3 non-Jeremy Swayman takeaways from Bruins' start-of-camp press conferences
Believe it or not, topics other than Jeremy Swayman were discussed Wednesday at the Bruins' start-of-training camp press conferences with general manager Don Sweeney and coach Jim Montgomery at Warrior Ice Arena.
Swayman's unresolved contract situation was, of course, THE story, and we covered that in-depth both in written form here and in podcast form above.
But here are three non-Swayman nuggets that caught our attention:
1. The Bruins and Jim Montgomery have discussed an extension
Montgomery is entering the final season of the initial three-year contract he signed when he took over in 2022. While not revealing too many details, Sweeney did acknowledge on Wednesday that the two sides have at least discussed an extension.
"There have been talks," Sweeney said. "And I think Monty will -- I'm not going to speak for him -- but I'm going to guess that he'll take Brad [Marchand]'s line of, you know, keeping that between us. But yeah, there have been talks of an extension."
It's an interesting situation. Montgomery has had unassailable regular-season success, guiding the Bruins to the best regular season in NHL history in 2022-23 and then helping a much weaker roster overachieve (in most people's estimation) in 2023-24.
But he was also perhaps one goal away from getting fired this spring. One year after an unimaginable collapse against the Florida Panthers in the first round, the Bruins were in danger of choking away another 3-1 series lead against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round this year. Instead, David Pastrnak, whom Montgomery had publicly called out, saved the team, and perhaps Montgomery's job, with an overtime winner in Game 7.
In a perfect world, Sweeney would maybe just wait to see how this season goes before extending Montgomery. But having a "lame duck" coach is usually not ideal, as it can sometimes lead to situations where players are more likely to tune a coach out, or where the coach is more worried about his own future than the team's.
For his part, Montgomery said he does not plan to coach any differently even if he goes into the regular season with nothing guaranteed beyond this year.
"I don't think it would affect me, just being honest," Montgomery said. "I love being a Bruin. I think I'm very fortunate to be the head coach of the Boston Bruins, and my focus when I am the Boston Bruins' [coach] is staying in the present and just getting better every day. I know it sounds cliché, but I can't allow myself to think about the future because I'd be a little bit of a hypocrite, because I'm asking our players to always stay in the moment. I have to stay in the moment. So that's the way I look at things. Doesn't matter if I had an eight-year contract or a one-day contract, that's the way I proceed. That's my process."
2. Matt Poitras will see some time at right wing
The now-20-year-old Poitras is a center by nature, and that is where the Bruins used him almost exclusively last season. This year could be different, though.
Sweeney said Wednesday that Poitras will see time at both center and right wing during training camp and preseason games, while also noting that Poitras is a "full go" as he returns from a shoulder injury that ended his season in January.
"He is a full go. Excited to have him back," Sweeney said. "He's going to play both center and wing through camp. He caught us by surprise to some degree last year, and really until the injury was on target to stay with us. This year is a little different, where we have some options in terms of possibly playing some games in Providence. His goal is to make the team and pick up where he left off.
"It might take a little bit of time for him to get reacclimated timing-wise and such. We have a lot of camp. That was one of the reasons why he and [Georgii Merkulov] and Fabian [Lysell] did not participate in the rookie camp, because we have an extended period of camp with seven games and black and gold game. So, I think there's really ample opportunity to put them in situations to see if they're going to be ready to handle a full load in the NHL and make our team."
Montgomery confirmed he plans to try Poitras at right wing and also noted the young forward might need a little bit of time to get fully back up to speed.
"First, let's see how he's doing getting acclimated again," Montgomery said. "We're going to give him some runway here to get acclimated to practicing at the pace that we do, competing, second and third effort, all those things he's going to have to go through to get the rustiness off at the beginning. So, we expect to see him in a fair amount of exhibition games. And we're going to use him on right wing, we're going to use him at center. Where is he going to best be able to help and make him most comfortable and give him the best opportunity to shine?"
Poitras getting a look on the wing adds a wrinkle to the much-discussed battle for the open second-line right wing job. Poitras may not quite be ready to handle a top-six workload as a center, but wingers don't have as much defensive responsibility. Poitras could have as good a shot as anyone else at being the right fit with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle.
If Poitras does stick on the wing, a byproduct could be more of an opening at third-line center, which is where I and other media types most likely had him penciled in. Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie would be natural fits there, but I also wonder about Georgii Merkulov perhaps forcing his way in there. In this scenario, Fabian Lysell might not have a spot.
Regardless, none of those three talented youngsters are getting sent to Providence until much later in camp. Watching how they perform between now and then will be the most interesting non-Swayman storyline to follow.
3. Injury updates
While Poitras is a "full go," three other Bruins will not be to start camp. Most importantly, Sweeney revealed that Brad Marchand will not take part in Thursday's practice sessions as he works his way back from three offseason surgeries.
As Marchand himself said last week, though, the expectation is that Boston's captain will be ready well before opening night on Oct. 8 as long as there are no setbacks.
"He will not start with the regular group. He's made a heck of a lot of progress the last little while," Sweeney said. "You guys all know Brad will do everything possible to be out there and wants to be out there. Our training staff and doctors have put the reins on him to make sure that he's -- we're trying to get ready for the season. We're not concerned about day one for Brad. We're only concerned about opening night and moving forward and his full return to health."
Defensemen Alec Regula and Jackson Edward will also not start camp on time. Regula is recovering from offseason knee surgery, and Sweeney did not provide a timetable for his return. Edward suffered an upper-body injury in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo over the weekend, and Sweeney said he will likely miss 7-10 days. Both defensemen are expected to play in Providence this season, with Regula potentially having a chance to be one of the top call-up options.
