BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY…
On how he feels about the moves he made and if he plugged the holes in the lineup…
“I don’t think you ever feel comfortable with where you sit in July, I don’t think you fully build your team out. You have a lot of if, ands, or buts, but with the congestion of the marketplace as it relates to the cap and where we were, I think we did a lot of the things that we set out to do in addressing the depth overall of our club and getting back, not just… We have plenty of opportunity for younger kids to come in and take their place if they earn it, but we’ve also complemented the group with players we felt we needed to fill some holes and address some needs.”
On where he feels the holes in the lineup are…
“Well, our defense and our goaltending are pretty much what we had last year. Congrats to Connor Clifton and all the other free agents that had other opportunities to go elsewhere, but that was a pretty good d-corps last year, so we feel pretty good about that, and the goaltending was excellent during the regular season. We all fell short in the playoffs. So, our depth at the front was where we tried to address most of the needs, and again, with an eye towards allowing some of the younger guys to see if they can come in and take their jobs. We still have to hear a final word both from David Krejci and Patrice [Bergeron], so we’ll keep an eye and an ear out for that and cross our fingers that maybe that falls our way, but even with the move with [Morgan] Geekie today, a bigger centerman, he’s played wing as well. We talked a lot about Freddy [Trent Frederic] going to the middle of the ice, he’s a left shot, so now you have lefty, righty that might be able to go into the third line and provide depth scoring for us. Freddy had 17 goals last year and was productive. Geekie played just over ten minutes on a really good Seattle team. Could he get into an elevated position and produce more? Could he still have that high end production five-on-five? He's played bumper on the power play; he has a really good release as right shot. So, I think those in that scenario that we certainly tried to address. [Johnny] Beecher is another player that will hopefully push, Marc McLaughlin has played both center and wing and [Georgii] Merkulov, who is also one who has had another good first year pro. So, they can pin their ears back and come in and take the job and move the pieces around as we see.”
On Tomas Nosek’s status with the team…
“It’s unlikely at this point. Patrick Brown is another really good, detailed player. He kills a lot of penalties… Geekie is over 50 percent; Brown is well over 50 percent on draws. Chris Kelly had pointed out that if a couple of our centers don’t come back and Charlie Coyle is our only right shot center, then maybe we should address that, and I think Geekie and Brown can do that and Brown can slide over to the wing as well. So, that was the areas we tried to address and then we introduced JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] in this because he’s been a guy who has produced at the NHL level on a consistent basis and is really excited to be coming to a team that is still very, very competitive. It was a special year last year and he acknowledged that it looked like a lot of fun playing hockey in Boston and he wanted to be a part of that, and you saw that Kevin Shattenkirk was along the same lines. He wanted to join a team… He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in a little bit of the same type of role that maybe he’d be stepping into here. So, those are the areas, those are the players that we tried and even with down below… Guys that have played both AHL and NHL. Anthony Richard had a breakout year offensively, he’s played games in the NHL, he has a great amount of speed and tenacity for a smaller player. Jayson Megna is another player we’ve agreed to, it’s not finalized… Provided depth in Anaheim, played in Colorado, skates really well. Parker Wotherspoon is a hard-nosed lefty and we saw a lot of him in Bridgeport and our guys were high on him. So, he can create some competition in all of those areas and then the three righties we picked up are going to be important to the depth of organization and club.”
On how important it was to get JVR as a net front guy if Tyler Bertuzzi isn’t coming back…
“Again, we’ve had a lot of guys slide into that role and even Nick [Foligno], congrats to him as well, we wish he and his family well in Chicago. JVR has had a lot of success at the net front. He can slide on either power play unit or compliment those groups. Jake [DeBrusk] has done a good job, despite a torn tendon and broken fibula, he scored two pretty important goals in the Winter Classic game. So, he’s grown in that area and Marchy has even slid back in there. As I said, adding another right shot to compliment either group, and obviously Bergy is a big ‘if’ on all that stuff from the bumper position or where [Pavel] Zacha plays. So, there are a lot of pieces there that Monty [Jim Montgomery] probably feels a little bit better about moving around and JVR adds to that component. He’s really tough to defend down in front of the net.”
On what they could identify as to why JVR had a point drop off on the power play…
“It’s probably a combination of everything, I’m not going to speak about how he was fully utilized in Philadelphia, that’s their business. How he’d be utilized here, opportunities, sometimes there is a little bit of puck luck, sometimes you might say that in the 15-20 games where we went pretty dry, and you were wondering why guys are not all of a sudden scoring. Power plays generally go through those spurts and players can go through those spurts, but it will be incumbent upon him to make sure that he gets back into those areas and bares down and scores how he normally would, but again, everyone goes through a little bit of it and you have to work through it.”
On what he would like to see from Morgan Geekie in potentially elevated minutes…
“Again, it’s a projection… Just anointing somebody with extra minutes, how that’s going to pan out doesn’t always just translate. Players need to… You won’t be starting 62 percent of the time in the offensive zone with us. So, that will be a change and start from his own zone and being able to defend within our system. Skating has always been the knock on Morgan, but we feel that the size and the hockey sense and his puck skill abilities that he’ll be able to integrate into our group well, whether that is in the middle or on the wing and complement our group. Can he play higher than that, again that’s something to be determined and we might get a surprise. If Fabian [Lysell] comes back and gives us that boost and injection in terms of being able to complement… Maybe Freddy moves back there. We feel like we’re in a good spot in that regard, those guys both have the ability to play center and now we’re going to find out if they can hold water there.”
On the impact he expects Milan Lucic to bring on and off the ice…
“Well, I mean there’s been a little bit of social buzz out there about Looch. Some of it has certainly been driven from Looch. At 12:01 he sent me a picture of himself in a Bruins hat that he honestly went to the store and bought himself. He wasn’t at home and couldn’t unpack some of the things. So, that just says a lot about where his mind is at in coming back home. I think when he steps back on the ice everybody in the building will feel a little bit of a buzz. He went to the World Championships with the full intention of telling everyone how much he loves hockey, how much he continues to want to play hockey, and this is where he wanted to play, and I just feel like bringing Looch back to Boston was the right thing to do for all those reasons. He feels like he has a lot of juice left and we feel he can provide a real jolt of both enthusiasm and bite to our lineup, he can help guys like Freddy and Lauks and guys that… He can probably create a little bit of space if somebody is breathing down Pasta’s neck, so it’s a thing we’ve missed and in a perfect world he never would have left, but those decisions were made and now we bring him back home and we’re happy about it.”
On what it’s like for him bringing Milan Lucic back since he traded him back in 2015…
“I mean, when I think back, I had to have a flak jacket and a helmet on walking around Boston on some of those decisions. They weren’t popular, they weren’t fun, they weren’t something I wanted to do. We looked back at it and back then at the time, we had at the time… With March coming on there was going to be six guys with long term deals and we just made a really hard decision. It was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever made as a General Manager, and it was early on. So, again, in a perfect world he never would have left. I was grateful to be able to bring him back and allow him to have the impact that he wants to have, and we’re excited about it.”
On if there were any hard feelings between him and Lucic and how they worked through it…
“You know what, Looch loves the game, loves Boston, he’s never indicated anything other than that. He knows it was more of a business decision and he did what was best for his family from there. Whether that was not staying in LA and moving on and he’s had a terrific career and it’s going to continue. From a hard feelings standpoint, Looch is just a solid person, and he knows where his feet are and now, he moves them back here because he’s really happy for him and his family to have this opportunity again.”
On if how he feels about his hockey team after day one of Free Agency…
“I mean, I think I was pretty honest that we weren’t going to be the same team. We had an incredible amount of depth and we felt that we put together a good team, but we fell woefully short in the playoffs with what our goals were. We know we’re a competitive group and we want to remain a competitive group and with an eye towards the future. We didn’t really encumber ourselves too badly from a standpoint of contracts, we have some decisions to make because we have some players that are coming up on decision making time and we have some things to work out with two of our RFAs. As we pointed out, we feel good about the competitiveness of our group. We have to stay healthy, and our top guys have to stay healthy to have the amount of success that we would like to have. It’s going to be a dog fight regardless with how you feel about your team today, injuries can play a part in that, and the growth of other teams is going to play a part in that.”
On if he was close to trading into the first round of the draft and what it was like trying to trade…
“I mean, there just weren’t any trades other than teams swapping back. It was just hard, teams get locked in and it’s probably the most difficult time to just make the move even on the draft floor, unless there’s a player that someone else is keyed on and then the congestion in the cap doesn’t help with any of those. There’s a lot of moving parts and at times it takes more lead time for some teams to make those decisions because there is an impact. What might they have planned three days later versus making a decision on the draft floor. So, we tried, and it just didn’t work out on the draft floor.”
On if he is done trying to make trades or if there are potential trades in the future…
“Again, people will probably take a deep breath here to see where their teams are at like we will. There have been a lot of conversations leading up to the draft about player movement, maybe there will be a little bit more of it on the other side, but again a lot of teams have addressed needs, but there are some teams that have indicated that they would like to change the composition of their group and maybe the trade market opens up. There’s no real predicting that at this point in time, just go through the conversations and follow up on conversations with the teams you may have had discussions with.”
On if the door is closed on Tyler Bertuzzi…
“Yeah, in all likelihood, yes.”
On what the biggest problem was on finding common ground…
“Probably all the factors. The term that he has rightfully probably earned, the AAV that he’s seeking and what other teams are in position to provide that we probably weren’t, unless I made another big move and again, he’s going to land in a really good spot for him and his family and we wish him luck. He was a great piece of our puzzle and dearly would like to have gone down the path to extend him”
On the potential size of the lineup…
“You know, if you look at the size of our lineup, it's pretty big. So, you know, can we play with the pace that Monty would like to play with and are we possession-based as opposed to rush-based… those are the things Monty will work through, I'm sure we had a lot of discussions about each of the individual players that were hypotheticals and now that, you know, the players have been signed and the pieces are somewhat coming together, how he's going to play around with them, that's up to the coaching staff. We had multiple conversations leading up and then again today and he looks at it and says this addresses a lot of the needs and he noticed right away you know, Zacha is six-two, Coyle is six-two, Freddy is six-two, Brown six-one, Beecher six-three. We are big again there's a question about what our transition games will look like when you're talking about bringing new players in.”
On David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron…
“Again, I have had conversations with Patrice and David. They are going to indicate with us what their timeline is. I can neither confirm or deny either of those reports because I have not heard from David whether or not he is considering it. If you're asking my personal opinion, I would be surprised if he would, you know, based on what he went through in coming back and really enjoying his time. He's been pretty consistent in saying that if he’s playing the NHL, he's playing for Boston. And Patrice has been very consistent saying he's going to take all the time he needs to make the best decision for him and his family.”
On Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation…
“He's been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey. I don't see why he wouldn't be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time. This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure. We feel very comfortable and want to take another step. We want to see both of them take another step, that's God's honest truth. Our hockey club, you know, peace of mind for 82 games was pretty darn consistent. And you know what? We just didn't do what we wanted to do and hope to do that in the playoffs. And we have to learn and grow. Jeremy is part of that.”
On using last season as motivation…
“It does. I mean, 2010 goes against Philadelphia, lose, and turn around and win the next year. So, the core guys here have taken to heart that they feel like we had a historic regular season, but we had a failure, you know, in the playoffs. We have to learn and grow. And that next core, as we would call them, they have to take that, you know, take umbrage with the disappointment and drive. They have to drive from this team going forward. That's just a fact and they are excited about that challenge. David is a great indication and a lot of rhetoric about what David is going to do. David's heart has been in Boston, and he wanted to be part of this year, you know, a transition, likely coming within the next eight years of his career. He's now part of leadership. He's talked about learning from people. I think it's a great indication of, you put March and Pasta, you know, Coyle and Zacha and Lindholm McAvoy and the goaltending situation and of the other guys. That’s the next core for the Boston Bruins and we're excited about that.”
