Bruins 'won't be same team' next season after losing in East 1st Round

BOSTON --The Boston Bruins face roster changes after a record-setting 65-win, 135-point season preceded a loss in seven games to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"We won't be the same team," general manager Don Sweeney said Tuesday.

Changes could include captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring from the NHL. Forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway, and defenseman Dmitry Orlov, who were all acquired prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3, could become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Goalie Jeremy Swayman and forward Trent Frederic are pending restricted free agents.

"I couldn't just sign those players today," Sweeney said. "We have (NHL salary cap) constraints. That might mean I might be able to sign one of those three players."

The Bruins held a 3-1 lead in the first round and had a chance to close out the series in Game 5, but Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped forward Brad Marchand on a breakaway with one second remaining in the third period. Florida would go on to win that game 4-3 in overtime.

Then in Game 7, Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour scored at 19:00 of the third period to tie the game 3-3 before Carter Verhaeghe scored at 8:35 of OT to eliminate Boston.

The feeling of that elimination is something Sweeney said, "just sits in the bones. People might not quite understand, but it does."

If Bergeron and Krejci, who are each 37 and undecided about his future, were to leave, the Bruins would have to fill the bottom part of the lineup with younger players and build around a core that includes Swayman and Linus Ullmark, who won the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is presented annually to the goalies who play a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season.

Boston allowed 2.12 goals per game. With 40 wins, Ullmark tied Alexandar Georgiev of the Colorado Avalanche for first in the NHL, and he led the League with a 1.89 goals-against average and .938 save percentage (minimum 25 games).

Ullmark had a 3.33 GAA and .896 save percentage in the first round, though. Swayman (27 saves) started Game 7, a decision Bruins coach Jim Montgomery wishes he made earlier.

"In hindsight, [I] absolutely [regret that]," Montgomery said. "The mistake I made is I tried putting players in the best situation to excel. The expectations that were put on our team going into the playoffs, there's a price you pay. Everybody does.

"I think we are going to learn from this. Everybody, players, especially me, I'm going to learn from this. And I'm going to have to help the players push through, which I didn't do this year."

None of the Bruins who played through injuries, including Bergeron (herniated disk) and Ullmark (undisclosed), will require surgery, Sweeney said. And though the organization looks ahead to next season, the pain of a lost opportunity will linger for a long time.

"Quite an empty feeling," Bruins president Cam Neely said. "Take a look at 2019. We lost in Game 7 (of the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues). This is a close second to that. I think we got a little taste of potentially what this team could look like in Game 3. I thought those two games, obviously they put us up three games to one, so I think we can still be a competitive team."