Two days after being eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins held their break-up day on Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena. Head coach Marco Sturm and the players met with the media before everyone went their separate ways for the summer. President Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney will meet with the media sometime soon.
As for the the players, there were a lot of them playing this year injured for a good chunk of the season. That's not surprising, and all the secrets come out at the end of the season like this. Here is a list of players who admitted they were playing with an injury.
- Nikita Zadorov: Torn MCL in Game 3 of the Sabres series
- Viktor Arvidsson: Broken rib and a little punctured lung
- Hampus Lindholm: Small fracture in the foot since December
- Charlie McAvoy: Broken had in Game 2 of the Sabres series
- David Pastrnak: Groin issue in November
- Elias Lindholm: Same back problems as last year
Let's be honest, nobody is healthy this time of the year.
James Hagens heding to World Championship
After his career ended at Boston College in March, top prospect James Hagens signed a PTO with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) rather than his entry-level deal with Boston. He played six AHL games before he signed his entry-level deal with the Black and Gold.
He played in the final two regular-season games for the Bruins and the first three games of the series against Buffalo with one assist. He is not eligible to play with the P-Bruins in the AHL playoffs and will instead travel to Switzerland to play for Team USA in the IIHF World Championship later this month. Playing with and against NHL players in that tournament will be better for him than playing in the AHL playoffs.
More Boston Bruins & NHL News
- The Toronto Maple Leafs completed their search for their next GM, hiring John Chayka to the position of replacing Brad Treliving, who was fired at the end of the regular season. Toronto also announced that Mats Sundin is the Senior Executive Advisor for Hockey Operations. That's a huge win for the Bruins, as they keep assistant GM Evan Gold on board in Boston.
- The Edmonton Oilers were bounced in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks in six games last week. On their break-up day, superstar Connor McDavid didn't beat around the bush about where the Oilers are failing to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season. "I agree with Leon (Draisaitl), the organization as a whole has taken a step back,'' McDavid said. Another frustrated superstar in the NHL.
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