- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 428,920
- Reaction score
- 44
BOSTON — The next time David Pastrnak speaks to the media, Joe Sacco might not be Bruins coach anymore so the star winger made it a point to praise his work this year on Thursday at Bruins breakup day at Warrior Arena.
Sacco has been Boston’s interim coach since Jim Montgomery was fired in November. Bruins President Cam Neely said Sacco will be a candidate, but not the only one as the team conducts a full search.
Pastrnak thought Sacco handled a tough situation well.
“Honestly, super proud of Joe and the way he handled it and the way he coached us til the end. I think we came to the organization almost at the same time. So we’ve been together for a while. To see him come in, in a tough situation like that, he did a heck of a job coaching this group until the last game of the season. Like I said, I’m proud of him. It was a hard situation for him, and he did a heck of a job.”
Sacco doesn’t know what happens next — Sacco said he hasn’t gotten any clarity from the Bruins front office on whether he’ll return to the bench in 2025-26.
“No, I haven’t,” Sacco said. “I think that’ll be something that’ll be addressed as we move forward here. Right now we have our exit meetings (Thursday) and our players are taking care of their physicals. So that stuff will be addressed hopefully in the near future.”
Several players undecided on playing in World Championships — Jeremy Swayman said he’d like to play in the World Championships next month for Team USA, but hasn’t made contact yet.
David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm said they were undecided whether to play for Czechia and Sweden, respectively.
Pavel Zacha said he’s dealing with a knee injury that won’t require surgery, but could rule him out of the World Championships.
Charlie McAvoy will not play for Team USA. He hasn’t been medically cleared and wouldn’t feel right rushing after missing the final three months of Boston’s season.
Henri Jokiharju, who played for Finland at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, departed early and didn’t meet with the media, so his status is unknown.
Morgan Geekie, whose strong finish to the season could make him a candidate for Team Canada, said he hasn’t heard anything from them.
Russia is still banned from participating.
Nikita Zadorov is hoping Henri Jokiharju returns — Nikita Zadorov and Henri Jokiharju showed some solid chemistry as a pairing in the month since Jokiharju arrived from Buffalo. Zadorov is hoping his partner, who is a free agent, comes back.
“He’s a good player. We’ve been playing good lately,” he said. “Hope to see him back next year. He’s a good hockey player and good person as well.”
Coming soon: Leadership summit — After trading a number of leaders at the deadline — including captain Brad Marchand — Charlie McAvoy is eager to forge a culture with a new leadership core. That’ll include offseason conversations with Pastrnak and others that could begin “as early as next week.”
“That starts very quickly after this,” McAvoy said. “Getting together and establishing what we want. What our pillars are going to look like. What we want the culture to get back to and how we’re going to do it.
“What an opportunity, right? What an exciting challenge that’s going to be for us.”
Nikita Zadorov explains early penalty issues — Nikita Zadorov led the NHL this season with 145 penalty minutes, but has been better in the second half of the season.
He said the early flurry of whistles was a result of overeagerness both by him and the officials.
"As the start of the year, I had a stretch of like seven or eight games where the referees were coming off the summer and were just a little bit excited," he said. “I was too. I wanted to play Boston Bruins hockey and be as physical as I can and sometimes I was crossing the line. I take all the responsibility for sure.
“Every season is like that,” he added. “By the end of the year they stop calling the stuff they were calling at the start of the year.”
“I’m trying to be as disciplined as I can, but sometimes it’s my style. I’m 6-foot-6, 250. I’m a big guy,” he said. “Sometimes those penalties are what happen.”
Charlie McAvoy still wants Olympic gold — Despite suffering a season-ending AC joint injury and getting a staph infection from a pain-killing shot in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Charlie McAvoy has “absolutely not” soured on international hockey. He eagerly wants to represent Team USA in Milan next winter.
“That is my dream of dreams to play for an Olympics,” McAvoy said. “The guys were incredible. The staff was incredible. Every part of that 4 Nations was a dream come true. There’s a reason why I played in that game (against Canada), because I’m not missing this game I’ve dreamt of my whole life. It’s the aftermath of that, it cost me my year. There’s a lot of — I don’t want to say regret — just an acceptance of what happened. It sucks and I’m still coming to grips with it, but I wouldn’t trade it.”
Mason Lohrei to the negotiating table — Mason Lohrei will hit restricted free agency for the first time this summer. Though the defenseman wouldn’t reveal whether the Bruins have engaged his camp in extension talks yet, Lohrei was bullish on playing hockey in Boston.
“I’m not going to talk about (contract negotiations), but something’s going to happen this summer,” Lohrei said. “I really love playing here. I love the fans. It’s an A+ organization. I can’t wait for the future.”
Continue reading...
