from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,

When the Bruins begin their season Thursday in Newark against the Devils, they will look a lot like the team that finished No. 1 in the regular-season NHL standings last year. The defense has something to prove, but the forward group looks deeper, and as long as the aging core doesn’t fall into a crater, they could make another run at the Stanley Cup.

Or, they could be late for a rebuild.

These thoughts furrow the brows of team president Cam Neely and his cabinet: How long can the franchise keep leaning on the same star players? Is it time to trade some of the now for some of the future? Or is the core still Cup-worthy?

“We’ve got some guys that have played a lot of good hockey for us, a lot of years for us,” Neely said 10 days after the Lightning, who KO’d the Bruins in the second round, finished off the Stars and lifted the Cup. He was likely referring to the since-departed Zdeno Chara (who turns 44 in March), Patrice Bergeron (35), David Krejci (34), Tuukka Rask (33), and Brad Marchand (32).

“Their careers are somewhat winding down and we have to really take a hard look at where we are as an organization,” Neely said. “Can we compete for a Stanley Cup, and if we can, what do we have to do to our roster to do that?

“We have to be as honest — as brutally honest as possible — about where we think we’re going to be in the next couple years and we have to react accordingly to that.”

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