The last team not to make the playoffs, the Bruins had more points than the last team in the West to make the playoffs – Minnesota – and could be a reason for overreactions by writers saying things like “conferences shouldn’t matter” and “the best 16 in ranking order should face each other”. Most of these writers are fans of the Minnesota Wild, who would rather draft where Boston is than have had their first round exit.

The Bruins have a defense in shatters. Their best years are behind them, and it’s time for a rebuild. Claude Julien’s defensive scheme doesn’t work when there’s not a talented defense, and while that’s not his fault, Neely/Sweeney’s wild ride will be a long one for Boston fans. At least they have the Red Sox.

1. Addressing the Defense

Again, this is the spot where the Bruins need the work, because it’s the spot where Julien is the best coach and they currently have nothing.

Zdeno Chara has gotten old. While he’s still a big bodied defenseman, he’s not the same giant he was before 2013.

Dennis Seidenberg has always been a better top 4 guy than a top 2 guy. He’s now being forced to be a top 2, and he’s grown old with Chara.

Torrey Krug is the same as Seidenberg – a better top 4 than top 2. He’s certainly not a top 2 in the playoffs, and yet with Chara and Seidenberg ancient, he would have to be. Krug is a puck moving guy, a offensive defenseman the likes of Trevor Daley, and Daley shows where Krug should play. He needs to be re-signed, but with Miller’s contract, it would be expensive.

Kevan Miller is not a 2.5 million dollar defenseman. He’s being paid because Neely/Sweeney are feeling the pressure, and they’re getting desperate.

Zach Trotman and Colin Miller are a great third pairing, but that’s what they are. They’re still young, and they should continue to grow as players, but the Bruins need legitimate defensemen and quickly. They only have two more years of Seidenberg and Chara, and perhaps less.

The Bruins will be a heavy buyer on the defense market this summer. A defenseman that doesn’t go to Boston will have left a significant offer from them on the table. Keith Yandle, Roman Polak, Jason Demers and Kris Russell must be salivating right now.

2. Offensive Extensions

The Bruins need to extend their stellar offensive players, because that’s the aspect where the Bruins exceeded this year. They were amazing, and had four 60 point players, including Loui Eriksson, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci.

Eriksson and Marchand are to become free agents within the next two years (Eriksson this year and Marchand the next) and the Bruins cannot afford to let this happen. Eriksson and Marchand are still playing great hockey, and while their cap space isn’t envious, they need to be able to find ways to get these guys back on board.

When your defense is struggling as much as Boston’s is, you need to have a great offense to counteract it. This year, the Bruins did.

3. Drafting Non-“Huh?”s 

When the Bruins had three mid-first round picks last year, they took Jakub Zboril, partially addressing the defensive need. And then they took Jake DeBrusk and Zachary Senyshyn, two picks projected to be lower first round picks, while leaving Matthew Barzal and Kyle Connor on the board.

Sweeney needs to stick to the more traditional draft picks this year, because when Barzal and Connor develop into young stellar forwards, the Bruins fanbase will be left even angrier.

When your choice is physicality or talent, you always go with talent.

4. Getting Good Returns

When Sweeney traded Lucic last year, he showed that he has the talent to be a good GM in the league, and brought in a good return. When he traded Martin Jones he did the same thing. And then throughout the year numerous moves that didn’t make sense may have been done with the input of Cam Neely, who isn’t as good a GM.

The Bruins have an excess of goaltenders. They currently have four that they could possibly roll with for a while, including Tuukka Rask, Jonas Gustavsson, Malcolm Subban, and Zane McIntyre.

If Sweeney is given uninterrupted room to deal one of these goaltenders, he should be able to bring another good return, especially if he trades one of the younger goaltenders in Subban or McIntyre. There are a lot of teams willing to trade for one of them, and if Sweeney finds a deal he likes, he may be able to give the title of “craziest GM” to Jim Benning in Vancouver.