Cassidy: 'I Can't Help But Think About Next Year'

BostonBruins.com - Bruce Cassidy is already anxious to return to work.
Just two days removed from the Bruins' season-ending loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston's bench boss is back to scheming ways to improve the Black & Gold next season.
The problem is, no one knows quite when that will be. As of now, training camp for the 2020-21 campaign is set to begin on Nov. 17 with the regular season opening on Dec. 1 - dates, of course, that are hardly set in stone as the COVID-19 pandemic remains in charge.
But that uncertainty isn't stopping Cassidy, who is used to having his focus on hockey at this time of the year.
"Let's get back at it. Let's go back to work. I mean, the days are getting shorter and the evenings are getting cooler, that's usually hockey time, right? It's September," Cassidy said during his season-ending media availability on Wednesday afternoon. "It's an odd feeling right now that we're not going to work."

For the time being, Cassidy's preparations for next season will be accompanied by tossing the occasional batting practice session for his young son, Cole, and flipping burgers on the grill while spending time with his wife, Julie, and daughter, Shannon. It is valuable and most appreciated family time after nearly six weeks in the Toronto bubble.
"Happy to be around Julie and the kids," said Cassidy. "I would happily have spent another month in the bubble for a chance to win the Cup. I think I've said that. Now that we're out, though, it's great to be home, have your home life back together…spend some time at home, decompress and get your work in on the days that it's time to work.
"I can't help but think about next year. You don't want to lose this way, don't want to go out this way. Feel like we had the team to keep playing so we have figure out what to do to be in that position. That's where I'm at right now."
Here's a look at some of the areas Cassidy is looking at to improve and some of the other offseason changes that might be on the way:

Defense to Offense

Cassidy admitted that the Bruins might have to adjust their strategy in the offensive zone, particularly when it comes to generating more from the point. When he took over as coach in 2017, Cassidy wanted to lean more on the forwards creating down low as opposed to always thinking about going low to high.
But with the Bruins struggling to score at 5-on-5, especially against the Lightning, and Tampa capitalizing on so many deflections and tips of their own, Cassidy seems willing to adapt the team's approach, while noting that he'll take a more hands-on approach with the defense corps next season.
"When I first took over, I thought it was too much low to high, it was automatic," Cassidy explained. "I felt we were underutilizing the skill of our forward group. We changed some of those forwards that could attack, beat some people 1-on-1, get more looks from the slot, use the back of the net and I think we built that into our game. And I think where that changes is in playoff hockey. I think wingers are much more dialed in defensively where they're going to collapse in the slot, be aware of coverages. I think they're much more willing to block shots. The whole group is. It's a skill to get a puck through to the net.
"And that's where we have to be next year, better…we have to find a balance. It's not like this was a revelation yesterday. It has been something we've been building in. And then you have to have the skill set to get a shot through…we're going to look long and hard on it. It cost us, I think, in this playoff series. It's out there. We need to be better at it."
One player who the Bruins will be counting on to help create more from the blue line is Charlie McAvoy, who took another step during the postseason toward becoming one of the league's elite No. 1 defensemen. The 22-year-old played significant minutes in all situations across Boston's 10 playoff games, averaging a team-high 25:10, which was well over two minutes more than the next player (Torey Krug, 22:51).
"No, he's got more," Cassidy said when asked if McAvoy is hitting his ceiling. "I don't think anyone hits their ceiling at 22, to be honest with you. There's a lot of growth left in this game. Will his skill set change a ton over the next four or five years? He's an elite skater, so I assume that will probably stay the same, more or less, over the next several years. His puck skills will continue to grow, his confidence at the blue line. If he's thrust into more of a power-play role, will it make him a better offensive player because he's getting more touches? Does it bleed into five-on-five? Those are the questions we have to ask.
"He's also our No. 1 pair shutdown guy. Can he handle all of that? Is he ready for PK, PP, 5-on-5, be our No. 1 D? Those are some things that the minutes we gave him was probably a big ask to do all of those things at 22 years old. I think he's a little bit a ways away from having all those things. Do I think he's capable of it? Absolutely.
"Obviously, I think the world of Charlie. He's an elite defenseman who is only going to get better."

Finding A Fit

Cassidy said that there were two schools of thought to choose from when it came to determining the Bruins' best lineup - more size and strength with the likes of Nick Ritchie and Chris Wagner or more speed and skill with the likes of Anders Bjork, Karson Kuhlman, and Jack Studnicka, three players who clearly provided a boost for Boston in its Game 5 loss to Tampa.
"You'd like to have a mix of both," said Cassidy, who added that he needed to do better with the lineup in certain games. "The bigger bodies are probably more impactful when your D are getting involved in getting shots through from the point, so it's a little more of O-zone play, you're creating turnovers on the forecheck and then the speed is more off the rush. Do we have enough? I feel we do, but I think we're going to have to learn to finish better and some of that is we're going to have to do a better job at the O-zone blue line getting shots through.
"That's an area of our game that has to improve with what we have now. Our ability to score off re-directs and rebounds. And then, obviously, we have to look at our personnel, is that a strength of their game or is there better out there? Those are discussions we'll have."

