Ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft, both Don Sweeney and Cam Neely met with reporters on Wednesday up in Montreal — dishing on a number of topics, including the future of Patrice Bergeron, a potential David Pastrnak extension, Jim Montgomery and what lies ahead with Boston’s offseason plans.
Here are a few takeaways from Sweeney and Neely’s pre-draft address with Boston’s media corps:
Bruins optimistic about Patrice Bergeron’s return
He hasn’t put pen to paper quite yet, but ever since it was first reported a few weeks back that Patrice Bergeron was set to return for his 19th season in Boston — it sure seems like everyone has been operating with that assumption as tangible fact.
And while Boston’s top brass wasn’t ready to outright declare a similar sentiment, both Sweeney and Neely did acknowledge that things were trending well for Bergeron’s potential return in 2022-23.
"My conversations with Patrice have gone well," Sweeney said of Boston’s captain. "His recovery has gone well. I suspect coming out of the Draft and heading into free agency that he'll be in a real good place. We're excited that he's considering playing and moving forward with what we think is a positive mindset.
"That will be for him to declare when he's ready to do that. As I said, he's checking off a lot of boxes that have given us strong indications. Until Patrice decides to make that public, that's his [decision] to hold onto."
Neely echoed Sweeney’s comments, noting that Bergeron — who should be cleared for training camp after undergoing elbow surgery earlier this summer — still hasn’t lost a step in his game despite the amount of mileage tacked onto his body.
In fact, you could make the argument that Bergeron put together one of his finest campaigns yet at 36 years old in 2021-22 — posting 65 points over 73 games while submitting a defensive season for the ages en route to his record-breaking fifth Selke Trophy.
“I’m starting to feel a little bit more confident that he’s leaning in the direction we want him to lean into,” Neely said. “As I told him a while ago, ‘Once it’s over, it’s over.’ Believe me. You want to play again at some point. But I also said that not many athletes get to choose when they hang ‘em up. There’s something to be said for that. “You know, if he didn’t have the year he had last year, I might feel differently. The year he had, I don’t see any reason you want to pack it in."
Bruins keeping in touch with David Krejci
Of course, even if Bergeron is back in the fold for the 2022-23 season, this B’s roster still needs additional reinforcements in order to put itself over the top, especially at the 2C position.
While Erik Haula did an admirable job at 2C during the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, his struggles in the postseason hit home the fact that Boston desperately needs another impact pivot who can draw more consistent production out of a top-six unit likely comprised of David Pastrnak and Taylor Hall.
Given both the fit, familiarity and especially the cap implications, I mapped out a potential return for David Krejci as the most pragmatic way for Boston to add another legit 2C talent without breaking the bank — a move that Sweeney seems to want to explore as well.
"I've been in touch with David and [his representatives] who he's working with," Sweeney said of Krejci. "Again, he's spending a lot of time with his family and deciding what he'd like to do. The conversations have gone well. It's just a matter of what David decides, ultimately, and if we're to be the place that he chooses."
The Bruins will be hoping to get some clarity from Krejci soon, considering they will need to pivot in a hurry and either try to prowl the trade market or unload contracts to sign a Nazem Kadri or Vincent Trocheck in free agency if the Czech forward doesn’t want to return.
Bergeron and Krejci’s futures stand as the most important dominos that need to fall for the Bruins to set their agenda for the rest of the summer. But given all of the buzz surrounding these short-term moves, it seems rather evident that the Bruins are looking to put together at least one more run with this current core in place — rather than opt for a rebuild.
“If you look at some of our players, it's hard to say we're gonna just tear this down right now with the Pastrnaks and we just signed (Hampus) Lindholm to eight years, we've got Charlie locked up for another eight years. Carlo, Ullmark, Swayman,” Neely said. “We've got guys that we feel we can build around right now and still, hopefully, keep this train rolling and give us a chance to compete to win the Stanley Cup, I mean, that's the ultimate goal here.
“But when you go through what we did from 2011 all the way to '22 — when you're in that window, so to speak, and you're firing off assets and picks, you know you're gonna pay for it at some point. And that's coming. But hopefully, we can find a way to build around those other guys. We've got Marchand for another three years, I believe. So we still feel we have a competitive team, we just got to find the right pieces to help supplement the roster."
Bruins expected to talk contract extension with Pastrnak’s camp
David Pastrnak isn’t expected to hit free agency until next summer. But the Bruins would be wise to find out ASAP whether or not their talented goal-scorer is ready and willing to be part of this next generation of B’s leadership.
Boston envisions Pastrnak as part of its core for the next decade and is more than willing to dole out a hefty contract extension to keep him here long-term. But the B’s need to get some clarity from the 26-year-old forward as well — because they can't let him walk in free agency a year from now and get nothing in return.
