But Chiarelli must also focus some of his energy on filling the club's vacancy behind the bench.
For the first time since Claude Julien took over as head coach in 2007 and assembled his staff, the Bruins are conducting a search for a new assistant coach. That opening was created last month when Craig Ramsay left the Bruins to become Atlanta's head coach.
Ramsay and Geoff Ward came to Boston together with Julien in 2007, joining Doug Houda, who was a holdover from Dave Lewis' staff, and goaltending coach Bob Essensa, who has served through the tenures of Mike Sullivan, Lewis and Julien.
Ramsay was an integral part of the Bruins' staff, focusing primarily on handling the club's blueliners and overall team defense. In that role, he inherited a team that was 29th in the league with a 3.48 goals-against average in 2006-07 and helped it improved to 11th (2.62 GAA) in 2007-08. The Bruins have been even better since, finishing first (2.32) in 2008-09 and second (2.33) this past year.
"He's a real calming guy," said Chiarelli at the draft in Los Angeles when Ramsay's departure for Atlanta was first reported. "He's really good one-on-one with guys. [He has a] ton of experience. He can communicate with the guys on a level that, when you're day-to-day and you have to communicate and tell guys what they're doing wrong, it gets tiresome from both sides. He can really connect that way to the players. And he still can be passionate."
Ramsay won't be easy to replace, but Chiarelli is confident he can find a worthy successor.
"He was a big part of our coaching staff," said Chiarelli. "But we've got a good group here. We've got two good assistants and I know I've talked to Claude a little bit about if we were to lose Rammer what we would do. We've got some good plans and I certainly have every confidence in the group that's there already."
Part of Chiarelli's plan has already been revealed, as The Boston Globe reported earlier this month that Houda would move from his role up in the press box to take Ramsay's spot alongside Julien on the bench. Houda, 44, played 561 career games in the NHL on defense for Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, Buffalo, the New York Islanders and Anaheim, and served as an assistant with Rochester (AHL) for two years before coming to Boston in 2006.
Houda has the defensive background to continue Ramsay's work with the blueliners, and he also possesses the kind of affable approach that will complement Julien's sterner style — similar to the way Ramsay was able to work closely with many of the players.
That still leaves an opening for Houda's former spot in the press box, providing insight and observations from up top to aid with in-game adjustments between periods. That's a vacancy Chiarelli hopes to fill soon. "We have a short list, and we are working our way through it,'' Chiarelli told the Globe, noting that a number of ex-Bruins had applied.
Exactly who would be a good fit for the role is hard to ascertain, as the Bruins have remained tight-lipped about the search. Several of the obvious names from recent Bruins squads seem unlikely to make a move into coaching at this point, with free-agent defenseman Aaron Ward looking to continue his playing career after finishing last season in Anaheim and Tom Fitzgerald having moved to the front office as Pittsburgh's assistant GM after serving as an assistant coach on the Penguins' Cup-winning squad in 2009.
Providence coach Rob Murray could be a candidate, as AHL coaches often look to spend some time as an NHL assistant to round out their resumes for a potential shot at an NHL head coaching job. But would a secondary role in the press box be a promotion after four years on the Providence bench as an assistant and two more as head coach?
Providence assistant Bruce Cassidy could also be considered. He is familiar with the Bruins' system and has NHL experience as both an assistant with Chicago and as a head coach in Washington.
The stack of resumes on Chiarelli's desk is certain to be high, as coaching jobs in the NHL are always coveted. In a summer full of high-profile moves, picking the right candidate for this post is a decision not to be underestimated, as the contributions Ramsay made to the team' success in the past three seasons show the value of employing quality assistants.
