BOSTON (AP) – Three days before the NHL draft and nearly a month after hiring a general manager, the Boston Bruins remained mum Wednesday about the future of coach Mike Sullivan.

Peter Chiarelli, the incoming GM, “is going to make his final decision soon,” Bruins interim general manager Jeff Gorton said Wednesday. “It could be tomorrow or it could be the day after tomorrow” or later.

Chiarelli was named May 26 to succeed the fired Mike O’Connell as general manager. Under terms of his deal, he must continue in his current job as assistant general manager of the Ottawa Senators until July 15 or on the 15th day of the free agency period, now scheduled to begin July 1.

The Bruins finished in last place in the Northeast Division last season, Sullivan’s second as coach. He has been interviewed in Ottawa by Chiarelli and said he preferred a decision as soon as possible.

“My understanding is when Peter makes his decision, the first person he’ll tell is Mike,” Gorton said in a telephone call from Vancouver, Canada, where the NHL’s annual draft is scheduled for Saturday.

Bruins spokeswoman Heidi Holland said she had no information on when an announcement might be made.

In 2003-04, Sullivan’s first season, the Bruins lost in the first round of the playoffs. O’Connell chose not to retain many veterans during the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, a decision that helped lead to his firing March 25.

Sullivan, 37, played 11 seasons in the NHL, coached one season at Providence of the AHL and succeeded O’Connell to become the 26th head coach in Bruins history. O’Connell had taken over late in the 2002-03 season after head coach Robbie Ftorek was fired.

Chiarelli was hired to a four-year contract and held his first news conference in Boston five days later. Sullivan watched from the back of the room.

Awaiting his fate is an “awkward” situation, Sullivan said then. “I’m anxious to have that conversation with Peter. … I also understand that it’s a necessary part of the business, and the reality is when you don’t have success change is inevitable.”

AP-ES-06-21-06 2054EDT