Neely On Felger & Mazz: 'Bruins Have A Good Shot Competing For The Cup Again'
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Bruins are ready to go, as their 2013-14 season kicks off Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lighting.
Bruins president Cam Neely joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger & Mazz on Thursday, and his expectations are high heading into a new campaign.
"I really like our team. We have a good shot at competing for the Stanley Cup again. There are a lot of great teams and you have to stay healthy, but the way we're made up and how the guys looked at camp, they all looked fantastic in camp, we have a good chance to compete again," said Neely. "For us, we feel like what we have now, today, should be enough to compete for a Cup."
The Bruins made some changes over the off-season, parting ways with Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin and brining in Jarome Iginla and Loui Eriksson to take their spots. Neely is confident that both players will fit in well in Boston, with Iginla taking over on the B's top line.
"I think he's going to fit in real nice with Lucic and Krejci," Neely said of Iginla. "He's similar to Horton in they're both north-south. He likes to shoot it more than Horton. He's not afraid to let it rip, especially the one-timer on the off-wing. He'll be used in a manner that suites his game and benefits us.
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"[Eriksson] is similar to Bergeron where he really takes pride in all areas of the ice, all three zones. He probably has a little more natural goal-scoring ability, but he's very responsible in his own end," said Neely. "He does a great job picking pucks off the wall, he skates well, and he'll fit in nicely with Marchand and Bergeron."
Neely said one place the Bruins could evolve this season is on the Power Play. We got a glimpse of Zdeno Chara playing down front with the man-advantage in the preseason, and Neely said it's something Claude Julien and his staff is working with.
"We'll see how that goes. It's one of those things where he can cover a lot of net in front, and there's a couple rules of thumb where he isn't going to have to go back and get the puck when its shot down the ice. On the other hand hell be battling in the corners on the offense end. We'll see where that goes, but we like to look of the power play with Krejci and Krug on the back and Z up front on that particular unit."
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One of the more disappointing parts of the call was finding out that Neely isn't certain he'll be a part of the new "Dumb and Dumber" sequel.
"I haven't really heard much. The schedule is tight, and I have a day job now," Neely joked. "I honestly have not heard anything. I know there has been speculation, but I haven't heard we're going to actually be able to pull it off."
