Bruins face tough decisions in remaining Stanley Cup contender

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand want another chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

And it seems like the Boston Bruins are leaning toward giving them that chance, 10 years after they were key figures in the Bruins' 2011 Cup championship.
But that will take some work this offseason, with key pieces set to become unrestricted free agents July 28, and uncertainty with their goaltending situation.
"'Marsh' and 'Bergy,' understandably, would like us to take another run," Bruins president Cam Neely said Tuesday. "If we get the pieces signed that we'd like to, I think it's worth taking one more shot at it here."
The Bruins have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the second round two straight seasons, including a six-game loss in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Second Round to the New York Islanders this season.
"They've certainly wanted us to do better than we've done," Neely said. "And this year I think the expectations were certainly a team that could get out of the second round at the very least. So some disappointment there, there's no question."
Using the exact same words he used last summer, after Boston lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Neely said the Bruins needed to take a "hard look" at the roster.
"It ticks off one year older and that's something we're looking at," Neely said. "What do we need to do for this next wave here?"
But Neely did not indicate the Bruins were headed for a revamp. Instead, management seems to believe that with some key players retained, they still can compete for the Cup.
"It really is going to depend upon what happens with some of the UFAs that we're going to look to try and sign," Neely said. "We have some holes if we can't get those guys signed and that will certainly dictate what direction we may have to go in."
The most crucial of those decisions concerns goaltending. Tuukka Rask, who can become an unrestricted free agent and needs surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, will be sidelined until January or February.
That means the Bruins could go with a combination of Jeremy Swayman -- who was 7-3-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in 10 games as a rookie -- and Dan Vladar, who played five games last season. Or they could opt to add a veteran goalie to help shore up the position. They could sign Rask this summer, or they could wait until he's healthy and reevaluate.

Jaroslav Halak, who was Rask's primary backup for most of the past three seasons until Swayman passed him on the depth chart, also can become an unrestricted free agent.
Rask has said he only wants to play for the Bruins. The 34-year-old was 15-5-2 with a 2.28 GAA and .913 save percentage in 24 regular-season games and had a 2.36 GAA and .919 save percentage in 10 playoff games. He's played his entire 14-season NHL career with the Bruins, going 306-163-66 with a 2.27 GAA and .921 save percentage. He is the Bruins all-time leader in wins.
"We have to make a decision," general manager Don Sweeney said. "If we're going to go to market and bring in a player that we feel is ahead of those two players (Swayman and Vladar), or certainly from an experience standpoint, or we do roll the dice a little bit, allow those guys to see if they can handle the workload, which is a tall task. Make no mistake about it, it's a tall task."
But that decision is not the only one.
Forwards David Krejci and Taylor Hall also can become UFAs.
Sweeney said that there is mutual interest on the part of Hall, who was acquired April 12 in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, along with forward Curtis Lazar, for forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Sweeney said he has had an "early conversation" with Hall's representatives.
Krejci has asked for time to determine what he would like to do, whether that's return to his native Czech Republic or continue to play in the NHL. The 35-year-old has said he cannot see himself playing for another team after spending his entire 15-season NHL career with the Bruins. In 962 games, Krejci is eighth in Bruins history with 730 points (215 goals, 515 assists), and was part of the 2011 Stanley Cup championship.
"I do believe that David does want to continue to play and he's made it pretty clear, and we would like to make it clear, that this is a place that he should continue to play should he choose to play at the NHL level," Sweeney said.
Neely mentioned that the Bruins are continuing to look for "that elusive left D," perhaps someone to play on the second pair with Brandon Carlo. He, like Sweeney, mentioned that Bruins defensemen combined to sustain eight concussions this season.
"I don't think we can look at the roster now when you lose in the second round and say you can compete for a Stanley Cup," Neely said. "I mean, players that are on the roster that are coming back certainly need to improve. You need to get more out of the third and fourth line, even the second line, we didn't get enough out of in that last series. I think we have to look at improving our roster to improve our chances to win a Cup."