On the Matt Grzelcyk rumors…
“I didn’t start any rumors. So, you want to ask me where they came from? You want to look in the mirror? Maybe you guys started them, you know, is it hypothetical that they're having conversations about players, our lineup? No. It's fact, there's no question that I'm never going to be discussing whether or not a team has called me. That's just the job. It doesn't matter who it is. That's disrespectful to a player from my point of view, being a former player. So, in that case we know that Matt can play with Charlie McAvoy in a top player role and play really well. We split around the lineup. How we were composing our lineup, how we made some decisions in the moment. Yeah, he was in and out a lot. Orlov was a really good player and I wish him luck in Carolina, but Matt is a hockey player, you know, and we feel, as I referenced earlier, he plays a big part of a lot of success in the regular season and he will be a lot of success going forward and is very comfortable within our lineup.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MILAN LUCIC…
On how talks started…
“I had permission to talk to teams early and Don reached out about two weeks ago when it first happened, and Sweens called me and said he was interested in having me back. He asked me if I had any interest in coming back and obviously it’s a place that’s close and dear to my heart. Having the opportunity to come back, you can see the smile on my face right now. It feels like I’m going home. It’s always felt like I’ve been a Bruin, and I’m just so happy and thankful for the opportunity to be a Bruin again. Can’t thank Don enough for reaching out and making me a Bruin again. Thanks to him and Cam Neely and Jim Montgomery for bringing me back and I’m looking forward to being a Bruin again.”
On if he’s talked to any of his teammates yet…
“Yeah, I talked to Pasta [David Pastrnak] and Marchy [Brad Marchand], those are the only two guys that I played with that are still Bruins that are still kicking around. I’ve been teammates with Derek Forbort twice, in L.A. and in Calgary. I got to meet Charlie McAvoy last year at Tuukka’s wedding, so I talked to him and he’s pumped as well. And also, the other free agents — I talked to JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] today, and Kevin Shattenkirk. Two guys that are also really excited to be Bruins. We’re all excited to all be together wearing the Black and Gold.”
On how it felt when he was originally traded and if he thought he could end up back in Boston…
“When I got traded, it was one of those things… I don’t even know how to explain it. I was excited that I got traded because I got traded to L.A., the Kings, and they just came off winning two Stanley Cups. I was going to a team with pedigree, and who doesn’t want to get traded to L.A.? I was excited about it, but also, you’re sad to move on from a place where you started. Like you talked about, I’d been there since I was nineteen years old. Yeah, I was born and raised in Vancouver, but I feel like I was really raised and became an adult in Boston and really became a Bostonian. There were mixed emotions as far as that goes. It was one of those things… and as time went on, I guess I missed being a Bruin more and more as years went on. It’s really funny, I caught myself watching Bruins hockey games. I caught myself cheering for the Red Sox, cheering for the Celtics, cheering for the Patriots. It’s just one of those things because, like I said, it was a place where I felt like I really grew up. Like I said, it just happened that way and I still follow all of those teams like I do. I’m just so happy to be back. I feel like I’m coming home, and by no means is this just a reunion for a farewell tour. I’m coming back for the right reasons, I think I’m coming back to help this team continue to progress and chase a championship. I’m really confident in my abilities to help this team do that.”
On the story behind buying a Bruins hat…
“It’s funny, I’m in L.A., I’m not in Vancouver right now, so all of my Bruins stuff is up in Vancouver. About two days ago, I bought a couple — I just bought this hat and a couple t-shirts for the kids, because like I said, all my stuff is up in Vancouver. It’s just one of those things that I had the opportunity to talk to different teams the last two weeks because the Flames gave me that permission and obviously we didn’t discuss contract details until this morning. But it was just something that, a handshake that we discussed where we could make a reunion here. I wanted to get some Bruins gear as quick as I could, and that’s why I made the purchase right away.”
On how Boston influenced the rest of his career…
“Obviously, you want to continue to be at your best and continue to keep building. You always try to chase a championship and you always want to win. For me, that’s the main reason for playing. I was lucky and fortunate enough to experience that early in my career and experience that as a Boston Bruin, which is such a special thing. As time goes on, things change. Roles change, you change as a player and a person, that’s the thing. I’m not the same player and person who I was ten years ago. I understand that I’m going to be playing in a different role, in a new role. But at the end of the day, my mindset is still the same as to what I’m trying to achieve, and that’s to win a championship. That was the main reason why I reached out and wanted to play for Team Canada in the championship, it’s because I wanted to win something again, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity and got to win that gold medal in Finland this past May. That’s something I obviously want to experience again in the NHL. No better place to do it than in Boston if we can achieve that.”
On appreciating the Bruins sweater…
“Honestly, a lot. I’m looking forward to it really badly, because I’ve thought about this moment for the last seven years. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to put on the spoked-B, Black and Gold again. That’s why I’m so grateful for this opportunity. When you start somewhere, I don’t want to say I took it for granted, because you guys all know me. I lived it and I truly did appreciate what it meant to be a Boston Bruin and living in Boston and playing for an Original Six team and playing in front of those fans every single night. What your question was, to get to relive that, it’s almost like I’m more grateful for it now than I was at the beginning because as time goes on, sometimes you don’t know how good things are until it’s gone. Like you said, a lot of players don’t get to have that opportunity again like I get to have. Not only that, not only for myself and the fans and the city, but I get to do this in front of my kids. My two girls were born in Boston, but they were two and newborn when I got traded. Now they’re 10, eight and five. For me, to wear the spoked-B in front of my children just adds to it all. To get to do this in front of the fans again, it’s going to mean so much, so right now I can’t wait for October 11 when the first game happens in Boston.”
On what he brings on and off the ice…
“I think on the ice, you would have to talk to Monty about that more than anything. The coach obviously has a place for me, and you look at my role the past couple of years… I’ve been a ten to twelve minute guy that can play anywhere in the lineup. But that’s ultimately something you would have to talk to Monty about and we’ve talked about that. I’m excited for whatever role he gives me. Off the ice, I think it’s just more the leadership role. Obviously, you lose a lot with the guys that aren’t coming back, but I’ve been through a lot and I can help with a leadership role and help with the young guys. But also, just bringing it every day; bringing it in practice, bringing it in games and all that type of stuff. That’s something I haven’t lost, I have that fire every day, the competitiveness, whether it’s practice or games, just bringing it every day, bringing it in the gym, all that type of stuff. Those are the things that are required of me to bring on a day-to-day basis, and I’m looking forward to that.”
On his relationship with Bruins fans…
“You know what? I think it was just personable. We just bonded from the get-go. Like I said, I was a nineteen-year old kid who moved away from home. It wasn’t like I was a quick flight away, I went from the Pacific all the way across to the Atlantic. I was across the country. I kind of had to learn how to be a Bostonian right off the get-go. It was one of those things where it was a match made in heaven, where my style of play kind of fit the Big Bad Bruins identity and all that type of stuff. It just fit the attitude and the identity of the city of Boston. When I was younger, I used to just walk around the city and meet people and talk to people and all that. I’ve always been someone who’s very personable and shared a lot of good times with fans. I think that’s why I use the word personable, that’s probably the best way to describe my relationship with the fans. I’m really looking forward to that first game at home in Boston at the Garden, and I know it’s going to be rocking and I can’t wait for things to get going.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD
BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY…
On how he feels about the moves he made and if he plugged the holes in the lineup…
“I don’t think you ever feel comfortable with where you sit in July, I don’t think you fully build your team out. You have a lot of if, ands, or buts, but with the congestion of the marketplace as it relates to the cap and where we were, I think we did a lot of the things that we set out to do in addressing the depth overall of our club and getting back, not just… We have plenty of opportunity for younger kids to come in and take their place if they earn it, but we’ve also complemented the group with players we felt we needed to fill some holes and address some needs.”
On where he feels the holes in the lineup are…
“Well, our defense and our goaltending are pretty much what we had last year. Congrats to Connor Clifton and all the other free agents that had other opportunities to go elsewhere, but that was a pretty good d-corps last year, so we feel pretty good about that, and the goaltending was excellent during the regular season. We all fell short in the playoffs. So, our depth at the front was where we tried to address most of the needs, and again, with an eye towards allowing some of the younger guys to see if they can come in and take their jobs. We still have to hear a final word both from David Krejci and Patrice [Bergeron], so we’ll keep an eye and an ear out for that and cross our fingers that maybe that falls our way, but even with the move with [Morgan] Geekie today, a bigger centerman, he’s played wing as well. We talked a lot about Freddy [Trent Frederic] going to the middle of the ice, he’s a left shot, so now you have lefty, righty that might be able to go into the third line and provide depth scoring for us. Freddy had 17 goals last year and was productive. Geekie played just over ten minutes on a really good Seattle team. Could he get into an elevated position and produce more? Could he still have that high end production five-on-five? He's played bumper on the power play; he has a really good release as right shot. So, I think those in that scenario that we certainly tried to address. [Johnny] Beecher is another player that will hopefully push, Marc McLaughlin has played both center and wing and [Georgii] Merkulov, who is also one who has had another good first year pro. So, they can pin their ears back and come in and take the job and move the pieces around as we see.”
On Tomas Nosek’s status with the team…
“It’s unlikely at this point. Patrick Brown is another really good, detailed player. He kills a lot of penalties… Geekie is over 50 percent; Brown is well over 50 percent on draws. Chris Kelly had pointed out that if a couple of our centers don’t come back and Charlie Coyle is our only right shot center, then maybe we should address that, and I think Geekie and Brown can do that and Brown can slide over to the wing as well. So, that was the areas we tried to address and then we introduced JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] in this because he’s been a guy who has produced at the NHL level on a consistent basis and is really excited to be coming to a team that is still very, very competitive. It was a special year last year and he acknowledged that it looked like a lot of fun playing hockey in Boston and he wanted to be a part of that, and you saw that Kevin Shattenkirk was along the same lines. He wanted to join a team… He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in a little bit of the same type of role that maybe he’d be stepping into here. So, those are the areas, those are the players that we tried and even with down below… Guys that have played both AHL and NHL. Anthony Richard had a breakout year offensively, he’s played games in the NHL, he has a great amount of speed and tenacity for a smaller player. Jayson Megna is another player we’ve agreed to, it’s not finalized… Provided depth in Anaheim, played in Colorado, skates really well. Parker Wotherspoon is a hard-nosed lefty and we saw a lot of him in Bridgeport and our guys were high on him. So, he can create some competition in all of those areas and then the three righties we picked up are going to be important to the depth of organization and club.”
On how important it was to get JVR as a net front guy if Tyler Bertuzzi isn’t coming back…
“Again, we’ve had a lot of guys slide into that role and even Nick [Foligno], congrats to him as well, we wish he and his family well in Chicago. JVR has had a lot of success at the net front. He can slide on either power play unit or compliment those groups. Jake [DeBrusk] has done a good job, despite a torn tendon and broken fibula, he scored two pretty important goals in the Winter Classic game. So, he’s grown in that area and Marchy has even slid back in there. As I said, adding another right shot to compliment either group, and obviously Bergy is a big ‘if’ on all that stuff from the bumper position or where [Pavel] Zacha plays. So, there are a lot of pieces there that Monty [Jim Montgomery] probably feels a little bit better about moving around and JVR adds to that component. He’s really tough to defend down in front of the net.”
