“I am very excited about this season,” team president Neely said Monday, sandwiched between chief executive officer Charlie Jacobs and general manager Sweeney at the franchise’s Verizon Tower headquarters. “It’s been too long [since we’ve] played meaningful games around here. I’m not saying the preseason’s not meaningful, but now points matter.
“So, I’m excited about the season. I really thought we had a very good training camp, very competitive. I thought Marco and his staff have done a really good job getting the team prepared.”
Neely, Sweeney, and Jacobs all had pointed to a disjointed training camp as the root of a disappointing 2024-25 campaign that led to the dismissal of coach Jim Montgomery early in the season and no playoff invitation at its end.
“I was forward in mentioning I just didn’t think we were as invested as a group last year, and it always starts with the players, from that standpoint,” said general manager Sweeney. “We did not raise our level of competition in daily preparation that was necessary, and it showed up. And this year I’m hopeful that the attention to detail of the structure and the things that we’re trying to emphasize, but most importantly, the competitiveness will show up and needs to show up and the guys in the locker room I think are recognizing it.
“There was a different tone, there was a different approach individually and collectively, and the newer guys that have come in are embracing that opportunity.”
Though becoming a tougher team was a stated goal, Neely said the team also tried to add more offense through free agency but missed out on some candidates.
“We targeted a few players and, unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for various reasons,” said Neely, who acknowledged scoring goals will be “a little more challenging,” but the team will look to boost the offense during the season as well.
The Boston brass addressed a number of other topics, including the health of the roster, goaltending, locker room leadership, the impact of the bottom six, and the prospect pool.
▪ The Bruins will rely on defense early and often, and having Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm at full health will go a long way to thwarting opponents’ top threats. Both defensemen missed significant time with injuries last season.
“Obviously McAvoy and Hampus being healthy are going to be a big part of our backend, but I think we’re going to be a very tough out this year,” said Neely. “We’re expecting to play a very hard game.”
▪ Goalie Jeremy Swayman struggled at times last season after missing training camp during contract dispute. He has looked sharp throughout camp, building off his gold-medal winning performance at the World Championships.
“Having him all camp is certainly going to bode well for the team,” said Neely.
▪ The Bruins will start the season without a designated captain. David Pastrnak and McAvoy will continue to wear an alternate captain’s ‘A’, and Hampus Lindholm has also donned one during the preseason.
“You have other players that are going to have to continue to have their voice on and off the ice be heard a little louder,” said Sweeney. “We’ve also brought in players that have been in other places and are comfortable … So, they’ve formed their leadership group moving forward, they’ll acknowledge who the third person to wear the A will be.
“They’re not concerned about the captaincy part of things. They’re only concerned about the leadership and them coming together as a group.”
▪ Fraser Minten, a key piece in the Brandon Carlo trade deadline deal with the Maple Leafs, has locked down the No. 3 center job between Jeannot and Eyssimont. Playing with those wingers should give Minten room to operate and be creative.
“They’re going to help Fraser through some of these situations, and Fraser can play pretty free for that matter because I think the flies will be kept off to a large degree,” said Sweeney. “But he’s a competitive kid, I don’t think he was concerned about that at all where he was playing. He’s earned his spot and is excited to play with those two.”
▪ Sweeney said he’s “deepened” the prospect pool below the varsity level, a group that includes those moved to Providence in the final cuts — most notably Matt Poitras, who made the team out of camp the last two seasons, but will now get more seasoning at the AHL level.