Management Don Sweeney extended 2 years

[Over the volcano]

I've been saying the same thing for almost 20 years now. In his 2-3 months as GM, Gorton set this team up to be successful for 15 years. He also eventually turned The Rangers into a cup contender after years of being awful or mediocre and now he's turned The Habs around too with their future looking very bright.

Joking?
They missed the playoffs for like 4 straight seasons before he was finally canned.

They had 4 top 10 overall picks and spent them on
Lafreniere 1st overall
Kakko 2nd overall
Kravtsov
Lias Andersson

 

[Ozzy Osbourne]

Chiarelli was by far the better GM than Sweeney. It's not even debatable.

 

[TP70BruinsCup]

A 2 year contact?

With a new coach coming who is going to want a 3 year deal minimum…?

I think in 2 years Neely leaves and Don is the President. That’s how this eventually shakes out

 

[LJReborn]

A 2 year contact?

With a new coach coming who is going to want a 3 year deal minimum…?

I think in 2 years Neely leaves and Don is the President. That’s how this eventually shakes out

Shaping up to be Sacco, Feels like the big search for GM when Don was the guy the whole way. I doubt any veteran guys will coach here right now and some first timers might be leery. We will see.

 

[Ozzy Osbourne]

I couldn’t stand the guy when he was overrated as a player riding on Ray Bourques coattails. He was soft and hid when things got rough.
Now I get to look at his craggy, smug face for two more years beyond this one. The fact that 375 lb Cam Neely defends this idiot the way he does makes it even more sickening. Of course the legions of soft hockey fans are all delighted. Enjoy!

 

[GordonHowe]

more like he started on strike 2 and was able to get to home plat but the catcher tagged him just as he was sliding in (2019)

just so everyone can calm the f*** down;


Sweeney should have gotten more for Hamilton
He should have done a better job assessing guys in 2015 with his team
He shouldn't have signed Belesky
He shouldn't have signed Reilly or JML
He gave up too much for Nash
He should have drafted Thomas instead of Vaak knowing he needed a center to eventually replace Krejci/Bergeron
He shouldn't have hired Montgomery and instead went for a younger guy with less baggage and been able to assess where their heart and head was at, build for long term (and on that note, rumor has it Neely wanted Cassidy gone and Sweeney wanted to keep him, how'd that work out for us in the end?)
He swung too hard for the fences in 2023 and should have just grabbed one of orlov or bertuzzi and then one bruiser that forechecked like a dog looking for raw meat
He didn't retool enough between 2023 to 24
He didn't assess well enough on Monty heading into 24-25


every GM makes mistakes, Sweeney's time is nigh. 2 years is fine, it gives coaches confidence to come here which is bigger picture, if he can't get us back in the playoffs in that span with a clear vision then you let him go


but who's coming in to replace him? that's always the question that people either dodge or lazily post some household name that they read elsewhere

I have two favorites to replace the Stockholm Twins, but they have been shot down in this space.

 

[Gee Wally]

A 2 year contact?

With a new coach coming who is going to want a 3 year deal minimum…?

I think in 2 years Neely leaves and Don is the President. That’s how this eventually shakes out

The extension brings it to three years.

 

[Samsonov]

A 2 year contact?

With a new coach coming who is going to want a 3 year deal minimum…?

I think in 2 years Neely leaves and Don is the President. That’s how this eventually shakes out

Neely leaves. Don is president and Donskov moves up from Coach to GM

 

[GordonHowe]

He inherited an elite core and tweaked while always, always leaving gaps aside from the one historic season where in hindsight perhaps he tweaked too much and the team imploded despite the high asset costs he paid.

Again with hindsight it is clear Chiarelli was the more impactful GM and Sweeney is vastly overrated.

I don't blame him for going all in in 2023-2024. Full credit, even if he overpaid in pushing all his chips to the center of the table.

 

[GordonHowe]

More like doubles... and now we depend upon his atrocious drafting and his mindset of being the smartest in the room to carry the Bruins the next several seasons.

This team desperately needs change and it is not coming.

I don't expect him to last through the 2-year extension. Once they have a new coach installed, and if he's any good and not a company man, which they prefer, he's on the clock. He's already on the clock.

As it should be. I wish I could say the same about Neely.

 

[GordonHowe]

The extension brings it to three years.

(Gags)

 

[DaStinger]

 

[GordonHowe]

The Bruins are the absolute kings of mediocrity.

Spit take!

 

[GordonHowe]

Can you imagine drafting Zboril 10th overall?

I can if Genius Sweenius is doing the drafting.

 

[Samsonov]

I can if Genius Sweenius is doing the drafting.

I bet Sweeney drafts Lawson Crouse at the hypothetical #10.

