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Before jetting down to Washington D.C. to prep for their season-opening contest against the Capitals on Wednesday night, the Bruins conducted their final practice of training camp at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday before holding their annual Media Day.
Here are a few takeaways from the event, including comments from Don Sweeney, Cam Neely and others.
Talks remain ongoing between Bruins, Pastrnak
At this point in the preseason, the only narratives that most teams are burdened with usually revolve around the final roster battle or two further down on the depth chart and developments on the waiver wire (more on that in a bit).
But for the Bruins, the top order of business remains signing David Pastrnak to a long-term, hefty contract extension — keeping a franchise cornerstone entrenched for the foreseeable future while also quelling a storyline that seems poised to linger over this team with each passing day that Pastrnak remains a pending UFA.
But despite Don Sweeney’s hopes that both player and team could bridge the gap on a new contract before the end of training camp, it seems as though both parties are ready to carry these conversations into the regular season.
"Both sides have been open about continuing our talks, so I don't think things change at all from that standpoint, unless David takes a new position," Sweeney said. “But up until this standpoint, we've been communicating regularly and when he feels comfortable, hopefully we finalize a deal. There's no timeline on that. We're just going to continue to communicate, almost every day to tell you the honest truth, and see if we can find a finish line."
Pastrnak, who could easily command $10.5-$11.5 million per year if he hits the open market next summer, has noted time and time again that he’s not fretting about any contractual impasses with the only NHL club he’s played for, adding that he’s comfortable with letting his agent, J.P. Barry, take the wheel when it comes to negotiations with Sweeney and Co.
"Of course I'm comfortable,” Pastrnak said of negotiations going into the regular season. “I'm really worried just about the hockey, to be honest. I have people working for me and obviously I know J.P. is in daily contact with Sweens. So I don't really worry too much besides playing hockey right now and obviously focusing on having a good start and making sure my game is right where I want it to be.
“I know they're talking every day. So obviously, they're trying to get something done. It's good that they're in touch. So confident that it will get done.”
Of course, even if Pastrnak isn’t exactly worried about any timeline, the Bruins likely hold a different sentiment — given that each new day opens the door for Pastrnak to raise his value with another two-goal salvo, while also prolonging a narrative of Pastrnak’s UFA status and whether or not the Bruins can enter next summer without assurances that Pastrnak is ready to sign here long-term (spoiler: they can’t).
"David is a special player," Charlie Jacobs said. "We try not to comment on ongoing negotiations, but David is obviously a special player. Ownership is aware that we need to be aggressive in trying to re-up David to a new contract. To that end, (Sweeney) and Cam (Neely) have been working on that."
Reilly, Foligno and Wagner all clear waivers
When it came to talks surrounding the state of Boston’s roster, the Bruins’ top brass were pretty tight-lipped on Monday, considering that another shoe still needed to drop when it came to news of whether or not Mike Reilly, Nick Foligno and Chris Wagner were all going to clear waivers.
But even though a potential top-four option on the blue line like Reilly seemed like an obvious candidate as a waiver-wire pickup, all three B’s skaters cleared waivers on Monday afternoon — giving Boston a number of options when it comes to augmenting its roster ahead of Wednesday’s opener.
While exposing a player to waivers is usually the first step toward an AHL assignment, the Bruins don’t necessarily have to send Reilly, Foligno and Wagner to Providence — and can instead keep them on the NHL roster, at least so long as the team is cap compliant.
And with both Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy set to be placed on long-term injured reserve, the Bruins shouldn’t run into any cap-related issues before NHL rosters are finalized at 5 p.m.
“We’ll be cap compliant,” Sweeney noted.
With all three players expected up with the big club on Wednesday, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see both Foligno and Reilly back in the lineup — with the veteran forward back on the fourth line and Reilly occupying a spot somewhere on the left side of Boston’s defense.
For all three players, the past 24 hours haven’t been easy — especially given the very tangible possibility of another team claiming them and necessitating a hasty move ahead of regular-season action.
