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Neely: No Concern With Chara's Knee, Julien Was Due Contract Extension

BOSTON (CBS) - Bruins president Cam Neely made his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger & Massarotti program Thursday afternoon.

Top defenseman and team captain Zdeno Chara drew some red flags recently when he was unwilling to rule out surgery or put a timetable on his knee injury, but Neely assured fans there's no reason to worry.

"You shouldn't be alarmed. Zdeno's been around a long time. This is an injury I know he's gonna want to take his time to get back from. Quite frankly I've never really liked the windows that doctors give coming back from injury," said Neely. "You always hear 2-4 weeks, 4-6, you know, 1-2 -- it just gives a little bit more leeway and everyone hopes for the earlier time frame. If you push up against the earlier time frame and the player is not ready then people get a little concerned and think it's worse than it really is."

Neely added team doctors "aren't anticipating" any kind of surgery right now, and Chara is simply going through the medical protocols and waiting for the swelling to go down.

As for the team on the ice, he's encouraged by their improved play as of late -- even if it's not always aesthetically pleasing.

"We're finding ways to win hockey games. We gotta keep our heads above water here. It may not be pretty all the time but we're finding ways to get points."

After talking about two embellishments calls made in a recent Montreal Canadiens game (shocker, I know), the conversation shifted gears to head coach Claude Julien.

The Bruins announced on Sunday they've extended the contract of Julien, and Cam revealed on Felger & Mazz that the eighth-year Bruins coach was in the last year of his deal.

"He was due this extension," Neely said of the timing. "We feel he's one of the top coaches in the league; in that upper echelon. It wasn't a difficult decision."

Mike Felger brought up the statistic that NHL head coaches have the shortest shelf lives and are the most transient of all the four major sports in America. Felger was curious to hear Cam's opinion about how Julien has been able to keep the room for so long.

"Claude has figured out that he has to adjust accordingly, not only to the game itself but to the personality of his players. There's no gray area with him, and as a player you don't want gray areas -- you want either black or white. Players want to know where they stand, and Claude does that. Communication is key."

Neely notes that Claude has improved greatly in his time here behind the bench, most notably, "figuring out ways to improve in the game offensively without sacrificing the great defensive structure he's brought to this organization." Neely adds the power play has also improved markedly.

Don't forget, this weekend is the 20th Annual Comics Come Home to benefit the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. For tickets and more information, click here.

Listen below for the full interview!

Hear every game of the 2014-15 Boston Bruins season on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers begins 30 minutes prior to every game!

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