Sweeney Talks Bergeron, Krejci, Pastrnak, and More

BOSTON - Bruins general manager Don Sweeney met with the media on Wednesday morning to discuss the recent signings of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Pavel Zacha, as well as the ongoing contract negotiations with David Pastrnak. Here are some of the highlights from his 20-minute press conference at Warrior Ice Arena:

Back in the Fold

Sweeney said that discussions with both Bergeron and Krejci had been ongoing for some time, noting that in Krejci's case there were talks regarding his return dating back as far as last season. With the knowledge for several weeks that both wanted to return to the Bruins, Sweeney commended the centermen for their patience as the club worked to craft the deals within the constraints of the salary cap, while also acknowledging their willingness to do what was best for the success of the team in 2022-23.
"Obviously, we've been talking for a while, just conceptually," said Sweeney. "And once Patrice indicated that he was likely coming back, his recruiting of David, and the conversations that we had privately, started. I have been in touch with David all through last year, as you guys know, and mostly with [agent Jiri Hamal] as well…we had had extensive talks over the period of time about if he was going to come back, the door would be open.
"And we always felt that way, last year and this year. And knowing some of the cap challenges and some of the things that we were facing, both players were really good and honest about, 'Hey, you know, you're going to try to improve the team and we want to be part of it,' and then almost working backwards from there.
"So that's why the contractual stuff took an awful lot of time to just sort of figure out what we were going to be capable of doing and how we could fit them together. And I'm appreciative of [Bergeron's agent] Phillippe Lecavalier and Jiri and David and Patrice to allow us flexibility and eventually get it done and be very, very excited to have them both back."
Sweeney added that while both veteran pivots signed one-year deals, there has been no indication as to what the future may hold for either of them beyond the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.
"That's going to be Patrice's decision ultimately," said Sweeney. "And I've said that all along, he dictates the time on how long do I play hockey. He can play for as long as he really wants to, to tell you the truth, in my opinion, from his impact in the game. He was pretty adamant that he's going to take things year by year and reevaluate.
"I don't think there's any timeline about how long those guys want to play. I think they left it open ended. They are very much living in the moment and recognizing they've seen several of their teammates previously move on, retire.
"I think they're honest about where they are, but they're awfully really good players. They're driven to succeed and excited about playing with the group that we currently have."
Despite Krejci having been away from the NHL for a year, Sweeney is confident in the centerman's ability to quickly reacclimate to the league's nightly rigors, pointing to his success on the world stage at both the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Championships.
"We watched David an awful lot last year, in particular in the international tournaments and how he had done," said Sweeney. "You also get feedback from other people, saying that David can still play, still impact the game. As an organization, we have done a decent job in Patrice's case, in David's case, of taking away some primary minutes and spreading some things around and situational minutes. And we'll continue to do that.
"I think the depth that we now have in guys that can play the middle of the ice - and Pavel Zacha is part of that, Charlie Coyle is part of that…obviously with [Jack] Studnicka and [Tomas] Nosek, I think we're in a decent spot. It'll be interesting what Jimmy [Montgomery] decides to do, what Monty decides to do, with our power play to start the year and whether or not David finds his way in that top unit with [Brad Marchand] and Charlie [McAvoy] being out, or where he plays in that unit.
"So those are things for Jimmy and the group to figure out. Impact-wise, he wants to play in and impact the game. And ultimately, he doesn't care how old he is. He just shows up and plays hockey, which he's always done and always performed. He's always been productive. So, we don't expect that to drop off."

Talks Continuing

While the most important business of the offseason is now in the rearview, there remains work to be done for Sweeney as he continues negotiations with Pastrnak on a contract extension. The 26-year-old winger is entering the final season of a six-year contract with an annual cap hit of $6.667 million.
"Ongoing would probably be the best way to describe it. We've been in regular communication," said Sweeney. "Obviously, David's still over in Europe and likelihood is he'll come back and we'll talk between now and then. When he gets back, we'll maybe have a better idea of a deal timeline.
"But I don't have one today. And you guys know me well enough, I'm not going to comment publicly on ongoing negotiations, but we've been in regular contact with [agent JP Barry]."
When asked if he could risk going into the season without an extension in place, Sweeney said, '"Yeah, I mean, it's part of the business. Leverage is out there and the conversations are ongoing. We've made our intentions known all along and we'll continue to do that, and we'll go from there. But as far as entering the season with it, not a problem."

