Sweeney: Grzelcyk Has 'Pretty Good Opportunity Moving Forward'

BostonBruins.com - Don Sweeney acknowledged that there was some work to do to bridge the gap with Matt Grzelcyk's camp as they negotiated a new deal for the 26-year-old restricted free agent. But with an arbitration hearing looming on Tuesday, the two sides dug in and eventually came to terms on a new deal on Saturday afternoon that will keep the blue liner in Boston for four more years at an annual cap hit of $3.6875 million.
"It took a while to find a landing spot. There are a lot of variables in play," Sweeney said during a video conference call following the signing. "As far as how far apart we were, we had a gap. We had to breach some things. We had to work at it. And I'm thankful to [agent] Peter Fish and Matt for working through it. And all the work that [Bruins assistant general manager] Evan Gold did in a pre-brief situation as well as working with the arbiter, the lawyers.
"We understood firmly where the [arbitration] case may land, but then it's up to an arbitrator to make that decision, so you never know exactly where that is going to be finalized. And we preferred to pursue it at a longer-term deal. We were fortunate enough to get that done."

Grzelcyk, set to enter his fourth full season with the Black & Gold, is coming off of a 2019-20 campaign, during which he posted career highs in goals (4), assists (17), points (21), and games played (68). The Charlestown native has been a staple of Boston's third pairing for the past three seasons, though his role is likely to expand moving forward with Torey Krug departing for St. Louis via free agency and uncertainty surrounding Zdeno Chara's future.
"I think he's proven he can play in really any different position on the left side," said Sweeney. "He's had a consistent partner in Kevan Miller over a period of time, he's slid in and played with Brandon [Carlo], certainly with Charlie [McAvoy] in offensive situations. It might just depend on the matchup the coaches feel comfortable with moving forward. I think his ice time has been fairly consistent, even strength, over the last three years.
"And we'll continue to look at advantageous positions that we can put Matt into to help our transition game, get him involved in the offense….we feel comfortable in the way our right side is built now and the depth and the different personalities that we have there that Matt can play with anyone."
Sweeney believes that Grzelcyk will have a chance to further elevate his offensive game, in particular. Grzelcyk, along with Charlie McAvoy, has manned the point on the Bruins' second power-play unit in recent years, while also filling in for Krug at times on the top unit - a position he could now take over permanently.
"He's playing with some pretty talented players; he'll get that opportunity," said Sweeney. "They've proven that they can carry the weight of the power play as a group and I think he'll be able to complement that.
"As far as Matt's ceiling, I think it's a little bit to be determined, because of the opportunity and how well he plays. Obviously, there is a vacancy [that could allow] his offensive game to continue to grow, potentially, and with a little more power-play opportunity - and again, it's player driven.
"I had a lot of conversations with our coaching staff about where they see the player fitting in and how he affects our transition game, his ability to move the puck and our D-zone exits. And the rest is up to Matt to take advantage of a pretty good opportunity for him moving forward."

What's Next?

Sweeney said that there aren't any other deals imminent, but that the team continues "to look for depth," noting the signing of veteran forward
Greg McKegg earlier this week along with young blue liner Jakub Zboril and goalie Callum Booth
.
"We continue to look for depth opportunities or players that were in trade conversations that we may have a hole to fill. I really don't know," said Sweeney. "We snagged Greg McKegg from a depth standpoint and created internal completion as well. As I've mentioned before, we have several players that are knocking on the door that we'd like them to see them continue to push, both in our forward group and our back end.
"We felt all along that we were going to need some internal growth. As far as the cap space, I think we're in a very comfortable position to finalize the RFA guys we have to and look for other opportunities that we may be able to pursue otherwise."
Sweeney went on to say that discussions with restricted free agent wingers Karson Kuhlman and Zach Senyshyn are ongoing.
"We've had continued talks with them, and I don't think they're far off from being resolved," said Sweeney.

Still Waiting

When it comes to the status of Chara, Sweeney said that negotiations are in a bit of a holding pattern as the big blue liner contemplates his next steps. The 43-year-old, an unrestricted free agent, has expressed a desire to return for his 15th season as the Bruins captain.
"No, we've - again - communicated consistently with Zdeno and [his agent] Matt Keator," said Sweeney. "We're just waiting for him to initiate what he'd like to do moving forward. I feel very comfortable allowing that to take the necessary time and let Zdeno his own make the decisions along that route."

Roads to Recovery

Earlier this week, the Bruins announced that top-line wings Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak both underwent offseason surgeries that will require lengthy rehabs
. Marchand (sports hernia on Sept. 14) is in the midst of a four-month recovery, while Pastrnak (right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on Sept. 16) is set for an approximately five-month rehab.
Should the duo have to miss time once the 2020-21 season begins, Sweeney said it is possible that he would use long-term injured reserve to open up cap space but that "we don't necessarily foresee we'll have to use it."
"Unless [Marchand] has a setback along the way, indications are that he's doing very well in post-surgical rehab, so I don't suspect he'll have any setbacks. He'll be ready to go," said Sweeney. "David, it's just a matter of the timeline, what we expect, depending on the season, when it starts. That may dictate how much time, if any time, that David Pastrnak will miss.
"Again, we have to make sure that the player is healthy. He's coming off a situation where he had to have something repaired. And he feels so much better as result and he's in the early stages but moving along very well in the rehab. And we're very comfortable with where he's going to be coming out of it. I think he'll be much better off pain free in an area that was giving him discomfort.
"We don't expect him to miss a lot of time, but again, that is predicated on when the season actually does begin, and we still don't know that. I think we have depth throughout the lineup. You miss star players, obviously your lineup is affected. But we feel comfortable that we'll be able to plug holes if we need to."