NHL Notebook: Is a rebuild really on the horizon for Bruins? Not likely

In some respects, the end-of-season press conferences conducted by Bruins’ management feel a bit like Groundhog Day.

Interpret that how you will. 

Much like the Bill Murray movie, most of these late-spring musings from Boston’s top brass often tend to follow the same spiel and script — which repeats over and over and over again. The parallels are certainly there between a day locked in the same route in an Original Six franchise stuck in the mud and hampered by the same familiar flaws that have chewed up precious time in this contention window. 

And just like the actual holiday — in which our entire outlook for an entire season hinges on some pretty unpredictable variables — Cam Neely’s comments have varied from year to year, even if the inevitable end of this fruitful chapter in franchise history has loomed on the horizon for years. 

In 2020, after a Bruins team that seemed destined for a deep Cup run (prior to COVID) ended their season in the Toronto bubble, Neely acknowledged — in an offseason before franchise fixtures in Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug departed — that the team was bracing for some hard truths in the years ahead.

"We’ve got some guys that have played a lot of good hockey for us, a lot of years for us,” Neely said. "Their careers are somewhat winding down and we have to really take a hard look at where we are as an organization. Can we compete for a Stanley Cup, and if we can, what do we have to do to our roster to do that?

"So, we have to really be honest with ourselves in assessing our team and assessing our players in the organization. See where we’re going to – where we think we really are going to be. I mean, if we have to be as honest – as brutally honest as possible about where we think we’re going to be in the next couple years and we have to react accordingly to that."

The 2021 season, one that ended on even more disappointing terms given Boston’s inability to crack through an Islanders defense in the second round, offered more of an optimistic tone for Neely — who harped on the fact that the franchise owed it to franchise stalwarts like Patrice Bergeron for at least one more kick at the can. 

“I can tell you this, I know that Marsh and Bergy understandably would like us to take another run,” Neely said last June.  "If we get the pieces signed that we’d like to, I think it’s worth taking one more shot at it here.”

What a difference a year can make: between both 2020 and 2021 — and those hopeful thoughts and the ominous messages broadcast this past week after Boston’s 2021-22 campaign came up short in the first round against Carolina.

Granted, with another year eclipsed with this core in place and Bergeron’s future yet to be determined, the road ahead for the Bruins hasn’t been this arduous in decades.

But when asked about the potential of a full-blown rebuild, Neely acknowledged that just about every option has to be put on the table. 

“I’ve been looking at that for a while now,” Neely noted. “As your core players and your better players start to age out, you do have to look at that. There’s no question. But we do have some good young players in this lineup that hopefully continue to grow and hopefully we continue to add to that. But it is something you think about. In 2019, we lose in seven in the finals. In 2020, we’re leading the league and then the world falls apart. We’ve got to be better. We needed to be better last playoffs.”

Now, if Bergeron is back in the fold for next year, such a scenario remains off the table, with Boston likely looking to restock its roster and trying for at least one last run with this group. At the very least, the Bruins should once again remain competitive with a Bergeron-led roster — and would benefit from letting prospects in this 2020/2021 draft class marinate another year, as well as open the door for more significant changes in 2023 when a lot of money comes off the books.

But if Bergeron does indeed hang up his skates, things get pretty dicey (and frankly, a lot more intriguing). 

Already, we’ve seen some Bruins fans advocate for a full-blown teardown if Bergeron isn’t back — dealing away prime assets such as Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak in hopes that a complete 180 would allow Boston to orchestrate a fruitful rebuild in just a year or two. 

If Boston somehow managed to nab a Connor Bedard (a BSJ-cultivated prospect, if there ever was one) and added him to a core next to Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman and Fabian Lysell? You likely wouldn't have many complaints. 

But the fact of the matter is that even with Bergeron’s potential retirement, the Bruins aren’t going to realistically consider a full-blown rebuild.

Rather, the Bruins will likely instead opt for a significant retooling — opting to augment this roster around an already established core of talent rather than tear it all down.

Because, like it or not, the Bruins’ floor in the coming years post-Bergeron is simply too high to realistically vie for top-5 picks and franchise-changing prospects like a Bedard, Matvei Michkov or Adam Fantilli. 