On what they could identify as to why JVR had a point drop off on the power play…
“It’s probably a combination of everything, I’m not going to speak about how he was fully utilized in Philadelphia, that’s their business. How he’d be utilized here, opportunities, sometimes there is a little bit of puck luck, sometimes you might say that in the 15-20 games where we went pretty dry, and you were wondering why guys are not all of a sudden scoring. Power plays generally go through those spurts and players can go through those spurts, but it will be incumbent upon him to make sure that he gets back into those areas and bares down and scores how he normally would, but again, everyone goes through a little bit of it and you have to work through it.”
On what he would like to see from Morgan Geekie in potentially elevated minutes…
“Again, it’s a projection… Just anointing somebody with extra minutes, how that’s going to pan out doesn’t always just translate. Players need to… You won’t be starting 62 percent of the time in the offensive zone with us. So, that will be a change and start from his own zone and being able to defend within our system. Skating has always been the knock on Morgan, but we feel that the size and the hockey sense and his puck skill abilities that he’ll be able to integrate into our group well, whether that is in the middle or on the wing and complement our group. Can he play higher than that, again that’s something to be determined and we might get a surprise. If Fabian [Lysell] comes back and gives us that boost and injection in terms of being able to complement… Maybe Freddy moves back there. We feel like we’re in a good spot in that regard, those guys both have the ability to play center and now we’re going to find out if they can hold water there.”
On the impact he expects Milan Lucic to bring on and off the ice…
“Well, I mean there’s been a little bit of social buzz out there about Looch. Some of it has certainly been driven from Looch. At 12:01 he sent me a picture of himself in a Bruins hat that he honestly went to the store and bought himself. He wasn’t at home and couldn’t unpack some of the things. So, that just says a lot about where his mind is at in coming back home. I think when he steps back on the ice everybody in the building will feel a little bit of a buzz. He went to the World Championships with the full intention of telling everyone how much he loves hockey, how much he continues to want to play hockey, and this is where he wanted to play, and I just feel like bringing Looch back to Boston was the right thing to do for all those reasons. He feels like he has a lot of juice left and we feel he can provide a real jolt of both enthusiasm and bite to our lineup, he can help guys like Freddy and Lauks and guys that… He can probably create a little bit of space if somebody is breathing down Pasta’s neck, so it’s a thing we’ve missed and in a perfect world he never would have left, but those decisions were made and now we bring him back home and we’re happy about it.”
On what it’s like for him bringing Milan Lucic back since he traded him back in 2015…
“I mean, when I think back, I had to have a flak jacket and a helmet on walking around Boston on some of those decisions. They weren’t popular, they weren’t fun, they weren’t something I wanted to do. We looked back at it and back then at the time, we had at the time… With March coming on there was going to be six guys with long term deals and we just made a really hard decision. It was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever made as a General Manager, and it was early on. So, again, in a perfect world he never would have left. I was grateful to be able to bring him back and allow him to have the impact that he wants to have, and we’re excited about it.”
On if there were any hard feelings between him and Lucic and how they worked through it…
“You know what, Looch loves the game, loves Boston, he’s never indicated anything other than that. He knows it was more of a business decision and he did what was best for his family from there. Whether that was not staying in LA and moving on and he’s had a terrific career and it’s going to continue. From a hard feelings standpoint, Looch is just a solid person, and he knows where his feet are and now, he moves them back here because he’s really happy for him and his family to have this opportunity again.”
On if how he feels about his hockey team after day one of Free Agency…
“I mean, I think I was pretty honest that we weren’t going to be the same team. We had an incredible amount of depth and we felt that we put together a good team, but we fell woefully short in the playoffs with what our goals were. We know we’re a competitive group and we want to remain a competitive group and with an eye towards the future. We didn’t really encumber ourselves too badly from a standpoint of contracts, we have some decisions to make because we have some players that are coming up on decision making time and we have some things to work out with two of our RFAs. As we pointed out, we feel good about the competitiveness of our group. We have to stay healthy, and our top guys have to stay healthy to have the amount of success that we would like to have. It’s going to be a dog fight regardless with how you feel about your team today, injuries can play a part in that, and the growth of other teams is going to play a part in that.”
On if he was close to trading into the first round of the draft and what it was like trying to trade…
“I mean, there just weren’t any trades other than teams swapping back. It was just hard, teams get locked in and it’s probably the most difficult time to just make the move even on the draft floor, unless there’s a player that someone else is keyed on and then the congestion in the cap doesn’t help with any of those. There’s a lot of moving parts and at times it takes more lead time for some teams to make those decisions because there is an impact. What might they have planned three days later versus making a decision on the draft floor. So, we tried, and it just didn’t work out on the draft floor.”
On if he is done trying to make trades or if there are potential trades in the future…
“Again, people will probably take a deep breath here to see where their teams are at like we will. There have been a lot of conversations leading up to the draft about player movement, maybe there will be a little bit more of it on the other side, but again a lot of teams have addressed needs, but there are some teams that have indicated that they would like to change the composition of their group and maybe the trade market opens up. There’s no real predicting that at this point in time, just go through the conversations and follow up on conversations with the teams you may have had discussions with.”
On if the door is closed on Tyler Bertuzzi…
“Yeah, in all likelihood, yes.”
On what the biggest problem was on finding common ground…
“Probably all the factors. The term that he has rightfully probably earned, the AAV that he’s seeking and what other teams are in position to provide that we probably weren’t, unless I made another big move and again, he’s going to land in a really good spot for him and his family and we wish him luck. He was a great piece of our puzzle and dearly would like to have gone down the path to extend him”
On the potential size of the lineup…
“You know, if you look at the size of our lineup, it's pretty big. So, you know, can we play with the pace that Monty would like to play with and are we possession-based as opposed to rush-based… those are the things Monty will work through, I'm sure we had a lot of discussions about each of the individual players that were hypotheticals and now that, you know, the players have been signed and the pieces are somewhat coming together, how he's going to play around with them, that's up to the coaching staff. We had multiple conversations leading up and then again today and he looks at it and says this addresses a lot of the needs and he noticed right away you know, Zacha is six-two, Coyle is six-two, Freddy is six-two, Brown six-one, Beecher six-three. We are big again there's a question about what our transition games will look like when you're talking about bringing new players in.”
On David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron…
“Again, I have had conversations with Patrice and David. They are going to indicate with us what their timeline is. I can neither confirm or deny either of those reports because I have not heard from David whether or not he is considering it. If you're asking my personal opinion, I would be surprised if he would, you know, based on what he went through in coming back and really enjoying his time. He's been pretty consistent in saying that if he’s playing the NHL, he's playing for Boston. And Patrice has been very consistent saying he's going to take all the time he needs to make the best decision for him and his family.”
On Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation…
“He's been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey. I don't see why he wouldn't be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time. This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure. We feel very comfortable and want to take another step. We want to see both of them take another step, that's God's honest truth. Our hockey club, you know, peace of mind for 82 games was pretty darn consistent. And you know what? We just didn't do what we wanted to do and hope to do that in the playoffs. And we have to learn and grow. Jeremy is part of that.”
On using last season as motivation…
“It does. I mean, 2010 goes against Philadelphia, lose, and turn around and win the next year. So, the core guys here have taken to heart that they feel like we had a historic regular season, but we had a failure, you know, in the playoffs. We have to learn and grow. And that next core, as we would call them, they have to take that, you know, take umbrage with the disappointment and drive. They have to drive from this team going forward. That's just a fact and they are excited about that challenge. David is a great indication and a lot of rhetoric about what David is going to do. David's heart has been in Boston, and he wanted to be part of this year, you know, a transition, likely coming within the next eight years of his career. He's now part of leadership. He's talked about learning from people. I think it's a great indication of, you put March and Pasta, you know, Coyle and Zacha and Lindholm McAvoy and the goaltending situation and of the other guys. That’s the next core for the Boston Bruins and we're excited about that.”
On the Matt Grzelcyk rumors…
“I didn’t start any rumors. So, you want to ask me where they came from? You want to look in the mirror? Maybe you guys started them, you know, is it hypothetical that they're having conversations about players, our lineup? No. It's fact, there's no question that I'm never going to be discussing whether or not a team has called me. That's just the job. It doesn't matter who it is. That's disrespectful to a player from my point of view, being a former player. So, in that case we know that Matt can play with Charlie McAvoy in a top player role and play really well. We split around the lineup. How we were composing our lineup, how we made some decisions in the moment. Yeah, he was in and out a lot. Orlov was a really good player and I wish him luck in Carolina, but Matt is a hockey player, you know, and we feel, as I referenced earlier, he plays a big part of a lot of success in the regular season and he will be a lot of success going forward and is very comfortable within our lineup.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MILAN LUCIC…
On how talks started…
“I had permission to talk to teams early and Don reached out about two weeks ago when it first happened, and Sweens called me and said he was interested in having me back. He asked me if I had any interest in coming back and obviously it’s a place that’s close and dear to my heart. Having the opportunity to come back, you can see the smile on my face right now. It feels like I’m going home. It’s always felt like I’ve been a Bruin, and I’m just so happy and thankful for the opportunity to be a Bruin again. Can’t thank Don enough for reaching out and making me a Bruin again. Thanks to him and Cam Neely and Jim Montgomery for bringing me back and I’m looking forward to being a Bruin again.”
On if he’s talked to any of his teammates yet…
“Yeah, I talked to Pasta [David Pastrnak] and Marchy [Brad Marchand], those are the only two guys that I played with that are still Bruins that are still kicking around. I’ve been teammates with Derek Forbort twice, in L.A. and in Calgary. I got to meet Charlie McAvoy last year at Tuukka’s wedding, so I talked to him and he’s pumped as well. And also, the other free agents — I talked to JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] today, and Kevin Shattenkirk. Two guys that are also really excited to be Bruins. We’re all excited to all be together wearing the Black and Gold.”
On how it felt when he was originally traded and if he thought he could end up back in Boston…
“When I got traded, it was one of those things… I don’t even know how to explain it. I was excited that I got traded because I got traded to L.A., the Kings, and they just came off winning two Stanley Cups. I was going to a team with pedigree, and who doesn’t want to get traded to L.A.? I was excited about it, but also, you’re sad to move on from a place where you started. Like you talked about, I’d been there since I was nineteen years old. Yeah, I was born and raised in Vancouver, but I feel like I was really raised and became an adult in Boston and really became a Bostonian. There were mixed emotions as far as that goes. It was one of those things… and as time went on, I guess I missed being a Bruin more and more as years went on. It’s really funny, I caught myself watching Bruins hockey games. I caught myself cheering for the Red Sox, cheering for the Celtics, cheering for the Patriots. It’s just one of those things because, like I said, it was a place where I felt like I really grew up. Like I said, it just happened that way and I still follow all of those teams like I do. I’m just so happy to be back. I feel like I’m coming home, and by no means is this just a reunion for a farewell tour. I’m coming back for the right reasons, I think I’m coming back to help this team continue to progress and chase a championship. I’m really confident in my abilities to help this team do that.”
On the story behind buying a Bruins hat…
“It’s funny, I’m in L.A., I’m not in Vancouver right now, so all of my Bruins stuff is up in Vancouver. About two days ago, I bought a couple — I just bought this hat and a couple t-shirts for the kids, because like I said, all my stuff is up in Vancouver. It’s just one of those things that I had the opportunity to talk to different teams the last two weeks because the Flames gave me that permission and obviously we didn’t discuss contract details until this morning. But it was just something that, a handshake that we discussed where we could make a reunion here. I wanted to get some Bruins gear as quick as I could, and that’s why I made the purchase right away.”
