By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on Twitter / X @cookejournalism
Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs kept it real in an appearance on the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon on Tuesday. In an interview with Gresh and Fauria, Jacobs broke the airwaves for the first time following Boston’s offseason acquisitions—and he was very candid.
“We finally had some money to spend this year,” Jacobs admitted. “We’d been up against the cap for as long as I can remember, and we finally had some contracts clear and some money clear from the year prior because we were over. We were able to invest it in the club, and we came out with some more grit and a very good center. The proof will be in the pudding come October.”
Jacobs is right. After going all in at the trade deadline in 2023—bringing in Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway, and Dmitry Orlov—Don Sweeney emptied the cupboard in the assets department. So when the 2024 deadline rolled around, Pat Maroon was about the best target Boston’s general manager could swing. But Sweeney and the Bruins brass knew the real opportunity was this summer when the Bruins had over $21 million in available cap space. It was a luxury Sweeney wasn’t used to dealing with.
So he went big—literally. Sweeney grabbed Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Max Jones, and Riley Tufte, among others in free agency this summer. These moves checked multiple boxes, addressing a need for size and physicality while also taking care of the club’s top priority on the roster in the first-line center position.
“Looking back at our past playoff runs, we’ve got it taken to us a little bit in terms of the physicality department,” said Jacobs. “Hopefully, these additions will really help us when it counts in the springtime.
“I think we really improved our team. We added some grit, and we were in search of that number one center and we found that player. And we found a really strong and big defenseman in Zadorov.”
However, perhaps the most important item has yet to be checked from the summer-to-do list. Jeremey Swayman—the team’s anticipated netminder of the future—has yet to be signed to a long-term contract. Both sides have agreed to avoid arbitration, but an agreement has yet to be reached for the restricted free agent. Swayman, who posted a 25-10-8 record and .916 save percentage last season, was considered one of the NHL’s top goaltenders throughout the regular season. His dominant playoff run confirmed his pedigree.
“I try not to comment on player personnel contract negotiations,” said Jacobs. “We are still negotiating with Sway, but I hope that he’s ready to play come training camp. We have some things to work out, and I’m sure we’ll get there.”
Jacobs did note that there is no massive divide between both parties and that it was the only “unfinished business” regarding offseason priorities. While it is not time to panic just yet, it’s certainly an interesting situation to keep an eye on as the 2024-25 season approaches.
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