After Saturday’s 3-2 score had gone final and the Bruins and Hurricanes had shaken hands at center ice following the conclusion of their seven-game series, Patrice Bergeron stood at the door where his teammates were exiting the ice and hugged every single one of them before leaving the ice himself.
This was not unusual for Bergeron, and fans shouldn’t read too much into it. Nonetheless, it was hard to watch the video and not wonder if it was the last time we’ll see Bergeron in a Bruins uniform as a player.
What comes next for Bergeron is one of several potentially franchise-altering questions facing the Bruins this offseason.
The 36-year-old captain does not have a contract for next season. It was his choice to play this season without one. Bergeron made it clear from the start of the season that he did not want to make any decisions until after it was over, and he stuck to that all year long.
Bergeron did not tip his hand either way after the game Saturday, saying that he will take some time before making a decision.
“No, it’s too early right now,” Bergeron said. “Not after… it’s too fresh right now. It still stings obviously from a hard-fought series. Came up short. Obviously I’m gonna have to think about it, but I’m not there right now.”
The Bruins will be hoping he returns for a 19th season in Boston. Not only is Bergeron the captain and the heart and soul of the team, but he is still a true No. 1 center and the best defensive forward in the NHL. His 65 points this season were the fifth-highest total of his career. He is a lock to win a record fifth Selke Trophy. His seven points in this series were second on the team.
The Bruins do not have another No. 1 center on their roster, nor in their prospect pool. You could argue they still don’t have a real No. 2 center, depending on how you ultimately feel about Erik Haula.
Replacing Bergeron off the ice would be difficult enough. Replacing him on the ice might be even tougher. The Bruins are currently set to have about $4.5 million in cap space this offseason, with their entire regular roster under contract for next year minus Bergeron and Curtis Lazar.
That might be enough to sign Bergeron if he comes back at a discounted price. Otherwise, it is not No. 1 center money. The Bruins will need to shed some contracts if they are going to make any significant additions to the roster.
And even if Bergeron returns, they will need additions if the goal is to compete for the Stanley Cup. In the end, this year’s Bruins team suffered from one of the same fatal flaws as so many recent Bruins teams: A lack of offensive depth. In seven games against Carolina, the Bruins got three 5-on-5 goals from forwards not named Bergeron, Brad Marchand or David Pastrnak, and zero from the third and fourth lines.
Speaking of Pastrnak, the Bruins will want to get him signed to an extension sooner than later. He has one year left on his contract, and the Bruins will not want to risk losing him for nothing. Pastrnak can fairly ask to be made one of the highest-paid forwards in the NHL.
Who gets to build the Bruins' roster for next season and the future is another big question facing the organization. Will general manager Don Sweeney be back?
According to numerous reports, Sweeney’s contract is up this offseason. Those above him -- president Cam Neely and CEO Charlie Jacobs -- will need to decide if he is the right man to either build one more contender around Bergeron (if he returns) or navigate the post-Bergeron transition (if he retires).
Like any GM, Sweeney has had hits and misses. He has gone out and traded for Taylor Hall and Hampus Lindholm the last two years, adding impact players to complement the core. Signing Linus Ullmark last summer, a move that was widely criticized, wound up looking pretty good once Tuukka Rask was unable to play more than four games. Erik Haula was ultimately worth his $2.375 million once he got moved up to the second line. Mason Lohrei and Fabian Lysell look like recent hits in the draft. The latter could be an impact NHLer next season.
But the fact that depth scoring was once again a problem is an indictment on the rest of Sweeney’s 2021 offseason. He spent $5.5 million on Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek and got a grand total of five goals from them this season, none in the playoffs. Using cap space on quantity over quality didn’t work. That $5.5 million is the same amount the Kings spent on Phillip Danault, who had 27 goals this season and three more in their first-round series against the Oilers.
Sweeney created more cap space at the trade deadline as part of the Lindholm trade, but then didn’t use it to add a forward. Yes, prices were high, but players like Andrew Copp, Rickard Rakell, Nick Paul and Max Domi were available, and all have made positive impacts on their new teams. Domi just scored twice in Game 7 against Boston. That’s a tough look given that the Bruins clearly could’ve used another top-nine forward in the playoffs.
The fact that there was no No. 2 center ready to take over for David Krejci last summer and is still no No. 1 center ready to take over for Bergeron is also on Sweeney. Jack Studnicka’s development has seemingly plateaued. First-round picks Trent Frederic and Johnny Beecher look like bottom-six forwards at best. Signing undrafted free agent Georgii Merkulov out of Ohio State this spring was a sneaky strong move Sweeney deserves credit for. He’s now their top center prospect and has legitimate top-six upside, but still needs some development time.
There will be plenty who wonder if coach Bruce Cassidy’s job is in jeopardy as well. Cassidy has one year left on his contract. Most coaches prefer to not go into a season on an expiring deal.
It would be hard to argue that Cassidy didn’t get just about the most out of this roster that he could, though. He hit the right buttons when it came to lineup decisions and juggling his lines numerous times during both the regular season and postseason.
But we also know that some players don’t always love his blunt honesty during press conferences. And coaches’ messages sometimes get stale when players hear it year after year. Cassidy has now been the Bruins’ coach for six years.
Perhaps Sweeney, if he returns, comes to the conclusion that a different voice could get more out of the roster he’s built. Or perhaps a new GM would want to bring in his own coach.
It is certainly possible that Bergeron, Sweeney, Cassidy and most of the rest of the Bruins will all be back. That may very well be the most likely path this offseason takes. But it’s also possible that we just saw the end of an era, and are about to see a major shakeup.
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