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Jim Montgomery’s future, Brad Marchand’s health, and other takeaways from Don Sweeney’s press conference
"My focus when I am with the Boston Bruins is staying in the present and getting better every day."
As the Bruins officially opened training camp on Wednesday, both Don Sweeney and Jim Montgomery addressed the media for more than 40 minutes at Warrior Ice Arena.
While the status of Jeremy Swayman’s contract negotiations stood as the main headliner from Wednesday’s press conferences, both Sweeney and Montgomery touched on several other key topics about the 2024-25 roster.
Here are five other takeaways from Wednesday’s pressers.
Montgomery’s future
Jeremy Swayman’s stalled contract talks remain the top talking point with the Bruins, but Boston also has another contract worth addressing: head coach Jim Montgomery.
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Montgomery, who signed a three-year deal with Boston upon his hiring in 2022, is now entering the final year of his deal in 2024-25. While it’s not surprising to see NHLers play out the final years of their deal, it’s rare for coaches to go about their work on expiring contracts — at least not without some clarity about their future.
Sweeney confirmed that the Bruins have started to talk with Montgomery about a new deal.
“There have been talks, but I think Monty — well, I’m not going to speak for him, but I’m gonna guess he would take Brad [Marchand’s] line of keeping that between us,” Sweeney noted.
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Montgomery has compiled a 112-32-20 record over his two seasons in Boston. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2022-23 after leading a Bruins team that set a new league record for wins (65) and points (135) in a single season.
However, Boston’s shocking first-round exit at the hands of the Panthers that season still looms large over the team in what became the final year of both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci’s careers.
Even with the uncertainty about his contract status, Montgomery stressed that his expiring deal would not impact his approach this season.
“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. My focus when I am with the Boston Bruins is staying in the present and 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 asking our players to stay in the moment. I have to stay in the moment. That’s the way I look at things. It 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.”
Marchand won’t open camp with full-squad practices
Along with Swayman, the Bruins will open practices on Thursday without captain Brad Marchand, who is still ramping up his conditioning after undergoing three offseason procedures on his elbow, groin, and abdomen.
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“He will not start with the regular group,” Sweeney said of Marchand. “He’s made a heck of a lot of progress the last little while. You all know Brad will do everything possible to be out there and wants to be out there.”
While Marchand might be a few days behind his teammates, Sweeney stressed that the Bruins captain is still expected to be cleared for Boston’s season opener on Oct. 8 against the Panthers.
“We’re trying to get ready for the season,” Sweeney said. “We’re not concerned about Day 1 from Brad. We’re only concerned with opening night and moving forward to his full return to health.”
Bruins didn’t necessarily prioritize size this offseason
Even with the uncertainty regarding Swayman, the 2024-25 Bruins should present plenty of issues for opponents thanks to the heft found across the roster.
Bolstered by the additions of players like 6-foot-6 Nikita Zadorov and 6-foot-4 Mark Kastelic, the Bruins are the heaviest team in the NHL with an average weight of 207 pounds. Boston’s projected six-man grouping on defense boasts an average profile of 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds.
Despite Boston’s imposing presence on the ice, Sweeney stressed that his team’s size was not a primary focus. He added that speed and puck-possession skills took precedence in terms of reworking the roster.
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“The size — it wasn’t the target,” Sweeney said. “Just turn around and say, ‘Let’s go be one of the bigger groups back there.’ It’s the byproduct of looking for a player that fills a hole for us. The other players that we’ve brought in that have some size — they all have skating ability.”
“Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you’re going to be big,” Montgomery added. “I mean, the guy who is the best example of that is our captain. He plays really big. He’s small, but he’s one of the hardest players to play against, if not the hardest player to play against in the league. And we need that kind of mentality.”
Bruins expect big things from Zadorov, Lindholm
The Bruins allocated a hefty portion of their cap space this summer bringing in Zadorov and top-line center Elias Lindholm, with Montgomery believing that a physical deterrent in Zadorov can cast a similar profile as Zdeno Chara out on the ice.
“He can be some of that and a lot of that,” Montgomery said of Zadorov. “And I think he’s at the stage in his career where he knows what he is, and I think he’s matured into the situation where he kind of relishes being that — having an influence, having an impact in a game that allows our team to gain momentum. And I think he’s going to really enjoy playing at TD Garden. I think fans will really enjoy him.”
Beyond the positive domino effect of Lindholm’s presence on Boston’s top line and his two-way acumen, Montgomery also believes Lindholm’s play at the bumper should spark a Boston power play that lost momentum as the 2023-24 season went along.
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“First off — faceoffs — we’re going to have more in-zone time,” Montgomery said of Lindholm’s impact. “I think right away with winning faceoffs, because watching him in the summer, the way he beat high-end centers like [Leon] Draisaitl and [Ryan] O’Reilly on big draws in the playoffs, that got us excited about where we start with the power play.
“I just think he gives us more options on power-play entries and in zone. If you leave him alone, he’s going to score. So they’re going to have to be aware of where he is now. So now you got a lot more killer instinct in the power play and options that the penalty kill has to worry about.”
The youth movement is underway
While the usual suspects like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are expected to anchor Boston’s roster in 2024-25, the Bruins are also banking on several younger players making a sizable impact this winter.
Boston is hoping that younger forwards Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov make convincing cases for NHL reps this preseason.
While Lysell has yet to log a shift in the NHL, the 21-year-old winger is one of the prime candidates for the vacancy in Boston’s top-six grouping next to Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle.
Montgomery wants Lysell and Merkulov to put themselves in the right situations for their skills to flourish.
“I can see maturation in both those guys in terms of how they’re comporting themselves as people and how they’re walking around here. They’re more comfortable in their skin,” Montgomery said of Lysell and Merkulov. “I think it’s going to translate to how they are more comfortable in how they’re playing. I think it’s pretty clear that we’re a puck-possession team and we’re a team that wants to win one-on-one battles.
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“Those are areas that every young player, I don’t want to use the word, ‘struggle’, but that’s an area where they always show the most growth. And for offensive players like Merkulov and Lysell, they need to have the puck on their stick. To get the puck on their stick, they got to support pucks really well, and they got to win battles. That’s how they increase their puck-possession numbers. And when they do, they make plays.”
Matthew Poitras will also be a name to watch, with the 20-year-old center expected to be in the running for Boston’s spot at third-line center. Sweeney stressed that the Bruins plan on taking a cautious approach with Poitras, who underwent major shoulder surgery in February and now has the option of being assigned to Providence if need be.
“He’s a full go,” Sweeney said of Poitras’ health. “Excited to have him back. 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 re-acclimated and timing wise and such.”
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