The Boston Bruins have made it official, signing general manager Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract extension. The move comes just as his current contract was set to expire, and keeps him at the head of the front office for the foreseeable future.
Bruins’ CEO Charlie Jacobs released a statement:
We are proud to extend Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract as General Manager of the Boston Bruins. Under his management, the Boston Bruins have been one of the winningest franchises in the league and a perennial playoff contender year in and year out. While we recognize there is work to be done to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Boston, I’m confident that Don’s commitment to being best-in-class on and off the ice will help us climb that mountain once again.
Team president Cam Neely also expressed praise and confidence in his general manager, explaining that he believes Sweeney is committed to doing “whatever it takes” to give the Bruins the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
Since the end of the season, which saw the Bruins exit the first round at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, Sweeney has drawn plenty of criticism. The firing of well-liked head coach Bruce Cassidy just a few days after he was told he would be back, some eyebrow-raising comments from a source close to winger David Pastrnak, and the still unresolved issue of Patrice Bergeron’s future have made Sweeney the target of many fans’ ire.
Named general manager in 2015, Sweeney has taken the Bruins to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. The team has drafted and developed players like Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, Brandon Carlo, and Jake DeBrusk in that time as well, a huge chunk of the team’s current core. Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm, and others represent trades that Sweeney orchestrated as well.
It’s the other moves, including several missed draft picks and trades that have taken players like Ryan Lindgren out of the organization that draw so much criticism and have made Sweeney such a hot-button topic for Bruins fans, and what will likely make the reaction to this news rather negative.
The team did not detail how many years the new contract is for. Sweeney is in the process of conducting a search for the team’s next head coach.
It’s going to be a long 10yrs for the Bruins!!!
But just think if he survived 10 yrs with the bruins at the bottom (I’m assuming that’s your prediction?
Then after 10 top 10 picks, with 1-2 top 2 picks then you will think he’s as good as Salic is! Lol
What a mess!
With baby Charlie at the helm…forget about winning another CUp, Cam is useless…How this man can keep is job is a joke. The staff reports all give him a pass…FLuto, Haggs, Dupont are Bruins shills…
Anyone who thinks that KPD is a “shill” hasn’t read his stuff.
L
Why?
This train is headed like a bullet to the bottom of the league with Sweeney at the helm
He can be a great GM… he just needs to stop slightly overpaying all the time and backing himself in a corner with the drafting and poor development.
If he hires a coach/staff that can help these young guys produce that will alleviate the need to overpay for bottom 6 guys and depth defensemen.
All of the issues that Sweeney faces can be avoided if he can just delegate the drafting and development side of things a little bit better.
No more Moore, Backes, Nosek, Foligno, Reilly contracts that have either cost the bruins high end draft picks to shed or will likely be bought out of cost more picks. You can get similar production from ELC players and save cap space.
Lysell can learn in a bottom 6 role. Hopefully he put on some weight so he can remain healthy for the full season at the pro level. Studnicka can center the 3rd or 4th line. Lohrei can join the team after the NCAA season. Maybe Harrison moves over to the AHL this year. Maybe DeBrusk brings back a couple of decent draft picks or a young player.
He is terrible and Neeley is a loser. He is the laughing stock of the league….What a shit show
You are clueless…his terrible and completely incompetent just like Cam USELESS..lousy picks, lousy signings, the team is screwed for decades. Baby Charlie doesnt care about winning, the team could suck and the fans would still fill the building…this franchise is the joke of the NHL, you think players dont talk..who wants to come here…NO ONE…Beecher sucks
DeBrusk bringing back a couple of draft or a young player ? Do you not watch the same Bruins like the rest of us they’d be lucky to get a handshake for that baby
As for the rest you could say that about every GM in every sport Sweeney should’ve been fired after the damn Backes signing this organization is screwed for “multi-yrs” now
How many chances does this guy get..a TOTAL FAILURE
They can get something for Debrusk, if you add Carlo to the package. Can’t wait to see what depth forward or 3 million a year defender they get.
Poundsy-Live the nickname, lots of head injuries?
Okay, maybe you need to get your dosage increased, Hman3. I’m no fan of Bruins management, but your shrill wailing against a team that in the last dozen years has won one Cup, gotten to two other Cup finals, won the President’s Trophy, won their division four times, finished second three other times, and have made the playoffs thirteen of the last fifteen years? It’s making you sound like an idiot. How about you tone down the hysteria some, ‘kay?
Team isn’t a joke, management on the other hand……
Nha Trang, I do agree with you with the overall success of the team BUT the way they do things gives me an ice cream headache. It’s easy for us fans to have wishlists and make up trades but it’s not that easy. However whenever they get an idea they go all in, we like a puck moving dman when Krug is here so they draft Gryz, sign Moore and trade and resign Reilly, sign Beleskey and then Backes same player. Need some depth last year so they literally signed all depth players and forgot about a second line center, well we’ll wait to see you what Krejci does, why? Twice in the first round they drafted Frederick and Beecher and said we see them as depth pieces.Huh?What? How about draft talent and if they become depth pieces so be it.
