‘Goalie Bob’ has been a constant for Bruins

Bob Essensa likes to come in guns blazing. It’s the veteran goalie coach’s way of setting the tone for the day. There’s no angry connotation with his patented finger gesture, however. It’s just Essensa’s friendly/comedic trademark greeting. He’ll pull out the guns on the ice, in the meeting room, or even just walking down a hallway.

“He always comes in and does these little shooting guns at you and it’s just like, ‘All right cool, Bob’s here,’ ” Jeremy Swayman said. “He’s hilarious.”

It’s one of the many ways the man known as “Goalie Bob” likes to keep things light through the course of what can be a grueling season. It’s also a nod to one of his favorite movies.

“Well, I mean it’s a little bit of ‘Happy Gilmore,’ the old Shooter [McGavin] thing. I go around and it’s my token greeting to people. I’ll give ’em a couple shots hello,” said Essensa with a laugh. “So, for whatever reason it’s stuck in the last little while. But that’s kind of my go-to.”

It’s not all funny business for Essensa, the Bruins’ go-to goalie coach since 2003. He’s been coaching, guiding, and mentoring the Black and Gold backstops through the Mike Sullivan, Dave Lewis, Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy, and Jim Montgomery tenures.

“I always joke around that the only way I’ve survived all these different administrations is just turning your phone off every summer and showing up at training camp,” said a smiling Essensa. “But again, I think it kind of stems from the fact that I’ve been fortunate that we’ve had some really good goalies come through here, some that I’ve been involved with acquiring and then some that management’s done a good job in terms of bringing in and allowing me to have success with them.

“And I’ve also benefited from head coaches, from Sully to Claude to Butch, all guys that have a real strong defensive philosophy and allowing goalies to flourish under that philosophy. So, when you combine those two things, you fortunately have a little bit of success. And if your goalies are playing well, I guess management doesn’t feel the need to change anything around.

So, I guess that’s how I’ve survived to this point.”

Coincidentally, it was another Bruins coach, Rick Bowness, who bestowed the “Goalie Bob” moniker on Essensa after the goalie signed with Winnipeg and was assigned to its AHL affiliate in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 1987.

It began a relationship that remains strong today.

Following a 12-year NHL run as a player, with stints in Winnipeg, Detroit, Edmonton, Phoenix, Vancouver, and Buffalo, that ended in 2002, Essensa found himself back in the company of Bowness.

“We retired to Arizona and Bones was one of the coaches that was working with the Coyotes at the time,” said Essensa. “So, he and I, on offdays would play golf and what have you. He was the one that said, ‘You know what? You really should think about getting into coaching.’ And he said, ‘Don’t wait, because they’ll forget about you in a couple of years. Teams will forget about you, so throw your name out there.’

And so that following year I did. And fortunately for me, Mike Sullivan, who was a first-year coach here, I played with him in Arizona only a couple years prior. So, it kind of fell into place in that regard and been here ever since.”

During his unprecedented run, Essensa has worked with goalies of all shapes, sizes, and styles. From the acrobatic Tim Thomas to technical hybrid Tuukka Rask to the mountainous Linus Ullmark to the ultraquick Swayman.

Essensa’s stable has also included a former teammate (Felix Potvin), some one-hit wonders (Jordan Sigalet and Keith Kinkaid), and a smorgasbord of names only a goalie junkie might recall (Marty Turco, Chad Johnson, and Zane McIntyre to name a few).

Essensa’s résumé includes a Stanley Cup (2011), three Vezina Trophy winners (Thomas, Rask, and Ullmark), and a Conn Smyth Trophy winner (Thomas).

Additionally, the Bruins have won the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) three times under Essensa: 2008-09 (Thomas and Manny Fernandez); 2019-20 (Rask and Jaroslav Halak); and 2022-23 (Ullmark and Swayman).

Essensa has been able to tailor his coaching style and philosophies to his pupils, and his success has been remarkable.

“I tend to gravitate toward a certain skill set and clearly everybody that gets to this level has certain aspects to their game that allow them to be successful,” said Essensa. “So, we certainly try to emphasize the ones that are working well to this point. And fortunately for me, there’s always going to be some deficiencies, as well. I tend to gravitate toward the guys that can beat the pass that have some foot speed.”

