Down and Out: What is the Bruins’ biggest question mark this offseason?

It’s been another disappointing season for the Boston Bruins, which once again had a solid regular season but just couldn’t make any significant noise in the postseason, not even winning a round this year.

They also find themselves with a lot of issues up in the air going into the offseason. General manager Don Sweeney and head coach Bruce Cassidy’s status for next season aren’t fully clear, and captain and center Patrice Bergeron is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. While Bergeron has made it clear that he’ll only sign with the Bruins, it’s still unclear as to if he wants to keep playing at all.

Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna continued the Down and Out series, looking into the Boston Bruins’ offseason plans, and what the big question marks for the team are at the moment.

Mike McKenna: “Watching Bergeron’s body language at the end of the game, and when the series ended, I kind of had a hunch that that might have been it for him. I agree with Cassidy being real interesting here, you know another year left, but Neely’s comments saying, “He’s a fantastic coach, I like him as a coach,” that’s about as far as it went. I think Cassidy is back, but I don’t think he has much leash.

"My big question here is how do they fill the hole of Bergeron if he doesn’t play, and Marchand potentially missing the first couple months of the season when he is recovering from surgery. You’re missing a lot of production up front. I love the back end of the Bruins, but they are pretty heavy, especially in their spending on it, and there’s not a ton of cap room, Lindholm, McAvoy, Carlo, go down the list, it’s great on the backside. But I already thought they were thin at the center ice position, and if Bergeron steps away, now you’ve got Haula, Coyle, Nosek, that’s it, to go with Taylor Hall and you’ve got DeBrusk who still wants a trade.

"So, I’m not sure how to quite read the Bruins right now, other than they still work to do, especially with their forwards, and maybe even in the coaching position.”

Frank Seravalli: “I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a coaching change if Jake DeBrusk, who did sign that extension before the deadline in the hopes of getting moved, would end up considering staying in Boston. I don’t think it’s a city issue, I think it was a coach issue, and a communication factor and friction with the coach. So if there is a change, maybe DeBrusk is back.

"But to your point, the Bruins, when I look at them all season long, if that top line wasn’t going, you kept asking yourself 'Who will be? Who’s going to step up and provide that production,' and man, at times they just seemed to be really thin offensively. It feels like a year of transition for the Boston Bruins, and it’s certainly going to be an interesting summer nonetheless in Beantown as they try to regroup for a team that’s really consistently had a lot of success over the last decade. They had a little blip for a couple years, and then found a way to bounce back again and get to the Cup Final.

"One other thing to keep an eye on is David Krejci. Could he be back? I was talking of people at the World Championships, and they were just saying that David Krejci looks exactly like David Krejci. His production remained the same as he played overseas this last year, and got a chance to play at home. Will he consider coming back to play in the NHL? I’d imagine, just like Bergeron, it would only be for the Bruins if that were the case."

You can watch the full video here…