Last week following their Game 6 loss to the New York Islanders which eliminated the Boston Bruins in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Bruins players met with the media on Friday before heading their separate ways for the summer.
Monday morning, head coach Bruce Cassidy had his turn with the media, then Tuesday morning, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and team President Cam Neely met to give their thoughts, basically a state of the Bruins press conference and where the Black and Gold go from here.
Where Boston actually goes from here this summer is going to be very, very interesting. They have some big-name free agents in goalie, on defense, and upfront, as they look to build a roster for the 2021-22 season. There will be some subtractions to the roster and some additions like every other season.
Tuesday, Neely kind of hinted in which direction Sweeney and the front office will go this summer and it should get Bruins fans excited for next fall.
According to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, Neely said that Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, two of the few remaining players from the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team a decade ago, expressed interest in making another run for the Cup next season. Neely said that “It’s worth taking one more shot at it here.”
So if you’re reading into Neely’s comment like me, it’s safe to say that the Bruins are going to be active in trying to retain some of their own free agents, as well as some others that are on the market this summer from other teams.
There is no doubt that the Bruins have questions in net with free-agent netminder Tuukka Rask undergoing surgery for a torn hip labrum and out possibly until early 2022, as well as two-thirds of their second-line on the market, and some defensemen. The defense is one position that the Bruins need to upgrade and get some depth and it seems that they know it.
This summer is going to be an interesting one watching the Bruins try to build a roster to compete for the Stanley Cup next season, as well as trying to retain some of their own key free agents.