Sweeney: Bruins responded to Cassidy but need to add talent, depth
The Boston Bruins are looking to build upon an encouraging portion of the season that saw them return to the playoffs for the first time in three years.
In an end-of-season press conference Thursday, general manager Don Sweeney began by saying the team was excited to officially name Bruce Cassidy its head coach after the interim tag was removed this week.
The GM added that he liked how the Bruins - who went 18-8-1 down the stretch under Cassidy - responded to the coaching switch from Claude Julien, saying they played with a more "aggressive bent," while scoring more without losing defensive structure, per Mike Loftus of The Patriot Ledger.
An organizational commitment to winning was also reiterated, and while Sweeney believes in the core group of high-end players, he added, via Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: "We need to be a deeper, more talented team."
Sweeney on what needs to improve: "The middle part of our lineup is an area we need to continue to get better at."
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 27, 2017
Whether that depth is added from within through the promotion of prospects or though trades and free agency is yet to be determined, with salary cap and expansion draft considerations always front of mind.
And since Boston just finished play a few days ago, Sweeney admitted no hard and fast decisions have been made in terms of pending free agents. It's safe to assume, though, that there'll be a measure of change in regards to the roster in an effort to build on the relative success achieved under Cassidy.