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With the NHL Draft this week and the beginning of free agency just a few days away, Bruins GM Don Sweeney held a virtual media availability this morning.
As you may have guessed, the hot topics were Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, and Zdeno Chara.
While some outlets have speculated that Sweeney is shopping Rask, Sweeney appeared to say the opposite.
"Our staff has communicated with Tuukka, and as I said before, he remains a big part of our roster planning going forward," he said. "We feel very, very comfortable with where our goaltending is at."
Sweeney went on the infer that a good goalie tandem may well be a necessity this season, given the fact that the schedule will almost certainly be compressed as the league tries to jam in 82 games.
Of course, the skeptics will say that this is the exactly what Sweeney has to say, that he can't just come out and say "yes, we're shopping him."
This is true, but there are also ways to dance around it to be a bit more vague. "Very, very comfortable" is pretty definitive, but who knows? Things change.
When asked about contract negotiations with pending UFA Torey Krug, Sweeney was about as definitive as one can be:
"We haven’t had any progress," he said.
Sweeney added that Brendan Gaunce and Brett Ritchie won't be receiving qualifying offers, and that the team informed Joakim Nordstrom that it likely wasn't going to re-sign him.
On Brett Ritchie, it's another case of a flamed-out attempt at beefing up the roster.
Nordstrom had some value, but the Bruins will likely be able to replace him from within.
Finally, there's nothing concrete on the Zdeno Chara front.
Sweeney mentioned that he's met with Chara and continues to have conversations with him.
He added that the team has "conveyed where we are with that and we’re going to continue to have communication" with Chara and his agent.
All in all, no real bombshells from Sweeney this morning.
It should be an interesting next week or so, that's for sure.