On hand to greet the media and answer questions were Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, his son and principal owner Charlie Jacobs, team president Cam Neely, general manager Peter Chiarelli, and head coach Claude Julien. After the group Q&A settled down, Mr. Jacobs and I took our position inside the walls of the TD Garden to discuss a number of topics pertaining to both the organization and the NHL as a whole.
It’s not often that the Chairman of the NHL Board of Governors speaks his mind, but when he does we all should listen.
Regarding the Ilya Kovalchuk debacle that took place this offseason between the New Jersey Devils and the NHL, Jacobs was hard-pressed to make sure he didn’t misspeak, but he did provide valuable insight as to how that situation affected the Bruins.
"Well, you know and I know that when I talk about legal matters I get in trouble so I'll try to handle it from the Bruins' perspective," said Jacobs. "Yes, this is an issue. The Bruins are concerned about how this plays out and what goes on with these things, so I'm concerned about some of the terms and some of the conditions. When this whole thing came up in the Kovalchuk issue they looked at the [Marc] Savard contract about circumventing [the NHL salary cap]. I think you have to have contracts open to all types of scrutiny going forward and you have to make sure you don’t go over the line."
Getting back to his own team, Jacobs was thrilled about the enthusiasm surrounding the Bruins this season, even given the colossal defeat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season. Nearly 25,000 fans turned out over the course of two nights when the Bruins opened up doors at the TD Garden for the rookie games in mid-September.
"A rookie game is not a place where you really see that kind of interest, but on the other hand it reminds me of young horses or things like that with the 2-year olds coming out and everyone wanting to see what the prospects are," he said. "That shows a really deep interest and a deep commitment to the game."
Of course, many Bruins fans immediately shifted their attention at season end to the second overall pick in this year's draft, Tyler Seguin. The owner agreed that it helps to ease the pain when there's something exciting to look forward to.
"He brings maturity for that age and he brings a tremendous skill level, a lot of speed and a kind of maturity that you want to build with – there's so much talent there," Jacobs said. "You've got to be cautious how you evolve that as a professional and as an athlete, and I separate the two in the sense that you've got to make him a balanced individual. I think the Bruins' organization is the best place for him to be right now."
Among other topics on his mind, Jacobs spoke about how devastating it is to see Savard still suffering from post-concussion syndrome.
"I didn't recognize that Marc was still suffering from this when camp opened. When we got to camp it became evident, so we have to give him a lot of space and a lot of time to evolve this. We can't be putting any time clock on this. You're foolish to do so because you’ll be disappointed."
The Bruins will open up overseas in Prague next weekend as one of six NHL teams to play their season openers in Europe. As Chairman of the Board of Governors for the league, Jacobs explained why is it so important to have these games played abroad.
"I think the NHL is looking at its roots," he said. "While we have roots in Canada, we have roots in this country, and we have roots there as well.
"It's a lot of fun and a lot of exposure for young athletes that wouldn't get a chance to do that [play abroad]. It also shows the quality of our game and something that they can aspire to. No matter what Russia or any other country might say about comparison, the NHL is the epitome. It's where everybody seeks to go, and it's a natural attraction."
The Jacobs family will travel to Prague and be with the team to witness the first two games of the new season. And hopefully – for owner and fans — the Bruins look as promising on the ice as they do on paper.
