Is the Band Back Together or Is It a Family Reunion?

With the signing of Brandon Carlo on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, the core group of the Boston Bruins is back together and things are looking good for the team that went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final this past June..

To say there was concern that both Charlie McAvoy and Carlo could be signed given the limited amount of cap space the Bruins had would be an understatement. Yet somehow the Bruins general manager, Don Sweeney, managed to work with both players’ agents to reach contracts that each player was happy with. Certainly Sweeney should be commended for the negotiations, but the team and especially the core leadership should also be acknowledged for what they contribute with valuable intangibles.

Back when Patrice Bergeron was negotiating his current contract, he was willing to get paid a little less to remain with the Bruins organization. He knew he could have gotten a bigger paycheck as an unrestricted free agent had he put himself on the open market, but he wanted to continue his career wearing a Spoked-B on his chest.

Recently defenseman Torey Krug, who is in the final year of his current contract, intimated that he might be willing to take a little less to remain in Boston, as was reported by Tommy McArdle of Sporting News.

“Would I take less to stay in Boston? It’s something that I’ve talked about with my family and my agent. It’s something I’m interested in. How much less—that’s a question that will be answered at a certain time. I think something that’s fair will be able to be worked out both ways. As long as they want me, I think something could be done, realistically. Everyone does it. How much they do it, is kind of their own opinion and [dependent] on their own circumstances.”

McAvoy took a bridge deal and talked about how happy he was to be remaining with the Bruins, whom he called a “family.”

Sure, the reference to a team as a family has a cliché feel to it, especially when you hear it from those who have been with a team for awhile. But there is definitely something special about the Bruins’ locker room that makes it seem much more than the trotting out of the standard clichés.

“It’s just a special room in the regard of everybody wanting to be here and staying here. It’s like a family here. For me I haven’t been with any other NHL teams, but from guys that have come over… For instance, Charlie Coyle last year, the first day that he was with us, he said that he noticed just something special within this group and how we all communicate with each other and are just so close. I recognize that, you know, I realize how blessed I am to be here with that kind of atmosphere, so you obviously don’t want to lose that,” Carlo said after his first practice on Tuesday.

Even players like Brendan Gaunce, who has only been with the Bruins since the start of training camp recognizes what a special team and locker room he is being exposed to. He is not a rookie. His past seven seasons have been with the Vancouver Canucks organization playing also with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets. During the 2018-19 season he played only three games with the Canucks, while playing 60 with the Comets.

“I think as a hockey player, that if a team goes far, it’s usually a pretty welcoming group. It obviously allows young guys to play their own game; to be themselves, and that’s how you have success. You just know with the success and all the young guys they integrated into their lineup, they obviously are a welcoming bunch and it shows on the ice,” Gaunce shared..

So how does this recognition of such a close team resonate with the veteran leadership? Is it something that they created?

“I think that’s great to hear. I think that’s kind of the culture we’ve tried to establish here. It goes beyond my years basically and we try to keep that going with me, [Zdeno Chara] and the rest of the core guys. So it’s nice to see that, you know, the younger guys are buying in. They’re going to obviously be the future of this franchise. It tells a lot. I think they’re right and I feel the same way. I feel like it is a family. That’s what you try to create. You try to create a bond beyond just being teammates and we’re all working towards the same goal,” said Bergeron.

 Certainly Sweeney deserves a lion share of the recognition in his ability to communicate with each player and his agent. But it is also possible that one of the bargaining chips he has to offer is the intangible bonus of that close knit team, or lets just use family, that the player would be giving up should the two sides not be able to reach an agreement.

Regardless of how it all came together, the family has been reunited and they are definitely all on the same page in their expectations for the coming season. Sweeney even made sure that head coach Bruce Cassidy would continue to work his magic behind the bench with a multi-year contract extension.