Bruins Brass Looks to Future

BOSTON - The Bruins' brass assembled at TD Garden on Wednesday morning for their annual end-of-season press conference, with club chairman Jeremy Jacobs, CEO Charlie Jacobs, and president Cam Neely offering their thoughts on the 2017-18 season, while looking ahead to what they believe is a bright future buoyed by the hopes of Boston's youth movement.
The trio also touched on a number of other topics, including the organization's upcoming trip to China, the ongoing construction around TD Garden, and this week's Supreme Court ruling regarding sports betting. Here's a rundown:

BEEFING UP

One area the Bruins may want to strengthen this offseason is the left side of their D corps. While Neely praised the work of Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk in 2017-18, he acknowledged it's something general manager Don Sweeney could explore.
"As far as size goes, would it be nice to have a little bigger on the left side other than [Zdeno Chara]? Yes," said Neely. "So that's something, I think, Don was going to try and work on this offseason, but that's not to take away from what the guys did for us that played on the left side this year. I thought they played very well for us."

BACK IT UP

The Bruins will be in search of a backup goaltender this offseason, with Anton Khudobin an unrestricted free agent. The veteran netminder could be the answer should he re-sign with the club after a strong showing behind Tuukka Rask in 2017-18. Khudobin went 16-6-7 with a .913 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average.
"I thought he had a great year for us," said Neely. I think he stepped in when Tuukka was struggling a little bit and gave us an opportunity to win hockey games. If we didn't have that, we certainly wouldn't have had the year that we had.
"He's well liked in the locker room. Starting last year, those two big games for us in Chicago and against the Islanders, and then he followed it up with a good start this year.
"Obviously it has to make sense for us. When someone has a really good year going into the UFA, sometimes they want to see what's really out there and you can't blame him for that."

UNDER THE KNIFE

As of now, winger Noel Acciari is the only Bruin expected to undergo offseason surgery. The fourth-liner will have a procedure to fix a sports hernia on May 24. Neely said Patrice Bergeron (groin) and Riley Nash (hip) are also contemplating surgery.
"There's still a couple question marks, waiting to see how things develop with a couple of players," said Neely. "They want to see how they go the next month or so before they really make a definitive [decision]. But it doesn't sound like they're going to have to have surgeries other than Noel."

MISSING OUT

Neely lamented the loss of Brandon Carlo for the second straight postseason. The sophomore blue liner was sidelined for the year in late March after fracturing his ankle, missing yet another opportunity for his first taste at the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Carlo sat out against Ottawa in 2016 with a concussion.
"That's the unfortunate thing about Brandon missing last year and this year. That development that you get in playoff hockey is, really, it's something that every player needs to really get to the point where you can become this great playoff player," said Neely. "Brandon realizes that he needs to be a little bit more physical. I think he can put on a little bit of muscle. He's still a young man, but he's a big man and could probably get a little thicker, and that's what, I think, he's looking to do this offseason."

GOING GLOBAL

The Bruins have been involved with the growth and development of hockey in China over the past two years through their partnership with Beijing-based O.R.G. Packaging. David Pastrnak, Krug, Rask, and former B's winger Matt Beleskey are among those who have visited the country to run clinics during the summers of 2016 and 2017, while dozens of children from China have come to Boston for development camps at Warrior Ice Arena.
The Black & Gold will be back in China again this fall for two exhibition games with the Calgary Flames on Sept. 15 and 19 in Shenzhen and Beijing.
"I'm really enthusiastic about it," said Jeremy Jacobs. "Think about the last time we went on a trip, to Europe, we came back and won a Stanley Cup. So I can't wait to get away. I'm really hoping that we enjoy it as much as we did Prague [in 2011] and that we come back with strong results.
"We've had some of our players doing work over there. They enjoy it. It's new and it's different, it's exciting. Let's face it, it's probably the fastest growing economy in the world today. You get to see a real engine at work. It will be interesting to see."

DIGGING DEEP

The work continues outside of TD Garden, as The Hub on Causeway rises above the old site of the Boston Garden. The massive complex, which will include nearly two dozen shops and eateries, as well as a three-story sports bar (set to open some time in 2019), is expected to be completely finished by the start of the 2020-21 season.
This fall, however, the new "front door" of the Garden is scheduled to be open to the public.
"The new Champions Row and the Hub on Causeway, although not finished, will be open to the public and to event goers and to commuters alike [in October]," said Charlie Jacobs. "Almost two million square feet of real property will be either under construction or almost finished. I personally can't wait. I think it's created a new neighborhood. We're no longer West Enders; we're not part of the North End. I think we're just the Hub."

YOU BET

Following Monday's landmark Supreme Court decision that is allowing states to decide whether or not to permit sports betting, Jeremy Jacobs said he believes the ability to gamble on pro sports will increase casual interest across the country.
"I think sports betting is very much in the future of US sports," said Jacobs. "It's been going on across the world. We've played at other jurisdictions. By that I mean we do business in Australia, and we do it in England. We see it all the time, and it does bring a degree of interest that doesn't exist here in this country. The interaction with your customers and the team is greater with it…they're just more interested in it.
"I think it will be a real plus to the sports field, but it has to be managed and controlled. I think that's where the rub is going to be until we evolve a good relationship between the teams and the gaming interests. It will be a little rocky."
Neely did not seem concerned about the integrity of the games being compromised, while acknowledging that the disclosure of injuries may need tweaking.
"I would think there would be a pretty strong look on what's happening, when and if that does start," said Neely. "I would certainly hope that there's a lot of integrity amongst the players that their salary is enough."
"I would assume that they'd probably want a little bit more info [regarding injuries]," added Neely. "You see it in football more so, you see the sports betting there. That would be a guess. I haven't heard anything for certain."

OFFICIAL RETURNS

Neely was not pleased - to say the least - with the officiating during the playoffs. He pointed to three calls in particular that have stuck with him: the missed slash on Brad Marchand's breakaway in Game 2, the missed hooking call on Charlie McAvoy in Game 4 that led to a Tampa goal, and a board on David Pastrnak that went uncalled.
"I think they really need to take a hard look at what's happening with the refereeing," said Neely, "because the game's gotten that much faster. Are the referees keeping up with the pace of the game? It's fast out there. I think it's just something that the league really needs to take a look at…it took away from the great game that we have."
The B's president said he is open to some form of video review for black-and-white penalty calls.
"On Pasta's four-minute [high-sticking] penalty [on Victor Hedman], it would take two seconds for someone to call down and say, 'Hey, it was his own stick that did it, that's a non-call.' Something like that is easy," said Neely. "The puck off the glass in the Toronto series, which was called straight out, that's an easy call. If you get too deep into the weeds, you could find yourself getting a little aggravated with how long the debate is going to be.
"But I think there's some really easy ones. Whether they want to go that route, I'm not sure…there's a lot of technology that can help you, but you don't want to bogged down and get into the weeds and slow the game down too much."