BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY AND INTERIM HEAD
COACH BRUCE CASSIDY PRESS CONFERENCE
WARRIOR ICE ARENA
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY
On the selection of day for the press conference…
Well, sort of like the weather in New England, I did not necessarily pick this day to take away
from the great accomplishment by the New England Patriots. But, I had taken a few days to
assess where we were at and came to my decision to make a change in regards to Claude
[Julien]. First of all, I want to thank Claude. I want to acknowledge the level of success that he
has achieved as the coach of the Boston Bruins and acknowledge he is a great coach, a
tremendous person, and he’s meant a lot to our organization. We’re going to wish him nothing
but the greatest level of success that he can achieve. He’ll be a great coach with another
organization in a short time, I’m quite positive of that. Very, very difficult morning for me,
personally, delivering that news. We had a conversation with Claude, who was, as he always is
and as you guys would know, was an absolute, true pro about it this morning, and had a talk that
you don’t know how it’s necessarily going to go, what the reaction is going to be. But, he was, as
I described, a tremendous pro and I’ve got a tremendous level of respect for Claude as a person,
working with him over the past couple of years. But, had come to a conclusion that, in moving
this group forward with an eye towards the plan that we had put in place, that I wasn’t ready to
commit on a longer-term basis with Claude. I felt that there was a level of frustration in our wins
and loss nights and what he would be subjected to on a nightly basis, and felt we would be in a
better position moving forward to allow our players to be assessed on an individual level; for me,
our general manager, to be assessed on a personnel level, to be making the decisions going
forward as to who is part of our group. Obviously, keeping an eye, as I’ve always referenced,
with an eye towards the future, of what the young players that we have in the last couple of
years, they’re not here and they’re not able to help us today. And that’s part of the patience part
and example that is difficult – and bridging and understanding the challenges in terms of trying
to bridge where our core players are and implementing our younger players, a very difficult task
to do. Winning, and qualifying for the playoffs – you look at the Eastern Conference, you realize
that you take the three teams in the Metro [Metropolitan Division], they get automatic spots.
You’ve got every team in the East is in the hunt, so it’s challenging. You never run or hide from
that, the expectations have not changed for this organization. We expect the players to make a
push and get into the playoffs. It was the same regard last year, and that was why we added at the
trade deadline, because our players had been in position. It didn’t work, we fell just short. But,
I’m also committed, as I said last year, to draft. I wasn’t trading David Pastrnak to try to find the
D that we feel we still need to improve our group and add depth to; acknowledging all the way
along that we have some shortcomings in our roster, and expecting either players to step forward
and fill those voids, or continuing to find the right personnel to fit in with the guys that have won
and are looking forward to winning again. So, with that, I will take as many questions as
anybody sees fit, and be as honest and forthright as I can. I think, as a group of coaches, with
Bruce [Cassidy] stepping in as the interim, in concert with Joe [Sacco] who has been a coach in
the National Hockey League, and Jay [Pandolfo] who’s won Stanley Cups, we feel confident
about Bob Essensa who will see a little bit of a role; even J.P. Buckley, from a video standpoint,
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we feel very confident. I’m not going to pull away from Providence or go external at this point in
time. I think that the development process, as I’ve always acknowledged, is incredibly important
for the organization. Kevin Dean and Jay [Leach] and Trent [Whitfield] have done a very, very
good job down there and I want them to continue along that path. I want our players to
understand this falls with me and on them moving forward, whether or not we get in and how far
we go as an organization. But, there will be an opportunity for players to come in and improve
our hockey club both internally and obviously, the trade deadline represents another opportunity.
I’m not going to sacrifice the players that we feel are important and integral to how we get better.
But, if there is an opportunity to improve our hockey club with a long-term view, then that’s
what we will do.