It would be nice to see them shake it up a little.
I cut the man some slack on 2015 being his first year as GM. I don’t cut him slack from signing Moore and Backes and having to move high draft picks to get them off the team. I don’t cut him slack from paying Foligno $3.8 or overpaying Reilly and Forbort on the backend. Gutsy move to fire Butch, but maybe it works out and they start getting production from ELC players.
To his credit, he did bring in Lindholm (although an overpay), resigned him (to a pretty fair value contract), and last year’s draft class looks pretty good after actually picking the best-available player for once.
I imagine they try to trade back into the 1st round this year with the Coyotes maybe for pick #27 by offering up maybe DeBrusk and a 3rd rounder.
Have you seen Beecher play or do you just look at stats? The kid has size and speed. He unfortunately got hit with injuries/COVID in college and then moved down the depth chart because he was playing on a stacked Michigan team that had 4 players drafted in the top 5 last year… he’s probably two healthy years away from making an actual impact now but crap happens.
The Bs are certainly at an important crossroad right now but I have faith that if Sweeney learns from his mistakes then they will be okay moving forward.
Also will be tough to do since they don’t have a 1st this year and their next two 2nds because of the Lindholm trade….. and then didn’t get another top 6 forward at the deadline with the money saved by moving Moore’s contract after adding in another 2nd rounder to the deal…. But hey, we’re all learning here.
Here’s to just hoping we’re not screwed after this off-season by signing 32 year old Kadri to a 7 year $8 mil contract and then trading Pasta.
Here’s to hoping we get more Hall for a 2nd and Bjork deals or Haula signings on the cheap. And for the love of God, please just draft best-available.
I haven’t seen enough of Beecher, my only issue is drafting a player in the first round and saying we see him as a depth bottom 6 player. It’s ok to become that player, most players don’t make it to the NHL but atleast say we see said player as best player available.
Wasn’t to thrilled on giving up the second for Moores contract and not going after a forward, seemed kind of wasteful.
They need to shed some salary and I’d like to see them trade some players for picks and then trade picks to some cash strapped teams like Vegas for Hague and or Roy, Minnesota for Middleton, get a little younger and free up a little cash for maybe one move like Palat from Tampa to play with Coyle and Smith or RW Nichuskin from Colorado to either play with Bergeron or Haula and Hall. Knowing them they’ll try to bring Rask back again.
F#@K!!!
A joke of a team…Cam is AWFUL
Team isn’t a joke, management on the other hand……
Are you kidding!!!!!!!
He will go down as a disaster as was the over rated HArry Sinden, who stayed for decades..Remember Harry NEVER won the Cup as GM, Milt Schmidt put those teams together. Bobby Orr made Sinden’s career….
Chuckling out loud.
This dude’s got pictures.
The worst possible scenario especially if there going to rebuild in a year or so!!! You can’t have Sweeney and Company make the picks he sucks doing that!!!!
That’s hilarious. I mean the guy who said that Sweeney could be a great GM if he would only stop over paying FA’s and would draft better. Duh. Those are pretty much the job requirements in the first year of the GM 101 training class. ROTFLMAO!!!
Some headlines just tell you that the screamers and tantrum tossers will be in doing their thing. This is one of those headlines and the locals did not disappoint. You goofs are going to abuse the exclamation point until it is extinct.
Seabass is clueless.
Congratulations Donny, you’ve earned it! Only the Bruins know how special you really are.
I’m proud too Charlie. Like your father, you know what’s best for the team an you’ve always had the interest of the fans at heart.
Now that the extension is a done deal, I can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief. Now the flood gates can open to let in the scores of HC candidates that will flock to work under a dedicated GM that does whatever it takes.
I’m saying guys have a little faith. I’m definitely feeling pessimistic myself over here based on the track record but it’s a new off-season.
I already don’t love how long they’re taking to sign a new head coach nor did I like the Butch firing and have to try to win with a new head coach in what’s like Bergy’s last year or two. I already don’t love that they haven’t really prepped their cap situation before the cup ended. There’s still some time before now and the draft to prep but now it might be getting a bit rushed.
I don’t love how they didn’t get a top-6 winger at the deadline last year and basically just attached another 2nd round pick for Lindholm trade for nothing as a result.
I don’t love Don Sweeney. But my opinion can change and just because he’s signed for multiple years doesn’t mean he’s gonna see the end of the contract. This off-season will have a big part in that.
So again, I hope he’s learned from his mistakes and I hope he can make some good-fair value deals that will help the club compete for the next few years.