BOSTON — The Bruins aren’t going to catch anybody off guard this season.
Boston fell one victory short of winning the Stanley Cup in the 2018-19 campaign and will be bringing the majority of that group back for the upcoming season. The Black and Gold will have a major target on its back from the get-go, as Patrice Bergeron previously mentioned the B’s likely will be a “measuring stick” matchup for a number of Eastern Conference teams.
The B’s aren’t a Cup contender ahead of the 2019-20 campaign — they’re a legitimate favorite. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, however, isn’t paying any mind to that label.
“I think everybody is starting right dead zero. I think you have to prove that you’re worthy,” Sweeney said Tuesday at Bruins media day. “You have to get in the playoffs, and it’s a hard process to get in. If you take it for granted, you can get kicked in the ass. So, for me, as a group, we respect our players a lot and the approach that they take every day. We’re only worried about the next opponent and getting ready for that, and I think our coaches do a great job of looking at it that way, and I think our players respond to it.”
One has to imagine last season’s outcome has helped the B’s free themselves of any and all complacency heading into their next challenge. The Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues surely left the bitterest of tastes in the mouths of the Bruins, who know they’ll need to take it up a notch if they not only want to return to the championship stage but claim hockey’s most coveted hardware.
The journey will begin Thursday night when the reigning Eastern Conference champions open regular-season action in Dallas against the Stars.