On the timing of the Patriots parade and why this was done today…
Well, we had a couple days off and we have two days of practice here before we go into a few
games. And then we have a real opportunity to sort of step back from the emotional piece of this
and allow the players to get away and vacate mentally and physically. I felt there was an
opportunity today and tomorrow to get their feet in the ground for a practice environment, which
we haven’t had. We had played 50 games in 102 days or so, and I’m sure the schedule has been
very challenging in that regard. I just felt that there was an opportunity now, as I was
contemplating the decision, the impact of the decision. Again, I apologize that it fell on a day
where, obviously, New England is incredibly excited. But, I didn’t make the schedule in terms of
where these days would exist from a practice standpoint.
On the Bruins calling a press conference during the parade and if anyone in the organization
questioned the optics of the decision…
Well, I have support of the ownership. Mr. Jacobs and Charlie [Jacobs] and Cam [Neely], to
make the decisions that I think are important in moving forward. Matt [Chmura] can attest to the
fact that I’m always thinking about optics or whatever, but I’m not going to make a decision just
based on that. I’m very respectful and I acknowledged that to begin with – the achievement that
they had, I’m not trying to take away in any way, shape, or form, or deflect or try to mute, as a
matter of fact, the impact of the decision that I made this morning in moving forward. As I said,
the schedule represents an opportunity to have a couple days of practice. I thought that was
vitally important.
On why the press conference didn’t happen later this afternoon or tonight…
Mostly because the PR department had explained that, once you make a decision in that regard,
you need to stand up in front of people and acknowledge the reasons behind it, and move on
from there.
On if this has the effect of being muted by the parade…
No, I don’t think this has that effect other than people here in the room are missing the parade.
Yes, I acknowledge that and I apologize. But outside of that, I don’t believe I’m downplaying the
impact of the decision and how difficult it was at all.
On if he felt he would have seen more improvement from the team over the summer and during
the season to this point…
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Well, there haven’t been a lot of trades, certainly during the season. It would have required us to
deviate from some of the players we currently have or recently selected in order to go after the
level of player you may be describing from an impact standpoint. Have we made a
misidentification of players that would impact us? That does remain to be seen. That’s the
evaluation process that we need to go through. On a personal level, players that are not hitting
their high-water mark from even the previous year, that’s a concern of ours. There’s no question
that that represents an opportunity for us to explore outside or inside and to replace the player
and evaluate. Every decision I make is going to be evaluated, but I guarantee you that it will start
with me in terms of acknowledging that this just wasn’t good enough.
On if the team has explored another backup goalie for the organization…
Yeah, quite a bit to be honest with you. It’s an area that has put a tremendous amount of pressure
on our group. I mean, obviously, Anton [Khudobin] didn’t get off to a great start, and then got
injured. That hurt us a little bit. We weren’t looking to accelerate either Zane [McIntyre] or
Malcolm [Subban] in that situation. We’ve always had an eye towards the development for both
of those players. Malcolm, the injury last year impacted him a little bit, I believe, and where he is
at today. But, that’s the depth of the organization. That’s what you want to see. Is there a right
time? You’ve seen players from the American Hockey League have the success they’ve had, and
they’ve been able to do it at the next level. It hasn’t necessarily materialized at this point for
Zane, but he’s undefeated going in. So, you think that there would be a level, but it’s a difficult
league. So, we’ve been exposed to that area. It’s put a tremendous amount of pressure on our
group overall. And again, that’s part of the equation. I said to the team this morning – if a
goaltender doesn’t play well, is that necessarily on the coach? Or if the coach – sorry, if the
goaltender plays well and the team doesn’t score, is that on the coach? No, it’s not. It’s on myself
and the players themselves need to accept that responsibility that we need to have a better player
in that situation, or the players step up and improve their own play.
On what the specific plan and direction is of the team after this decision…
In regards to individual personnel? I’m not deviating from the plan; integrating, whether it’s
Brandon Carlo or maintaining the players that we feel are on the horizon, not necessarily playing
here right now, or some of the guys playing in Providence and developing, I’m not deviating
from it. I would like to continue to surround and build around our core and strengthen, deepen
the talent pool throughout our organization. It something I’ve been committed to and I’m not
going to deviate from it.
