Bruins general manager Don Sweeney met with the media Thursday morning via Zoom and provided some updates on several key offseason topics.
*On Taylor Hall, Sweeney confirmed that he and the team are making progress towards a new contract: “Made significant progress on Taylor. I hope that we will find a finish line. 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.”
TSN's Darren Dreger reported late Wednesday night that the Bruins and Hall were putting the "finishing touches" on a new contract that is expected to end up around four years at $6 million per season.
*On David Krejci, Sweeney said the veteran center has not yet given the team a clear indication regarding his plans for the future, but that they’re hoping to have him back: “Have been in touch with David. Gonna respect all his privacy and decisions. At this point in time he has not given a firm indication. As he referenced before, he’s got some things that he wants to address, and then he’ll let us know. But yeah, I have been in regular communication with David. There’s no timeline to make decisions.”
Asked if the lack of clarity puts the Bruins in a bind with free agency beginning on July 28, Sweeney said it doesn’t: “No. We have guys that will step into roles. Obviously we’ll address needs throughout our lineup and certainly explore options and address it as we go. We acknowledge that it would be a big hole if we had to fill it, but 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, and we’ll see.”
*On defenseman Mike Reilly, another pending free agent, Sweeney said the two sides are talking but with no deal yet: “We’ve had constant communication with Mike’s group. Haven’t found a finish line there. But I thought highly of Mike and what he added to our group. So we’ll continue to talk there and see what might transpire. He’ll have some options as we get closer to the 28th and he may want to explore that, but certainly I’ve been in touch.”
*On the defense as a whole, Sweeney acknowledged there is at least one and maybe two holes to fill following the retirement of Kevan Miller and the loss of Jeremy Lauzon in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft: “We have to identify that we have a couple wholes and gaps that we have to fill. We certainly addresses the long-term future of Brandon, and happy to have him back in the fold as an important part of how our defense is put together. And yeah, we have to address another need, at least 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.”
*On Tuukka Rask, who is also a free agent, Sweeney said the goalie’s hip surgery is coming up at the end of this month and that they’ll continue to be in communication regarding his future after that: “It’s coming up the end of the month here. He’s returning to the United States to have the procedure done with Dr. Kelly, and then we’ll just allow him to go through the rehab process and physically see where he’s at. I’ve had great communication with Tuukka throughout the year and the end of the year and really just allowing the medical stuff to be at the forefront.”
*Sweeney also said the Bruins will be issuing qualifying offers to restricted free agents Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase and Zach Senyshyn. The most surprising reveal there is Kase, whose qualifying offer would be $2.6 million. That would seemingly be a clear overpay for a player who has missed so much time due to injury, so we’ll have to see how that actually plays out.
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