Sweeney Looks Back on Development Camp, Free Agency

BOSTON - Bruins general manager Don Sweeney met with the media on Friday afternoon at the conclusion of Development Camp. Here are some of the headlines from his availability:

Approach to Free Agency

Sweeney said he was "probably a little bit" surprised that Tyler Bertuzzi inked a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend. According to Boston's GM, those types of contracts "weren't a focus of the discussions" when the former Bruins winger's camp was negotiating with the club.

"Again, I'll speak more generally than just talking about a player on another team at this point in time," said Sweeney. "There were players that were looking for longer-term deals and my discussions were focused on that, and some teams were in a good position to be able to give shorter-term deals at the right numbers and we had to go and fill our gaps.

"We made a move to open up the space we needed to. It would've required us to be even more proactive and do deals that we explored, but we didn't feel the value was there to open up even more space or to be overly aggressive and to do a deal and have to make a move as a result of that."

Sweeney added that it is "not the goal" for the Bruins to dump important players for a lack of value in return.

"I mean, even in the Taylor Hall [deal] where we freed up enough space to do what we had to do, you aren't trying to walk a good player out of your lineup," said Sweeney. "We had a really good team this year and we had a lot of really good players. We had tough decisions to make and we're still waiting on some decisions. So, that's not the goal…stripping things down.

"You see teams do that around the deadline when there have been situations that have been determined…we have a competitive core and we're trying to complement that and allow some guys to grow. We have three players that filed for arbitration and two of those were on our team and an important part of that as well, that we have to factor in."

There is also risk, Sweeney explained, in waiting out the market for too long.

"Again, there is a risk and reward in the strategy and there were some teams that were in the position to wait it out," said Sweeney. "Some teams had [long-term injured reserve] situations that they may have been able to utilize and be patient in that regard and other teams were very aggressive on Day 1.

"I think it looks like we're going to have a lot of flexibility moving forward. So, it's just where we are in our cycle, and we needed to fill some holes."

No Decisions Yet

Sweeney said that Patrice Bergeron has yet to make a decision on his playing future, though he did congratulate the longtime B's centerman and his wife, Stephanie, on the recent birth of their fourth child, Felix. He added that Bergeron does not appear to be having any lingering issues with the back injury he suffered at the end of the season.

"He hasn't indicated that it's residual to where it was, it resolved," said Sweeney. "I'm sure that's all part of decision-making process for him. But we'll await what his decisions are."

Closing Out Camp

After sitting out the opening on-ice session on Monday, Fabian Lysell progressed well throughout Development Camp, beginning with his return to practice in a non-contact jersey on Tuesday and Wednesday, before shifting to a regular sweater for the final two days.

"I felt pretty good," said Lysell, who suffered a concussion during the P-Bruins opening playoff series in early May. "You're not maybe 100 percent comfortable with the puck, but I felt like my conditioning was pretty good. After every shift, I felt like I wanted to. It's a great experience and something to build on going home now. I felt pretty good…it's been a great week. I'm really looking forward to coming back in September."

During the 3-on-3 portion of the scrimmage, blue liner Mason Langenbrunner won it for his team when he sneaked one through goalie Philip Svedeback in overtime. Mason Lohrei, Jake Schmaltz, Ethan Ritchie, Owen Pederson, Ryan Kirwan, and goalie Hlib Artsatbanov were also part of the winning squad.

In the 5-on-5 scrimmage, Cole Spicer opened the scoring off a nice feed from Brett Harrison to give Team White a 1-0 lead, before blue liners Ty Gallagher and Frederic Brunet scored back-to-back markers to give Team Black a 2-1 victory.

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