On what didn’t sit right with him about the team’s performance recently that made him decide on
the coaching change…
Yeah, it never rested with a win or a loss. I wasn’t making a decision on how we lost tonight or
we won, can we win tomorrow night. It was really a communication level that I could not get
past – the fact that I wasn’t committed in my own mind to sort of go beyond where we are right
now with Claude. Where we are as an organization, I don’t know if those two things lined up,
but the level of success he’s had, the way we were playing, that the roster wasn’t built and
necessarily complete or a finished product – are we an elite team? No, we’re a very competitive
team, which we were last year, and what I described. We have areas and gaps within our game
that exist. Whether that’s strictly personnel related, or whether or not those are some tweaks that
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we need to make or continue to make, that’s what’s going to unfold here. I think the opportunity
for Bruce, who I’ve had a working relationship with, to come in and sort of evaluate his job and
where our staff is as well as our personnel is important. It’s an important period of time that we
can continue to allow to unfold as opposed to waiting until the season’s end and just seeing if we
hadn’t done anything, whether or not that would have worked. So, I’m not grasping and realizing
that I changed the expectations necessarily in the group. I think I understand that, where our
group is at. I think on any given night, we can bet any given team. Whether or not we can
maintain the consistency to get to where we need to, that’s where we need to. That’s going to
unfold in the next 27 [games].
On if there were philosophy differences or differences of opinion between him and Julien…
There are some philosophical approaches to things, yeah. That exists. But, I don’t think any two
people are going to agree on everything. I’ve respected and I’ve acknowledged the structure and
accountability that Claude certainly, as a coach, brings to the table, and I think every team needs.
But, at times, there’s where you are in a given situation, to be able to implement a particular
player, and whether that’s having the patience in a younger player and such, there were some
times when I’m not necessarily going to agree on things. But, as a general manager, you’re not
going to trump decisions from a lineup standpoint. And as a coach, they would like to say, well,
maybe there’s better personnel you can find. But again, my relationship with Claude has really
evolved and grown over the last little while. It’s just, seeing where our group is today and where
we want to get to, I’m excited about whether or not Butch and his coaching staff can make their
own imprint. Let’s see where that goes. But, more important, I’m excited about the younger
players that we have on the rise and are going to be integrated into our organization, and how
they are going to be received and implemented, when they are ready. The players dictate. We’re
not going to force a player in here that’s not ready to play and help our team. I think Brandon
Carlo is the greatest example of that this year. And you’re going to have ebbs and flows in terms
of how young players go through the season, but I do believe that is important.
On what he thinks this team can do under Cassidy that it didn’t under Julien…
Well, I expect our practices to change a little bit, in terms of Bruce has always been a coach that
wants to practice at a really high pace. He’ll probably tweak a few things coming out of the
neutral zone. We just discussed in a short period of time and watching the play of the players that
he has coached over the years. And again, some of that might be personnel related, that he might
see a plyer in a different vein. So, we’re going to go through that as a group and have those
discussions based on what the best lineup is and how that lineup wants to look. Whether that’s a
top-six component with a heavy bottom-six, or whether that’s a balanced lineup in sets of two
that a lot of teams operate under. But, I think that there is an opportunity for a new set of eyes to
come in, and a new voice for our players to sort of start to hear. And hopefully, their ears are
perked up.
On if he told Claude about the decision this morning…
I met with Claude this morning.
On if he addressed the team as well…
I did.
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On if the room was tough when he told the players…
Yeah. As a matter of fact, I would fully expect the players to thank and acknowledge – and some
players haven’t even played for another coach – to be very respectful of the impact that Claude
has had in this organization, and I conveyed that to them. I also conveyed my conviction in terms
of where this organization is headed, what our expectations are for each and every one of the
players to be a part of that and to take ownership of it. I had an opportunity to play for nine
different coaches as a player. Every time that you went through this, you should have gone home
and looked in the mirror and said, did I do enough to make this work? And myself as a general
manager, I have to face that same fact.
