Anyone On Bruins Untouchable? Neely Tells Felger & Mazz, 'Gretzky Was Traded'
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins are working the phones, looking to help improve their 16-13-3 club.
Is anyone untouchable on the Bruins roster at the current moment? Cam Neely had an interesting comment on that during his weekly call into 98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger & Mazz on Thursday.
"The way I look at it is, there are always players you really like, no question. I was playing back in the day when Wayne Gretzky got traded, and no one thought he could be traded," said Neely. "I use the standard line, 'If he can be traded, why can't anybody else?'"
Earlier in the week, Elliotte Friedman of SportsNet in Canada was on sports radio in Calgary and said the Bruins are "really trying to do something" on the trade front. He added that they are very concerned about where they are at the moment.
"I don't like where we're at," Neely said Thursday. "You always want to have more comfort than we do. You watch the games every night and you watch the standings go up and down depending on how other teams play and how you play. I'm uncomfortable where we're at, and we should be uncomfortable where we're at.
Neely added that the current roster the Bruins have "can be better," and is hoping the return of David Krejci to Boston's top line will help.
While there are dreams of the Bruins going out and adding a star player to the mix, Neely said it's not that simple.
"Listen, in general terms when you're up against the cap, it's difficult to make trades. It's as much as trading players as it is trading contracts," he said. "I think Peter Chiarelli has gone on record to say he's actively looking. We know where we're at; we don't have the blinds covering the windows here. When you slip in the standings and are looking up at more teams than you are down at teams in the playoff picture, you know you're not where you want to be."
When asked if his concerns with the team are more short-term or long-term, Neely said it's a little bit of both.
"It's my job to look at both. We live in the moment here, so short-term we are committed to winning championships. We've had some good years recently, but this year we aren't living up to those standards. On the flip side, I have to be concerned about where we are next year and the following year, so you have to look at your roster, your prospects, where you draft picks are. Ultimately, sports are day-to-day and everyone looks at how you did today. We want to improve and we need to improve, but it's not one of those things where we're looking at it saying 'We're ready to sacrifice here.' I feel our current team, as it stands today, can get better. I also believe that if we have an opportunity to acquire someone who can help us, we have to look hard at doing that."
As for the 2016 Winter Classic, which the Bruins are hoping to host, Neely didn't have any update.
"I've shared with you guys and the league that we would love to host the Winter Classic. They're doing their due diligence, and I haven't been told that we will host it. It's something they know that if they haven't picked a city or venue, I would like us to be a strong consideration. I haven't been told one way or another what will happen with the 2016 Winter Classic."
As for Boston's preferred opponent, Neely was even more tight-lipped on that front than he was on trades.
"Yeah I do [have an opponent in mind], but I'm not going to say it."
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