Boston Bruins Sweeney Opens Up On NHL’s Pause

Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney met with the media on Friday via teleconference. Sweeney touched on a number of topics that ranged from Bruins captain Zdeno Chara coming back next season to Kevan Miller’s injury status. He also touched on a potential return to action.

“I think logistically, the NHL and the players are going to work together here in being able to resume in some fashion,” Sweeney said on the call.

That said, fans and media should not expect the NHL to just jump right back into games. It’s unlikely they would just jump right into the playoffs either. Sweeney acknowledged that.

“I think everybody knows it’s going to take an extended training camp period of time to get back up to full speed,” he continued. “First and foremost, we have to be healthy. We have to have standards in place to uphold and ensure the well-being of the players and the people if they are allowed to attend games, and that they remain healthy. That has to be in the forefront of any decision-making and it will be. The Commissioner (Gary Bettman) has made that pretty clear.”

Labor peace has been a rarity in the NHL. Unfortunately, you can set your clock to when the league and the NHLPA will get into a scuffle. If they want to award the Stanley Cup this summer, they’ll need to avoid that. In fact, the only option is for the sides to work together.

“I do believe it’s going to take a partnership of the players and teams to be on the same page to find an equitable solution to resume,” Sweeney admitted. “You just can’t jump into games.”