On if the decision is more about salvaging this season or about the future…
I’m not splitting hairs there. Do I think we have an opportunity to make the playoffs? Absolutely,
there’s no question this group has a chance to get in. Whether or not I can find a player between
now and the deadline that sort of fills all those gaps, that does remain to be seen. But I think it
does tail with the fact that I’m not going to be shortsighted. I’m going to stick to the longer term
view as to what I have put in place with the intention of being able to bridge and bringing in
players like David Backes and surround our guys that we get a chance to win now and be
competitive now. I didn’t think we needed to do that. Our players and our core players are too
good to not have that plan in place in the short-term and the long-term.
On if he will be open to rentals at the trade deadline…
I’d prefer to err on the side of a player that will integrate into us on the longer-term. Again, it
would depend on – last year, we gave up draft picks. I wasn’t prepared to move players that I felt
in the same regard that teams had asked for in order to get a higher-level rental or a different
kind of rental. I’m not going to deviate from what I said. Are there players and we have a
surplus? That’s what I want to try and evaluate and find out whether or not we can deal from a
position of strength.
On what Bruce Cassidy will bring other than a new point of view…
Well, I do believe, as I said, Butch has the tendency to have his practice at a high tempo. We’ll
see if any of our players can respond to that in some areas. Defensively I don’t think we’ll
deviate too much from the structure. I think there will be a few tweaks there. Offensively, Butch
was an offensive player. I think he sees the game and realizes that our power play got off to a
slow start. But, it’s certainly turned the corner. He and the rest of the coaches have been working
on that. I think he gravitates towards players that have a creative mind. Along with the fact that, I
said, he doesn’t deviate from the structure and accountability-wise. He’s pretty black and white
from a player’s perspective. Where you stand and what you’re bringing to the table, I think that
will be something that he likes to meet with players and set the expectations. And if it’s not
going well in a game, he makes changes and makes adjustments. And then he wakes up that next
day and realizes how does that player get better. He’s not carrying something over from the night
before. He’s good that way.
On if he wants to see how the group settles in for if he wants to make personnel changes right
away…
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Well, I think you’re always going to look to see and making the calls as to what teams – there’s a
lot of teams in a similar situation as we are, certainly in the East. So, it’s sort of been jockeying
and the conversations you have are which side of the fence are you on? The obvious question of
whether you are a buyer or a seller, well I don’t know if that’s necessarily been determined. We
have three weeks, there are some games, we actually have a gap in our schedule that other teams
will be playing games and maybe they get further away from us. And that determines things to
some degree. But, I would like to see how the team responds in the next three games, and then
we certainly have a big break to see how far we’ll be back in the playoff race.
On why David Backes hasn’t been the player they expected him to be…
Well, he’s been up and down. From a production standpoint are you referencing? There was a
period of time where he was on pace for exactly what we would expect. He’s fallen below in the
last little while. And defensively, as a pair with [David] Krejci, the chemistry hasn’t quite fit
together to the level that we’d like it to. We’re going to explore a couple different options there,
what the best fit for him will be. Maybe it’s just the two players going through a bit of a funk
together. If that, we’ll move it around a little bit. But, when you look at the game that he played
against Pittsburgh at home, I don’t think you have that same statement. He has the ability to
elevate his game and get back to a higher level on a more consistent basis. That’s what we’re
going to expect from him.
On if he thinks any specific players will benefit from Cassidy’s style of coaching…
Well, I think that’s part of the evaluation process, to see what players will respond to the voice
and maybe some tweaks and see if they can. Part of it is to find out whether or not some of the
players that we have earmarked as potential guys that can complement our core group and grow
into parts of our core, like Torey [Krug]. Torey is a great example of a player that has sort of
gone into that group. But, there were a lot of unknowns about Torey a couple years ago. You
understand what his limitations are, but his impact is also there. And let’s see whether or not the
next player is there. We certainly feel they are on the horizon. We have a number of young
players that will come in and do that, but again, let’s take this evaluation period with the players
we have internally first.
