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Bruins Camp Journal Day 1: Backes Still Here And The Walking Wounded Are Moving On

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Welcome to the Boston Hockey Now Camp Journal!

Apologies for being a bit late posting but a busy day as Boston Bruins Training Camp got underway. From David Backes still being a Bruin to erasing the memory of one of the toughest losses in team history to still recovering from that loss both and mentally and physically, the Bruins are in for an interesting camp and preseason. Here’s a quick look at Day 1 where the Bruins did off-ice testing and workouts:

Backes Still A Bruin – Bruins veteran forward David Backes confirmed Thursday that he has not been asked by team management to waive the modified no-trade clause that gives him the right to submit a list of just eight teams he’ll allow a trade to.

“I was not,” Backes replied when asked if the Bruins asked him to waive it and approve a trade to a team not on the list. “I mean, you know my contract as well as I do. There’s an eight-team trade list that’s been submitted and those decisions are out of my control. I’m gonna be here and I love being here and I love the guys here, and it’s a great group.”

Time To Put Game 7 In The Rearview Mirror – Like it or not, the Bruins Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final will be a topic of conversation until they’re eliminated from the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. While the players and organization know that, that doesn’t mean they won’t do what they have to do to block it out and put the heartbreaking loss in the rearview mirror.

“We talked about [Game 7] today. It’s time to turn the page. It’s time to move on,” Cassidy said Thursday. “I hope they feel the same way. You look at our veteran group. We’ve got Stanley Cup champs, we’ve got gold medalists and guys that have been captains in the NHL. [We have] future Hall of Famers.

We have very good hockey players and we know what’s at stake when the puck drops. There were a lot of good things last year, but we didn’t reach our ultimate goal. So we’re no different than St. Louis or Ottawa if you take both ends of the spectrum. It’s a new year and every team is starting from scratch and we’re no different. We’ve got a lot of good returning players with some new guys added to the mix, and some young guys that will hopefully push [for jobs]. That’s what we’re focused on to get into the same position as last year.”

Some Notable Absences To Start Camp – Not only are the Bruins still feeling the emotional and mental effects of the Cup Final loss to the Blues but they’re also still healing physically. There could be as many as five players that will be on the NHL roster this season not skating as the on-ice session of training camp begins Friday. Cassidy already ruled out defensemen Kevan Miller (fractured kneecap) and John Moore (shoulder surgery), and jokingly did the same with Carlo and McAvoy. He also mentioned forward Joakim Nordstrom (fractured foot), would miss the team skate, but skate before, and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and forward Patrice Bergeron (both groin), could sit out as well.

“John Moore and Kevan Miller will not hit the ice. Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy obviously if they’re not here they won’t hit the ice,” said Cassidy smiling. “Nordstrom I don’t believe will skate with the team [on Friday]. He’ll go before. There may be a couple of decisions on guys in the morning as to whether they’ll skate. Bergeron is getting back up to speed and I think Grzelcyk was skating on his own. We’ll see how they’re doing tomorrow. We know what they’ve got, obviously, so we’re not concerned about pushing them if they’re not ready for a heavier workload.”

 

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