Sweeney, Neely Talk Offseason Planning Ahead of Draft

NASHVILLE - Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely met with reporters at the team's hotel in the Music City on Tuesday afternoon as the club prepares for the upcoming NHL Draft. Here are some of the headlines from their availabilities:

Decisions Still Looming

Sweeney said that the club is allowing Patrice Bergeron the time and space he needs to make a decision about his playing future, while also noting that he has been in contact with the Bruins captain as he goes through his process.

"Well, congrats to Patrice on his sixth Selke [Monday] night. He and [his wife] Steph are eagerly awaiting the birth of a fourth child," said Sweeney. "I've had some conversations with Patrice. He's taking his time and he's going to take all the time necessary, there's no pressure from the organization.

"If and when Patrice makes a decision, we'll respect it and welcome him back, whether that is now - or between now and whenever, to tell you the honest truth. He just wants to make a concrete decision on what's best for him and the family.

"He's got a lot going on, so you have to afford him that opportunity. It won't affect what we're trying to accomplish as an organization between now and when he makes the decision."

Neely added that, in some ways, the Bruins are operating as if neither Bergeron or David Krejci will be back for the 2023-24 season, while still leaving open the possibility - and hope - that they return.

"Yeah, I mean for us, we have to kind of plan like they aren't coming back until we hear otherwise," said Neely. "We would not be doing the organization a service if we planned that they are coming back and then they weren't. So, for us it's kind of two paths, going down two paths.

"Hopefully, we'll hear something soon, but we're certainly going to give those guys the time that they need. I think as a player, you may think that you're done, but then a month or two into the offseason you're like, 'Oh, what am I going to do next winter?'

"And let's be honest there's nothing better than playing hockey or playing a sport, so when it's over, it's over for good for the most part."

Neely went on to say that both Bergeron and Krejci understand the situation the Bruins are in and that the team must continue with its business as the Draft and free agency take center stage this week in Nashville.

"They absolutely understand," said Neely. "We've been very open, and we've told them we understand that they need to take some time to make decisions, but we have to do our jobs, too."

Sweeney said that he "doesn't foresee it as a problem" if he needs to find room for Bergeron and Krejci on the roster should their decision come following free agency. If Boston is without their long-time, one-two punch down the middle next season, the club's younger core will certainly have to fill the leadership void.

"We're going to need some of that next core group of guys, the younger guys, to step up from a leadership perspective if Bergy doesn't come back, if Krech doesn't come back. We lost [Nick] Foligno, so those guys have to step up," said Neely. "And if we are bringing in some younger players then they are going to have to understand what it takes to play here and prepare and how to be a professional on and off the ice, how to prepare yourself to play National Hockey League games.

"The great thing about having [Zdeno Chara] and Bergy for so long in this organization, is guys should have learned something from them."

Up Against It

Neely said he cannot remember a time in which the Bruins were as cap strapped as they are this offseason, as the club currently has roughly $11 million in space, according to CapFriendly, with only about 15 players under contract. As such, Boston has already had to make the difficult decision of shipping Taylor Hall (and his $6 million cap hit) and unrestricted free agent Nick Foligno to Chicago on Monday.

"We've always said that there is going to be some turnover associated with that," Sweeney said when asked if the cap issues will lead to more moves. "I was pretty honest at the end of the year, realizing that might include some of our younger guys getting an opportunity or bringing in some players that might be looking for that platform or second opportunities.

"That is just the nature of where we're at right now. We certainly pushed a lot to the middle of the table in terms of trying to accomplish an ultimate goal and we fell short. We have to regroup as a result."

As such, Sweeney said that it's unlikely he'll be able to retain free agent blue liner Dmitry Orlov, who was acquired along with Garnet Hathaway from Washington at the trade deadline. He went on to say, however, that he hasn't completely closed the door on any of the club's UFAs (including Tyler Bertuzzi, Tomas Nosek, and Connor Clifton) returning.

