Sweeney Provides Latest Updates on Offseason Planning

BOSTON - Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is a busy man these days. With the NHL Draft set for this weekend and free agency following next week, Sweeney has plenty to keep track of as he tries to craft his club for the 2021-22 campaign.
Sweeney provided some insight into his offseason progress on Thursday morning during his pre-Draft media availability. Here are some of the highlights:

Krejci Still Deciding

During his end-of-season availability last month, David Krejci said that he would need time to determine the next step in his career as he enters free agency. Some six weeks later, the longtime Bruins center - who is coming off of a six-year contract worth an AAV of $7.25 million - is still contemplating his future, though Sweeney indicated that discussions between the two have continued.
"I have been in touch with David, and I'm going to respect all of his privacy and decisions at this point in time," said Sweeney. "Has not given further indication. As you referenced before, he's got some things he wants to address. Then he'll let us know. But yes, I have been in regular communication with David, and there's no timeline to make decisions."
Sweeney said that should Krejci, who has played his entire 15-year career with the Bruins, decide to suit up elsewhere next season, it would be a "big hole" to fill, while acknowledging that the pivot has yet to indicate which way he is leaning.
"We have guys that can step into roles," said Sweeney. "Obviously, we'll address needs and throughout our lineup, certainly explore options to have, address it as it comes. We certainly have to acknowledge that it would be a big hole if we had to fill it, but it'd be a real good opportunity for someone if we do go in that direction.
"We're going to have to find a way to spread things around if David makes a decision otherwise, but that hasn't been the indication. We're hopeful that he'll come back. We'll see."

'Significant Progress' with Hall

Sweeney was forthright when asked about his negotiations with free agent winger Taylor Hall, saying, "we've made significant progress." Hall was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2021 trade deadline along with center Curtis Lazar in exchange for a second-round pick and Anders Bjork. The former Hart Trophy winner fit in seamlessly, notching 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 16 games with the Black & Gold.
"I hope that we will find a finish line," said Sweeney. "Looking forward to hopefully having him back as a big part of what we're trying to do, this year and moving forward. We've made significant progress there."

Work to Do on the Back End

Even with the signing of Brandon Carlo to a six-year extension last week, Sweeney acknowledged that there are some significant holes to fill on the blue line with the retirement of Kevan Miller and the loss of Jeremy Lauzon to the Seattle Kraken in Wednesday night's Expansion Draft. The GM added that the Bruins are going to be aggressive in their pursuit of a left-shot defenseman that can take on a heavy workload and play in all situations.
"We have to identify that we have a couple of holes and gaps that we have to fill," said Sweeney. "Certainly addressed the long-term future of Brandon and happy to have him back in the fold as an important part of our defense. We have to address another need. If not one, if not two from a depth perspective but also handling heavy minutes in all situations. We're going to try to be aggressive on that front and see if we can address a need."
"Ideally, you'd want an all-situational minutes player…the penalty kill, maybe they can handle the power play…not unlike Charlie McAvoy, who impacts the game in 60 minutes. The other guys - [Matt Grzelcyk], obviously, has done a lot of great things for us in puck moving and can complement on the power play as well.
"[Jakub] Zboril was moving pucks last year, ran into some injuries. But with the loss of Jeremy, there's a penalty killing component there. Johnny Moore helped. We'll obviously address some of that from a depth perspective. But we have to go and add to our group, so we have to address that."
Sweeney added that he has been in "constant communication" with free agent defenseman Mike Reilly and his camp, but they have yet to find the "finish line" and will continue their discussions.
"Thought highly of Mike and what he added to our group," said Sweeney. "We're going to continue to talk there and see what might transpire. He'll have some options as it gets closer to the 28th and they want to explore that, but certainly I've been in touch with [his group]."

Rask Surgery Upcoming

Sweeney said that Tuukka Rask will return to the United States at the end of this month to undergo hip surgery that is expected to keep him out until early 2022.
"We'll just allow him to go through the rehab process, both mentally and physically, and see where he's at," said Sweeney. "I had great communication with Tuukka throughout the year, at the end of the year, and understanding that we had more knowledge than most people in terms of what he was dealing with."
With Rask sidelined and unsigned, Jeremy Swayman and Daniel Vladar are likely to take on a significant workload to start the 2021-22 season, though Sweeney noted he is in search of a veteran presence to complement the two young netminders.
"We're certainly exploring all of our options," said Sweeney. "With Tuukka's surgery coming up and a little bit of the unknown coming out of the surgery. We are looking to address things from a depth perspective and add to that group. We have some flexibility in that regard. We think very highly of both goaltenders, Jeremy and Daniel.
"We feel like we're in good shape depth-wise organizationally. But we're probably going to look to add to that group and have a little bit of a veteran presence there that could offset both of those guys."

Wait, There's More

• Sweeney on the recent retirement of Miller, who spent his entire 10-year professional career in the Bruins organization: "We want to wish Kevan Miller and his family well. A very difficult decision for him to make. A tough loss for us."
• Sweeney on losing Lauzon to the Kraken: "With Jeremy, he was just coming into his own despite some injuries. Wishing him well with Seattle. Disappointing...we all felt we were going to lose a good player in this exercise and we did."
• Sweeney said that he will issue qualifying offers to restricted free agent wingers Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, and Zach Senyshyn.