On how Boston influenced the rest of his career…
“Obviously, you want to continue to be at your best and continue to keep building. You always try to chase a championship and you always want to win. For me, that’s the main reason for playing. I was lucky and fortunate enough to experience that early in my career and experience that as a Boston Bruin, which is such a special thing. As time goes on, things change. Roles change, you change as a player and a person, that’s the thing. I’m not the same player and person who I was ten years ago. I understand that I’m going to be playing in a different role, in a new role. But at the end of the day, my mindset is still the same as to what I’m trying to achieve, and that’s to win a championship. That was the main reason why I reached out and wanted to play for Team Canada in the championship, it’s because I wanted to win something again, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity and got to win that gold medal in Finland this past May. That’s something I obviously want to experience again in the NHL. No better place to do it than in Boston if we can achieve that.”
On appreciating the Bruins sweater…
“Honestly, a lot. I’m looking forward to it really badly, because I’ve thought about this moment for the last seven years. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to put on the spoked-B, Black and Gold again. That’s why I’m so grateful for this opportunity. When you start somewhere, I don’t want to say I took it for granted, because you guys all know me. I lived it and I truly did appreciate what it meant to be a Boston Bruin and living in Boston and playing for an Original Six team and playing in front of those fans every single night. What your question was, to get to relive that, it’s almost like I’m more grateful for it now than I was at the beginning because as time goes on, sometimes you don’t know how good things are until it’s gone. Like you said, a lot of players don’t get to have that opportunity again like I get to have. Not only that, not only for myself and the fans and the city, but I get to do this in front of my kids. My two girls were born in Boston, but they were two and newborn when I got traded. Now they’re 10, eight and five. For me, to wear the spoked-B in front of my children just adds to it all. To get to do this in front of the fans again, it’s going to mean so much, so right now I can’t wait for October 11 when the first game happens in Boston.”
On what he brings on and off the ice…
“I think on the ice, you would have to talk to Monty about that more than anything. The coach obviously has a place for me, and you look at my role the past couple of years… I’ve been a ten to twelve minute guy that can play anywhere in the lineup. But that’s ultimately something you would have to talk to Monty about and we’ve talked about that. I’m excited for whatever role he gives me. Off the ice, I think it’s just more the leadership role. Obviously, you lose a lot with the guys that aren’t coming back, but I’ve been through a lot and I can help with a leadership role and help with the young guys. But also, just bringing it every day; bringing it in practice, bringing it in games and all that type of stuff. That’s something I haven’t lost, I have that fire every day, the competitiveness, whether it’s practice or games, just bringing it every day, bringing it in the gym, all that type of stuff. Those are the things that are required of me to bring on a day-to-day basis, and I’m looking forward to that.”
On his relationship with Bruins fans…
“You know what? I think it was just personable. We just bonded from the get-go. Like I said, I was a nineteen-year old kid who moved away from home. It wasn’t like I was a quick flight away, I went from the Pacific all the way across to the Atlantic. I was across the country. I kind of had to learn how to be a Bostonian right off the get-go. It was one of those things where it was a match made in heaven, where my style of play kind of fit the Big Bad Bruins identity and all that type of stuff. It just fit the attitude and the identity of the city of Boston. When I was younger, I used to just walk around the city and meet people and talk to people and all that. I’ve always been someone who’s very personable and shared a lot of good times with fans. I think that’s why I use the word personable, that’s probably the best way to describe my relationship with the fans. I’m really looking forward to that first game at home in Boston at the Garden, and I know it’s going to be rocking and I can’t wait for things to get going.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK…
On coming to Boston and what it means to be a Bruin…
"I think just going into the process, I was ultimately looking for two things — a team where I thought I'd have a chance to contend and win and just a spot where I thought it could be a good fit with how I play fits in with what the team has and what they might need. The Bruins were a team that were high on my list because of those reasons and it's super exciting. I mean obviously, Original Six franchise, I know I've been on the other side of some good rivalry games, playing with the Leafs for a bunch of years but, again, you speak to the culture here and the guys that they currently have and the season that they just had last year. Obviously, a little bit, come up short in the playoffs, but the regular season that they had, that shows what kind of group is here and kind of the culture that's in place. I think pretty much since I've been in the league, they've been a contender right there every single year so obviously that's a standard and a culture that you want to be a part of."
On what it means to be a part of the organization after playing college hockey in New England...
"Yeah, that's been pretty cool to get some texts, like Coach Umile [Dick Umile], just texted me a little bit earlier to congratulate me, but certainly, going to UNH, what was that 15 years ago or so, those were the games that you'd catch a lot on TV. So, I remember watching a lot of Phil Kessel and Looch [Milan Lucic] in those days. It's interesting how it comes kind of full circle where obviously at UNH, the team is the Bruins there, so it's a different sort of atmosphere to be in with that and you get kind of exposed to it a little more than you would be otherwise. You know how passionate and far-reaching that fan base is throughout New England, so that's for sure going to be fun to be a part of all that."
On what joining the Bruins organization means to him...
"Yeah, there's a lot of tradition and history and definitely a culture that comes along with that. Like I mentioned, since I've been in the league, they've been a contender pretty much every year and it seems like a great group in there. So really excited to be a part of that and get a chance to meet some of the guys. Some of them, I do know a little bit but definitely excited to be a part of it and get started."
On what he hopes to bring to the team...
"Yeah, I think again just looking at it from afar, just the style of game that I kind of bring some net front presence, some smarts, hockey sense, things like that, I think it definitely fits in well with how the team likes to play and how Monty [Jim Montgomery] tries to coach the team. I think just even watching from afar last year, just watching the style that they'd try to play, definitely seemed like one I thought I could fit in well and definitely relying on your hockey sense, relying on your skill to play the game the right way. Obviously, a great group of guys to play with. I mean you speak to the record of the team last year, that doesn't happen by accident, so obviously again a lot of the guys from that team coming back, so going to be just exciting to join with them and get started."
On what role models he had in Philadelphia and Toronto...
"I got a chance to learn a lot from a lot of great people and players over the course of my career. Speaking to some of the earlier years, guys like: Chris Pronger, Jody Shelley, Brian Boucher, Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, I mean, there's probably someone I'm forgetting in there that were so great. And then going on to Toronto, guys like: Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, guys like that you pick up the little things along the way to really kind of be a sponge as far as learning what it takes to be successful and have success over a long period of time. I think that's something now that I try to live by every single day. I'm someone who loves the game and loves all the nitty gritty stuff that goes into preparing and getting yourself better and improving and expanding your game. That's something that I'll always love to be working on and things like that and that's never going to change. For me anyway, I know as a younger guy, it was always good to see guys that were veterans that had played awhile and just their approach and how they approach the game and approach their craft. I think that's kind of my style in just trying to do the right thing day in and day out."
On if any players have reached out...
“I've heard from a couple of the other guys already. Trent Frederic, I heard from Looch [Milan Lucic], I probably have some more messages. I got to look through to see who else has reached out, but I see Derek Forbort a little bit here in the summers. Some of the other guys from some USA hockey stuff and things like that. But yeah, I know it's a few guys I have some familiarity with, but for the most part a little excited to get to know some of these guys much better."
On his approach to inside scoring...
"I think just having, I guess the timing. It's about the timing of being there, the willingness to go to those areas. Obviously playing with some great players too, so you read off each other and you bring something a little bit to the table. So, I think that chemistry piece is so important for stuff like that as well. Just because if things are flowing in the right way, there's different times in your shift that different guys may be in that spot. But again, when you get used to the different preferences of different players, I think it starts to kind of look more, and some more patterns come out in that scenario and that's an area where guys get to the spots they like and there's great chemistry and it becomes pretty natural between guys that are playing together. So yeah, that's that spot on the ice that I love to be, I love to play. I don't think I've been able to have some success there over the years and yeah, just excited to get to that, and get started with the guys on the team."
…
On coming to Boston and what it means to be a Bruin…
"I think just going into the process, I was ultimately looking for two things — a team where I thought I'd have a chance to contend and win and just a spot where I thought it could be a good fit with how I play fits in with what the team has and what they might need. The Bruins were a team that were high on my list because of those reasons and it's super exciting. I mean obviously, Original Six franchise, I know I've been on the other side of some good rivalry games, playing with the Leafs for a bunch of years but, again, you speak to the culture here and the guys that they currently have and the season that they just had last year. Obviously, a little bit, come up short in the playoffs, but the regular season that they had, that shows what kind of group is here and kind of the culture that's in place. I think pretty much since I've been in the league, they've been a contender right there every single year so obviously that's a standard and a culture that you want to be a part of."
On what it means to be a part of the organization after playing college hockey in New England...
"Yeah, that's been pretty cool to get some texts, like Coach Umile [Dick Umile], just texted me a little bit earlier to congratulate me, but certainly, going to UNH, what was that 15 years ago or so, those were the games that you'd catch a lot on TV. So, I remember watching a lot of Phil Kessel and Looch [Milan Lucic] in those days. It's interesting how it comes kind of full circle where obviously at UNH, the team is the Bruins there, so it's a different sort of atmosphere to be in with that and you get kind of exposed to it a little more than you would be otherwise. You know how passionate and far-reaching that fan base is throughout New England, so that's for sure going to be fun to be a part of all that."
On what joining the Bruins organization means to him...
"Yeah, there's a lot of tradition and history and definitely a culture that comes along with that. Like I mentioned, since I've been in the league, they've been a contender pretty much every year and it seems like a great group in there. So really excited to be a part of that and get a chance to meet some of the guys. Some of them, I do know a little bit but definitely excited to be a part of it and get started."
On what he hopes to bring to the team...
"Yeah, I think again just looking at it from afar, just the style of game that I kind of bring some net front presence, some smarts, hockey sense, things like that, I think it definitely fits in well with how the team likes to play and how Monty [Jim Montgomery] tries to coach the team. I think just even watching from afar last year, just watching the style that they'd try to play, definitely seemed like one I thought I could fit in well and definitely relying on your hockey sense, relying on your skill to play the game the right way. Obviously, a great group of guys to play with. I mean you speak to the record of the team last year, that doesn't happen by accident, so obviously again a lot of the guys from that team coming back, so going to be just exciting to join with them and get started."
On what role models he had in Philadelphia and Toronto...
"I got a chance to learn a lot from a lot of great people and players over the course of my career. Speaking to some of the earlier years, guys like: Chris Pronger, Jody Shelley, Brian Boucher, Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, I mean, there's probably someone I'm forgetting in there that were so great. And then going on to Toronto, guys like: Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, guys like that you pick up the little things along the way to really kind of be a sponge as far as learning what it takes to be successful and have success over a long period of time. I think that's something now that I try to live by every single day. I'm someone who loves the game and loves all the nitty gritty stuff that goes into preparing and getting yourself better and improving and expanding your game. That's something that I'll always love to be working on and things like that and that's never going to change. For me anyway, I know as a younger guy, it was always good to see guys that were veterans that had played awhile and just their approach and how they approach the game and approach their craft. I think that's kind of my style in just trying to do the right thing day in and day out."
On if any players have reached out...
“I've heard from a couple of the other guys already. Trent Frederic, I heard from Looch [Milan Lucic], I probably have some more messages. I got to look through to see who else has reached out, but I see Derek Forbort a little bit here in the summers. Some of the other guys from some USA hockey stuff and things like that. But yeah, I know it's a few guys I have some familiarity with, but for the most part a little excited to get to know some of these guys much better."
On his approach to inside scoring...
"I think just having, I guess the timing. It's about the timing of being there, the willingness to go to those areas. Obviously playing with some great players too, so you read off each other and you bring something a little bit to the table. So, I think that chemistry piece is so important for stuff like that as well. Just because if things are flowing in the right way, there's different times in your shift that different guys may be in that spot. But again, when you get used to the different preferences of different players, I think it starts to kind of look more, and some more patterns come out in that scenario and that's an area where guys get to the spots they like and there's great chemistry and it becomes pretty natural between guys that are playing together. So yeah, that's that spot on the ice that I love to be, I love to play. I don't think I've been able to have some success there over the years and yeah, just excited to get to that, and get started with the guys on the team."
