Members of the Boston Bruins front office and head coach Jim Montgomery spoke with media on Tuesday and talked about their disappointing season, what’s next for the team, the timeline on a decision from a few key veterans, and what the roster might look like next season. Saying that the team will look to find the right combination of players who were successful this year and integrate them with the younger players on the roster, those involved in building next year’s team said the group wouldn’t look the same next season as it did this season. “Roster changes are coming. We’re not going to be the same team.”
Sweeney said he has no timelines or demands for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. This is familiar territory for the group and it’s not something he seemed overly concerned about. He expects both players will give the team an indication early enough to make the proper plans and move forward. Sweeney says they will protect the timelines as necessary.
Meanwhile, Cam Neely talked about how the organization had a historic year and says the expectations from the players went through the roof and many apologized after the season for failing to execute with the stacked team the front office put together. Nothing that confidence and nerves played a role, these are things the team will have to look into.
Bruins Have a Ton of Players on Expiring Deals
The sheer number of pending free agents is astonishing for this team. The group has six notable UFA forwards, two UFA defensemen, one RFA goaltender, and one more RFA forward. The Bruins can’t and won’t keep everyone, especially after the way the season closed. Some players will test free agency and leave, some are likely to retire, and some may be traded.
The expectation is that the team will get younger, selectively choose who projects to be part of the longer-term future of the franchise, and go from there. For players who leave, affordable replacements will need to be found. The question will be, can the next version of this team be anywhere near as good as the record-breaking squad that won the most games in a single NHL season in history? Probably not.
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