On if he ever considered not making this announcement today…
I think it’s back to the same question in terms of not trying to take away from the impact of the
celebration side of things. If we had waited another day, it impacts whether or not we have an
advantage on the ice with practice times. But yes, there’s no question. I looked at the grander
scheme. If we had announced it during the Super Bowl or prior to the Super Bowl, the questions
would probably be similar from that standpoint. Once the decision was made, then you have no
choice but to stand up and answer the questions accordingly.
On what they have to say to the millions of fans that will hear the news later tonight who
attended the parade…
Again, I don’t want to take away, I was a fan the other night as well. I was glued to the TV
afterwards to hear what the players would say in the locker room and what I consider a genius in
[Bill] Belichick and what adjustments he made. I was the same way; I was a fan the other night.
And I would say that I aspire to be the team that gets to celebrate again today. I’m hopeful that
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we’re going to move this team back in the direction that has a chance to do that as well. They
certainly should be acknowledging how great the performance was because be certain that I do.
On if he and Cam Neely feel the heat every day with the prospect of missing the playoffs…
I’m not going to answer for Cam. I feel the heat every day. I have expectations for myself to
continue. I said before, I have a plan in place that I would address some areas of need for the
organization and I’m trying to do that. I’m trying to win because anybody that knows me knows
that I don’t accept losing. If I fail and I have shortcomings in that regard, then I’ll walk out the
door and say that I gave it my absolute best. Every decision that I’ve made has tried to be with
the right intentions for the organization, both short-term and long-term. To try and maintain the
winning expectations, but without losing sight of the long-term view.
On how long had he deliberated about relieving Julien of his duties…
Yeah, not an easy decision in any way, shape, or form. In a lot of ways, people would say, well
why can’t you just ride out the season. Or I was asked, why can’t you just ride out the season.
Well, I think the timing became an opportunity for us to evaluate going down the stretch, where
these players are and how many of them can fit in to what we want to do going forward and the
decisions that we have to make accordingly. How players react to a different voice, and a
direction change. I’m looking for alignment from top to bottom as to what our expectations are,
from the players that have won to the players that are coming in, and I want to be in consult with
the next coach of the Boston Bruins, while I am evaluating the current staff. I’ll have a list of
candidates that will fall in line with what I am trying to do.
On why Bruce Cassidy is the interim coach and why he is talking about him moving forward…
No, I didn’t reference that. I referenced that I’ll have a list of candidates that I will be looking at
closely and at some point in time, interviewing. I would consider Bruce a candidate and I want to
evaluate on the fly. It’s not about wins and losses. The expectations for him to get us in or not be
a candidate doesn’t exist. I want to go through the daily process of evaluating the impact that he
can have, and I have a working relationship and had a working relationship with Bruce for
several years and feel comfortable in the communication level that we’ve had in the past and
what’s going to happen going forward. Bruce was actually hired by Peter [Chiarelli] and I
learned to work with Butch. He grew into a head coach down there, so I have that level of
respect. I also have a similar level of respect for Joe [Sacco] and I think that Butch will lean hard
on Joe in terms of how we prepare every day.
On if he will have Cassidy coach the rest of the season and make a decision this summer…
Yes.
On if Julien’s contract situation ever entered into his thinking, that he had one year left on the
contract and would have been a “lame duck” coach next year…
Again, I wasn’t looking for a long-term situation that I was comfortable with. So, I wasn’t
prepared to explore that. Whether or not the timing now versus next year as you describe… I
always am a little bit befuddled with a player who is in the last year of a deal, that being
advantageous, as opposed to other people who aren’t. I think it worked well for one of the
coaches that we coached against recently. Claude is going to get a good job in short order. He’s a
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good coach. I was looking at the overall picture of where our organization is at and where we
need to get to, and my feeling of the alignment piece that I want to feel comfortable with going
forward.
On if he has had any contact with potential coach candidates…
No. None whatsoever. I have not had any conversations whatsoever outside of our internal
group.
On if he thought about coaching himself…
No, I did not. I have never coached at the professional level and don’t want to step into those
shoes at this particular time.