"None of those guys have necessarily been closed off," said Sweeney. "We've obviously recircled with most of them, based on our decision [Monday to make the Hall trade], but haven't really concretely put anything together that would indicate that I'm going to be able to - in particular on Orly. But you just never know with what happens between now and then."

When it comes to restricted free agents, the Bruins must still work out new contracts with Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman. Sweeney said that as of now, his plan is to retain both Swayman and Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark between the pipes.

"I think we're in a terrific spot, if we do decide [to run it back], and that is what our indications are right now, unless something else materialized between now and then," said Sweeney. "It doesn't mean I won't. You guys know me well enough, I have to do my job as to what might present, and the goalie market is an interesting one right now."

With the salary cap expected to rise substantially in the coming years, Neely said that while the Bruins have plenty of work to do to fill out the 2023-24 roster, they must also be cognizant of putting themselves in a strong position to take advantage of that situation moving forward.

"We don't want to put ourselves in a position where we don't take advantage of that next year either," said Neely. "So, we feel pretty good about where we are going into the following year, but it's just this season right now that we're trying to piece together.

"We kind of had a pretty good idea of what our roster would look like and how we could put it together last offseason, compared to this offseason. So, we figured that if the cap didn't go up, we were going to have some juggling to do, which we unfortunately lose Taylor, a great player for us. We really loved him as a Bruin.

"But that's just…we knew that was going to happen. Unfortunately, the cap didn't go up like everybody was hoping for, but we kind of anticipated that."

The B's president did say he believes "it was worth it" to adopt an all-in type of approach last season, despite the salary cap issues now facing the club this summer.

"I mean, the regular season record speaks for itself," said Neely. "I think we all looked at that roster and thought this was as good of a chance as any that we're going to go deep and get to the Finals at a minimum. So, it is extremely disappointing because of what we knew this season was going to bring us, regardless of if we won or not.

"But we thought we were going to give us the best chance to go deep and win. So, it did sting a lot for all of us, but…like I said at the end of the year press conference…if we don't learn something from it, then shame on us."

A Moving Message

Upon accepting his Jack Adams Award on Monday night, coach Jim Montgomery spoke about his recovery from alcoholism as he thanked his family and the team of people that has helped him get back to the NHL after being terminated by Dallas in late 2019. Montgomery said, "for those who struggle out there, you can change. You can affect change within yourself. It doesn't happen alone. You need a team. You need a community."

"Really proud of Monty to go up and deliver a message on a much wider scope as to what resonated with him just personally," said Sweeney. "It speaks to the path that he's now on for the rest of his life and sitting with Emily and knowing how proud she was and how big a part his family has played in his process in becoming who he is now.

"But I've had other people reach out and recognize that he took it on a wider platform that should resonate with each and every one of us. So, I'm proud of him."

The moving message did not come as a surprise to the Bruins' brass, who acknowledged that Montgomery was quite open about his journey during the interview process last summer.

"When were in the interview process, he was very straight forward straight from the get-go about what transpired and what he's done since and I thought it was a great speech, I really did," said Neely. "I thought a lot of people probably should take something away from that, but no that did not surprise me at all."

Wait, There's More

• In exchange for Hall and Foligno, the Bruins acquired two right-shot defensemen in Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula, a position that has been thin throughout the organization in recent years. "That was target for us in all honesty," said Sweeney. "We had two right D signed, Ryan Mast will be a first-year pro, so we've been thin in that area and then Connor is part of that whole decision-making process as well. He's been put in a real good situation to parlay the type of year that he's had. But we were cognizant of guys that we feel could go in and play there and we'll continue to go in and look at the marketplace to see if there is another player that might check off that box as well and create competition."
• With Boston not having a pick until the third round, Neely said there has been talk about trying to acquire earlier selections. "There's always talk, absolutely there is always talk about trying to move up, there's no question," he said. "I mean, if that happens, great. If it doesn't, we're prepared for it."
• Neely said "not at this point, no" when asked if there would be any changes to Montgomery's coaching staff or the support staff.