A healthy Tatum-Giannis pairing would present unique challenges for New York. The Knicks would need to defend relentless downhill pressure while also containing one of the league’s best bucket creators. But, given their depth, New York may be better equipped than most teams to handle it.
So if the Celtics’ pursuit of Giannis causes an initial flutter of worry, you can let that just drift on by. The scenario only noses toward Red Alert if Boston nabs him while somehow also acquiring a guard who makes up for what they’d lose with Brown’s departure.
But wait! This just in: Chris Haynes has pushed back on the idea that a Giannis Antetokounmpo-to-Boston deal is close. He writes that Boston does not appear to be a promising destination and suggested the situation could extend into July. Additionally, Marc Stein reported that the Celtics are frustrated by speculation involving Jaylen Brown, while Brian Windhorst said Brown has not been formally offered in a trade. So, to quote the great William Goldman (also a Knicks fan), “Nobody knows anything.”
It’s worth noting that the Miami Heat are also reportedly in the mix. We’ve heard that the lack of income tax is alluring to the Greek Freak. Plus Florida offers sunny, warm weather, which is not a defining feature of Wisconsin. In the end, though, joining Boston would allow Giannis to keep all his favorite green-themed items in his wardrobe, and shouldn’t looking good be a priority, too?
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins said Thursday they are retiring Patrice Bergeron’s No. 37 as part of a ceremony next season.
The date will be shared later, following the NHL schedule release that is expected next month.
Bergeron is set to join fellow 2011 Stanley Cup champion Zdeno Chara with his number in the rafters. Bergeron, when it happens, will be the 14th player to have his number retired by the storied franchise.
He spent his entire 19-year career in the league with the Bruins, playing 1,464 games counting the regular season and playoffs. That included the title run in 2011 and more trips to the final in ’13 and ’19.
“Patrice was the kind of rare, generational talent that every team wanted,” owner Jeremy Jacobs said in a statement. “He was a deftly skilled playmaker and the undeniable greatest defensive forward in the NHL’s history. But it was the leadership he provided on the ice and in the locker room that made him truly stand apart and an all-time legend of the Boston Bruins.”
Bergeron succeeded Chara as captain in 2020 and served three seasons in that role before retiring. He called this an honor that is difficult to put into words.
“When I arrived in Boston as an 18-year-old, I could never have imagined receiving this recognition one day,” Bergeron said. “I have always believed that any success I had was only possible because of the people around me. I was fortunate to play alongside incredible teammates, learn from outstanding coaches and staff and be supported by an organization that believed in me from the very beginning.”
Craig Ferguson set out on foot from Los Angeles with a remarkable goal: to walk 3,500 miles across America. It took him 109 days.
Last week, I had the privilege of joining him for his final steps into Boston. In those first moments after completing his journey, I asked him what the experience had been like. Without hesitation, he called it the hardest thing he had ever done.
What began as a mission to raise money for SAMH, a Scottish charity that provides mental health and social care support, became something far greater. Along the way, Craig inspired thousands of people and helped raise more than $1 million. His arrival in Boston also came amid the excitement surrounding Scotland’s appearance in the World Cup, giving his home country even more reason to celebrate.
Craig’s commitment to mental health advocacy is perhaps best expressed in his own words: “Mental health doesn’t care who you are or where you’re from. It can meet you along the road, sometimes when you least expect it.”
Those words resonate deeply with me. I was raised by a mother who faced significant mental health challenges, and I know firsthand how important support systems can be for individuals and families. Organizations like SAMH provide hope when people need it most. Equally important is continuing to normalize conversations about mental health and recognizing that it is a health issue that touches every community and every walk of life.
There are countless routes Craig could have taken and many cities where he could have chosen to conclude this extraordinary journey. The fact that he finished in Boston is something we should be proud of.
Boston has always been a city defined by resilience, compassion, and perseverance. Those qualities are why “Boston Strong” means so much to so many people. Craig Ferguson may be Scottish by birth, but through his determination, his generosity, and his commitment to helping others, he has embodied that spirit.
As we welcome him to our beautiful and sports-loving city, we thank him for reminding us that even the longest journeys begin with a single step, and that no one should have to walk through life’s struggles alone.
Craig Ferguson is Boston Strong.
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