As soon as the final seconds drained off the clock at PNC Arena last Saturday, the crushing reality set in that this Bruins team was poised to look very different within the next few months.
Aside from Patrice Bergeron’s future and the divergent paths this Original Six franchise might take depending on the choices made by their franchise pivot, other factors like a tight cap situation, Jake DeBrusk’s standing trade request and disheartening returns from Boston’s supporting cast all signaled that more significant changes loomed on the horizon.
But beyond just the product on the ice, the writing seemed to be on the wall for more significant upheaval higher up on the food chain, especially as it pertains to Don Sweeney and his potential label as a lame-duck GM of a team desperately trying to keep a contention window ajar.
But on Thursday morning, it seems as though we found our answer regarding Sweeney’s murky status beyond this season.
“I started talking with Charlie (Jacobs) and (Jeremy) Jacobs after the deadline about extending Don,” Cam Neely said. “So that’s my plan, is to do that.”
With Sweeney expected to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on a new deal, the Bruins are expected to roll into the 2022-23 season with the same management staff that has been in place since Sweeney was first elevated to GM seven years ago.
It remains to be seen if Boston’s head coach Bruce Cassidy — who has guided the Bruins to six straight trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including one trek to the Stanley Cup Final — will also be along for the ride.
For as much as Sweeney’s contract status and the valid criticism as it pertains to his reign as Bruins’ GM painted the picture that the organization might have been ready to seek a new set of eyes to overlook operations, Neely’s press conference at Warrior Ice Arena sure seemed to focus a whole lot more on the shortcomings put forth on the ice, and the staff behind the bench.
When asked if the franchise would be comfortable with bringing Cassidy back as head coach next season, Neely offered an ominous message.
“I think we have to look at making some changes as far as how we play and the way we do some of the things,” Neely said. “I think Bruce is a fantastic coach. I mean, he's brought a lot of success to this organization. I like him as a coach. So, we'll see where it goes.
“But I do think we need to make some changes. And I think Bruce, a couple of days ago, he alluded to that. So, we'll see where that goes with that.”
In the aftermath of another disappointing playoff exit in which Boston once again failed to generate enough consistent 5v5 scoring punch, some of that sentiment regarding the B’s efforts of augmenting their approach on the ice is valid.
It was a musing that was echoed by both Sweeney and even Cassidy himself when it came to taking a long look at Boston’s structure and on-ice gameplan and tinkering with it in order to coax more offense out of this group.
“You’re always analyzing and dissecting your club, throughout the whole year really,” Neely said. “But the playoffs certainly gave me some indication that we’ve got to do a little better job of getting inside the dots. Maybe not try to have such a rush mentality. I thought we were getting a little stubborn at times, turning pucks over the blue line, whether it was an entry on the power play or 5-on-5. I think at times, you’ve got to take what’s given to you and sometimes you’ve got to dump it in and go get it and grind it out.”
Sure, the Bruins do need to make a concerted effort to fight inside that Grade-A ice far more often. After seeing Canes blueliners like Jaccob Slavin and Tony DeAngelo generate tips and deflections off of fruitful point shots this past series, Boston would be wise to encourage more volleys from the likes of Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and others.
And perhaps instead of peppering the net with low-danger salvos, the Bruins would be better served holding onto the puck and being more selective with their looks in the O-zone — opting for quality over quantity.
All perfectly fine offseason maneuvers worth exploring, given yet another frustrating end result down in Raleigh.
What shouldn’t be on the table, however, is propping up Cassidy as a scapegoat for this team’s shortcomings against Carolina.
As much as systems and schemes certainly help tip the scales in your favor over a seven-game series, there are only so many adjustments at your disposal when you’re handed the personnel that Cassidy had to assemble this past year.
And when it comes to doling out blame for another failed attempt to capitalize on this decades-long contention window, Bruins’ management should be looking at assessing their own faults before turning the heat on their head coach.
You can point to that decisive Game 7 all you want in terms of Boston’s frustrating lack of finishing and an unwillingness to drive inside against Antti Raanta and the Hurricanes.
But the fact that Cassidy even managed to get this roster, as constructed, to a Game 7 against a superior Carolina team should be another feat on his resume, in and of itself.
These players don’t get inside the dots enough? Yep.
But perhaps we should be looking at the pieces of this fragmented roster that Cassidy had to work with at the start of this season?
You know - a roster that, with the organization WELL AWARE of Bergeron’s pending future, opted to roll with …
- No set solution at the second-line center spot after David Krejci went back to Czechia, with Charlie Coyle — fresh off of knee surgery — standing as the first man up to step into those shoes.
- A D corps that, after re-signing Mike Reilly to a three-year, $9 million contract extension, had a rather redundant grouping on the left side, eventually prompting Sweeney to go out and relinquish future draft capital to bring in Hampus Lindholm — and potentially making Reilly expendable this summer.
- A hodgepodge bottom-six grouping that included Tomas Nosek ($1.75 million AAV), who didn’t light the lamp after Jan. 2, and Nick Foligno ($3.8 million AAV), who buried just two goals in 64 games.
Not exactly the reinforcements that the Bruins were looking for, especially in an offseason in which Boston approached the start of free agency with over $25 million in cap space.
And yet, despite relying on a roster that was once again anchored by star talent and hampered by a subpar supporting cast, Cassidy and Boston’s top players still managed to accrue 107 points in the standings — holding their own in what might be the most top-heavy season in recent memory when it came to powerhouses in the Eastern Conference.
As Bill Parcells once said, “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”
Cassidy may not wield as much power as established coaches in the NFL. But to harp on Cassidy’s system when he had little support or adequate talent at his disposal to make the most of this season sure seems extremely short-sighted on the part of Bruins management.
After all, it was Cassidy’s decision to break up the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line and slot up Erik Haula at the 2C spot that first sparked Boston’s second-half surge. It was Cassidy who held his own against Rod Brind’Amour in a seven-game chess match — yielding strong returns by reuniting 63-37-88 before going back to a balanced lineup in a do-or-die Game 6 at TD Garden.
Should Cassidy get off scot-free from Boston’s failings in 2021-22? Of course not. Trust me, there’s plenty of blame to go around. But if we’re looking at the primary culprits for these shortcomings — both this year and throughout a contention window that hasn’t amounted to much except cathartic thrills in the spring and crushing exits — the coach should be far from the first man up on for the firing squad.
Of course, Cassidy may not be let go this summer, especially if Bergeron and Co. are back in the fold and the Bruins are looking to go for it again. But based on Neely’s comments, it sure does seem like the coach is already propped up to be the fall guy if things go south for this organization in a hurry — a very tangible scenario brought about by years of failed chances to complement this core with supporting talent, be it in free agency or through the draft.
The Bruins need to hold themselves accountable after another season left unfulfilled. But before they point fingers at their coach, perhaps Neely and Sweeney should look in the mirror first.