The Boston Bruins' playoff hopes faded with an eighth-straight loss on Saturday, and team president Cam Neely said changes could be coming quickly.
The Bruins, currently under interim head coach Joe Sacco, are headed toward their first postseason miss since 2016 and already made huge moves at the trade deadline when they sent longtime franchise legend Brad Marchand to Boston's rival, the Florida Panthers.
Neely addressed the situation during an interview with the Boston Globe before Wednesday’s game, confirming that Sacco’s job status remains open heading into the offseason.
“Sacco will be in the mix,” Neely said, referring to upcoming discussions with general manager Don Sweeney about the coaching position and who will be at the helm starting next season.
Neely praised the work of the current staff, given the challenges they’ve faced since taking over.
“I mentioned to the whole coaching staff recently that Don and I certainly appreciate the job that they’re doing,” Neely said. "It hasn’t been easy for them."
The Bruins fired Jim Montgomery in November and later dealt captain Marchand at the deadline. Since then, the team has entered a freefall, falling out of contention and losing 6–2 to Anaheim on Wednesday and 2–1 to Detroit on Saturday.
“We’re usually playing meaningful games at this time of the year and getting ready for playoffs… not the easiest situation for Joe to come in," Neely said. "But he handled it very well.”
Finally, Neely said the organization is not planning a full rebuild during the offseason but confirmed roster changes are likely.
“I don’t think we need to really strip this down,” Neely said. “We moved some significant pieces, obviously, at the deadline.
”Hopefully, we can replace some of those pieces and get us back to where we want to be.”
The Bruins will host the Eastern Conference-best Washington Capitals (47-17-9, 103 points) on Tuesday, entering that game with a 30-35-9 record and 69 points while sitting eighth in the wild-card race, eight points outside of the postseason picture.
According to PuckPedia, Boston is projected to have $28.8 million in cap space when free agency opens on July 1.
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