Boston’s general manager sent a message to his team before of training camp for the 2024-25 season.
The Boston Bruins will officially open training camp for the 2024-25 season on Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena. Jim Montgomery, the third-year head coach, will have some new faces on his roster as well as some major departures.
As the offseason comes to a close, general manager Don Sweeney has added a top-line center in Elias Lindholm, a physical defenseman in Nikita Zadarov, and beef and toughness to the bottom six. Sweeney delivered a message to Montgomery on how he would like the training camp to be run.
Bruins Don Sweeney sends message about training camp to his players
Last season, as the Stanley Cup Playoffs progressed, it became evident that the difference between the Bruins and the Florida Panthers was the Panthers’ speed, as well as their plenty of beef and a physical team. Sweeney handled the latter during free agency, and Montogmery appears to address the speed over the next few weeks.
“Early on, he (Montgomery) will want training camp to be at a certain pace,” Sweeney said. “If the bigger guys can’t keep up, they won’t play.”
Looking back to last spring, if the Toronto Maple Leafs had a bit more pace than they did against the Bruins, they would have been able to get the monkey off their back and remove their Atlantic Division rivals instead of losing on a David Pastrnak Game 7 overtime game-winning goal. Instead, they failed to overcome a 3-1 series deficit.
The Bruins will benefit greatly from adding speed and strength to their lineup in 2024-25. If there is one lesson from the final four teams remaining in the Conference Finals, it is the speed that all four teams possessed. If the Bruins are to compete with the NHL’s bigger and faster teams, they must equal them, and Sweeney and Montgomery appear to be sending that message early and often at training camp.