On the timeline of both deals…
“David expanded a little bit and Patrice as well. Obviously, we've been talking for a while, you know, just conceptually and once Patrice indicated that he was likely coming back, his recruiting of David and the conversations that we had privately started. I have been in touch with David all through last year, as you guys know, and mostly with Jiri as well, just because allowing David to stay in his in his own headspace of what he had intended, why he had left in the first place, I think he was pretty forthright in that it was all about his family and the opportunity to play in his hometown. And everything that represented it held true. But we had had extensive talks over the period of time about if he was going to come back, the door would be open. And we always felt that way, last year and this year. And knowing some of the cap challenges and some of the things that we were facing, both players were really good and honest about, hey, you know, you're going to try to improve the team and we want to be part of it and then almost working backwards from there. So that's why the contractual stuff took an awful lot of time to just sort of figure out what we were going to be capable of doing and how we could fit them together. And I'm appreciative of Phillippe Lecavalier and Jiri and David and Patrice to allow us flexibility and eventually get it done and be very, very excited to have them both back.”
On the one-year deal…
“That's going to be Patrice's decision ultimately. And I've said that all along, he dictates the time on how long do I play hockey. He can play for, you know, for as long as he really wants to, to tell you the truth. In my opinion, from his impact in the game, he was pretty adamant that he's going to take things year by year and reevaluate. And David Krejci, you know, last year was a difficult one, you’re losing a really, really good player, an important player for your team. We did a decent job of bringing in some players that we felt would complement our group, but didn't accomplish what we wanted to. And then you have the opportunity to bring David back just because you know the player he is. I don't think there's any timeline about how long those guys want to play. I think they left it open ended. They are very much living in the moment and recognizing they've seen several of their teammates previously move on, retire. So, I think they're honest about where they are, but they're awfully really good players. So, I think that's it and they're driven to succeed and excited about playing with the group that we currently have. We have subsequent plans in place as an organization. We have to, not unlike when, you know, when we got the news with David Krejci last year and having to pivot and make other decisions as a result of that and maybe there's a pivot point as I've referenced — you're not going to replace Patrice. That's just not just doesn't happen. You have to grow the next player and hope that you know you know Jed Clampett and striking oil somewhere, right? In all honesty, some people might not even know that reference in this room. You got it. But that's the bottom line. You know, you try and prepare as best you can for it, but ultimately you just have to move on and go to plan B. And we have an awful lot of good players in place. We may have a younger tilt if that's the case, and that'll be by design if we ultimately want to go in that direction. But you know, we're a really competitive team. We want to improve our team this year. I think we have to get healthy. You have to stay healthy and then you try and take a run. But we're going to be fine from the standpoint of the number of really good players we currently have and the age band that they're in, it's the next wave that you have to grow and cross your fingers that you've hit on.”
On Krejci this year…
“We watched David an awful lot last year, in particular in the international tournaments and how he had done. You also get feedback from other people, saying that David can still play, still impact the game. You know, as an organization, we have done a decent job in Patrice's case, in David's case of taking away some primary minutes and spreading some things around and situational minutes. And we'll continue to do that. I think the depth that we now have in guys that can play the middle of the ice and Pavel Zacha is part of that and Charlie Coyle is part of that. And, you know, obviously with Studnicka and Nosek, I think we're in a decent spot. It'll be interesting what Jimmy decides to do, what Monty decides to do with our power play to start the year and whether or not David finds his way in that top unit with Marchy and Charlie being out, or where he plays in that unit. So those are things for Jimmy and the group to figure out. Impact-wise, you know, he wants to play in and impact the game and ultimately, he doesn't care how old he is. He just shows up and plays hockey, which is always done and always performed and he's always been productive. So, we don't expect that to drop off.”
On injuries…
“Everybody's doing well in their timelines. Again, we've always put a band on things to prepare for whether or not a guy is doing better than expected or not necessarily. And right now, as indicated, I think the guys are following the trajectory that was laid out and hopefully we don't have any surprises every now and then.”
