BOSTON BRUINS QUOTES
February 23, 2023
BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY…
Opening remarks…
“First and foremost, I really want to start tonight by thanking Craig Smith. He really was a tremendous Bruin, a great teammate, a complete professional. I want to wish he and Aleah, his wife, all the very best in their next journey in his professional career, but I can’t say enough of what Craig was as a Boston Bruin, his contributions and we’re very grateful and wish him the very best.”
On how the deal came together and what he expects from Orlov and Hathaway…
“The deal came together. We’ve clearly been in the marketplace to gauge what types of players would be available in adding to our current group. Inevitably, we did have to make a move with regards to opening up some space and Craig’s situation, but I think we were trying to attack in two different areas and both Dmitry and Garnet both bring some attributes that will complement our group. Now I just hope we stay healthy and try and take a run and play our best hockey at the right time. It’s going to be a hard path. It is a hard path to get in and it’s even harder once you take a run. Dmitry has a Stanley Cup ring and brings a lot of veteran leadership to our group and plays in all different situations. Garnet is a hard-nosed guy that’s going to be wired the way that we use our bottom-six and try to create some anxiety on the forecheck. He disrupts, he kills penalties, bigger body and frame and they are both excited to be joining our team.”
On how he sees Orlov and Hathaway fitting into the lineup…
“Yeah, we have some logistics for both players to travel and join the team out west. That will be Monty’s [call] and on how comfortable they feel, if they want to skate, practice, and get in. Both are easily adjusted to jumping into an NHL lineup. They're both identity-type players. As I referenced, I think the versatility they bring in both players, for the most part, I think we’re going to put our group together and obviously play the best players, but what the matchups are and how Monty wants to use them... Again, we’ve got to stay healthy. We’ve got to rotate guys around, maybe there is an opportunity to — I know that Monty has talked about in Patrice [Bergeron’s] situation and or the other guys. When push comes to shove, we’re going to put the best lineup together and I think all of our group should understand that we were in this to try and deepen what our team looks like and we have no idea who we’re going to play. We have to go in and qualify. I think we’re in a really good spot because the team has played that well and we’re trying to reward. We have an ownership group that’s supportive of when the team is in position to give us the resources to add... I can’t say enough about what our pro staff has done to try and get us in this position to add and all the work that they put in and the communication we’ve had and you apologize to your amateur staff because obviously you’ve taken away an opportunity to improve our club down the road, but that’s the chase. We’re in it to try and win and you have to qualify and go from there.”
On if he’s still looking to add before the trade deadline…
“You just never know... Again, this deal came together relatively quickly by discussions with Brian [MacLellan] who is really, really good to deal with and it was just an opportunity that presented itself. We’ve clearly been in the marketplace for a period of time and trying to gauge who may or may not be available and what deals you can do. You know, not necessarily going to be overly aggressive, but we really like our team and hopefully... Like I said, we’re going to stay healthy and monitor. We have eight more days to sort of see, but for the most part our guys should feel comfortable that we’ve added to our group and it’s time to continue to do what these guys have set out to do and have a special year.”
On how certain salary retentions in the trade work…
“Well, I have not read the Wild’s press release, I know what ours says. You know, basically we had the opportunity in the salary retention from Washington to get both the cap hit down a little bit and then had the opportunity to do that through Minnesota, as well and fortunate to be able to do that. To lower the cap hit overall gives us some flexibility between now and playing the last games that we need to play down the stretch and likely... Likely, you never know, but Nosek [Tomas Nosek] is on LTIR right now, Vinni Lettieri is on our roster, we’ve got some stuff that we have to make that we tidy up with if we can and maybe emerge, but we’re trying to get the most flexibility that we can.”
On how this trade adds to the playoff style of hockey that the Bruins can play…
“I mean, our roster is battle tested. I think when we play any type of game against any type of team, we're able to react accordingly or dictate accordingly. I think we were trying to complement or add to that, and we’ve had several players from Providence come into our lineup and provide consistency in that regard and that’s what we want to try and do. We know it’s a war of attrition when you go through. You have to get in, you have to qualify, you have twenty or so games at the end of the year and then the playoffs begin. You don’t know who you’re going to play, but it doesn’t matter because whomever you are going to play is going to be a ridiculously tough opponent and you’ve got to be able to dictate... We’ve tried to be consistent in how we want to play, and I think both of these players add to that and they are excited to be in games down the stretch and in what lies ahead.”
On how important the hit element and physicality are for both Orlov and Hathaway…
“Overall, I think our group does a really good job of responding to physical challenges and we can play any type of game. We try and play up tempo in all facets of our game and Dmitry and Garnet will add to that and complement and again, just try to fortify for the most part. They’re excited to come and add to our team, to address the physicality or how we’re going to play — it's up tempo, but it is really trying to play any style. I don’t think there is a player on our team that doesn’t acknowledge that you’re going to go through physical battles and the war of attrition that the playoffs represent. So, it’s just time to go to work.”