Adding to the Mix

In addition to inking Bergeron and Krejci to new contracts on Monday, the Bruins also announced a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Zacha, who was acquired from New Jersey in exchange for Erik Haula on the opening day of free agency. The sides came to an agreement ahead of an arbitration hearing that was previously scheduled for Thursday.
"[Bruins assistant GM] Evan Gold and [agents] Paul Capizzano and Peter MacTavish - they did a lot of work with Pavel's contract in a short period of time," said Sweeney. "Certainly explored longer term deals. And I think as an organization, we've done a pretty good job of targeting players that we've acquired and then being able to extend, whether that's right away or down the road. Pavel's a guy that we've indicated that we'd like to continue to talk to -we can't do that until later on in the year - but we will hopefully find a common ground there.
"I think that getting a player in, getting acclimated and feeling good about his situation, both where he's going to play - which may be different at the start of the year as the middle of the year - and certainly going forward, him having a clear indication of that from us as organization, from the coaching staff.
"I think Pavel was comfortable really putting himself in a position where he could parlay this and we're comfortable as well. I think we've had enough talks that we understand where the marketplace is and maybe where he might fit in there. And hopefully we can find common ground moving forward. We'd like to have him here long term."

Wait, There's More

On if 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell, currently representing Sweden at the 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, could make the Bruins' roster this fall:
"There's always a chance that a younger player can make the team. I referenced David Pastrnak a number of years ago, spent some time in Providence and came back from the World Juniors and went in and played and played well. And it was hard to keep him off, whether or not he's physically ready to play at that level, and maybe Fabian will be the exact same way.
"If Fabian comes in and stands out to the point we feel he's ready, then that's fine. But we don't need to rush things with any of our young players. Put them in an opportunity, allow them to see if they can succeed."
On the development of 2020 sixth-round pick and rising Providence College sophomore Riley Duran, who scored for Team USA in a tournament-opening 5-1 win over Germany at World Juniors on Tuesday night:
"Watching Riley play three or four times last year in person, he's really grown into his body and he's maturing as a player. I think he's gotten a lot more confidence in that progression. For him going through USHL was interesting to watch, getting acclimated and getting comfortable and then sort of really taking strides. I think you're seeing that in Providence. I think [head coach] Nate Leaman, his group, does a really good job in Providence in general.
"But I think Nate has tapped into Riley to get the best out of him each night. And I think that's translating into a World Junior opportunity that they got off to a good start last night with Team USA and we're excited. He was a player that we saw locally and again, had attributes of his game that they were sort of in silos, so to speak. He's starting to put the packages together of those talents and growing into his physical stature. That's exciting for us."

On whether the team will need to move out a contract ahead of the season to comply with the salary cap:
"I hope we've done significant math to be able to put the pieces together. We have some challenges, as do several teams, and how we do that through trade or be it through waivers, that really all teams are going to have to face. We don't have an issue certainly through November. We don't have an issue because of [Long-Term Injured Reserve] and the likelihood that will be an LTI with the injuries we have, the amount of injuries we have. But coming out of it is the math challenge.
"And yeah, we'll have to unwind a little bit. But we have some mechanisms to be able to do that. We know what the leverage will be and you just don't know what's going to happen between now and then anyways. So, we're prepared to go in a couple different directions to explore what we have to, but we have mechanisms in place to be able to accomplish the goal."
On if injured players Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk - all of whom are expected to be sidelined to begin the 2022-23 season - are progressing in their recoveries:
"Everybody's doing well in their timelines. Again, we've always put a band on things to prepare for whether or not a guy is doing better than expected or not necessarily. And right now, as indicated, I think the guys are following the trajectory that was laid out and hopefully we don't have any surprises every now and then."
On his confidence in the team being able to withstand the injuries to Marchand, McAvoy, and Grzelcyk to start the season:
"I mean, our forward group is deep and we're going to have a real competitive camp for some spots. You know, the back end - we're going to have to weather, as you referenced, and have guys that that are going to come in and get some opportunity. I feel good about our goaltending and situation that those guys should be much more comfortable in knowing that they have to, you know, sort of be a backbone there while we go through the early parts with a couple of key guys out in the back end. But, I think the depth of our forward group should really help us get through the time period without March in particular.
"We're a really competitive team. We want to improve our team this year. I think we have to get healthy. You have to stay healthy and then you try and take a run. But we're going to be fine from the standpoint of the number of really good players we currently have and the age band that they're in, it's the next wave that you have to grow and cross your fingers that you've hit on."