On conversations with David Pastrnak…
“Ongoing would probably be the best way to describe it. We've been in regular communication. Obviously, David's still over in Europe and likelihood is he'll come back and we'll talk between now and then. When he gets back, we'll maybe have a better idea of a deal timeline. But I don't have one today and you guys know me well enough, I’m not going to comment publicly on ongoing negotiations, but we've been in regular contact with JP.”
On if he can risk going into the season without him signed…
“Yeah, I mean, it's part of the business. You know, leverage is out there and the conversations are ongoing. We've made our intentions known all along and we'll continue to do that, and we'll go from there. But you know, as far as entering the season with it, not a problem.”
On Zdeno Chara…
“I certainly don't want to get ahead of anything in regards to Zdeno and what his own personal decisions are going to be. As far as his legacy with the Boston Bruins, he goes down as one of the best and greatest. You know, really ultimately changed the culture of where the group was when he came on board and won a Stanley Cup and was a champion in this city, both on and off the ice and an iconic player, obviously, to have the most games played ever as a defenseman in the National Hockey League. That that one might not be broken. As a person, just a really special individual on and off the ice.”
On Zacha’s signing…
“Evan Gold and Paul Capizzano and Peter MacTavish – they did a lot of work with Pavel's contract in a short period of time. Certainly, explored longer term deals. And I think as an organization, we've done a pretty good job of targeting players that we've acquired and then being able to extend, whether that's right away or down the road. Pavel's a guy that we've indicated that we'd like to continue to talk and we can't do that until later on in the year. But we will hopefully find a common ground there. I think that getting a player in, getting acclimated and feeling good about his situation, both where he's going to play, which may be different at the start of the year as the middle of the year and certainly going forward, him having a clear indication of that from us as organization, from the coaching staff. I think Pavel was comfortable, you know, really putting himself in a position where he could parlay this and we're comfortable as well. I think we've had enough talks that we understand where the marketplace is and maybe where he might fit in there. And hopefully we can find common ground moving forward. We’d like to have him here long term.”
On his offensive game improving…
“Well, we certainly hope so. You play with better players, you know, and opportunity-wise, hopefully you can take advantage of that. I think early on you're going to get an indication you may not be playing in the middle of the ice, you may be playing the wing, but we think he has that upside in a positional need for us. And as well as the age band for us, it was a combination. You've got size, you got positional need, you got versatility in the player and an age that fits in a dynamic as I referenced with Joe's question of that next wave of players that are going to are going to move forward in the future with us.”
On how Zacha can improve his offense…
“He made a comment, Mark Recchi was telling him he needs to shoot and be a little more selfish. And he does have a really, really good shot. Where you play him on the power play from our stake with March being out as you go in the other elbow — I mean, those are conversations Jimmy and I had or started to have and he'll tinker with and those guys will figure it out, you know, and Jon Gruden, who may be part of the power play side of things. He has all the talent to be able to take advantage of situational opportunity. And it'll be up to him to hopefully finish maybe at a little higher rate. And as I referenced, he's played with good players and younger players and he'll play with good players that are established here and hopefully just take advantage of it. But we do believe there's a higher offensive ceiling there as a good two-way player, but with a higher offensive ceiling that hopefully he can tap into.”
On if Fabian Lysell has a chance of making the team…
“There's always a chance that a younger player can make the team. I referenced David Pastrnak a number of years ago and spent some time in Providence and came back from the World Juniors and went in and played and played well. And it was hard to keep him off, whether or not he's physically ready to play at that level, and maybe Fabian will be the exact same way. Johnny Beecher or Marc McLaughlin, whoever is going to be there, the opportunities going to be there. Studnicka and Steen, guys that are pretty in time – Jakub Lauko is another one. I mean, we're not going to hold the best players off our team. We may have time where we can buy some time, when a player, if they're not waiver-eligible and such, but ultimately, we want to play the best players. So, if Fabian comes in and stands out to the point, we feel he's ready, then that's fine. But we don't need to rush things with any of our young players. Put them in an opportunity, allow them to see if they can succeed.”
