Bruins GM Don Sweeney echoed Torey Krug’s sentiments that he hoped the defenseman has not played his last game as a member of the Boston Bruins.

That seemed like a difficult promise to make back when it was business as usual in the NHL a month ago. Making any kind of promise in today’s coronavirus-shutdown environment is damn near impossible.

On a video conference Friday, Sweeney said that he and his staff have been holding internal discussions and running scenarios for different salary cap situations. While he’s been able to sign some relatively minor deals for undrafted college free agents – and added that the club could be offering some AHL contracts in the near future – Sweeney said he’s been in contact with the agents of his pending unrestricted free agents and RFAs and has come to mutual decision that it’s best to wait until the financial landscape is clearer.

“I dearly hope Torey hasn’t played his last game (with the Bruins), this year or going forward. He’s been a big part of any success we’ve had as an organization. He’s a special player, both on and off the ice. He means a lot in the locker room and I think everybody could acknowledge his attributes on the ice and his importance to our team,” said Sweeney.

“In a cap world, we try to fit the pieces together. We have had very, very good discussions with Torey’s group, but we just haven’t found a landing spot and that’s understandable given the circumstances of where the cap is… As I’ve said, every discussion and every contract has its own timeline and we’re hopeful we’ll find a resolution with Torey and (agent) Lewis (Gross) but at this point in time we haven’t been able to do so. But it’s been very amicable. We’ve made our feelings perfectly clear that we respect what Torey has done and what he’s capable of doing for us as a member of the Boston Bruins and we hope that continues.”

Sweeney touched on a number of subjects:

• On 43-year-old Zdeno Chara, also a UFA-to-be: “Zdeno himself has reported that he would like to continue to play. The really unique relationship that we have as an organization with Zdeno – and this started a bunch of years ago but in the last three or four in particular – he has exercised the ability to show patience and allow us to plan accordingly and then adjust in his own contractual situations. You saw him do two consecutive one-year deals, which was important for us in planning. Again, that’s an extension of the relationship that he and (agent) Matt Keator have afforded us with the impact and legacy he has with the organization.”

• Sweeney was “hopeful” that some resumption of play for the 2019-20 season could happen at some point, adding that any decision in that regard would lay in the hands of the governmental and health organizations in both the U.S. and Canada. But if the league can start up again, safety for the players, who have now gone a full month without skating and could go at least another month, is at the top of the concern list.

“I think logistically, the NHL and the players are going to work together here in being able to resume in some fashion,” said Sweeney. “I think everybody knows it’s going to take an extended training camp period of time to get back up to full speed. 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. But 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… You just can’t jump into games.”

• The NHL Draft show that was to be held in Montreal in late June has been postponed, but at some point the league will hold its annual meat market, whether it’s in person or by video conference. That work continues.

“We’ve had a lot of video work to do, there have been conference calls, our amateur group is meeting regularly, going over lists and names and going over character checks,” said Sweeney. “Obviously, the combine won’t be taking place, so you have to do a lot of things through FaceTime and Zoom… It’s not business as usual. We all know that. Life is not normal for any of us. But we’re trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy as we go about our job.”

• If the NHL is able to resume play, some teams will get back some injured players who had been feared lost for the season. But it doesn’t sound like Kevan Miller will be one of them. The defenseman has been rehabbing all season from a twice-broken kneecap he suffered last season and Sweeney doesn’t think it would be an ideal situation for Miller to make a return.

“Kevan’s just had some setbacks to where I don’t believe at this time it would be in his best interest to try and ramp up in a short span with the hopes of playing this year,” said Sweeney. “Our intentions for Kevan are that he’s 100 percent healthy so that he can resume when we start the next season. I know Kevan’s a UFA, so we’ll entertain the opportunity to bring Kevan back and he’ll also entertain whether he wants to come back.”

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