The Boston Bruins held another press conference this morning. Six days after GM Don Sweeney and head coach Claude Julien had the floor, it was time to hear from owner Jeremy Jacobs, CEO Charlie Jacobs, and president Cam Neely.
It was Neely who said the most. In addition to stating the obvious -- that the Bruins were disappointed at how their season ended -- he outlined three parts of the roster that needed to be addressed.
The first is the defense.
“We know that it’s an area that we need to improve upon,” said Neely. “That’s probably at the top of the list.”
It’s no secret that the Bruins’ blue line has gone from a position of great strength to one of weakness. The departures of Johnny Boychuk and Dougie Hamilton left significant holes that have yet to be filled, so expect the likes of Jacob Trouba, Matt Dumba, Sami Vatanen, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Tyson Barrie to be targeted, should any of those players become available this offseason.
The two other parts are right wing (where Neely would like to get “heavier”) and backup goaltending (after Jonas Gustavsson failed to provide the B’s reliable netminding behind Tuukka Rask).
There was also this, about pending UFA Loui Eriksson:
Neely says Sweeney talked to Eriksson's agent this week. Talks ongoing but has to make sense for both sides.
— Matt Kalman (@MattKalman) April 20, 2016
And this, about Julien:
Neely: "Our coach has not lost the room. That has not happened. If it did, we'd be having different discussions."
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) April 20, 2016
All in all, it should be an interesting offseason in Boston. We saw last summer that Sweeney is not afraid to wheel and deal, and after two straight missed postseasons, you can bet that Neely is feeling the heat himself.
Charlie Jacobs: "The expectation is that we can integrate the youth, and still be a playoff team."
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 20, 2016
Related: Jack Edwards says the Bruins’ blue line ‘is in a crisis right now’