On Riley Duran…
“Watching Riley play three or four times last year in person, he's really grown into his body and he's maturing as a player. I think he's gotten a lot more confidence in that progression. For him going through USHL was interesting to watch, getting acclimated and getting comfortable and then sort of really taking strides. I think you're seeing that in Providence. I think Nate Leaman, his group, does a really good job in Providence in general. But I think Nate has tapped into Riley to get the best out of him each night. And I think that's translating into a world junior opportunity that they got off to a good start last night with Team USA and we're excited. He was a player that we saw locally and again, had attributes of his game that they were sort of in silos, so to speak. He’s starting to put the packages together of those talents and growing into his physical stature. That’s exciting for us.”
On Trent Frederic…
“I don't think that's been determined in terms of what his offensive ceiling is. Going back to the numbers in the situations he played in Wisconsin, took advantage of playing with players there both in the middle and the wing. I think he's now shown that he's capable of doing both. I think he wants to be a more impactful player offensively and affect the game overall physically and stay healthy. You know, I don't think, there's no way he's just a fourth line player for us. I think that he has a higher ceiling and an impact. I think he wants to get that conversation piece. You know, what's really going on with Monty in the establishing a relationship there to get the best out of a player and put himself in situations he can take advantage of and hopefully remain confident. His confidence in his own play has some variance to it that that needs to smooth out as all NHL players when they're, you know, going through some challenges and they come back in the best shape that he possibly can, regardless of where he plays in the middle or the wing, just to be the player he is capable being and not worry about some of the other things that sometimes creep in, especially for young players.”
On hiring new skills and skating coaches and how that relates to Kim Brandvold…
“It's a little of all the above. I mean, as I referenced earlier, Jay, you know, he took a really good, good person and a good professional from our organization. And Kimmer will be missed, I wish him well. You know, in his next endeavors, he has an itch towards coaching. And what's interesting is we were in the process of looking at expanding his role in our footprint here and in the skills and skating development side of things. So, this sort of prompted us to really expand it, to the point where we have a definitive need that has grown here from a standpoint of return to play and the conditioning side of things, not just because we have current injuries, but we had players that have gone through it. Johnny McLean is guy that I've known for an awfully long time. He's been in the same footprint. He's really excited about the opportunity to come in and work with our players at this level. Tom Ford and David Breen are two guys that have walked in the same circle and they're going to be able to probably tap in either backfill Johnny here or most importantly, tap in with our Providence guys on a really more regular basis, which Kimmer had been pulled away a little bit in that regard as well as communicate and break down video on the skill and skating side of things of all our prospects. So, there's a much wider berth that we wanted to kind of touch upon, with the addition of all three guys. And they are excited about joining the organization and hopefully make an impact in the growth and development of our young players.”
On cap space and potential movement…
“I hope we've done significant math to be able to put the pieces together. We have some challenges, as do several teams and how we do that through trade or be it through waivers that really all teams are going to have to face. We don't have an issue certainly through November. We don't have an issue because of LTI and the likelihood that will be an LTI with the injuries we have, the amount of injuries we have. But coming out of it is the math challenge. And yeah, we'll have to unwind a little bit. But we have some mechanisms to be able to do that. We know what the leverage will be and, you know, you just don't know what's going to happen between now and then anyways. So, we're prepared to go in a couple different directions to explore what we have to, but we have mechanisms in place to be able to accomplish the goal.”
On potential movement with the team…
“Yeah, that's one that I think all the vast majority of teams that are chasing what we are going to face that and have some challenges. Injuries aside and how you manage it as an organization, it's asset management to a large degree – as I referenced earlier you got waiver decisions. So, I think it's pretty well known around the league now and guys know that there could be a, you know, a tightening at some point in time, and the players are involved in that.”
On his confidence in this group getting through the first couple weeks without injured players…
“I mean, our forward group is deep and we're going to have a real competitive camp for some spots. You know, the back end — we're going to have to weather, as you referenced, and have guys that that are going to come in and get some opportunity. I feel good about our goaltending and situation that those guys should be much more comfortable in knowing that they have to, you know, sort of be a backbone there while we go through the early parts with a couple of key guys out in the back end. But, I think the depth of our forward group should really help us get through the time period without March in particular.”