BOSTON BRUINS INTERIM HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY
On what he thinks he’ll get out of the team that Claude Julien didn’t…
Well, we’re going to find out soon enough, but I think that the team is not that far away from
winning games. We’ve pointed out lately we’ve, there was a quote out there, we’ve found ways
to lose instead of win. That means you’re generally close, so we’ve got to flip the switch on a
few of those plays throughout the course of the game that go in our favor. Whether that’s
defending a little better, managing the puck a little better, getting a save at a key time, finishing
at a key time. How we do that, we’re not going to reinvent the wheel system-wise. I thought
there’s a lot of good things in place. We’re just going to try to tighten up a few areas, in our end
in terms of getting pucks back a little quicker, and then hopefully at the offensive end, being
more opportunistic with our chances, and again, that’s easier said than done. I mean, the players
want to score every night, so maybe tinker with our offensive zone play a little bit, in terms of
encouraging our forwards to attack the net more from the half-wall, using the back of the net,
forcing teams to defend the front of the net, as opposed to maybe playing on the perimeter going
low to high. So those are the instant adjustments that we’re going to implement, and see how
they go.
On what his message to players was this morning...
Well the message was, first and foremost, that as part of Claude [Julien]’s staff, I have nothing
but respect and admiration for him. That I feel myself, personally, as a part of his staff, that we
let him down. That I let him down, and every player and coach should feel that way, to a certain
extent. But our focus now goes on getting better every day, and the process of how we’re going
to win games, how we’re going to get better. And so that was the message, and today our focus
was on our pace in practice, on playing at a higher pace, playing on our toes as opposed to our
heels, and if we can start building those habits into practice, then you want them to translate into
a game. So that was the main message today, and tomorrow we’ll go back to work in that area,
and hopefully we’ll see some results in the short term, and the long term, in terms of that
process.
On how much of a strength integrating young players is for him…
Well my roots are in the American Hockey League recently, especially down in Providence, very
close to here. So I’ve coached a lot of these players that, some of them have moved on to play
good parts here in Boston, other ones are still finding their way. So, there’s a previous
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relationship that I think is positive for most of those players, so I have to build on that. The
American League is certainly not the NHL. There’s things you have to do differently, but it’s
still coaching. You’re still teaching. You’re still motivating your players. So hopefully, there’s
that mutual respect between player and coach that I have right out of the gate, because I’ve been
there with them, and not being a new face coming off of the street. So, I have to use that to my
advantage with these younger guys, and the one thing is that, I hope they would say that they get
second, third, fourth chances as younger players, as long as they’re willing to work and play
within the system, that they’ll be given an opportunity to play to their strength. And that’s my
end goal, with these younger players, and all the players.
On 10 years being an eternity in this league as a coach, and if the players are shocked…
It is, and it’s my ninth year with the organization. So I think there’s a lot of people surprised and
disappointed for Claude [Julien]. And he’s a Stanley Cup Champion. He’s a winner, and we
would have all liked to see that success, to continue to build on that success. But to answer for
the players, I can’t. You’d have to ask them how each individual feels. There’s a lot of players
that he’s been their only coach. So I imagine they are disappointed, but again, I cannot speak for
the players. My job now is to get their heads focused on playing, and playing well, and that
begins today, and our first game on Thursday against San Jose.
On what the challenges are getting the players to be accountable for an interim coach…
Well I’m going to try to not approach this as an interim coach. I’m going to be a head coach in
every manner, and you have to build trust with players to hold them accountable, whether you’re
interim, or full-time, or you have a five-year contract, or you have a one-year contract. At the
end of the day, players generally want to be accountable, if it’s in their make-up, and if they have
a mutual respect with their coach, and that’s my end goal with every player, to explain why we
need them to play a certain way, why it’s for the good of the Boston Bruins, and sometimes that
might interfere with their individual goals, but that’s part of coaching. You’ve got to make sure
that message comes through, and that’s job number one.