On how he feels about the moves he made and if he plugged the holes in the lineup…
“I don’t think you ever feel comfortable with where you sit in July, I don’t think you fully build your team out. You have a lot of if, ands, or buts, but with the congestion of the marketplace as it relates to the cap and where we were, I think we did a lot of the things that we set out to do in addressing the depth overall of our club and getting back, not just… We have plenty of opportunity for younger kids to come in and take their place if they earn it, but we’ve also complemented the group with players we felt we needed to fill some holes and address some needs.”
On where he feels the holes in the lineup are…
“Well, our defense and our goaltending are pretty much what we had last year. Congrats to Connor Clifton and all the other free agents that had other opportunities to go elsewhere, but that was a pretty good d-corps last year, so we feel pretty good about that, and the goaltending was excellent during the regular season. We all fell short in the playoffs. So, our depth at the front was where we tried to address most of the needs, and again, with an eye towards allowing some of the younger guys to see if they can come in and take their jobs. We still have to hear a final word both from David Krejci and Patrice [Bergeron], so we’ll keep an eye and an ear out for that and cross our fingers that maybe that falls our way, but even with the move with [Morgan] Geekie today, a bigger centerman, he’s played wing as well. We talked a lot about Freddy [Trent Frederic] going to the middle of the ice, he’s a left shot, so now you have lefty, righty that might be able to go into the third line and provide depth scoring for us. Freddy had 17 goals last year and was productive. Geekie played just over ten minutes on a really good Seattle team. Could he get into an elevated position and produce more? Could he still have that high end production five-on-five? He's played bumper on the power play; he has a really good release as right shot. So, I think those in that scenario that we certainly tried to address. [Johnny] Beecher is another player that will hopefully push, Marc McLaughlin has played both center and wing and [Georgii] Merkulov, who is also one who has had another good first year pro. So, they can pin their ears back and come in and take the job and move the pieces around as we see.”
On Tomas Nosek’s status with the team…
“It’s unlikely at this point. Patrick Brown is another really good, detailed player. He kills a lot of penalties… Geekie is over 50 percent; Brown is well over 50 percent on draws. Chris Kelly had pointed out that if a couple of our centers don’t come back and Charlie Coyle is our only right shot center, then maybe we should address that, and I think Geekie and Brown can do that and Brown can slide over to the wing as well. So, that was the areas we tried to address and then we introduced JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] in this because he’s been a guy who has produced at the NHL level on a consistent basis and is really excited to be coming to a team that is still very, very competitive. It was a special year last year and he acknowledged that it looked like a lot of fun playing hockey in Boston and he wanted to be a part of that, and you saw that Kevin Shattenkirk was along the same lines. He wanted to join a team… He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in a little bit of the same type of role that maybe he’d be stepping into here. So, those are the areas, those are the players that we tried and even with down below… Guys that have played both AHL and NHL. Anthony Richard had a breakout year offensively, he’s played games in the NHL, he has a great amount of speed and tenacity for a smaller player. Jayson Megna is another player we’ve agreed to, it’s not finalized… Provided depth in Anaheim, played in Colorado, skates really well. Parker Wotherspoon is a hard-nosed lefty and we saw a lot of him in Bridgeport and our guys were high on him. So, he can create some competition in all of those areas and then the three righties we picked up are going to be important to the depth of organization and club.”
On how important it was to get JVR as a net front guy if Tyler Bertuzzi isn’t coming back…
“Again, we’ve had a lot of guys slide into that role and even Nick [Foligno], congrats to him as well, we wish he and his family well in Chicago. JVR has had a lot of success at the net front. He can slide on either power play unit or compliment those groups. Jake [DeBrusk] has done a good job, despite a torn tendon and broken fibula, he scored two pretty important goals in the Winter Classic game. So, he’s grown in that area and Marchy has even slid back in there. As I said, adding another right shot to compliment either group, and obviously Bergy is a big ‘if’ on all that stuff from the bumper position or where [Pavel] Zacha plays. So, there are a lot of pieces there that Monty [Jim Montgomery] probably feels a little bit better about moving around and JVR adds to that component. He’s really tough to defend down in front of the net.”
On what they could identify as to why JVR had a point drop off on the power play…
“It’s probably a combination of everything, I’m not going to speak about how he was fully utilized in Philadelphia, that’s their business. How he’d be utilized here, opportunities, sometimes there is a little bit of puck luck, sometimes you might say that in the 15-20 games where we went pretty dry, and you were wondering why guys are not all of a sudden scoring. Power plays generally go through those spurts and players can go through those spurts, but it will be incumbent upon him to make sure that he gets back into those areas and bares down and scores how he normally would, but again, everyone goes through a little bit of it and you have to work through it.”
On what he would like to see from Morgan Geekie in potentially elevated minutes…
“Again, it’s a projection… Just anointing somebody with extra minutes, how that’s going to pan out doesn’t always just translate. Players need to… You won’t be starting 62 percent of the time in the offensive zone with us. So, that will be a change and start from his own zone and being able to defend within our system. Skating has always been the knock on Morgan, but we feel that the size and the hockey sense and his puck skill abilities that he’ll be able to integrate into our group well, whether that is in the middle or on the wing and complement our group. Can he play higher than that, again that’s something to be determined and we might get a surprise. If Fabian [Lysell] comes back and gives us that boost and injection in terms of being able to complement… Maybe Freddy moves back there. We feel like we’re in a good spot in that regard, those guys both have the ability to play center and now we’re going to find out if they can hold water there.”
On the impact he expects Milan Lucic to bring on and off the ice…
“Well, I mean there’s been a little bit of social buzz out there about Looch. Some of it has certainly been driven from Looch. At 12:01 he sent me a picture of himself in a Bruins hat that he honestly went to the store and bought himself. He wasn’t at home and couldn’t unpack some of the things. So, that just says a lot about where his mind is at in coming back home. I think when he steps back on the ice everybody in the building will feel a little bit of a buzz. He went to the World Championships with the full intention of telling everyone how much he loves hockey, how much he continues to want to play hockey, and this is where he wanted to play, and I just feel like bringing Looch back to Boston was the right thing to do for all those reasons. He feels like he has a lot of juice left and we feel he can provide a real jolt of both enthusiasm and bite to our lineup, he can help guys like Freddy and Lauks and guys that… He can probably create a little bit of space if somebody is breathing down Pasta’s neck, so it’s a thing we’ve missed and in a perfect world he never would have left, but those decisions were made and now we bring him back home and we’re happy about it.”
On what it’s like for him bringing Milan Lucic back since he traded him back in 2015…
“I mean, when I think back, I had to have a flak jacket and a helmet on walking around Boston on some of those decisions. They weren’t popular, they weren’t fun, they weren’t something I wanted to do. We looked back at it and back then at the time, we had at the time… With March coming on there was going to be six guys with long term deals and we just made a really hard decision. It was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever made as a General Manager, and it was early on. So, again, in a perfect world he never would have left. I was grateful to be able to bring him back and allow him to have the impact that he wants to have, and we’re excited about it.”
On if there were any hard feelings between him and Lucic and how they worked through it…
“You know what, Looch loves the game, loves Boston, he’s never indicated anything other than that. He knows it was more of a business decision and he did what was best for his family from there. Whether that was not staying in LA and moving on and he’s had a terrific career and it’s going to continue. From a hard feelings standpoint, Looch is just a solid person, and he knows where his feet are and now, he moves them back here because he’s really happy for him and his family to have this opportunity again.”
On if how he feels about his hockey team after day one of Free Agency…
“I mean, I think I was pretty honest that we weren’t going to be the same team. We had an incredible amount of depth and we felt that we put together a good team, but we fell woefully short in the playoffs with what our goals were. We know we’re a competitive group and we want to remain a competitive group and with an eye towards the future. We didn’t really encumber ourselves too badly from a standpoint of contracts, we have some decisions to make because we have some players that are coming up on decision making time and we have some things to work out with two of our RFAs. As we pointed out, we feel good about the competitiveness of our group. We have to stay healthy, and our top guys have to stay healthy to have the amount of success that we would like to have. It’s going to be a dog fight regardless with how you feel about your team today, injuries can play a part in that, and the growth of other teams is going to play a part in that.”
On if he was close to trading into the first round of the draft and what it was like trying to trade…
“I mean, there just weren’t any trades other than teams swapping back. It was just hard, teams get locked in and it’s probably the most difficult time to just make the move even on the draft floor, unless there’s a player that someone else is keyed on and then the congestion in the cap doesn’t help with any of those. There’s a lot of moving parts and at times it takes more lead time for some teams to make those decisions because there is an impact. What might they have planned three days later versus making a decision on the draft floor. So, we tried, and it just didn’t work out on the draft floor.”
On if he is done trying to make trades or if there are potential trades in the future…
“Again, people will probably take a deep breath here to see where their teams are at like we will. There have been a lot of conversations leading up to the draft about player movement, maybe there will be a little bit more of it on the other side, but again a lot of teams have addressed needs, but there are some teams that have indicated that they would like to change the composition of their group and maybe the trade market opens up. There’s no real predicting that at this point in time, just go through the conversations and follow up on conversations with the teams you may have had discussions with.”
On if the door is closed on Tyler Bertuzzi…
“Yeah, in all likelihood, yes.”
On what the biggest problem was on finding common ground…
“Probably all the factors. The term that he has rightfully probably earned, the AAV that he’s seeking and what other teams are in position to provide that we probably weren’t, unless I made another big move and again, he’s going to land in a really good spot for him and his family and we wish him luck. He was a great piece of our puzzle and dearly would like to have gone down the path to extend him”
On the potential size of the lineup…
“You know, if you look at the size of our lineup, it's pretty big. So, you know, can we play with the pace that Monty would like to play with and are we possession-based as opposed to rush-based… those are the things Monty will work through, I'm sure we had a lot of discussions about each of the individual players that were hypotheticals and now that, you know, the players have been signed and the pieces are somewhat coming together, how he's going to play around with them, that's up to the coaching staff. We had multiple conversations leading up and then again today and he looks at it and says this addresses a lot of the needs and he noticed right away you know, Zacha is six-two, Coyle is six-two, Freddy is six-two, Brown six-one, Beecher six-three. We are big again there's a question about what our transition games will look like when you're talking about bringing new players in.”
On David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron…
“Again, I have had conversations with Patrice and David. They are going to indicate with us what their timeline is. I can neither confirm or deny either of those reports because I have not heard from David whether or not he is considering it. If you're asking my personal opinion, I would be surprised if he would, you know, based on what he went through in coming back and really enjoying his time. He's been pretty consistent in saying that if he’s playing the NHL, he's playing for Boston. And Patrice has been very consistent saying he's going to take all the time he needs to make the best decision for him and his family.”
On Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation…
“He's been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey. I don't see why he wouldn't be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time. This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure. We feel very comfortable and want to take another step. We want to see both of them take another step, that's God's honest truth. Our hockey club, you know, peace of mind for 82 games was pretty darn consistent. And you know what? We just didn't do what we wanted to do and hope to do that in the playoffs. And we have to learn and grow. Jeremy is part of that.”
On using last season as motivation…
“It does. I mean, 2010 goes against Philadelphia, lose, and turn around and win the next year. So, the core guys here have taken to heart that they feel like we had a historic regular season, but we had a failure, you know, in the playoffs. We have to learn and grow. And that next core, as we would call them, they have to take that, you know, take umbrage with the disappointment and drive. They have to drive from this team going forward. That's just a fact and they are excited about that challenge. David is a great indication and a lot of rhetoric about what David is going to do. David's heart has been in Boston, and he wanted to be part of this year, you know, a transition, likely coming within the next eight years of his career. He's now part of leadership. He's talked about learning from people. I think it's a great indication of, you put March and Pasta, you know, Coyle and Zacha and Lindholm McAvoy and the goaltending situation and of the other guys. That’s the next core for the Boston Bruins and we're excited about that.”