He’s had to alter some of his teaching points over the last two decades because of a big change in the game. Literally a big change.

“I think the trend certainly over the last decade or so is toward the bigger goalies. And there’s a reason why 20 years ago the big goalies couldn’t move nearly as well as they do today,” said Essensa. “But given the advances in equipment and training and what have you, and guys like myself all around the world that are treating these goalies earlier and better now, the guys that are 6-5 can move like the guys that were

5-6 20 years ago.”

Ullmark, who fits into the big guy category at 6-4, said he meshed with Essensa immediately. He acknowledged they don’t always see things the same way, but because they share the same goal (which, of course, is to not allow any), they always find common ground.

“I felt right at home as soon as I got here when it came to his and my personality,” said Ullmark. “Obviously, there are some things that we don’t always agree upon, and we never scream or anything. We don’t always agree on certain things, but what’s good about it is that we don’t fight. We understand what’s to be expected and then maybe he sees the situation differently toward what I am doing. And we have a discussion.”

Getting into a dustup with Essensa would be useless anyway, reported Ullmark.

“Man, is it hard to get angry with him. I just can’t,” said the reigning Vezina winner. “He’s just a lovable goofball.”

Swayman said adjusting to Essensa’s coaching style was “pretty seamless” after he turned pro following his time at the University of Maine.

“Some goalie coaches want it their way or the highway,” said Swayman. “Others do it the way I like it, which is you don’t change your goalie, you just give them verbal cues. You help what his strengths are, you just keep improving him with experience and time. So, Bob’s done an incredible job of that. I mean, I love him away from the rink just as much as I do at the rink. So, it’s a pretty special relationship that we’ve gotten to develop, and we’ll continue to.”

It’s not just the technical side of coaching where Essensa excels. It’s also the personal side. Like baseball catchers, hockey goalies can be, well, quirky. As Essensa said, you can come across some “extreme personalities.”

“I guess I was just always one of those guys, even back in my playing days, that tended to get along with everybody regardless of where they came from or what nationality they were,” he said. “So, I try to keep that same approach coming into coaching. And the bottom line for me, I only have to work with one or two guys. I only have to get along with a couple guys, which is nice. But yeah, you definitely see some personalities and there’s a reason why all these guys are able to get to this level. They have a certain skill set or mental approach, so you just try to adapt as best you can to each one that comes along.”

Though his playing days officially ended in 2002, Essensa has suited up as the EBUG (emergency backup goalie) a few times, including a most memorable occasion in 2015 when he actually made it to the bench.

Rask had left the game early because of dehydration, forcing Niklas Svedberg into the game and Essensa into Rask’s duds and pads. He usually stayed in the dressing room doing some stretches to stay loose and ready, but this time he decided to head to the bench.

“I wanted to feel a part of it,” he said. In true “Goalie Bob” style, he decided to have some fun with the situation.

“It was late in the period and Sveddy gave up one late, I think we were up like, 4-1, so I looked over at Claude to see if he wanted to throw me in, but he never returned the glance,” Essensa said, laughing at the memory.

NIGHT FOR 68 WAS NO. 1 Penguins nailed Jagr festivities

The NHL might need to retire retirement ceremonies after what the Penguins did for Jaromir Jagr this past week.

Not sure it could ever be topped.

Not only did the Penguins take the ice for warm-ups wearing Jagr’s No. 68 sweaters, they also rocked ridiculously awesome mullet wigs as a tribute to the ’do favored by the winger with the angelic face and devilish moves.

In another great sight, Jagr took the ice for the pregame skate. The 52-yearold didn’t look a bit out of place, and you have to wonder if coach Mike Sullivan thought about throwing him in the bumper spot on the power play.

Jagr, in fact, is still playing professionally. He serves as player/owner for the Kladno (Czech Republic) Knights, his hometown team, and the club he debuted with professionally at 16 in 1988.

Among Jagr’s nine NHL stops was an 11-game run for the Bruins in 2013, when he collected two goals and 9 points. His other stops were Washington, New York (Rangers), Philadelphia, Dallas, New Jersey, Florida, and Calgary.

Over his 24-year NHL career, Jagr amassed 766 goals and 1,921 points.

Jagr recently told the Associated Press that civic pride is a motivating factor in why he still plays.