On what he sees as the biggest area of improvement for the team…
Well early on it was goal scoring, and now it’s keeping the puck out of our net. So it’s kind of
changed course a little bit. So if we can tinker with each, and turn those one-goal losses into onegoal wins, and I truly don’t believe we’re that far away from that. I’m not naïve to think you’re
just going to go out there and a new voice is going to make that happen, but the first question,
we’re going to tinker with our D-zone in terms of trying to get pucks back quicker, so we’re not
defending quite as long in our end. See if we can accomplish that, and then get going on offense,
where we’re getting a little more secondary scoring as well, encourage that part of the game, and
get our D involved a little more as well. And if that can help us chip in here or there, it takes a lot
of pressure off the top guys, who are playing very well right now. So those are the two
immediate goals, to how we can get better. Listen, sometimes a new coach comes in, some
players get excited. Some, like I said, are not excited. So we’re going to find out Thursday. But
the guys that are, we hope that they bring that energy, and look at it as a fresh chance, and off we
go.
On if he feels like he’s been put in a position to succeed…
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Well I’ve been put into the position to be the head coach of a NHL hockey team. So I have no
complaints, and I’m going to relish the opportunity, to be perfectly honest with you.
On how he can get certain players to perform as they have in the past…
Well, short of going through every player, I mean, Ryan Spooner, I’ve had a relationship with, so
there’s some internal knowledge there with him, some motivating factors that I think I’m aware
of, and hopefully what they were down in Providence, hopefully some of them will be the same,
in terms of what can get him going. As for [David] Backes, it’s a new situation for him. We’ve
had a short discussion this morning, how he fits in, and what type of line he has the best
chemistry with. So we’re going to do our best to get him in that position, but still what’s best for
the team. That’s what it always comes back to, what’s best for the team and try and convince
them that they need to contribute and play to the best of their ability, but still be in line with
what’s best for the hockey club and help us win. So each conversation will happen with those
individual players, and hopefully they’ll resonate.
On if he sees David Backes as a center or wing…
I think he’ll stay on the wing. But, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. That’s where he was
today. Tomorrow, we’ll revisit our lines and go from there. That’s where we see him right now.
We always have that option to bump him into the middle, and he can give us strong play in there.
On the status of Zdeno Chara…
No, Chara is under the weather, Big Zee [Zdeno Chara] today. So, I assume he’ll be back
tomorrow. But again, that’s up to the medical staff and him to see how he is feeling.
On how the league has changed from the last time he was a coach in the NHL…
Geez, there’s no more mullets. Well, there’s a hard salary cap for one, so players come and go a
lot more. More youth, it used to be the NHL, which everyone said it was not a developmental
league. I think now, there’s a lot more developing going on, on the fly, because of the things I
mentioned. More younger guys, the cap forces you to push guys up in the lineup maybe sooner
than they were ready compared to previous years. So, more teaching as a result if you’ve got
younger players. So, I think that’s the biggest change. They’re not ready-made players on most
clubs. You have to get them ready, they have to learn on the fly. So, that’s our job as coaches, to
make sure that every day that we recognize that and don’t forget that some of these players up
here are young and they haven’t had a ton of seasoning that maybe they would have had 15 or 20
years ago.
On how much he was hoping to become an NHL head coach again…
Well, I told Claude when I sat down with him that it was my goal to become an NHL head coach
again. There was no timeline. If it happened, it happened and I’d be grateful for the opportunity
and learn from the past, and that’s what I’ve done for the last 15 years. Hopefully that will make
me a better coach, and I’m sure it will. If it never happened, then it doesn’t happen and you enjoy
the position you are in. So, it didn’t not. Maybe the first couple of years, you want to prove
yourself and prove everybody wrong, I’m going to show them. But you mature, you become a
parent, and there’s much more important things in life, and you put the work in and work hard
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and hope you get the opportunity and here I am. So, I told you earlier, I’m very grateful for the
opportunity, and I’m going to make the best of it.
