Takeaways From Boston Bruins End of Season Press Conference
The Boston Bruins are officially in the offseason after their season came to a close on Friday night with a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On Wednesday, Bruins president Cam Neely, general manager Don Sweeney, and CEO and alternate governor Charlie Jacobs held their end of season press conference where they spoke to the media about the season and plans for the offseason.
Below are three takeaways from the end of season press conference.
Free Agents:
Sweeney shared a brief update on contract negotiations for upcoming free agents forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Andrew Peeke.
“We just had exit interviews and I told both of them, and I've had conversations in particular with Andrew’s agent most of the year in terms of update-wise, and told Arvy the same thing,” said Sweeney.. “I'll get to work on what their positions are now that the season has ended and we'll explore whether or not we can bring either or both back.”
Injuries:
Sweeney also shared that no players need surgery during the offseason.
“No,” said Sweeney. “As you know, Charlie had a broken finger that he's going to take some time to allow that to heal. He’s got some dental work he still has to do, unfortunately for him. Zadorov had a significant knee injury that'll take time, but not surgery related. Right now, we've got a clean slate from the surgical side. Let's leave it that way.”
Getting Help:
Neely emphasized that adding more talent is a focus for this organization during the offseason.
“Obviously,” said Neely. “We got bounced in the first round. So yeah, we need more talent. We need more speed. That's something that we have to try to acquire [in] one way shape or form. But you look at the elite teams in the league, we're not there. And like I said two years ago, when we strip it down like we did, you're not going to be there in one season. So it's going to take some time, but what we accomplished this year, give the guys credit. But it's, like I said early on, it's building blocks. So we've got work to do to improve this club still.”
He continued about improving and the potential time table with the changes.
“Well, I think showing what we did a couple of years ago showed like ‘Okay, we're going to have to have some patience here,’’ said Neely. “How long that is remains to be seen. What we can do with those assets that we have now, that we didn't have, that remains to be seen. But we also have to look at our current roster, the core players and their age group and where they're at and what can we do to build around them. Right now, for me, it's about today, tomorrow, and the next day, and we'll go from there.”
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Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.