Opportunity Aplenty as Bruins Turn the Page

BOSTON – Cam Neely isn’t looking back.

In fact, for the Bruins’ president it’s not even an option.

“I'm a big believer in, my rearview mirror is broken. So, you certainly can learn from the past and take some things away from that. But the page has turned, and we’ve got a new season coming up,” Neely said on Wednesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena when asked how he addressed the team regarding the crushing end to last season’s record-setting campaign.

With the start of the 2023-24 season comes a fresh slate and a chance for the Black & Gold to build on their 65-win, 135-point showing – while accepting that a repeat performance is all but impossible.

“Scar tissue is what it is, and it exists in each and every one of us and we take the disappointment and apply it going forward,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said on the opening day of training camp, during which the players remained off the ice as they went through testing.

“The expectations, they don't change. We didn’t expect to win 65 games last year. I don’t expect to win 65 this year. But I do expect us to be a highly competitive team from Day 1 and to take the approach that we're going to be a tough out each and every night and wear that jersey with pride. That’s what this organization is trying to stand for.

“We’ve fallen short and last year's a great example of that. So, the rearview mirror is generally like hindsight, right? It's 20/20. But eyes are forward. Everybody has a job to do and there are expectations that come along with them.”

The expectations to maintain the Bruins’ high standard both on and off the ice are not going away, Sweeney said, despite the departures of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement and a number of other changes to the roster that set the NHL record for wins and points in 2022-23.

“The expectations internally have not changed for this hockey club,” said Sweeney. “There's plenty of guys that are really excited. People on the outside might view it as a void [without Bergeron and Krejci]…they get to step into those and not that they've been in the shadows, but they've been learning and realizing that they want that added ice time and added responsibilities.

“That's evolution that every team goes through. We’re fortunate enough to have players that are really excited about that opportunity.”

Opportunity was certainly the word of the day as the Bruins’ brass made sure to reinforce the chance that sits in front of so many players to grab hold of a roster spot.

“That was the first message that I talked to the group today about,” said Sweeney. “Training camp is the ultimate opportunity for every player in that room, whether you're on a PTO or whether you're an established player. You make hard decisions in this business…Jakub Lauko is a great example from last year and A.J. Greer is another good example from last year – they just made sure that the decision was really hard on us and rightfully so. They played well.

“And everybody in that room should realize that they can be next. Internal competition is the best thing for a hockey club to have, to withstand injuries that may or may not come, but also push each other to be better.

“It's hard to keep a player out of the National Hockey League if they’re good enough to play here, anywhere. That's what needs to soundly resonate with each and every player. If they're good enough to play, they're going to play for the Boston Bruins because we want the best team on the ice.”

Neely, meanwhile, had a simple question for the players when he addressed them as a group on Wednesday morning.

“As I addressed the players, I just asked them, ‘what are you going to do to make the Boston Bruins better?’ said Neely. “We don't have the same team, obviously, as we did at the end of the year…but we've got guys that are very good hockey players on this club. Great goaltending, great defense. We've got some really strong offensive forwards.

“It’s just going to be a matter of everybody collectively pitching in and chipping in. That’s what these guys have to be prepared to do.”

Offering Up An Assist

While the story of the day was the appointment of Brad Marchand as the club’s 27^th captain, the Bruins also solidified their leadership corps with the announcement of Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak as the permanent alternate captains. Both players had rotated the ‘A’ last season.

“They've grown over the last few years,” said Neely. “They were a good part of the group last year with Bergy. And I see that growing as this year goes along, and in future years. I mean, it's not just a one-person job to lead. You want everybody to lead in their own way but having Brad have David and Charlie with him is and certainly helpful.”

Montgomery said that for Marchand, McAvoy, and Pastrnak the Bruins “are their team now.” He added that McAvoy and Pastrnak “are not only ready [to be alternate captains full-time], but they're looking forward to it. And it also has a trickle-down effect, into Brandon [Carlo], [Hampus] Lindholm, and [Matt] Grzelcyk, JD [Jake DeBrusk], Pavel [Zacha], [Charlie] Coyle, now they become the support group along with…we got Looch [Milan Lucic] back.

“That's a huge leadership [group], so the support from the top trickling down, the trickle-down effect here is great. And I think everybody's kind of been groomed, and they've been watching great leaders before them.”

Sweeney added, “great players aspire to continue to be great, but also to have added responsibility off the ice. And both [David] and Charlie are welcoming that.”

Looking to Chat

Sweeney said that he is aiming to commence contract talks with DeBrusk and his camp as the winger enters the final season of a two-year deal. The winger said last week at the Bruins’ annual golf outing that no discussions had been had to that point.

“We’re going to have communication with Jake and his representation,” said Sweeney. “We’d like to know if Jake indeed does want to be here and, hopefully, we can find common ground. Besides that, you guys [the media] know me enough, I’m not going to comment on anything publicly. And we'd like to see you see Jake remain with the Boston Bruins.”

Sweeney added that DeBrusk “deserves a lot of credit” for the way he has performed and handled himself in the wake of a trade request ahead of the 2021-22 season that was later rescinded.

“He put all those things aside and just went out and performed and was on pace for a really – and had a really good year,” Sweeney said of DeBrusk tying a career-high with 27 goals last season despite missing significant time due to injuries suffered at the Winter Classic. “But even more so, battled through a couple of different injuries and came back and played well again. So, I think that's Jake's maturity both also player as a person and he’s an important part of our club. We hope him to have the season we expect him to do. He's going to be a big part of that.”

Wait, There’s More

• Neely said the Bruins will continue to keep discussions open with Bergeron about rejoining the organization in a new role, but that nothing has been decided. “I think he's happy being an Uber driver for the family,” said Neely. “But it's something that we're certainly going to discuss with him.”
• Sweeney, while knocking on the wood in front of him, said that all players are healthy as camp begins. “Everyone is accounted for and healthy,” he said, “and ready to go for [Thursday’s]” first on-ice session.”
• Montgomery said that newly appointed assistant coach John McLean, who was previously a skating and skills consultant, will have those specialty areas remain his focus just in an expanded role. “One, he is a former defenseman,” said Montgomery. “Two, to the skill development portion of it, working on developing players within the season with their individual skills, specifically, that translate to how to grow Bruins hockey systematically…he's going to be working on, not only your skating, your shooting, your passing…but he's going to be combining that with how it plays out in game situations for our team, which I think is going to get players reps of improving their skill development within our team game, which hopefully makes them better and makes it easier.”
• Montgomery said that he does not believe Trent Frederic will see time at center at least to begin the season, outside of being more prepared to help out on faceoffs as a left shot. “I really, really like Trent on the wing,” said Montgomery. “He likes scoring and he likes puck protection, and he’s got a big, heavy body for wall play. Having spoken to him over the summer, that's where he's comfortable playing.”
• Boston’s bench boss said the club will not be making major changes to their scheme but will put more of a focus on the D-zone. “We think we're going to have to spend more time working on D-zone coverage, just so that we maintain our high level of play in the D-zone,” said Montgomery. “But we're not changing much to how we play. We want to play fast, there's areas we think we can play faster in. And we think there's areas that we can be more physical. And we just think honing in on details of certain areas of our game will make us better offensively and defensively.”