On the biggest lesson he learned during his first head coaching stint in Washington…
Well, there’s probably a lot. At the end of the day, coming in as a young guy, without a ton of
NHL experience, I think just the way of life in the NHL is the biggest thing... So, I can’t get
specific of, oh , this breakout didn’t work. It was more just the NHL lifestyle – what the players
want, form of communication, what amount of teaching. And like I said, I think a lot of that has
changed. There’s still a lot that is similar, but they’re just a younger group now so it should be
easier this time around, you would hope that I’ve learned something in 15 years, being around
Claude and being in this organization for nine years, that I’d be better prepared to take what you
do learn and move forward.
On how he will reorganize his staff…
Jay [Pandolfo] will come down, Joe [Sacco] will run the D in terms of, we’ll talk about matchups
before the game, and I’ll run the rest of the bench. Even though Joe was a forward by nature,
dealing with the forwards, he’s been a head coach in the National Hockey League. He’s worked
with defensemen and he can coach all facets of the game, just like I believe I can just because I
was a defenseman and deal prominently with the D. As a head coach in the American Hockey
League, you’re developing forwards every day. But, that’s how we’ll look at it in the short-term
here, and how we’ll move forward. Obviously, Goalie Bob’s job won’t change and he’ll work
with the goaltenders. There will always be a collaboration of the staff, but at the end of the day,
we’ll have to make a decision when the puck drops on lines, personnel, etc. We’ll go from there.
On any players whose roles will change moving forward…
I don’t think significantly. We have to identify if Ryan Spooner is a center iceman or is he a
better winger. That’s a good question, to get the best out of him. And the same goes with David
Backes, where does he best fit in? There may be some line tweaks to see who fits best with
David Krejci, who is a world-class player, to get him at the top of his game. So, these are a few
of the conversations we’ve had. On the back end, I don’t see a lot of changes right now.
Obviously, Tuukka [Rask] is going to play the lion’s share of the games and our backup
goaltender will get in when Tuukka needs his rest. But, I don’t think significant, no. Unless
someone bubbles up and pushes someone out of a spot and earns more minutes, then well
accommodate that player.
On the difficulty of managing the balance between making the playoffs and developing players…
Well, winning is paramount, right? It’s a results-oriented business. I know that, I’m aware of
that. But, we also want to remind the players that there is a process involved to get where you
want to go everyday. We have to be focused on that. Players know where we stand in the
standings. Of course, coaches know. But, we can’t live and die by every win or loss by us and
the teams that are chasing us and we’re chasing. We have to worry about the Boston Bruins and
how we are playing on the ice. Are we playing to the level that we can and beyond so that we can
win our share of games and not worry about everything going on around us? Of course, it’s a
factor how other teams do. But, our focus right now is on getting our team playing the best brand
of hockey they can every night.
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On how he prepares for the spotlight of coaching in Boston in such a tough market…
Yes. And congratulations to the Patriots. They did a hell of a job again this year and we would
love to have their success starting Thursday and building on that. But, the spotlight is going to be
what it’s going to be. It’s a position where you’re going to get second-guessed and you have to
have thick skin, but also have to have conviction and do what you feel is best for the team, in
conjunction with your general manager and coaching staff and go from there.
On if the players are in shape and if they had the ear of the coach…
Well, I think they absolutely had the ear of Claude. I think the players absolutely, 100%
respected Claude and what he has done for this franchise. Are the players in shape? I think our
practices could be more demanding. So, that’s not a yes and that’s not a no. I just know how I
like to practice. I like to push the tempo more in practice because that’s one thing as a coach you
can control is generally the condition of the players and their minutes on the ice. There’s other
things that you just can’t, and that’s one thing were going to work on. It’s February so, I think
this is a very professional group in there. So, they know if they want to survive in the National
Hockey League, they have to condition themselves as well. That’s part of it. The reason our
practices are going to be a little more intense with pace is because we want to play that way too.
That’s the way the league is going, and we’ve got to be able to sustain that for 60 minutes every
night. That’s one of the messages we want to drive home with the players.
#02/07/17#
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