Don Sweeney: Bruins ‘hopefully’ will have a full group at practice on Monday

Despite the worrying optics that come from when nine lineup regulars are missing from “Return to Play” camp, Don Sweeney did his best to inject some levity into the conversation when speaking with media via Zoom on Sunday morning. 

“I am happy to report that I am fit and able to participate in this call,” Sweeney said to open the conference call.

Bruins fans have already become all too familiar with the “unfit to participate” protocols put in place for this revamped “Return To Play” format and upcoming postseason, with David Pastrnak, Ondrej Kase, Charlie Coyle, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Sean Kuraly, Tuukka Rask, Nick Ritchie and Chris Wagner all held out of what was expected to be a full scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Warrior Ice Arena. 

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that these absences have hampered the Bruins a bit when it comes to adhering to the plan Bruce Cassidy and his staff put in place to put the club in the best possible position to contend for a Stanley Cup up in Canada starting next month. 

But for Sweeney, these complications were always an expected challenge during the tumultuous two weeks that is Phase 3 camp — with the B’s GM remaining hopeful that a number of those missing skaters could be back on the ice on Monday morning.

"You'd like to be at full capacity the entire time — I referenced the fact that we weren't going to be,” Sweeney said. “We were going to have situations that would arise and you'd have to deal with it. The mental side of it is an exercise for the coaches as well, to have the ability to be flexible, to change what they intended to do because of what they have to do. They went out and had a great practice yesterday with the players that were available and executed the things that they wanted to accomplish in the course of practice.

‘We have players on the ice again today. We'll hopefully have a full group tomorrow, but again, we have to wait until test results come back on a daily basis here and see who's available to practice and then move forward. The best-laid plans sometimes go astray, so you've got to be able to adapt on the fly and I think our coaches are also understanding that now. But as we get closer to moving to the Hub, we certainly would like to have the full component of our group at some point in time to be able to practice at the level and execute the level we expect them to so once you get to playing the game."

Sweeney did add that



“several of the players that were off the ice (Saturday) were among the smaller group at Warrior on Sunday, although he could not reveal names. Given that those skaters were given clearance to the team facilities, it would appear as though the reasoning for a couple of the absences on Saturday could have been due to minor issues such as an inconclusive test.

Joakim Nordstrom was ruled out of Friday’s practice due to an “unfit” designation, but was back on the ice with no restrictions the following day — signaling just a minor complication in regards to testing or another issue. 

Along with Pastrnak testing negative for COVID-19 (albeit still forced to be in quarantine due to potentially coming into contact with an individual that tested positive), Coyle’s agent, Bob Norton, confirmed to multiple outlets Sunday morning that the center was held out of action on Saturday due to an inconclusive test. As such, the Weymouth native’s test was more precautionary than anything, with Coyle testing negative shortly thereafter. 

Sweeney added that Pastrnak and Kase, who were spotted working out at a local rink earlier this week, were likely not under any violation under the league’s memo regarding Phase 3 procedures.

One segment of the memo explicitly sates: “Players who participate in Phase 3 are not permitted to work out or skate at any public facility or other location, and may not organize any Player skates or group skates outside of the training sessions organized by the Club.”

However, Sweeney stated that both wingers were not taking part in the club’s Phase 3 workouts when they were spotted at a local rink, with the duo likely trying to get some on-ice work in before passing the necessary quarantine protocols to rejoin the group at Warrior.

Was it the smartest idea? Certainly not, given the potential exposure to the general public and players at a local rink. But Pastrnak and Kase should not run into any discipline from the league — which very well could have been the case if both skaters went to a local rink after already beginning Phase 3 work at the team’s Brighton facilities. 

“At some point in time, we are certainly hopeful that they will join our group,” Sweeney said of Pastrnak and Kase.