Cam Neely was still playing for the Bruins when he decided he wanted to help cancer patients after he lost both his parents, Mike and Marlene, to the disease.

On Monday, after $33 million raised through the Cam Neely Foundation, the B’s team president and his large group of friends and supporters of his cause celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Cam Neely Invitational golf tournament at Charles River Country Club.

After joking that it’s just a sign that he’s getting old, Neely admitted that he never imagined his charity would last as long and grow to the level that it has.

“Not at all. I thought we’d raise a few dollars, have some fun and help cancer patients and families,” said Neely. “But each year, it just keeps growing and getting better and people want to come back, which is a great sign. Unfortunately, everyone’s been touched by cancer in some way shape or form, so everybody in this room has stories and memories of loved ones that are dealing with cancer or have passed from cancer. We’re just blessed to get this support.”

The Neely Foundation has a two-pronged focus. One is to support the Neely Cancer Fund, which supports cancer treatment and research efforts. The other is the Neely House, a home-away-from-home inside Tufts Medical Center which provides a convenient, comfortable place for cancer patients and their families to stay during treatments.

“Now our kids are 25 and 24 and to have them growing up and understanding what it means to give back is an important thing for us as a family,” said Neely. “They never met their grandparents so it’s a way to keep their memory alive, which is really nice for us.”

Several current and former Bruins’ players, including Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Swayman, Patrice Bergeron, Jay Miller, Tuukka Rask and Bob Sweeney, golfed in the event.

Sweeney, who is president of the Boston Bruins’ Foundation, knows how difficult it is keep an event going for 30 years.

“It’s hard. And the most amazing thing is that I see the same people here year after year,” said Sweeney. “It’s refreshing to see everybody here year in and year out and giving to a charity like Cam’s.”

It was Carlo’s first time golfing in the tournament.

“It’s pretty special, for sure. You understand everything he has done for this community. I’ve been to the Neely House a couple of years ago and this tournament speaks volumes. It’s always great to come out to these events. I think it’s important to recognize what it’s for first and foremost but we’ll have some fun today, for sure,” said Carlo.

“I think Cam does a great job setting the example with a lot of the community events that he’s partaken in over the years and ingraining himself in this community. It’s something that I’d like to do, too. I’m here this summer and I’d like to get out in the community a little bit more and follow the example. He’s done a great job with that.”…

Tipping the cap

With the salary cap now set at $88 million, the B’s have just over $21.2 million on salary cap space to go free agent shopping on July 1, according to capfriendly.com. That’s a number that could grow if the club could find a landing spot for goalie Linus Ullmark and his $5 million salary.

But the salary cap is going up for every team and, as always, there will be competition on the market for the likes of scoring help like Jake Guentzel, Sam Reinhart and Elias Lindholm, to name a few players that will most likely be available.

“I certainly am (excited), but also with some trepidation,” said Neely. “You could have the money but you might not be able to buy what you want. That’s the thing that you always wrestle with. You have your targets, hopefully you can land them. If you don’t, you’ve got plan B.”

Which is?

“Plan B is you’re still going to get some good players,” said Neely. “We’re doing a lot of research Our pro scouts have done a lot of work so far, who’s available obviously and how they may fit with our club.”

And the team’s pro scouting department has had some wins of late. It was able to plug some holes with very little money and kept the team competitive.

“They’ve done a fantastic job,” said Neely. “You take a look at last offseason and then what we did this past season. A lot of bargain basement (shopping), but we brought in some really good guys, great character and they filled some roles very well for us.”

Just how far away this current team is from being back among the elites remains to be seen. While the New York Rangers took the Florida Panthers to six games like the Bruins did, the B’s arguably gave the Panthers a tougher series than the highly-touted Blueshirts.

“Any time you lose, you certainly evaluate your team and say where you have to get better, especially if you lose to a team that continues to advance,” said Neely. “You look at that team and how they’re constructed compared to how your team is constructed. Everybody’s a little different, but there’s certainly some copycatting going on in our league. But for me, every year it’s about how do we get better regardless of who lost to and what the circumstances were. You always want to get better.”…

Perhaps the biggest in-house ticket will be an extension for Swayman, who showed in the playoffs that he’s ready to be a No. 1 goalie.

“I know that (GM Don Sweeney) has been talking to Sway’s agent so things are hopefully progressing there,” said Neely. “Obviously we’d like to get him done so we’ll see where that ends up.”