Camp opens on 1/3, games on 1/13. Neely talked today about the status of the team:
- Very delicate handling of the Chara question. It's a matter of role and what Chara is comfortable with. Says they are have some kids they are excited about at LHD that they do want to see play. He didn't name names, but Zboril is in that group. My read is they signaled to Chara that if he is back it would be in a much more reduced role, including not playing every night.
- That said, Neely was also asked about the trade market and UFA's and said they are exploring the trade market "a little bit" for defensive help.
- On the injury front, Marchand is back skating. Pastrnak is not, but Pasta is already in Boston so we won't have any quarantine shenanigans this time around. IIRC from the original release announcing the injuries, Marchand's timeline put him back around mid-January and Pastrnak was mid-February. There are no other injuries to report at this time.
- Not aware of any opt outs yet. 12/27 is the deadline for any Bruin player to do so. Kampfer opted out for the playoffs so I guess keep an eye on him. He seems like an ideal taxi squad candidate.
- Expects there to be a lot of lineup turnover this year with guys going in and out due to COVID. Neely didn't say this, but the taxi squad could actually be beneficial from a cap stand point. It could let the team carry an official roster at the minimum of 20 players on certain days to bank cap space. The 4-6 taxi squad guys still get to practice with the team and you can paper them up and down as needed. For example, if they want Vaakanainen and Studnicka on the team they could roster them on game days, then send them down to the taxi squad on days off and bank their cap space. The players would still get to practice with the team while "down."
- On the business side, they won't play outdoor games. It wasn't feasible without fans. They have plans in place for getting fans back into the Garden but obviously when that happens is out of their control.
- Very delicate handling of the Chara question. It's a matter of role and what Chara is comfortable with. Says they are have some kids they are excited about at LHD that they do want to see play. He didn't name names, but Zboril is in that group. My read is they signaled to Chara that if he is back it would be in a much more reduced role, including not playing every night.
- That said, Neely was also asked about the trade market and UFA's and said they are exploring the trade market "a little bit" for defensive help.
- On the injury front, Marchand is back skating. Pastrnak is not, but Pasta is already in Boston so we won't have any quarantine shenanigans this time around. IIRC from the original release announcing the injuries, Marchand's timeline put him back around mid-January and Pastrnak was mid-February. There are no other injuries to report at this time.
- Not aware of any opt outs yet. 12/27 is the deadline for any Bruin player to do so. Kampfer opted out for the playoffs so I guess keep an eye on him. He seems like an ideal taxi squad candidate.
- Expects there to be a lot of lineup turnover this year with guys going in and out due to COVID. Neely didn't say this, but the taxi squad could actually be beneficial from a cap stand point. It could let the team carry an official roster at the minimum of 20 players on certain days to bank cap space. The 4-6 taxi squad guys still get to practice with the team and you can paper them up and down as needed. For example, if they want Vaakanainen and Studnicka on the team they could roster them on game days, then send them down to the taxi squad on days off and bank their cap space. The players would still get to practice with the team while "down."
- On the business side, they won't play outdoor games. It wasn't feasible without fans. They have plans in place for getting fans back into the Garden but obviously when that happens is out of their control.
Last edited: