Reilly Had Sights Set on Bruins Return from the Start

BostonBruins.com - Mike Reilly and Taylor Hall arrived in Boston within hours of each other at April's trade deadline.
Reilly came from Ottawa and Hall from Buffalo - teams that were in the midst of trying regular seasons - but when the duo got settled in the Bruins dressing room, it didn't take long for either of them to realize the difference.
The culture and the attitude around the rink was different - in the best way possible.

"I remember Taylor kind of mentioned that to me too, the first couple games in," said Reilly. "I kind of felt that same thing…I think I was a couple games in, too, when I realized how great the locker room is, the culture of the team, how you get treated, the city, the fans. Those are pretty easy decisions in my mind."
That much was clear on Wednesday afternoon when the free-agent blue liner re-signed opted to stick with the Bruins and sign a new three-year deal with a $3 million annual cap hit.
"It was my intention the whole time to want to stay in Boston," said Reilly. "Obviously, there's a process and sometimes it goes slower than you think on certain things. Obviously, the general manager is doing his due diligence and looking around the league and whatnot. I always figured it was gonna work out here. Two days ago, in the afternoon, it came together pretty quick. Was just kind of waiting for that and whether it was gonna happen or not. It ended up happening and obviously very excited."
While Reilly fit in nicely off the ice, he also transitioned seamlessly into the group on the ice, providing the Bruins with dependability, mobility, and puck-moving prowess alongside Brandon Carlo on the club's second defense pairing. The 28-year-old believes the welcoming nature of Boston's dressing room helped him play at a high level when the puck dropped.
"When I got traded here to Boston, I was very excited," said Reilly. "And I tell people the first thing I hear about Boston is the culture and the locker room…it was obviously great, kind of a boost in confidence to come into the locker room and be confident to do my thing and play to my strengths. When you kind of sit back a little bit, it's disappointing how it ended.
"I definitely think that series [against the Islanders] could have gone either way. But I know guys are hungry to get back at it and I think some guys got a lot of good hockey left in them and guys are focused on this summer, training hard and trying to come into camp in good shape and just get things going off the right foot and try to be rolling right away."

Reilly was having a career year even before his arrival in Boston, notching 19 assists in 40 games with the Senators - the best mark of his six NHL seasons. The Chicago native carried that over to the Black & Gold, collecting eight helpers in 15 regular-season contests with the Bruins.
Despite that success, Reilly is not planning on getting comfortable in his approach to the 2021-22 campaign.
"My whole career, it's been coming into camp to prove myself," said Reilly, who has also played for Minnesota and Montreal. "I'm going to treat this camp no differently for sure. That's been my mindset. I'm going to treat it the same just like the first five, six years of my pro career. Definitely excited to get going. Been skating for a little bit here…slowly getting the itch to get back going and get things going on the right foot."
The 6-foot-1, 199-pounder's eagerness to get going was also spurred on by the Bruins' aggressive approach in free agency which saw general manager Don Sweeney add defenseman Derek Forbort, goalie Linus Ullmark, and forwards Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek, and Nick Foligno to the mix.
"They hit every position possible, I'm pretty sure," said Reilly. "There's a couple guys that won't be back but obviously that's part of the business and part of playing hockey in the NHL. The guys they brought in are pretty veteran guys. I played with Erik Haula in college [at the University of Minnesota], a little bit with the Wild my rookie year and second year there.
"And I know Foligno's brother, Marcus, who I played with a little bit in Minnesota as well. Sounds like he's an awesome guy and leader. Seems like that's the direction they went, some pretty versatile type players that they brought in. Very exciting for the group. It seems like they're gonna fit in nicely."