Boston Bruins
“I think teams are going to circle playing against the Bruins and go — ‘Oh, damn, we got to play them tonight.’”
With the Bruins set to open the 2025-26 season on Wednesday night in Washington DC, Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, and Charlie Jacobs fielded questions from the media on Monday at TD Garden.
Several topics were broached during Boston’s start-of-season presser, including Marco Sturm’s first year as head coach and expectations for this season.
Here are five takeaways from Monday’s presser:
Becoming a tougher out
Neely acknowledged the evident flaw with this current Boston roster on Monday — noting that there are still several question marks regarding where the Bruins will generate offense when David Pastrnak isn’t on the ice.
But, Neely also stressed that Boston has the personnel in place to remain competitive, due in large part to a defensive grouping that is due for a rebound.
Beyond the expectation that Jeremy Swayman will bounce back from an .892 save percentage last year, Boston’s porous defense should be shored up with a healthy Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back in the equation.
“We do recognize we may have a little trouble scoring some goals, but I think defensively, we can certainly play much better,” Neely said. “Obviously, McAvoy and Hampus [being] healthy are going to be a big part of our back end, but I think we’re going to be very tough out this year. We’re expecting to play very hard every game.”
As the Bruins try to find ways to coax more offense out of this group, be it reshuffling skaters in the middle-six grouping or sparking a 29th-ranked power play, Neely stressed that Boston made a concerted effort to add more bruisers to the lineup, as evidenced by the additions of players like Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont.
“We’re going to have to play tight defense if we’re going to be one of the eight [playoff teams] as we’re structured right now. And we knew that going in,” Neely said. “We tried to bolster our lineup offensively in the offseason. It didn’t come to fruition, but we got guys that are going to be tough to play against, hard to play against.
“I think teams are going to circle playing against the Bruins and go — ‘Oh, damn, we got to play them tonight.’ That’s, I think, the type of lineup that we put together, knowing that hopefully throughout the year we can add some offense somewhere. Our special teams have to get better. They should be able to get better. There’s no reason for them not to be better.”
An offseason pivot?
Neely was asked to elaborate further on Boston’s efforts to bolster the team’s offense not “coming to fruition.”
“I’m talking specifically about free agents. … We targeted a few players, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for various reasons,” Neely said.
Despite the Bruins’ clear need for at least one other high-end scoring forward, Boston wasn’t able to land one of the few big fish on the market. Nikolaj Ehlers signed a six-year, $51 million contract with the Hurricanes and Brock Boeser re-upped with the Canucks right before free agency on a seven-year, $50.75 million deal.
“We really felt the bottom part of our lineup needed a little bit more piss and vinegar, if you will,” Neely said. “So that was something we attacked first, and then the free-agent class was what it was from an offensive standpoint. So when it was as limited as it was … you know it’s going to be a little bit more challenging to try to get a player that you may want.
“But I thought our guys did a really good job of putting a roster together that is going to give us that piss and vinegar, and it’s going to be hard to play against, and teams aren’t going to enjoy it.”
Plenty of praise for Sturm
It remains to be seen how Boston’s progress from training camp and preseason action will carry over into the regular season.
But, Sweeney was impressed with what he saw from Marco Sturm in his first camp as an NHL head coach.
“You’ve heard his voice throughout camp, and I think that’s really important for our players to understand that he’s in charge of this and he’s running it,” Sweeney said. “He’s delegated really well with the areas of staff that he has. … Our guys know who’s at the head of the boat in this situation and they’re on board.
“And he’s going to hold them to the standard that he holds himself to and wants to as a coach. He wants to have success. He’s going to demand that of each and every one of us.”
Beyond Sturm and his staff making sizable tweaks to Boston’s systems so far this fall, the head coach has placed a premium on conditioning and competitiveness during camp — dialing up several skating-heavy sessions and battle drills along the boards during camp.
For Sweeney, it was a welcome improvement from last year’s disjointed training camp.
“I just didn’t think we were as invested as a group last year. And it always starts with the players from that standpoint,” Sweeney said. “We did not raise our level of competition in the daily preparation that was necessary, and it showed up.
“And this year, I’m hopeful that the attention to detail, the structure and the things that we were trying to emphasize, but most importantly, the competitiveness will show up and needs to show up. And the guys within the locker room, I think, are recognizing that there was a different tone, there was a different approach, individually and collectively.”
Younger players on outside looking in
The Bruins announced their final roster cuts over the weekend, with Fraser Minten the lone youngster among a pool of players like Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell, and Matej Blumel to make the cut.
For a Bruins team in desperate need of scoring skill in their middle-six grouping, the inability for most younger players to knock down the door and seize a roster spot during preseason play stood as a setback.
“Well, they’re disappointed,” Sweeney said. “A couple of guys yesterday we were talking to who are right on the doorstep and, and these are hard decisions you make. Several of them made it very difficult. And Fraser, to his credit, took the opportunity and he’s earned it. So we’re going to start that way.
“The other guys are going to go and put in the work. … We’re going to play the players that are playing the best. And that extends to Providence. These guys understand why they’re brought here and they delivered from a competitive standpoint, they’re on the doorstep.”
Much like how Sturm mapped out the need for more tangible production from proven AHL scorers like Blumel and Alex Steeves on Monday, Sweeney stressed that the Bruins need those younger, unproven players to stuff the stat sheet in Providence as they look to earn another spot in the NHL ranks later this year.
“When you’re playing in those roles, that’s what has to come and they know that,” Sweeney said of the need for those players to score during preseason play. “Deep down — if you asked them honestly, they would probably admit to it. … We didn’t lose anybody to waivers today.
“They know that they were on the doorstep of making our team and breaking camp, but they also know there’s going to be an opportunity here when either somebody is injured or they’re not doing the job that we expect them to do.”
Atoning for last season
Given Boston’s woeful showing last season (33-39-10 record), Jacobs was asked if the Bruins had taken a hit entering this season when it came to fan interest and season-ticket renewal.
“I want to say we have a 12,000-person waiting list that people pay for and I think we hit about a 94, almost 95-percent season-ticket renewal rate this past summer,” Jacobs said. “So despite the rough season that we had on the ice, our fan base was very supportive in renewing their seats.”
Despite there being no semblance of erosion as far as ticket demand, Neely stressed that the Bruins can’t rest on their laurels in this market — especially given the sizable work that must be done if this team wants to play competitive hockey in the spring.
“We also recognize, though, that they have their own expectations of their teams in the city,” Neely said of the fans. “So we have to match that or do better than that. We’re not satisfied at all with last year. We know we need to be better, and that’s our mission — to be better.
“Like Charlie said, we’re blessed to have this great fan base. It’s really a treat to see this building come alive. So we got to give them more reasons to come alive this year than we did last year.”
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