“A responsibility to the fans, a responsibility to the town, a responsibility to the club, that’s all,” he said.

ETC. Cap plays big part at the deadline

The NHL trade deadline is less than two weeks away and fans of contending teams are dreaming big as they play the roles of faux general managers.

Landing a big fish — or even the rampant rumors of reeling one in — will entertain and excite fan bases. Often times, however, the major player in trade talks is not the guy who laces ’em up. It’s the salary cap.

Teams that are snug against the cap (see Bruins, Boston) must find creative ways to fit newcomers (some of whom come with hefty price tags).

According to capfriendly.com, the Bruins have less than $60,000 remaining toward the $83.5 million cap. And, unlike other leagues, the NHL’s is a hard cap. There’s no smashing the cap and paying a luxury-tax penalty (like the NBA). Going over by even a buck is verboten.

So, in order for the Bruins to make a big splash (Calgary defenseman Noah Hanafin of the Norwood, Mass., Hanafins, for example) they would need the Flames (or a third party) to absorb some of his remaining salary (he makes 4.95 million per annum in a six-year deal that is expiring).

With the Bruins expected to have nearly $20 million in space available next season, a possible scenario could be a trade then sign, similar to what the Boston did when it acquired Hampus Lindholm from Anaheim in 2022. The ink was barely dry on the trade papers when Lindholm signed an eight-year, $52 million deal to stay in Black and Gold.

Another way to create space is through the long-term injured reserve route. When a player is designated for LTIR, only a portion of his salary counts against the cap.

For example, if a team has $100,000 in cap space and places a player making $4 million on LTIR, that team can use $3.9 million to sign other players.

Players on LTIR must miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days. Players on regular injured reserve still count against the cap and can return after seven days.

Oh, and there’s one other codicil to the NHL salary cap: It magically disappears when the playoffs start. This is what’s commonly known as the “Lightning loophole.”

Two years ago, Tampa Bay put Nikita Kucherov on LTIR for the entire season because of a hip ailment, allowing the team to use his $9.5 million salary on other players.

Kucherov returned for the playoffs and led the Lightning in scoring as they won their second straight Stanley Cup.

Loose pucks

Auston Matthews collected goals Nos. 50 and 51 Tuesday night at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz., which was a fitting venue because Matthews grew up in nearby Scottsdale. The Mullett, however, is far from a fitting NHL venue. The Coyotes are working on finding a permanent home in the desert (they’ve applied to buy a plot of public land in north Phoenix), and it can’t come fast enough. The Coyotes won’t sniff the postseason this season, and that’s probably a good thing for the NHL. Holding a playoff series (never mind a Stanley Cup Final) at the 4,600-seat facility would be embarrassing. The infrastructure at the Mullett is not suitable to accommodate all the support people needed to run a high-quality broadcast . . . Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin, who stumbled out of the gate this season with just eight goals in his first 42 games, has found his groove. In his last 10 games, Ovechkin has eight and 14 points as he continues his race toward

Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals mark. The Great 8 went into the weekend with 838 goals, 56 behind The Great One’s 894. If he stays hot, Ovechkin could eclipse Gretzky and 900 goals next season . . . Did you know that with

Matthew Slater’s retirement from the Patriots, that Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are now the two longest-tenured Boston athletes? . . . Among the many people congratulating Marchand on his 1,000th game during a video played at Monday’s game was Sidney Crosby, whose comments stood out. “It’s way more fun to be your linemate than to play against you, I can tell you that,” he said. Crosby, Marchand, and

Patrice Bergeron were Team Canada linemates at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey . . . The Bruins are unveiling “Heritage Hall” to the public March 6. As part of the franchise’s centennial celebration, Heritage Hall is an “educational, interactive, and immersive venue that brings the most remarkable moments of the incredible and storied Bruins franchise to life.” Heritage Hall will be open during The Sports Museum’s normal hours at TD Garden. For more information, visit sportsmuseum.org . . . The 2024 Will McDonough Writing Contest is accepting entries from students in grades 4-12 through March 6. A groundbreaking Globe reporter and columnist, McDonough served as a mentor and role model for a generation of young journalists at the Globe, as well as locally and nationally. Contest guidelines and entry information are available on The Sports Museum’s website.