from Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald,

General manager Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely passionately want their team to play the fast, up-tempo, stretch-the-ice hockey we saw from the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

But wanting to play that way, and having the players to do so, are two different matters. If you ain’t got the legs and the quickness and the skill, brother, it’s not going to work.

The biggest impediment in the Bruins’ transition to the up-tempo style of play is the presence of four decidedly down-tempo defensemen in Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller.

There can be no fast-break attack unless there are blueliners making quick breakout passes and/or quickly skating the puck up themselves.

So here Sweeney is, little over 13 months since taking over the team, continuing his efforts to reinvent the Bruins. He faces a daunting challenge.

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