"The unknown is hard, right? I've been fortunate my entire career to not really have that,” Foligno said Monday of navigating waivers. “So it's a different feeling. But it's the reality. I mean, I've been on the other side of it, where I've been captain, talking to guys who have been put on waivers and trying to coach them — so now that the shoe is on my foot, I gotta make sure I walk the walk as much as talk the talk and just do my job. The one thing that will never change is who I am as a person, how I'm gonna help his team, how I'm gonna prepare, how I'm gonna be around the guys, and the type of player I am. So it's the unfortunate side of it. But it's the reality. And I think I've understood that and know that, if I do clear, I'm going to do whatever I can to be a Boston Bruin and help this team.”
With all three players clearing waivers, it does remain to be seen how Anton Stralman — still signed to a PTO — figures into Boston’s plans this season. We should receive more clarity around 5 p.m. once rosters are finalized, but Sweeney did note that the team remains in regular conversation with Stralman and his camp.
Neely is tired of talking about ‘15
As expected, a hefty portion of the questions posed to Boston’s top brass on Monday revolved around Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci’s respective futures — and the stakes involved in a season that could very well be the last kick at the can for this core.
And by extension, any talk regarding Boston’s dwindling contention window and the missed opportunities to further capitalize beyond that 2011 title often falls back to the same pivotal moment in franchise history — that 2015 NHL Draft.
It was a sequence of decisions that will impact the direction of this franchise for the next decade, beyond even when players like Bergeron and Krejci hang up their skates.
But if you ask Cam Neely, it seems as though the organization is sick of dwelling on it.
"The narrative, quite frankly, is a little frustrating to me,” Neely said of the discourse regarding Sweeney and his job as Bruins GM. “I mean, we've said it many times that from a draft perspective, we have missed on the high side, especially in '15. I'm tired of talking about '15. But if you look at who the Boston Bruins have drafted, maybe from '15 to '18 because it may be a little unfair to look at players in '19-'21 in their development state, but if you look at the players the Boston Bruins have drafted, how many NHL games played they've played, I think it's among some of the highest in the league.
"So the narrative is a little old for me. Every GM in the league makes mistakes, we're going to continue to make mistakes. But hopefully, we learn from those mistakes and limit those mistakes. I think Don has certainly evolved over the last few years. Our scouting staff has evolved. We certainly have high expectations and high standards, but mistakes are gonna happen. But I don't think it's as bad as what the narrative is out there."
(Relatively) good news on the Injury front
Beyond just the roster reshuffling due to waivers, the Bruins are also still juggling their lineup due to the slew of injuries that are still going to sap some star talent out of the B’s depth chart for the first few months of game action.
Speaking on Monday, both Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) and Brad Marchand (hip) — who have both regularly skated ahead of the main group sessions at Warrior for the past few weeks — are still circling Thanksgiving as the target date for when they hope to return on the ice.
But elsewhere, the Bruins continue to get more and more encouraging news when it comes to both Taylor Hall (upper body) and Matt Grzelcyk (shoulder).
Hall, who was once tabbed as being “week to week” after suffering his ailment in a preseason contest back on Oct. 1, skated in a regular sweater on Monday — logging minutes next to Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk. According to Hall, he is currently “on track to play on Wednesday.”
As for Grzelcyk, who has been skating in a full-contact sweater for the last few days, the Bruins don’t have a set date for him to return to game action — but it doesn’t seem as though the Charlestown native is going to be on the shelf for long, as Sweeney acknowledged that Grzelcyk will not be placed on LTIR to begin the season.
Here are the Bruins’ lines from Monday morning:
Hall-Bergeron-DeBrusk
Zacha-Krejci-Pastrnak
Greer-Coyle-Smith
Foligno-Nosek-Lauko
Frederic-Studnicka-Wagner
Lindholm-Carlo
Forbort-Zboril
Reilly-Clifton
Grzelcyk-Stralman
Ullmark
Swayman
As of Monday afternoon, Jim Montgomery acknowledged that the Bruins have still yet to name a starter in net for Wednesday night against the Caps.