Cam Neely On The Young Bruins And Moves His Team Still Needs To Make
"Other teams’ success, I think, pushes everybody else—you don’t want to fall behind when teams are doing well in this market."
Cam Neely, on keeping pace in the Boston sports market
On why the Bruins' embraced a youth movement
Cam Neely: Some is injury-driven and some we felt guys were ready to push for a job. And some of it's cap-related, where you identify your core players and you’re going to end up paying them, and then you’re going to need some entry-level guys coming in that hopefully can play and round out not only the lineup but your cap situation so you can manage it as best as possible throughout the course of the year.
On head coach Bruce Cassidy and staff's first full season in Boston
Cam Neely: I think they’ve done a great job so far juggling the lineup day-to-day without really knowing who’s gonna be in. Sometimes you don’t know until game time or after warmup. To be able to manage that is a lot in itself and then to try and get your team prepared to win hockey games, especially with a younger lineup ... there is a learning curve. You have to maybe teach a little bit more and I think the staff we have has done that throughout this year.
On areas the Bruins can improve
Cam Neely: At the top of the list is being a consistent team and giving yourself a chance to win on a regular basis. Our starts could be a little bit better ... Our power play has struggled a little bit lately ... but hopefully we can get that first unit going again and not thinking too much out there and make the plays.
On looking for upgrades at the trade deadline
Cam Neely: We’re always looking at the club and seeing where we can upgrade and I think we could probably find some depth on the right side up front and maybe on the left D side ... We’ve talked about ... a guy that can eat up some minutes—move the puck well, skate well—but not necessarily have to be that offensive defensemen.
"Other teams’ success, I think, pushes everybody else—you don’t want to fall behind when teams are doing well in this market."
Cam Neely, on keeping pace in the Boston sports market
On why the Bruins' embraced a youth movement
Cam Neely: Some is injury-driven and some we felt guys were ready to push for a job. And some of it's cap-related, where you identify your core players and you’re going to end up paying them, and then you’re going to need some entry-level guys coming in that hopefully can play and round out not only the lineup but your cap situation so you can manage it as best as possible throughout the course of the year.
On head coach Bruce Cassidy and staff's first full season in Boston
Cam Neely: I think they’ve done a great job so far juggling the lineup day-to-day without really knowing who’s gonna be in. Sometimes you don’t know until game time or after warmup. To be able to manage that is a lot in itself and then to try and get your team prepared to win hockey games, especially with a younger lineup ... there is a learning curve. You have to maybe teach a little bit more and I think the staff we have has done that throughout this year.
On areas the Bruins can improve
Cam Neely: At the top of the list is being a consistent team and giving yourself a chance to win on a regular basis. Our starts could be a little bit better ... Our power play has struggled a little bit lately ... but hopefully we can get that first unit going again and not thinking too much out there and make the plays.
On looking for upgrades at the trade deadline
Cam Neely: We’re always looking at the club and seeing where we can upgrade and I think we could probably find some depth on the right side up front and maybe on the left D side ... We’ve talked about ... a guy that can eat up some minutes—move the puck well, skate well—but not necessarily have to be that offensive defensemen.
