Sweeney Talks Draft, Kovalchuk, Free Agents

BostonBruins.com - With the NHL Entry Draft kicking off on Friday night in Dallas and the start of free agency less than two weeks away, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has some difficult decisions ahead of him. Questions remain on numerous fronts, including whether or not he will make a trade to improve his draft position, which free agents he will re-sign, and if he will be pursuing one of the top free agents this offseason.

Will B's Move into the First Round?

The team does not currently possess a first-round pick after it was sent to the New York Rangers in the Rick Nash trade, resulting in Boston's earliest pick coming at 57th overall. Sweeney has acknowledged his desire to acquire a first-round pick but explained that, "as you get closer to it, it's harder and harder to move in to."
The Bruins have made six first-round selections in the three drafts since Sweeney was hired as general manager in 2015. If a deal is not made, this will mark the first draft in which Sweeney has not drafted a player in the opening round.
"This is buyer's remorse right now in terms of where we sit," said Sweeney. "Not having a first-round pick and walking in there [Friday] night is painful. You know, I've spent a lot of time with our amateur scouts in the last two days that we've been here and really tightening up the list right from top to bottom, and you feel badly.
"These guys have covered a lot of ground, and I mentioned that at the deadline, and we took a swing. I don't feel bad for taking a swing given where our team was."
Despite having to wait an extra day to make a selection, Sweeney said he anticipates finding value in the later rounds.
"There is depth," he said. "There's a lot of good players. We still think we'll get a very good player at 57, and we improved our draft position in the third round. We feel like we've done our due diligence. We know the list, we know the players, but there's a lot of good players between now and when we pick."

Kovalchuk to Boston?

One of the most highly-touted free agents this summer is offensively-gifted forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who is returning to the NHL after a five-year stint in the KHL. Sweeney confirmed that he has had talks with Kovalchuk's representatives and said that there is mutual interest.
"We feel we're a team he has strong interest in, and we're going to see where it goes between now and however long it takes to make a decision," said Sweeney. "I think we're in a position to certainly explore that, and he fills a need. I know Bruce [Cassidy] spoke about it at length…we did talk very specifically about our roster with him and where we see him fitting in and what he brings to the table, so we would be excited to continue to explore."

Who Will Re-Sign?

Sweeney provided an update on a few of the team's impending free agents, including forward Sean Kuraly, who he has had "very, very good, healthy communication" with.
"We expect to see something done, hopefully, in the short term, but I don't have anything definitive," Sweeney said of the 25-year-old restricted free agent.
He also remains in talks with Rick Nash, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after playing in 23 regular season and playoff games for the Bruins after being acquired at the trade deadline. The potential for his return partially hinges on the Kovalchuk decision.
"He's going to take some time to make what decision he wants to make, and time is on his side," said Sweeney. "He gets to make that. We've been open to looking at that. Obviously, we would close the door if we were fortunate enough to be able to sign Ilya, but again, you're kind of jockeying simultaneously, but we understand that he has options as well - or he will have options."
Another key player who would become a free agent on July 1 without a new contract is backup goaltender Anton Khudobin. Sweeney said that he is in talks with Khudobin with the hope of re-signing him.
"It's an area we have to fill," said Sweeney. "It's a need…we just haven't found a landing spot."

Cap It Off

The NHL and NHLPA announced on Thursday that the cap for 2018-19 would rise to $79.5 million, giving the Bruins roughly $12 million of space.
"Our forecast had been somewhere in that range," said Sweeney. "We'd been planning accordingly. Everybody knows that we've got some stuff on the horizon that we need to be cognizant of and some internal reinvestment, I'll call it, with some players we feel are going to be impact players.
"As it stands for your question about the current cap, it gives us some flexibility to continue to explore situations like Ilya."