The Boston Bruins general manager talked to the media Monday and said he was 'proud' of how the team has done thus far.
While Don Sweeney likely won’t be satisfied until the Stanley Cup returns to Causeway Street, the Boston Bruins general manager is nonetheless positive about the season his club has put together through 29 games.
“We’re not comfortable – you’re never comfortable in this business – but we’re proud of the group and how they’ve done so far,” Sweeney said Monday.
Sitting at fourth in the NHL standings, second in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division, the 19-5-5 Bruins are amongst the top regular-season teams once again, but have a new look in this “new era” of the franchise.
In the absence of players like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci heading into the 2023-24 campaign, many question marks surrounded the competitive product the B’s would be able to put on the ice. And, well, they’ve done quite alright.
Rookie centers Johnny Beecher and Matt Poitras – despite some first-year struggles – sparked the squad right out of training camp, and depth additions like James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Geekie, Danton Heinen and, recently, Kevin Shattenkirk have pushed the team forward while it deals with consistent injury troubles.
“We described it, it was going to be a work in progress, we’re going to see growing pains associated with our hockey club, we’re going to challenge the depth of our group – and we have done that,” Sweeney said.
The Bruins haven’t been perfect – far from it – but it seems the players and coaches in that room are committed to growing from the adversity within shifts, games and seasons.
“The defensive structure of our group went through a little bit of a lull for a couple games, uncharacteristically, but then got right back, put the screws down a little bit and tightened it up,” Sweeney said.
Boston has been able to rely on its goaltending tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman which remains the backbone of the team’s success. Veterans like Charlie Coyle (21 points), David Pastrnak (41 points) and new captain Brad Marchand (26 points) have kept up offensive production while AHL Providence call-ups like Mason Lohrei, Ian Mitchell and Parker Wotherspoon have patched up the backend with regular defensemen sidelined.
With the holiday hiatus ahead, the Bruins expect to get Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden. Both McAvoy and Zacha were placed on injured reserve (upper body) Thursday, but the two practiced in regular jerseys with the team Monday morning.
The potential return of Boston’s top-line center and best defenseman – as well as the consistency from Geekie and Trent Frederic while handling more minutes and shifting over to center – made the decision to send Poitras to Sweden for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship an easier decision.
Sweeney and the Bruins Brass appear confident with where their squad stands, and full trust remains in head coach Jim Montgomery with his lineup switch-ups and decisions.
It’s only December, they’re still working out kinks, and if last season taught anything, nothing matters until the playoffs. But, the Bruins are fine – more fine than likely expected – and they’re keeping it pushing.
“We feel a little more comfortable where we are right now than where we had been a couple weeks ago,” Sweeney said. “We’re a competitive group. We expect to be competitive and now we have to stay healthy and keep moving forward and keep getting better.”