On the Matt Grzelcyk rumors…
“I didn’t start any rumors. So, you want to ask me where they came from? You want to look in the mirror? Maybe you guys started them, you know, is it hypothetical that they're having conversations about players, our lineup? No. It's fact, there's no question that I'm never going to be discussing whether or not a team has called me. That's just the job. It doesn't matter who it is. That's disrespectful to a player from my point of view, being a former player. So, in that case we know that Matt can play with Charlie McAvoy in a top player role and play really well. We split around the lineup. How we were composing our lineup, how we made some decisions in the moment. Yeah, he was in and out a lot. Orlov was a really good player and I wish him luck in Carolina, but Matt is a hockey player, you know, and we feel, as I referenced earlier, he plays a big part of a lot of success in the regular season and he will be a lot of success going forward and is very comfortable within our lineup.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MILAN LUCIC…
On how talks started…
“I had permission to talk to teams early and Don reached out about two weeks ago when it first happened, and Sweens called me and said he was interested in having me back. He asked me if I had any interest in coming back and obviously it’s a place that’s close and dear to my heart. Having the opportunity to come back, you can see the smile on my face right now. It feels like I’m going home. It’s always felt like I’ve been a Bruin, and I’m just so happy and thankful for the opportunity to be a Bruin again. Can’t thank Don enough for reaching out and making me a Bruin again. Thanks to him and Cam Neely and Jim Montgomery for bringing me back and I’m looking forward to being a Bruin again.”
On if he’s talked to any of his teammates yet…
“Yeah, I talked to Pasta [David Pastrnak] and Marchy [Brad Marchand], those are the only two guys that I played with that are still Bruins that are still kicking around. I’ve been teammates with Derek Forbort twice, in L.A. and in Calgary. I got to meet Charlie McAvoy last year at Tuukka’s wedding, so I talked to him and he’s pumped as well. And also, the other free agents — I talked to JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] today, and Kevin Shattenkirk. Two guys that are also really excited to be Bruins. We’re all excited to all be together wearing the Black and Gold.”
On how it felt when he was originally traded and if he thought he could end up back in Boston…
“When I got traded, it was one of those things… I don’t even know how to explain it. I was excited that I got traded because I got traded to L.A., the Kings, and they just came off winning two Stanley Cups. I was going to a team with pedigree, and who doesn’t want to get traded to L.A.? I was excited about it, but also, you’re sad to move on from a place where you started. Like you talked about, I’d been there since I was nineteen years old. Yeah, I was born and raised in Vancouver, but I feel like I was really raised and became an adult in Boston and really became a Bostonian. There were mixed emotions as far as that goes. It was one of those things… and as time went on, I guess I missed being a Bruin more and more as years went on. It’s really funny, I caught myself watching Bruins hockey games. I caught myself cheering for the Red Sox, cheering for the Celtics, cheering for the Patriots. It’s just one of those things because, like I said, it was a place where I felt like I really grew up. Like I said, it just happened that way and I still follow all of those teams like I do. I’m just so happy to be back. I feel like I’m coming home, and by no means is this just a reunion for a farewell tour. I’m coming back for the right reasons, I think I’m coming back to help this team continue to progress and chase a championship. I’m really confident in my abilities to help this team do that.”
On the story behind buying a Bruins hat…
“It’s funny, I’m in L.A., I’m not in Vancouver right now, so all of my Bruins stuff is up in Vancouver. About two days ago, I bought a couple — I just bought this hat and a couple t-shirts for the kids, because like I said, all my stuff is up in Vancouver. It’s just one of those things that I had the opportunity to talk to different teams the last two weeks because the Flames gave me that permission and obviously we didn’t discuss contract details until this morning. But it was just something that, a handshake that we discussed where we could make a reunion here. I wanted to get some Bruins gear as quick as I could, and that’s why I made the purchase right away.”
On how Boston influenced the rest of his career…
“Obviously, you want to continue to be at your best and continue to keep building. You always try to chase a championship and you always want to win. For me, that’s the main reason for playing. I was lucky and fortunate enough to experience that early in my career and experience that as a Boston Bruin, which is such a special thing. As time goes on, things change. Roles change, you change as a player and a person, that’s the thing. I’m not the same player and person who I was ten years ago. I understand that I’m going to be playing in a different role, in a new role. But at the end of the day, my mindset is still the same as to what I’m trying to achieve, and that’s to win a championship. That was the main reason why I reached out and wanted to play for Team Canada in the championship, it’s because I wanted to win something again, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity and got to win that gold medal in Finland this past May. That’s something I obviously want to experience again in the NHL. No better place to do it than in Boston if we can achieve that.”
On appreciating the Bruins sweater…
“Honestly, a lot. I’m looking forward to it really badly, because I’ve thought about this moment for the last seven years. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to put on the spoked-B, Black and Gold again. That’s why I’m so grateful for this opportunity. When you start somewhere, I don’t want to say I took it for granted, because you guys all know me. I lived it and I truly did appreciate what it meant to be a Boston Bruin and living in Boston and playing for an Original Six team and playing in front of those fans every single night. What your question was, to get to relive that, it’s almost like I’m more grateful for it now than I was at the beginning because as time goes on, sometimes you don’t know how good things are until it’s gone. Like you said, a lot of players don’t get to have that opportunity again like I get to have. Not only that, not only for myself and the fans and the city, but I get to do this in front of my kids. My two girls were born in Boston, but they were two and newborn when I got traded. Now they’re 10, eight and five. For me, to wear the spoked-B in front of my children just adds to it all. To get to do this in front of the fans again, it’s going to mean so much, so right now I can’t wait for October 11 when the first game happens in Boston.”
On what he brings on and off the ice…
“I think on the ice, you would have to talk to Monty about that more than anything. The coach obviously has a place for me, and you look at my role the past couple of years… I’ve been a ten to twelve minute guy that can play anywhere in the lineup. But that’s ultimately something you would have to talk to Monty about and we’ve talked about that. I’m excited for whatever role he gives me. Off the ice, I think it’s just more the leadership role. Obviously, you lose a lot with the guys that aren’t coming back, but I’ve been through a lot and I can help with a leadership role and help with the young guys. But also, just bringing it every day; bringing it in practice, bringing it in games and all that type of stuff. That’s something I haven’t lost, I have that fire every day, the competitiveness, whether it’s practice or games, just bringing it every day, bringing it in the gym, all that type of stuff. Those are the things that are required of me to bring on a day-to-day basis, and I’m looking forward to that.”
On his relationship with Bruins fans…
“You know what? I think it was just personable. We just bonded from the get-go. Like I said, I was a nineteen-year old kid who moved away from home. It wasn’t like I was a quick flight away, I went from the Pacific all the way across to the Atlantic. I was across the country. I kind of had to learn how to be a Bostonian right off the get-go. It was one of those things where it was a match made in heaven, where my style of play kind of fit the Big Bad Bruins identity and all that type of stuff. It just fit the attitude and the identity of the city of Boston. When I was younger, I used to just walk around the city and meet people and talk to people and all that. I’ve always been someone who’s very personable and shared a lot of good times with fans. I think that’s why I use the word personable, that’s probably the best way to describe my relationship with the fans. I’m really looking forward to that first game at home in Boston at the Garden, and I know it’s going to be rocking and I can’t wait for things to get going.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD
BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY…
On how he feels about the moves he made and if he plugged the holes in the lineup…
“I don’t think you ever feel comfortable with where you sit in July, I don’t think you fully build your team out. You have a lot of if, ands, or buts, but with the congestion of the marketplace as it relates to the cap and where we were, I think we did a lot of the things that we set out to do in addressing the depth overall of our club and getting back, not just… We have plenty of opportunity for younger kids to come in and take their place if they earn it, but we’ve also complemented the group with players we felt we needed to fill some holes and address some needs.”
On where he feels the holes in the lineup are…
“Well, our defense and our goaltending are pretty much what we had last year. Congrats to Connor Clifton and all the other free agents that had other opportunities to go elsewhere, but that was a pretty good d-corps last year, so we feel pretty good about that, and the goaltending was excellent during the regular season. We all fell short in the playoffs. So, our depth at the front was where we tried to address most of the needs, and again, with an eye towards allowing some of the younger guys to see if they can come in and take their jobs. We still have to hear a final word both from David Krejci and Patrice [Bergeron], so we’ll keep an eye and an ear out for that and cross our fingers that maybe that falls our way, but even with the move with [Morgan] Geekie today, a bigger centerman, he’s played wing as well. We talked a lot about Freddy [Trent Frederic] going to the middle of the ice, he’s a left shot, so now you have lefty, righty that might be able to go into the third line and provide depth scoring for us. Freddy had 17 goals last year and was productive. Geekie played just over ten minutes on a really good Seattle team. Could he get into an elevated position and produce more? Could he still have that high end production five-on-five? He's played bumper on the power play; he has a really good release as right shot. So, I think those in that scenario that we certainly tried to address. [Johnny] Beecher is another player that will hopefully push, Marc McLaughlin has played both center and wing and [Georgii] Merkulov, who is also one who has had another good first year pro. So, they can pin their ears back and come in and take the job and move the pieces around as we see.”
On Tomas Nosek’s status with the team…
“It’s unlikely at this point. Patrick Brown is another really good, detailed player. He kills a lot of penalties… Geekie is over 50 percent; Brown is well over 50 percent on draws. Chris Kelly had pointed out that if a couple of our centers don’t come back and Charlie Coyle is our only right shot center, then maybe we should address that, and I think Geekie and Brown can do that and Brown can slide over to the wing as well. So, that was the areas we tried to address and then we introduced JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] in this because he’s been a guy who has produced at the NHL level on a consistent basis and is really excited to be coming to a team that is still very, very competitive. It was a special year last year and he acknowledged that it looked like a lot of fun playing hockey in Boston and he wanted to be a part of that, and you saw that Kevin Shattenkirk was along the same lines. He wanted to join a team… He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa in a little bit of the same type of role that maybe he’d be stepping into here. So, those are the areas, those are the players that we tried and even with down below… Guys that have played both AHL and NHL. Anthony Richard had a breakout year offensively, he’s played games in the NHL, he has a great amount of speed and tenacity for a smaller player. Jayson Megna is another player we’ve agreed to, it’s not finalized… Provided depth in Anaheim, played in Colorado, skates really well. Parker Wotherspoon is a hard-nosed lefty and we saw a lot of him in Bridgeport and our guys were high on him. So, he can create some competition in all of those areas and then the three righties we picked up are going to be important to the depth of organization and club.”
On how important it was to get JVR as a net front guy if Tyler Bertuzzi isn’t coming back…
“Again, we’ve had a lot of guys slide into that role and even Nick [Foligno], congrats to him as well, we wish he and his family well in Chicago. JVR has had a lot of success at the net front. He can slide on either power play unit or compliment those groups. Jake [DeBrusk] has done a good job, despite a torn tendon and broken fibula, he scored two pretty important goals in the Winter Classic game. So, he’s grown in that area and Marchy has even slid back in there. As I said, adding another right shot to compliment either group, and obviously Bergy is a big ‘if’ on all that stuff from the bumper position or where [Pavel] Zacha plays. So, there are a lot of pieces there that Monty [Jim Montgomery] probably feels a little bit better about moving around and JVR adds to that component. He’s really tough to defend down in front of the net.”