Sure, you can shed players like Jake DeBrusk or assets with one year remaining on their deals like a Craig Smith or Erik Haula. But with guys like McAvoy, Swayman, Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, Marchand, Taylor Hall and others all in place, this team isn’t going to tank to the degree that puts them in the cellar alongside clubs like Montreal or Arizona. 

And even though perhaps guys like Marchand or Hall may not be thrilled about some lean years, all of these players are also protected by no-movement clauses — and a guy like Marchand likely isn’t going to be uprooting his family at this point. 

No, if the Bruins do need to change gears in 2022-23, it’s likely going to follow a bit of a similar script as the 2017-18 season — in which Boston opened the door for that next wave of talent to earn their stripes up in the NHL ranks.

That could involve a guy like Lysell earning extended reps out of training camp, perhaps setting the stage for a top-six assignment as soon as October. Maybe a checking unit once anchored by veterans like Nick Foligno, Curtis Lazar and Tomas Nosek could be accommodated by youngsters like Marc McLaughlin, Oskar Steen and Johnny Beecher?

Of course, the elephant in the room remains the dearth of top-six pivots within the organization if Bergeron does retire. As such, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the Bruins use whatever movable assets they’d be willing to part with (DeBrusk? A top-flight prospect from an area of strength like Mason Lohrei?) to try and acquire a legit pivot for the future like Pierre-Luc Dubois, who hasn’t yet committed to signing a long-term deal with Winnipeg as a restricted free agent.

There are plenty of paths that the Bruins can take this summer — and we can’t begin to chart an accurate course until Bergeron sets down his decision. 

But if Bergeron is no longer on the ice next season and the B’s must start a new chapter, the road may not exactly be as dour as one might expect.

And, at the very least, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be sticking to the same, tired script. 

“I don’t know if – I don’t think anyone really wants to watch losing hockey,” Neely said. “That’s not the plan, is to start losing. You look at teams across the league that have lost a lot of hockey games over the number of years, and they are in rebuilds. 

“They get better draft picks and ultimately better players, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job the last 10, 11 years of trying to stay in that window to win. But eventually it does catch up to you. But like I said, we do have some good young players in this lineup that hopefully we can build around in the next couple years, so we don’t have to do a complete rebuild.” 

Pastrnak/Krejci reunited & more World Championship Updates

The Bruins’ 2021-22 season might be over, but a few B’s players are still getting some work in over in Finland in the 2022 IIHF World Championship.

David Pastrnak, playing in his fourth World Championship, made an immediate impact in his debut with Czechia on Thursday — recording a goal and a helper in a 5-1 win over Latvia. And, in a sequence that will leave Bruins fans either heartbroken or intrigued (perhaps a bit of both?), Pastrnak’s tally came by way of a crisp feed from David Krejci. 

"It was very fun, we love playing together," Pastrnak said postgame of playing with Krejci once again. "I know what to expect from him. He knows the same. It was easy, not much practice needed from us, he's a great player so it is easy to play with him."

When speaking earlier this week, Don Sweeney — who seems to have left the door ajar if Krejci is interested in a reunion — noted that Pastrnak could be a pretty useful recruiting tool if he wanted to get his former teammate and fellow countryman back in a black-and-gold sweater. 

"David Pastrnak, along with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have all traveled over to the World Championships and will play,” Sweeney said. “Knowing how close they are, I’m sure there will be a conversation that maybe filters back to me. I certainly kept in touch with David and his camp throughout the year.

“He had hard decisions to make in terms of the promise he had made to his family overall. Just ultimately decided to stay and see it through. I’m sure at some point in time if he decides he wants to return, then hopefully I get a call and we can have a conversation. But I have not gone down that path for several months.”

As for Swayman and Ullmark, those trademark hugs have continued, even on the international stage.

Swayman also made his tournament debut on Thursday, stopping all 17 shots that came his way in Team USA’s 3-0 win over Great Britain before beating Ullmark and Sweden on Saturday with a 20-save effort in what was a 3-2 OT win for the Americans. Ullmark made 21 saves in the loss for Sweden.