Sacco has been Boston’s interim coach since Jim Montgomery was fired in November. Bruins President Cam Neely said Sacco will be a candidate, but not the only one as the team conducts a full search.
Pastrnak thought Sacco handled a tough situation well.
“Honestly, super proud of Joe and the way he handled it and the way he coached us til the end. I think we came to the organization almost at the same time. So we’ve been together for a while. To see him come in, in a tough situation like that, he did a heck of a job coaching this group until the last game of the season. Like I said, I’m proud of him. It was a hard situation for him, and he did a heck of a job.”
Sacco doesn’t know what happens next — Sacco said he hasn’t gotten any clarity from the Bruins front office on whether he’ll return to the bench in 2025-26.
“No, I haven’t,” Sacco said. “I think that’ll be something that’ll be addressed as we move forward here. Right now we have our exit meetings (Thursday) and our players are taking care of their physicals. So that stuff will be addressed hopefully in the near future.”
Several players undecided on playing in World Championships — Jeremy Swayman said he’d like to play in the World Championships next month for Team USA, but hasn’t made contact yet.
David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm said they were undecided whether to play for Czechia and Sweden, respectively.
Pavel Zacha said he’s dealing with a knee injury that won’t require surgery, but could rule him out of the World Championships.
Charlie McAvoy will not play for Team USA. He hasn’t been medically cleared and wouldn’t feel right rushing after missing the final three months of Boston’s season.
Henri Jokiharju, who played for Finland at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, departed early and didn’t meet with the media, so his status is unknown.
Morgan Geekie, whose strong finish to the season could make him a candidate for Team Canada, said he hasn’t heard anything from them.
Russia is still banned from participating.
Nikita Zadorov is hoping Henri Jokiharju returns — Nikita Zadorov and Henri Jokiharju showed some solid chemistry as a pairing in the month since Jokiharju arrived from Buffalo. Zadorov is hoping his partner, who is a free agent, comes back.
“He’s a good player. We’ve been playing good lately,” he said. “Hope to see him back next year. He’s a good hockey player and good person as well.”
Coming soon: Leadership summit — After trading a number of leaders at the deadline — including captain Brad Marchand — Charlie McAvoy is eager to forge a culture with a new leadership core. That’ll include offseason conversations with Pastrnak and others that could begin “as early as next week.”
“That starts very quickly after this,” McAvoy said. “Getting together and establishing what we want. What our pillars are going to look like. What we want the culture to get back to and how we’re going to do it.
“What an opportunity, right? What an exciting challenge that’s going to be for us.”
Nikita Zadorov explains early penalty issues — Nikita Zadorov led the NHL this season with 145 penalty minutes, but has been better in the second half of the season.
He said the early flurry of whistles was a result of overeagerness both by him and the officials.
"As the start of the year, I had a stretch of like seven or eight games where the referees were coming off the summer and were just a little bit excited," he said. “I was too. I wanted to play Boston Bruins hockey and be as physical as I can and sometimes I was crossing the line. I take all the responsibility for sure.
“Every season is like that,” he added. “By the end of the year they stop calling the stuff they were calling at the start of the year.”
“I’m trying to be as disciplined as I can, but sometimes it’s my style. I’m 6-foot-6, 250. I’m a big guy,” he said. “Sometimes those penalties are what happen.”
Charlie McAvoy still wants Olympic gold — Despite suffering a season-ending AC joint injury and getting a staph infection from a pain-killing shot in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Charlie McAvoy has “absolutely not” soured on international hockey. He eagerly wants to represent Team USA in Milan next winter.
“That is my dream of dreams to play for an Olympics,” McAvoy said. “The guys were incredible. The staff was incredible. Every part of that 4 Nations was a dream come true. There’s a reason why I played in that game (against Canada), because I’m not missing this game I’ve dreamt of my whole life. It’s the aftermath of that, it cost me my year. There’s a lot of — I don’t want to say regret — just an acceptance of what happened. It sucks and I’m still coming to grips with it, but I wouldn’t trade it.”
Mason Lohrei to the negotiating table — Mason Lohrei will hit restricted free agency for the first time this summer. Though the defenseman wouldn’t reveal whether the Bruins have engaged his camp in extension talks yet, Lohrei was bullish on playing hockey in Boston.
“I’m not going to talk about (contract negotiations), but something’s going to happen this summer,” Lohrei said. “I really love playing here. I love the fans. It’s an A+ organization. I can’t wait for the future.”
More Bruins content
- Warring emotions persist for Bruins star long after NHL 4 Nations Face-off
- How Flyers-Sabres finale impacted Bruins’ final NHL draft position
- Bruins center reflects on disappointing season after signing big contract
- Three key Bruins offer health updates going into offseason
Continue reading...