On what they could identify as to why JVR had a point drop off on the power play…
“It’s probably a combination of everything, I’m not going to speak about how he was fully utilized in Philadelphia, that’s their business. How he’d be utilized here, opportunities, sometimes there is a little bit of puck luck, sometimes you might say that in the 15-20 games where we went pretty dry, and you were wondering why guys are not all of a sudden scoring. Power plays generally go through those spurts and players can go through those spurts, but it will be incumbent upon him to make sure that he gets back into those areas and bares down and scores how he normally would, but again, everyone goes through a little bit of it and you have to work through it.”
On what he would like to see from Morgan Geekie in potentially elevated minutes…
“Again, it’s a projection… Just anointing somebody with extra minutes, how that’s going to pan out doesn’t always just translate. Players need to… You won’t be starting 62 percent of the time in the offensive zone with us. So, that will be a change and start from his own zone and being able to defend within our system. Skating has always been the knock on Morgan, but we feel that the size and the hockey sense and his puck skill abilities that he’ll be able to integrate into our group well, whether that is in the middle or on the wing and complement our group. Can he play higher than that, again that’s something to be determined and we might get a surprise. If Fabian [Lysell] comes back and gives us that boost and injection in terms of being able to complement… Maybe Freddy moves back there. We feel like we’re in a good spot in that regard, those guys both have the ability to play center and now we’re going to find out if they can hold water there.”
On the impact he expects Milan Lucic to bring on and off the ice…
“Well, I mean there’s been a little bit of social buzz out there about Looch. Some of it has certainly been driven from Looch. At 12:01 he sent me a picture of himself in a Bruins hat that he honestly went to the store and bought himself. He wasn’t at home and couldn’t unpack some of the things. So, that just says a lot about where his mind is at in coming back home. I think when he steps back on the ice everybody in the building will feel a little bit of a buzz. He went to the World Championships with the full intention of telling everyone how much he loves hockey, how much he continues to want to play hockey, and this is where he wanted to play, and I just feel like bringing Looch back to Boston was the right thing to do for all those reasons. He feels like he has a lot of juice left and we feel he can provide a real jolt of both enthusiasm and bite to our lineup, he can help guys like Freddy and Lauks and guys that… He can probably create a little bit of space if somebody is breathing down Pasta’s neck, so it’s a thing we’ve missed and in a perfect world he never would have left, but those decisions were made and now we bring him back home and we’re happy about it.”
On what it’s like for him bringing Milan Lucic back since he traded him back in 2015…
“I mean, when I think back, I had to have a flak jacket and a helmet on walking around Boston on some of those decisions. They weren’t popular, they weren’t fun, they weren’t something I wanted to do. We looked back at it and back then at the time, we had at the time… With March coming on there was going to be six guys with long term deals and we just made a really hard decision. It was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever made as a General Manager, and it was early on. So, again, in a perfect world he never would have left. I was grateful to be able to bring him back and allow him to have the impact that he wants to have, and we’re excited about it.”
On if there were any hard feelings between him and Lucic and how they worked through it…
“You know what, Looch loves the game, loves Boston, he’s never indicated anything other than that. He knows it was more of a business decision and he did what was best for his family from there. Whether that was not staying in LA and moving on and he’s had a terrific career and it’s going to continue. From a hard feelings standpoint, Looch is just a solid person, and he knows where his feet are and now, he moves them back here because he’s really happy for him and his family to have this opportunity again.”
On if how he feels about his hockey team after day one of Free Agency…
“I mean, I think I was pretty honest that we weren’t going to be the same team. We had an incredible amount of depth and we felt that we put together a good team, but we fell woefully short in the playoffs with what our goals were. We know we’re a competitive group and we want to remain a competitive group and with an eye towards the future. We didn’t really encumber ourselves too badly from a standpoint of contracts, we have some decisions to make because we have some players that are coming up on decision making time and we have some things to work out with two of our RFAs. As we pointed out, we feel good about the competitiveness of our group. We have to stay healthy, and our top guys have to stay healthy to have the amount of success that we would like to have. It’s going to be a dog fight regardless with how you feel about your team today, injuries can play a part in that, and the growth of other teams is going to play a part in that.”
On if he was close to trading into the first round of the draft and what it was like trying to trade…
“I mean, there just weren’t any trades other than teams swapping back. It was just hard, teams get locked in and it’s probably the most difficult time to just make the move even on the draft floor, unless there’s a player that someone else is keyed on and then the congestion in the cap doesn’t help with any of those. There’s a lot of moving parts and at times it takes more lead time for some teams to make those decisions because there is an impact. What might they have planned three days later versus making a decision on the draft floor. So, we tried, and it just didn’t work out on the draft floor.”
On if he is done trying to make trades or if there are potential trades in the future…
“Again, people will probably take a deep breath here to see where their teams are at like we will. There have been a lot of conversations leading up to the draft about player movement, maybe there will be a little bit more of it on the other side, but again a lot of teams have addressed needs, but there are some teams that have indicated that they would like to change the composition of their group and maybe the trade market opens up. There’s no real predicting that at this point in time, just go through the conversations and follow up on conversations with the teams you may have had discussions with.”
On if the door is closed on Tyler Bertuzzi…
“Yeah, in all likelihood, yes.”
On what the biggest problem was on finding common ground…
“Probably all the factors. The term that he has rightfully probably earned, the AAV that he’s seeking and what other teams are in position to provide that we probably weren’t, unless I made another big move and again, he’s going to land in a really good spot for him and his family and we wish him luck. He was a great piece of our puzzle and dearly would like to have gone down the path to extend him”
On the potential size of the lineup…
“You know, if you look at the size of our lineup, it's pretty big. So, you know, can we play with the pace that Monty would like to play with and are we possession-based as opposed to rush-based… those are the things Monty will work through, I'm sure we had a lot of discussions about each of the individual players that were hypotheticals and now that, you know, the players have been signed and the pieces are somewhat coming together, how he's going to play around with them, that's up to the coaching staff. We had multiple conversations leading up and then again today and he looks at it and says this addresses a lot of the needs and he noticed right away you know, Zacha is six-two, Coyle is six-two, Freddy is six-two, Brown six-one, Beecher six-three. We are big again there's a question about what our transition games will look like when you're talking about bringing new players in.”
On David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron…
“Again, I have had conversations with Patrice and David. They are going to indicate with us what their timeline is. I can neither confirm or deny either of those reports because I have not heard from David whether or not he is considering it. If you're asking my personal opinion, I would be surprised if he would, you know, based on what he went through in coming back and really enjoying his time. He's been pretty consistent in saying that if he’s playing the NHL, he's playing for Boston. And Patrice has been very consistent saying he's going to take all the time he needs to make the best decision for him and his family.”
On Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation…
“He's been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey. I don't see why he wouldn't be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time. This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure. We feel very comfortable and want to take another step. We want to see both of them take another step, that's God's honest truth. Our hockey club, you know, peace of mind for 82 games was pretty darn consistent. And you know what? We just didn't do what we wanted to do and hope to do that in the playoffs. And we have to learn and grow. Jeremy is part of that.”
On using last season as motivation…
“It does. I mean, 2010 goes against Philadelphia, lose, and turn around and win the next year. So, the core guys here have taken to heart that they feel like we had a historic regular season, but we had a failure, you know, in the playoffs. We have to learn and grow. And that next core, as we would call them, they have to take that, you know, take umbrage with the disappointment and drive. They have to drive from this team going forward. That's just a fact and they are excited about that challenge. David is a great indication and a lot of rhetoric about what David is going to do. David's heart has been in Boston, and he wanted to be part of this year, you know, a transition, likely coming within the next eight years of his career. He's now part of leadership. He's talked about learning from people. I think it's a great indication of, you put March and Pasta, you know, Coyle and Zacha and Lindholm McAvoy and the goaltending situation and of the other guys. That’s the next core for the Boston Bruins and we're excited about that.”
On the Matt Grzelcyk rumors…
“I didn’t start any rumors. So, you want to ask me where they came from? You want to look in the mirror? Maybe you guys started them, you know, is it hypothetical that they're having conversations about players, our lineup? No. It's fact, there's no question that I'm never going to be discussing whether or not a team has called me. That's just the job. It doesn't matter who it is. That's disrespectful to a player from my point of view, being a former player. So, in that case we know that Matt can play with Charlie McAvoy in a top player role and play really well. We split around the lineup. How we were composing our lineup, how we made some decisions in the moment. Yeah, he was in and out a lot. Orlov was a really good player and I wish him luck in Carolina, but Matt is a hockey player, you know, and we feel, as I referenced earlier, he plays a big part of a lot of success in the regular season and he will be a lot of success going forward and is very comfortable within our lineup.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MILAN LUCIC…
On how talks started…
“I had permission to talk to teams early and Don reached out about two weeks ago when it first happened, and Sweens called me and said he was interested in having me back. He asked me if I had any interest in coming back and obviously it’s a place that’s close and dear to my heart. Having the opportunity to come back, you can see the smile on my face right now. It feels like I’m going home. It’s always felt like I’ve been a Bruin, and I’m just so happy and thankful for the opportunity to be a Bruin again. Can’t thank Don enough for reaching out and making me a Bruin again. Thanks to him and Cam Neely and Jim Montgomery for bringing me back and I’m looking forward to being a Bruin again.”
On if he’s talked to any of his teammates yet…
“Yeah, I talked to Pasta [David Pastrnak] and Marchy [Brad Marchand], those are the only two guys that I played with that are still Bruins that are still kicking around. I’ve been teammates with Derek Forbort twice, in L.A. and in Calgary. I got to meet Charlie McAvoy last year at Tuukka’s wedding, so I talked to him and he’s pumped as well. And also, the other free agents — I talked to JVR [James Van Riemsdyk] today, and Kevin Shattenkirk. Two guys that are also really excited to be Bruins. We’re all excited to all be together wearing the Black and Gold.”
On how it felt when he was originally traded and if he thought he could end up back in Boston…
“When I got traded, it was one of those things… I don’t even know how to explain it. I was excited that I got traded because I got traded to L.A., the Kings, and they just came off winning two Stanley Cups. I was going to a team with pedigree, and who doesn’t want to get traded to L.A.? I was excited about it, but also, you’re sad to move on from a place where you started. Like you talked about, I’d been there since I was nineteen years old. Yeah, I was born and raised in Vancouver, but I feel like I was really raised and became an adult in Boston and really became a Bostonian. There were mixed emotions as far as that goes. It was one of those things… and as time went on, I guess I missed being a Bruin more and more as years went on. It’s really funny, I caught myself watching Bruins hockey games. I caught myself cheering for the Red Sox, cheering for the Celtics, cheering for the Patriots. It’s just one of those things because, like I said, it was a place where I felt like I really grew up. Like I said, it just happened that way and I still follow all of those teams like I do. I’m just so happy to be back. I feel like I’m coming home, and by no means is this just a reunion for a farewell tour. I’m coming back for the right reasons, I think I’m coming back to help this team continue to progress and chase a championship. I’m really confident in my abilities to help this team do that.”
On the story behind buying a Bruins hat…
“It’s funny, I’m in L.A., I’m not in Vancouver right now, so all of my Bruins stuff is up in Vancouver. About two days ago, I bought a couple — I just bought this hat and a couple t-shirts for the kids, because like I said, all my stuff is up in Vancouver. It’s just one of those things that I had the opportunity to talk to different teams the last two weeks because the Flames gave me that permission and obviously we didn’t discuss contract details until this morning. But it was just something that, a handshake that we discussed where we could make a reunion here. I wanted to get some Bruins gear as quick as I could, and that’s why I made the purchase right away.”
