BOSTON — The Bruins are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
After firing general manager Peter Chiarelli and three scouts Wednesday, one of the next items on the offseason agenda is figuring out what changes must be made to the roster to improve the team’s chances of competing for a Stanley Cup.
“I don’t think we’re looking at a large or a complete rebuild,” Bruins president Cam Neely said Wednesday at a press conference.
“I mean, we’ve got still a good group of core players that have great character that, to a man, most of them admitted that they had an off year this year. We think that that group is still good enough to help us compete for championships, so the difficult thing is where we are up against the cap, and that’s going to be something we have to manage.”
One of the ways to surround the core of veteran players with enough talent to win another championship is adding young, skilled players to the roster on cheap, entry-level contracts.
“In this salary cap era, especially when you’re up against the cap, you’re going to have to inject some entry-level players, and it’s our job as an organization to inject the type of players that we feel are going to, one, help us win championships, and two, have the type of character and style that we’re looking for,” Neely said.
“Every team that’s up against the cap has to inject some entry-level players, and we’re no different. That’s an area where we have to be mindful of moving forward.”
The Bruins received good contributions from a few players on entry-level contracts this season. Rookie winger David Pastrnak, who was the league’s youngest player this season, tallied 27 points in 46 games. Rookie center Ryan Spooner led the team in scoring during March and proved deserving of a role on the NHL roster for next season.
Defensemen Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow also played well in the limited time they spent with the Bruins, specifically Trotman, who during his second call up, played quite a bit on the first pairing alongside captain Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins will need these players, and others, to take another step forward in their development for the team to have the depth required to reach the playoffs and compete for a championship next season.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