Blending Them Both

With Boston's championship core growing older and blue line stalwarts Zdeno Chara and Krug both unrestricted free agents, Cassidy and the Bruins know that some of their "second-layer" players are going to have to take another step forward to help carry the weight.
"We want that continuation to start at some point for the second layer, I though it did last year," said Cassidy. "Jake [DeBrusk] had a really good playoff his first year against Toronto, it's a reason why we advanced. [Sean] Kuraly scored some big goals, and now McAvoy, so you're leaning on those guys to pull harder on the rope is what we're going after. It's as simple as that. We have a lot of trust and faith and our core guys are still carrying us, but it's a full 20 guys and you need those other guys to step up sometimes.
"Going forward I think they do have to be a little more accountable to the group if this team is going to have another decade like we just had. That's really getting ahead of ourselves, but the messaging is that were relying on you guys."
Cassidy went on to say that he still believes the core group has plenty left in the tank, but that the team must continue to supplement them in order to compete for the Stanley Cup.
"How do you supplement a core that's got another year on them? I think we've done some good with that over the years, obviously, to stay very competitive and be one of the elite teams in the league," said Cassidy. "We are going to supplement more. We're going to look at if they have the right pieces around them. Are we coaching them the right way? Do we need to change our systems now because of the way we've lost out in the playoffs? Those are all realistic questions.
"There is always going to be an immediate cry at the end when you lose about what happened. We just have to be careful. Sit back for a bit and see, 'OK, is the reason because we need to get younger? Have some of these guys aged out, did we put them in the right position to succeed? Is there a lot more to give? I think there is, personally. We'll have those discussions."

Making Progress

Boston has now lost to the Lightning in five games in two of the past three postseasons - both times in the second round - but Cassidy does believe that the Bruins have grown considerably since the 2018 loss.
"Obviously, they've had our number. That's a fact. We can't hide that," said Cassidy. "Do you build your team to beat that team or do you build your team to beat every team in the league and balance your team? Those are discussions we'll have. We have to have that in mind that to get to where we want to go, we have to go through Tampa. I think this year's five-game loss, we're farther ahead than we were two years ago. I truly believe that.
"We were more competitive except for the 7-1 game [in Game 3]. We had some personnel that weren't functioning at 100 percent, we had some personnel out of the lineup that could have helped us. Would it have been enough to win the series? That's anybody's guess.
"Right now, I feel like we're very competitive with Tampa. They've had the better hand, so the facts don't dictate that but that's how I feel…[let's] not forget about the 70 games we played to be arguably the best team in the National Hockey League. You can't just throw that out the window."
The Bruins were, in fact, atop the league standings before the pandemic pause, boasting 100 points - 6 points more than the next team - to capture the Presidents' Trophy. They were not, however, able to regain that level of success when the season resumed in early August.
"It was two seasons the way I look at it. It wasn't a continuation. It just wasn't," said Cassidy. "You're off four months, not a lot of control on what's going on with the players in terms of how they're preparing if and when there was going to be a restart…a team like us, the life that was building…we had a couple of trade deadline acquisitions we were trying to work in, just like we did the year before. We'll never know the answer to that because those players didn't get the opportunity.
"We missed some players in training camp and there's no doubt in hindsight that set them back. I mean if you take a month off when everyone else is skating and then get right into it, we play the exhibition games, three games, there's some catching up to do."

Plenty of Assistance

Cassidy confirmed that all of his assistants - Kevin Dean, Bob Essensa, Jay Pandolfo, and Joe Sacco - remain under contract for next season. He was not yet sure if any of them had ambitions of coaching their own teams moving forward but expects that there will be further discussions about that and potential role adjustments in the coming weeks.
"We try to, every summer, tweak a little bit of assignments so guys don't get stale," said Cassidy. "We'll have discussions. Obviously, Kevin is at one end of the bench, Jay and Joe at the other. A little bit [of it will be] on what side of the puck are they going to emphasize. Which players would they be more comfortable, not comfortable with…who have they built relationships with? Sometimes they'll interact with those guys a little more, tutor them a little more, deal with the one on one video a little more. We're going to have those discussions.
"I think our assistants do a terrific job. Like every year, we have to stay fresh and do what's best for the team and if it means changing a few roles, we're absolutely amenable to that."

Banged Up B's

As is the case after nearly every playoff run, there are injuries disclosed by the team and players. Cassidy touched a bit on which players were banged up, expanding on the league's "unfit to participate" label that was required within the bubble.
- Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand "were getting treatments, some wear and tear that they had over the years. Certainly, able to play, not making an excuse there." - Zdeno Chara, "the last game, he took a blocked shot that I know there was an X-Ray situation [on his foot], so whether there is anything further on that, I have not heard yet." - Sean Kuraly had a lower-body injury that kept him out for Games 3-5 against Tampa. - Charlie McAvoy is "good" after getting hit awkwardly into the boards during overtime of Game 5. - David Pastrnak "had a lower body injury he played through the whole playoffs. You could see he wasn't at top speed. Obviously missing time [during camp], him and [Ondrej] Kase, their conditioning level wasn't where it needed to be to stand the rigors of that. And that was a bit of circumstance. Typically, you have the whole year to build that up if you miss a bit at the start. We didn't have that luxury this year." - Nick Ritchie "had an injury late" and did not play in Game 5 against Tampa. - Chris Wagner exited Game 4 and did not suit up for Game 5 with an undisclosed injury that Cassidy described as "a different animal. I don't want to speculate on his."