As such, it appears as though the B’s are already starting to try and set the groundwork on a new deal with both Pastrnak and his agent, J.P. Barry.
"I believe Don is meeting with his agent in Montreal here, so we'll see where that goes. But I feel very positive about it," Neely said of Pastrnak and the potential of a new deal.
Trading up?
For the third time in the last five years, the Bruins are set to dormant on the first day of an NHL Draft — with Boston relinquishing its 2022 first-round pick in its deadline deal for Lindholm back in March.
But with Boston in desperate need of restocking its prospect pipeline, could the B’s look to trade back into the first round ahead of Thursday’s selections?
"I mean, there are some teams that are well positioned in the first round with multiple (picks). So a lot of conversations going on,” Sweeney said. “Some teams are just in pick-acquisition mode, so they're not necessarily in player-acquisition mode. So that's made it a little harder of a barrier to enter in that situation.
“And then giving up good players. When you win and are a competitive team, it's hard to part with really good players even though you know you'd like to get back into the first round and improve your prospect pool overall. That's generally what trying to win is and being a competitive team is all about it. We're no different than several other teams have given up their first-round picks.”
Of course, getting back into the first round is a task easier said than done — considering that the B’s would have to give up a valuable asset like Jake DeBrusk or Brandon Carlo to accomplish such an objective.
And if the Bruins are set on running things back with guys like Bergeron in place, dealing a potential 25-goal scorer in DeBrusk in order to get back a mid-20s pick doesn’t seem to add up.
Sweeney confirms DeBrusk’s status
Speaking of DeBrusk, Sweeney confirmed the reports from earlier this week that the winger has indeed rescinded his long-standing trade request.
"That's accurate, yeah. He rescinded," said Sweeney. "As far as conversations about Jake moving forward, about playing for us or playing for another team, it's no different than when he put on that he would like a change of scenery. We're very happy that Jake has turned a corner in how he feels about the Boston Bruins and wants to be with us. He had a hell of a second part of the year and deserves a lot of credit for the production he put forth, and he's looking forward to being back.
"You guys know me well enough to know if opportunities to improve the team - and Jake knows that as well - that's what I'll have to continue to look at. But we're happy that he's in a good place. And I indicated that previously, that I think he was just in a better place when the season ended."
As for the potential friction that existed between DeBrusk and former bench boss Bruce Cassidy, Neely didn’t exactly dismiss some of those narratives.
“I like to keep things in the locker room,” Neely said. “Obviously, if others want to talk, that’s their prerogative. Right or wrong, when you have a coach five, six, seven years and the players remain on a club … unfortunately at some point the voice does get old." …. We have a little bit more information than the media and fans do.
“Things that happen inside the locker room. There’s not one specific thing. Bruce did a really good job for us. Got to the Final [in 2019]. He was well-liked. He was a good coach, still is a good coach. “We’re going to see a little bit of a different approach, maybe change things up a little, that hopefully excites our fanbase. I’m excited about it.”
Montgomery keeping busy
As for the B’s new bench boss in Jim Montgomery, Sweeney noted that the Bruins' head coach is now in Boston and is starting the process of house-hunting with his family. Montgomery is also keeping busy when it comes to rounding out his staff — both interviewing candidates to replace Kevin Dean and Kim Brandvold on the staff, as well as talking with current coaches Chris Kelly, Joe Sacco and Bob Essensa about their futures.
"He's got some things on his plate," said Sweeney. "But talking to a lot of players, interviewing some coaches as well for the open vacancy in the back end with Kevin Dean departing - and a good conversation with Joe and Chris Kelly and Bob Essensa…communicating, as I would hope, and making some decisions about our staff moving forward. We're going to add at least one person as well as replacing Kim, and that may be a multiple-person situation.
Prospects update
Bruins fans looking to catch a glimpse of the next wave of B’s talent at Development Camp next week might be disappointed, as Sweeney confirmed that Mason Lohrei will not participate in on-ice activities at the week-long event at Warrior Ice Arena — while Fabian Lysell may not be at camp at all.
Lohrei, fresh off a strong freshman season at Ohio State, will still be present during camp, but he will not skate after recovering from an offseason knee procedure. As for Lysell, the B’s top forward prospect's status is in flux — due to his prior commitment with Team Sweden for the rescheduled 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in August.
"We've talked to Fabian Lysell. He's going to the World Juniors in August, so that may be too much on his plate to think about making multiple trips," Sweeney said. "Which means he would take the World Juniors and lead right into time with us and then Rookie Camp and such, which, you know, is an extended period of time. So going back and forth may or may not be beneficial to him."