"We're going to have follow-up conversations this week," Sweeney told the newspaper. "I hope to have a clear understanding as to where that necessarily ends. Rick indicated that when he came to Boston that he was excited about the opportunity, and he wants to win."
The 33-year-old was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers for forwards Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, defenseman Ryan Lindgren and two NHL Draft picks. He had six points (three goals, three assists) in 11 games with Boston and missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a concussion. Nash had five points (three goals, two assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"He felt badly, and certainly he is not responsible for this because he got injured," Sweeney said. "And it took away a little juice for him. He missed time down the stretch and jumping right into the playoffs."
The Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division (50-20-12) and were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
"It was disappointing with having the concussion and having some effects during it and only playing a certain amount of games and then coming back for the playoffs," Nash said May 10. "But everything was positive. The organization was great, the guys were awesome, so it was a great chapter here and hopefully it can continue."
Nash played the final season of an eight-year contract with an NHL salary cap charge of $7.8 million annually. An eight-time 30-goal scorer, he has 805 points (437 goals, 368 assists) in 1,060 regular-season games with the Bruins, Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NHL Draft. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 2003-04 (41) and has 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 89 playoff games.
Sweeney said the Bruins would not offer a contract to forward Brian Gionta (seven points in 20 regular-season games, no points in one playoff game), forward Kenny Agostino (one assist in five regular-season games), or defenseman Paul Postma (no points in 14 regular-season games).