On if he’s had any contract discussions with Orlov or Hathaway at this point…
“No, but we will look forward to having that. [We need to] get them acclimated, as I said, they have some logistics with travel and leaving behind what was very comfortable and familiar to them and stepping into joining a new team, getting to know their new teammates. Getting familiar will take care of all the ancillary details that go with moving players around and making them feel very wanted and comfortable in and out of the locker room, and then their families are included in that.”
On when they could play…
“We are working on travel and logistics, hopefully they are going to travel tomorrow, but again that’s to be determined.”
On the prospect that came along in this deal, Andrei Svetlakov…
“We haven’t had communication yet... He’s been playing over in Russia and our understanding hasn’t indicated that he’s going to play over here, but again part of the transaction that made this deal come together with and we’ll see where that one plays out.”
On the reaction from Orlov and Hathaway…
“They are always shocked; players are always shocked. In their case, they’ve been locked in a playoff race, and they’ve overcome a lot of injuries with their team. They’ve been ridiculously competitive and successful as part of their organization. So, a little bit shocked, but once they hear the excitement in our voice for bringing them on board, I think it quickly shifts to what hockey players are wired to do and that’s to get back on the ice where they are most comfortable and be welcomed by new teammates, because that is exactly what is going to happen.”
On if the team needs to make any moves to make the cap or manpower situation work…
“No, we don’t have to make roster moves from that standpoint. As I mentioned, both Nosek and Lettieri are hurt so we have to identify that when they are healthy and going through the rehab process. Nosek is back on the ice with the team and working through that and Vinni has been skating here so we’ll address that when we need to.”
On Orlov and how he is durable and why Sweeney felt the team needed that on the left side …
“Well as I referenced earlier, the versatility with Dmitry is he plays both sides. Equally adept at it, he’s a very, very good puck mover, looks to get up into the rush, he’s a shot mentality on the offensive blue line, certainly defends with conviction and does have an open ice mindset at times to be able to take away time and space effectively. We just think there is a real good hockey player there that has experience, has won a Stanley Cup, and adds to our group in any one of the areas that we think he can address and who he is going to play with.”
On if there is an added degree of competition to the defensemen...
“No, I view it — and Jim and I have talked extensively about this — about adding to our group. I think it’s a healthy position to take that every guy wants to play, but we’re now in a situation where if we wanted to rest a guy if he is dinged up or he is playing through something, which we’ve had several guys do... Now we’re in the position to be a little more conservative in those situations and just get ready, basically. Find the chemistry where Dmitry fits in best and who he fits in best with, we know this current group and Jakub [Zboril] is included in that group that he goes in and plays tonight so we’ll get him re-acclimated to playing time. He hasn’t played in an extended period of time and we have other players that have come up like Mike Reilly and Strals [Anton Stralman] and Jack Ahcan and to not leave anybody out, but I think as a group we need to understand that we generally haven’t started the playoffs with the same six guys and finished it that way, so we have to be prepared and that’s what we tried to do.”
On how he’s seen the market developing based on what he’s already seen …
“I’m not going to be predicting where things go next, I’m merely worried about where our group is and what we are trying to accomplish and if other things present themselves, we’ll take a look at them. It doesn’t mean I have to be aggressive in any way, shape or form, you know, minus the obvious. Injuries are always the unknown, but again we’ve had several players from Providence. We went through a period of time where a lot of those guys were getting an opportunity and we may do that going forward, but I am certainly not going to predict where the market goes next... I mean that’s for all teams, all 32 teams to continue to discuss and those discussions will continue.”
On the two different areas that Orlov and Hathaway address on this team…
“Again, strength in both areas for us... Both on the defensive side and the forward side and again I think both players — in Dmitry’s case, adds a tremendous amount of versatility in being able to play both sides, contributing offensively, has a physical component to his game, has a wealth of experience, has won a Stanley Cup. In Garnet’s case, he’s a penalty killer, can probably play third or fourth line or middle six as I would describe, and adds a dimension to our team to compliment the current guys that we rely a lot on in that regard and I think he’s wired in the same way as Dmitry in being ultra-competitive. So, again I think they are both going to fit in really well in all of those areas.
On if he’s happy that he got this trade done a week before the deadline …
“Ultimately, you want to get players in here and get them acclimated and comfortable with their new teammates and the longer runway you can have, probably the better off you are going to be, and I think it presented in a situation where we felt we could be aggressive and close it off. You just never know the time, as I always said, every deal, every contract, every situation has its own timeline and all the work again that our pro staff has done over the period of time, the resources that the ownership presents to us and then you have to get, in this cap environment, sometimes you have to be ultra creative and we were. It required it in this situation to do that and Evan worked an awful lot on this deal to see it come to fruition and we’re thankful that Brian MacLellan and Washington did the same.”
