BOSTON — Cam Neely is realistic. The Boston Bruins president approved firing coach Jim Montgomery. He has watched his team get overwhelmed at times in the last two games.
Neely and general manager Don Sweeney built the 2024-25 roster with legitimate expectations of chasing the Stanley Cup. Forty-six games in, that objective does not look achievable.
So Neely has issued the mandate to hockey operations personnel that things will not be business as usual prior to the March 7 trade deadline. Unlike previous seasons, the Bruins cannot necessarily go all-in as buyers. Management’s direction will depend on whether the team can straighten itself out in the next month-plus.
“We’ve got to look at two paths,” Neely said on Wednesday at the Boston Bruins Foundation’s gala. “One that we’re buying. One that we may be retooling a little bit. We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here. We certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future but not good for the present.”
The Bruins have made the playoffs the last eight seasons. A ninth is not guaranteed.
As of Wednesday, they were 10th in the Eastern Conference based on points percentage (.533). They have a minus-22 goal differential, worse than every team in the East save for the Pittsburgh Penguins (minus-36).
It would make no sense, then, for Sweeney to deal what few assets he has to reinforce a one-round-and-out playoff club — or even one that’s reaching for the golf clubs after Game 82.
“We’ve got to be smart,” Neely said about proceeding as full-fledged buyers. “If you do it again, you’ve got to know that you’re a team that has a good chance to have a deep run. You don’t want to go all-in and then not really feel confident that you’re going to have a deep run.”
In one way, the Bruins have turned a corner. They have won their last two games, both against Atlantic Division rivals: the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Florida Panthers three days earlier. Four points is certainly better than one, which is all they recorded in their six previous games.
The NHL rewards results. Back-to-back wins have made the Bruins’ spot in the No. 1 wild-card position slightly more comfortable.
But the Bruins are nowhere near out of the woods.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bruins had a 21.59 expected goals share against the Panthers at five-on-five. It wasn’t much better against the Lightning: 31.94 xGF%. They were two of the four lowest rates in their 46 games.
“I feel everyone’s frustration,” CEO Charlie Jacobs said. “And I hear it too. But I also feel it. Like our fan base, I’m also a fan. I support this team. I believe in our leadership. I know that’s been called into question quite a bit recently. I hope we can build off the last two games. I feel like our team, in my opinion, has yet to play its best game yet. I feel like we’ve got it in our system. We’ve got it in our room. Our hope is that we can find it.”
Brad Marchand is averaging 0.76 points per game this season. He averaged 0.82 last year. The captain does not have much company when it comes to teammates matching 2023-24 performance.
David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle and Charlie McAvoy, four of last year’s top five in terms of points per game, are all down. Jeremy Swayman has an .898 save percentage, dropping from .916 last year.
As for Elias Lindholm, management’s biggest investment, the projected No. 1 center is nowhere close to a $7.75 million player.
“This year has been a little frustrating because we honestly felt that coming out of the offseason, we had a better team than what we’ve shown on the ice,” Neely said. “Maybe that’s a product of us overvaluing what we have. Or just the start we had was not expected.”
So far, signing Lindholm looks like a blunder. Sweeney paid Swayman more than he hoped. Oliver Wahlstrom, claimed off waivers, has one goal and zero assists. Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell, the organization’s top two prospects, are not certain NHL commodities.
But Jacobs endorsed Sweeney and Neely as proven executives who can be trusted with whichever path the team takes.
“I have faith that they’ll make the right decisions,” Jacobs said. “I don’t have the playbook for that. I have faith that they’ll make those decisions though.”
As for the players, they know the playoffs are not guaranteed. Marchand, who is unsigned after this year, could become a trade asset if management issues a full-on rebuild. Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke and Parker Wotherspoon are also pending unrestricted free agents. Coyle, Zacha and Brandon Carlo, who all have term, could be attractive pickups for Cup heavyweights.
“We understand the roads that are in front of us and where they lead,” Marchand said. “We understand we haven’t performed the way we’ve needed to. There’s consequences that come with that. There’s very high expectations with this organization. We’re expected to perform, do our job and compete every year for a Cup. If we’re not going to do that, then changes are going to be made so that the team does compete for a Cup. We can’t look ahead. It’s too hard. There’s too much that can happen between now and then.”
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
