Last year, Peter Chiarelli was the odd man out after the Bruins collapsed late in the regular season and missed the playoffs for the first time since his first year as the team’s General Manager in 2006-07. That same season was the first time that Claude Julien missed the postseason after seven straight trips to the 16-team tournament. Make that two straight after the Bruins collapsed yet again after yesterday’s loss to the already eliminated Senators and the Flyers’ win over the Penguins.

Like Chiarelli, Julien is expected to be the odd man out. In reality though, the people above him, including President Cam Neely, are more responsible for the roster makeup and questionable decisions that led the Black and Gold to a path of mediocrity the past two seasons.

Although Julien bears some responsibility for some of his usage (or lack thereof) of younger talent like Colin Miller, Frank Vatrano and David Pastrnak and some head scratching decisions like not using Brad Marchand in the shootout against the Hurricanes in the second to last game of the season, management needs to be held more accountable.

It’s unlikely that the Jacobs family will make wholesale changes. In reality, that’s what the Bruins need.

For the better part of nine years behind the bench, Julien guided the franchise to heights that Boston’s loyal hockey supporters hadn’t seen since the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ of the 1970’s. Neely’s arrival in 2007-08 — the same year as Julien’s first season in Boston — gave the team a voice and an identity that was missing since his playing days in the 80’s and mid 90’s. Under Chiarelli, Sweeney worked his way up to assistant GM and oversaw a plethora of talent in Providence that made their way to Boston.

Eventually, the glow of early success wears off. And now here we are where there are more questions than answers in another off-season of uncertainty.

Bruins President Cam Neely bears a good chunk of responsibility for overseeing a roster that’s missed the playoffs for two straight years. (Photo by Peter Manderino, Bruins Daily)

As breakup day commences on Monday morning inside the Bruins locker room, a few of the current members of the Black and Gold will be cleaning their lockers for the final time. The question is, who? David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are the only worthy players that are considerably “untouchable.” From the underachievers like Jimmy Hayes and Brett Connolly to pending UFA Loui Eriksson to captain Zdeno Chara and other core members like David Krejci and Tuukka Rask, there are certainly roster decisions that need to be made.

As Neely and Sweeney likely examine other coaching options, they need to ask themselves, are there any other viable candidates other than Julien that could improve this team back to playoff contention? Or, if they figure that a complete rebuild is the only way to go, which coach would be best to help a young team develop in the next few seasons?

In his first year, Bruins GM Don Sweeney made numerous transactions that were questionable at best. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

As the Jacobs’ ponder about their finances and deal with another spring vacancy on Causeway Street, they need to ask: how can they stop the bleeding from the major tenant that occupies TD Garden? Assuming Neely and Sweeney return — in the latter’s case for only his second season — they would have to be on a short leash.

One way or another, the Bruins have to figure out which direction they want to go. The rebuild on the fly experiment failed them in 2015-16. There’s no way they can go through another season with no identity.

All of this proves that it is indeed time to shake things up with the Boston Bruins.