On how Boston influenced the rest of his career…
“Obviously, you want to continue to be at your best and continue to keep building. You always try to chase a championship and you always want to win. For me, that’s the main reason for playing. I was lucky and fortunate enough to experience that early in my career and experience that as a Boston Bruin, which is such a special thing. As time goes on, things change. Roles change, you change as a player and a person, that’s the thing. I’m not the same player and person who I was ten years ago. I understand that I’m going to be playing in a different role, in a new role. But at the end of the day, my mindset is still the same as to what I’m trying to achieve, and that’s to win a championship. That was the main reason why I reached out and wanted to play for Team Canada in the championship, it’s because I wanted to win something again, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity and got to win that gold medal in Finland this past May. That’s something I obviously want to experience again in the NHL. No better place to do it than in Boston if we can achieve that.”
On appreciating the Bruins sweater…
“Honestly, a lot. I’m looking forward to it really badly, because I’ve thought about this moment for the last seven years. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to put on the spoked-B, Black and Gold again. That’s why I’m so grateful for this opportunity. When you start somewhere, I don’t want to say I took it for granted, because you guys all know me. I lived it and I truly did appreciate what it meant to be a Boston Bruin and living in Boston and playing for an Original Six team and playing in front of those fans every single night. What your question was, to get to relive that, it’s almost like I’m more grateful for it now than I was at the beginning because as time goes on, sometimes you don’t know how good things are until it’s gone. Like you said, a lot of players don’t get to have that opportunity again like I get to have. Not only that, not only for myself and the fans and the city, but I get to do this in front of my kids. My two girls were born in Boston, but they were two and newborn when I got traded. Now they’re 10, eight and five. For me, to wear the spoked-B in front of my children just adds to it all. To get to do this in front of the fans again, it’s going to mean so much, so right now I can’t wait for October 11 when the first game happens in Boston.”
On what he brings on and off the ice…
“I think on the ice, you would have to talk to Monty about that more than anything. The coach obviously has a place for me, and you look at my role the past couple of years… I’ve been a ten to twelve minute guy that can play anywhere in the lineup. But that’s ultimately something you would have to talk to Monty about and we’ve talked about that. I’m excited for whatever role he gives me. Off the ice, I think it’s just more the leadership role. Obviously, you lose a lot with the guys that aren’t coming back, but I’ve been through a lot and I can help with a leadership role and help with the young guys. But also, just bringing it every day; bringing it in practice, bringing it in games and all that type of stuff. That’s something I haven’t lost, I have that fire every day, the competitiveness, whether it’s practice or games, just bringing it every day, bringing it in the gym, all that type of stuff. Those are the things that are required of me to bring on a day-to-day basis, and I’m looking forward to that.”
On his relationship with Bruins fans…
“You know what? I think it was just personable. We just bonded from the get-go. Like I said, I was a nineteen-year old kid who moved away from home. It wasn’t like I was a quick flight away, I went from the Pacific all the way across to the Atlantic. I was across the country. I kind of had to learn how to be a Bostonian right off the get-go. It was one of those things where it was a match made in heaven, where my style of play kind of fit the Big Bad Bruins identity and all that type of stuff. It just fit the attitude and the identity of the city of Boston. When I was younger, I used to just walk around the city and meet people and talk to people and all that. I’ve always been someone who’s very personable and shared a lot of good times with fans. I think that’s why I use the word personable, that’s probably the best way to describe my relationship with the fans. I’m really looking forward to that first game at home in Boston at the Garden, and I know it’s going to be rocking and I can’t wait for things to get going.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK…
On coming to Boston and what it means to be a Bruin…
"I think just going into the process, I was ultimately looking for two things — a team where I thought I'd have a chance to contend and win and just a spot where I thought it could be a good fit with how I play fits in with what the team has and what they might need. The Bruins were a team that were high on my list because of those reasons and it's super exciting. I mean obviously, Original Six franchise, I know I've been on the other side of some good rivalry games, playing with the Leafs for a bunch of years but, again, you speak to the culture here and the guys that they currently have and the season that they just had last year. Obviously, a little bit, come up short in the playoffs, but the regular season that they had, that shows what kind of group is here and kind of the culture that's in place. I think pretty much since I've been in the league, they've been a contender right there every single year so obviously that's a standard and a culture that you want to be a part of."
On what it means to be a part of the organization after playing college hockey in New England...
"Yeah, that's been pretty cool to get some texts, like Coach Umile [Dick Umile], just texted me a little bit earlier to congratulate me, but certainly, going to UNH, what was that 15 years ago or so, those were the games that you'd catch a lot on TV. So, I remember watching a lot of Phil Kessel and Looch [Milan Lucic] in those days. It's interesting how it comes kind of full circle where obviously at UNH, the team is the Bruins there, so it's a different sort of atmosphere to be in with that and you get kind of exposed to it a little more than you would be otherwise. You know how passionate and far-reaching that fan base is throughout New England, so that's for sure going to be fun to be a part of all that."
On what joining the Bruins organization means to him...
"Yeah, there's a lot of tradition and history and definitely a culture that comes along with that. Like I mentioned, since I've been in the league, they've been a contender pretty much every year and it seems like a great group in there. So really excited to be a part of that and get a chance to meet some of the guys. Some of them, I do know a little bit but definitely excited to be a part of it and get started."
On what he hopes to bring to the team...
"Yeah, I think again just looking at it from afar, just the style of game that I kind of bring some net front presence, some smarts, hockey sense, things like that, I think it definitely fits in well with how the team likes to play and how Monty [Jim Montgomery] tries to coach the team. I think just even watching from afar last year, just watching the style that they'd try to play, definitely seemed like one I thought I could fit in well and definitely relying on your hockey sense, relying on your skill to play the game the right way. Obviously, a great group of guys to play with. I mean you speak to the record of the team last year, that doesn't happen by accident, so obviously again a lot of the guys from that team coming back, so going to be just exciting to join with them and get started."
On what role models he had in Philadelphia and Toronto...
"I got a chance to learn a lot from a lot of great people and players over the course of my career. Speaking to some of the earlier years, guys like: Chris Pronger, Jody Shelley, Brian Boucher, Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, I mean, there's probably someone I'm forgetting in there that were so great. And then going on to Toronto, guys like: Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, guys like that you pick up the little things along the way to really kind of be a sponge as far as learning what it takes to be successful and have success over a long period of time. I think that's something now that I try to live by every single day. I'm someone who loves the game and loves all the nitty gritty stuff that goes into preparing and getting yourself better and improving and expanding your game. That's something that I'll always love to be working on and things like that and that's never going to change. For me anyway, I know as a younger guy, it was always good to see guys that were veterans that had played awhile and just their approach and how they approach the game and approach their craft. I think that's kind of my style in just trying to do the right thing day in and day out."
On if any players have reached out...
“I've heard from a couple of the other guys already. Trent Frederic, I heard from Looch [Milan Lucic], I probably have some more messages. I got to look through to see who else has reached out, but I see Derek Forbort a little bit here in the summers. Some of the other guys from some USA hockey stuff and things like that. But yeah, I know it's a few guys I have some familiarity with, but for the most part a little excited to get to know some of these guys much better."
On his approach to inside scoring...
"I think just having, I guess the timing. It's about the timing of being there, the willingness to go to those areas. Obviously playing with some great players too, so you read off each other and you bring something a little bit to the table. So, I think that chemistry piece is so important for stuff like that as well. Just because if things are flowing in the right way, there's different times in your shift that different guys may be in that spot. But again, when you get used to the different preferences of different players, I think it starts to kind of look more, and some more patterns come out in that scenario and that's an area where guys get to the spots they like and there's great chemistry and it becomes pretty natural between guys that are playing together. So yeah, that's that spot on the ice that I love to be, I love to play. I don't think I've been able to have some success there over the years and yeah, just excited to get to that, and get started with the guys on the team."
…
On coming to Boston and what it means to be a Bruin…
"I think just going into the process, I was ultimately looking for two things — a team where I thought I'd have a chance to contend and win and just a spot where I thought it could be a good fit with how I play fits in with what the team has and what they might need. The Bruins were a team that were high on my list because of those reasons and it's super exciting. I mean obviously, Original Six franchise, I know I've been on the other side of some good rivalry games, playing with the Leafs for a bunch of years but, again, you speak to the culture here and the guys that they currently have and the season that they just had last year. Obviously, a little bit, come up short in the playoffs, but the regular season that they had, that shows what kind of group is here and kind of the culture that's in place. I think pretty much since I've been in the league, they've been a contender right there every single year so obviously that's a standard and a culture that you want to be a part of."
On what it means to be a part of the organization after playing college hockey in New England...
"Yeah, that's been pretty cool to get some texts, like Coach Umile [Dick Umile], just texted me a little bit earlier to congratulate me, but certainly, going to UNH, what was that 15 years ago or so, those were the games that you'd catch a lot on TV. So, I remember watching a lot of Phil Kessel and Looch [Milan Lucic] in those days. It's interesting how it comes kind of full circle where obviously at UNH, the team is the Bruins there, so it's a different sort of atmosphere to be in with that and you get kind of exposed to it a little more than you would be otherwise. You know how passionate and far-reaching that fan base is throughout New England, so that's for sure going to be fun to be a part of all that."
On what joining the Bruins organization means to him...
"Yeah, there's a lot of tradition and history and definitely a culture that comes along with that. Like I mentioned, since I've been in the league, they've been a contender pretty much every year and it seems like a great group in there. So really excited to be a part of that and get a chance to meet some of the guys. Some of them, I do know a little bit but definitely excited to be a part of it and get started."
On what he hopes to bring to the team...
"Yeah, I think again just looking at it from afar, just the style of game that I kind of bring some net front presence, some smarts, hockey sense, things like that, I think it definitely fits in well with how the team likes to play and how Monty [Jim Montgomery] tries to coach the team. I think just even watching from afar last year, just watching the style that they'd try to play, definitely seemed like one I thought I could fit in well and definitely relying on your hockey sense, relying on your skill to play the game the right way. Obviously, a great group of guys to play with. I mean you speak to the record of the team last year, that doesn't happen by accident, so obviously again a lot of the guys from that team coming back, so going to be just exciting to join with them and get started."
On what role models he had in Philadelphia and Toronto...
"I got a chance to learn a lot from a lot of great people and players over the course of my career. Speaking to some of the earlier years, guys like: Chris Pronger, Jody Shelley, Brian Boucher, Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, I mean, there's probably someone I'm forgetting in there that were so great. And then going on to Toronto, guys like: Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, guys like that you pick up the little things along the way to really kind of be a sponge as far as learning what it takes to be successful and have success over a long period of time. I think that's something now that I try to live by every single day. I'm someone who loves the game and loves all the nitty gritty stuff that goes into preparing and getting yourself better and improving and expanding your game. That's something that I'll always love to be working on and things like that and that's never going to change. For me anyway, I know as a younger guy, it was always good to see guys that were veterans that had played awhile and just their approach and how they approach the game and approach their craft. I think that's kind of my style in just trying to do the right thing day in and day out."
On if any players have reached out...
“I've heard from a couple of the other guys already. Trent Frederic, I heard from Looch [Milan Lucic], I probably have some more messages. I got to look through to see who else has reached out, but I see Derek Forbort a little bit here in the summers. Some of the other guys from some USA hockey stuff and things like that. But yeah, I know it's a few guys I have some familiarity with, but for the most part a little excited to get to know some of these guys much better."
On his approach to inside scoring...
"I think just having, I guess the timing. It's about the timing of being there, the willingness to go to those areas. Obviously playing with some great players too, so you read off each other and you bring something a little bit to the table. So, I think that chemistry piece is so important for stuff like that as well. Just because if things are flowing in the right way, there's different times in your shift that different guys may be in that spot. But again, when you get used to the different preferences of different players, I think it starts to kind of look more, and some more patterns come out in that scenario and that's an area where guys get to the spots they like and there's great chemistry and it becomes pretty natural between guys that are playing together. So yeah, that's that spot on the ice that I love to be, I love to play. I don't think I've been able to have some success there over the years and yeah, just excited to get to that, and get started with the guys on the team."