Missing on Rantanen hahaha

 

[GordonHowe]

The truth is somewhere in the middle: he’s not nearly as bad as some make him out to be, not nearly as good as some make him out to be. I believe if you put anyone in Donald’s position over the last 10 years, you would see very similar results, which I suppose is the definition of average.

Much of the success came from players who were already in place, and the failure of this last season, came from the players who were actively acquired - without the crutch of an inherited core, outside of an already drafted Pastrnak. But the deadlines and free agencies have been to service that core, and they’ve done a solid job at that over the years. Unfortunately, it has not lead them to meet the goals they set out for, and those are the ones that show on the scoreboard. My only criticism of that part is they always were just a piece short and playing someone too high in the lineup as a result, outside of the incredible roster they built in 2023.

I believe Don would find work elsewhere, but that’s not a prerequisite for job security. Jim Montgomery, Claude Julien, and Bruce Cassidy found jobs elsewhere very quickly as well.

But after the last 12 months of moves and failure to even come close to the goal they set out for, I found myself shocked to read this news this morning. It’s not good to leave key staff twisting in the wind, but I did believe Cam Neely when he said he needed to wait and see at the press conference. Smart for the Bruins that if it turns out poorly, it’s not a long commitment.

I certainly like the fact that it's just a two-year extension, which again, I doubt Sweeney will be around to complete.

However, were I a qualified coach from the outside, I would still be wary.

A 2-year extension is not an expiring contract, but it's not exactly a full-throated vote of confidence either.

I would think anyone with a brain would see through this move for what it is.

And say no thanks.

 

[HustleB]

I would take Jeff Gorton in a heartbeat over Prof. Sweenes.

In retrospect, the wrong guy got the job.

I like Sweeney, but I agree with this. I think Gorton is the one that got away.\

-------Edit
Then I read his draft blunder list. Maybe Gorton is not the guy.

 

[Number8]

Assuming anything criticizing the Bruins?

My guess is the kid is having a hard time determining which comments involve things that are anatomically possible and which do not.

Nightmare Fuel.

 

[Number8]

You know what doesn't get discussed enough with Sweeney? That the lack of picks (and therefore lack of prospects) is not simply a matter of "they traded picks to improve the team every deadline." They moved some fantastic, valuable high picks to unload his shitty free agent signings, the worst kind of double GM whammy.

That absolutely crushes my annual post Leaf failure happyover. This was a good one this year too. Enjoyed it a great deal.

So, with the air of happiness continuing to gently caress me, I will look for the positives.

Major flip side is that some of those FA signings were so extraordinarily shitty that you kind of have to tip your hat. I always say, if you’re going to do something do it well.

I hope that makes you feel better.

 

[vjcsmoke]

I'm sure everyone will react to this rationally and with tact.

Has Sweeney earned this extension though? We didn’t just miss the playoffs, we were the 5th worst team in the NHL by record. Ping pong balls screwed us to 7th pick.

 

[LJReborn]

Wow.

What exactly was he doing back then? I still don't know.

Fan favorite figurehead, most likely.

Then he got it into his head that he actually knew how to run hockey operations. Enter Sweeney at the earliest opportunity.

Also, Peter Chiarelli preceded Neely's hiring as president by four years. By the time Cam was hired, Chiarelli had constructed a good to very good team that went on to win a Stanley Cup.

Did Peter make some big mistakes? Of course he did.

Compare his record of *proven success* as General Manager of the Boston Bruins to the record of the guy who replaced him.

Professor Sweeney has been GM for a *decade* and hasn't done sh*t.

All you have to do is look at the playoff record. And that is leaving dreadful drafting and free agent whiffs to one side.

And we're stuck with him.

When did he become President?

When did they actually not choke and win the Cup?

 

[GordonHowe]

This reminds me of when I was a kid and we would go to the local dive bar....

I'm only here for the fights

So were they, and a dash of property damage and looting,

 

[Number8]

It's crazy how history always repeats. When Chiarelli was let go, folks here hated him. And the message then was the same as the message now. He didn't actually build the Cup team, O'Connell drafted the big forwards, Gorton signed the big free agents. I didn't think it was fair then and I don't think saying Sweeney inherited the 2019 team is fair either.

Wasn't that defense mostly Sweeney? McAvoy was our best D, Carlo was a big key to that run, Krug was recruited by Sweeney, even Grzelcyk was good on that run. Clifton was a Sweeney guy. Up front, DeBrusk had a great playoff. Sweeney traded for Coyle and Johansen. That line with Heinen was the best 3rd line in the playoffs that year. Kuraly, Acciari and Wagner were beasts and all Sweeney guys...

Very fair.

Bottom line is Sweeney has some disasters and has some home runs.

Whether he’s the right guy to straddle the Jacobean tightrope of a rebuild/retool or not I don’t know.

But he’s a good GM overall. As soon as he leaves Boston he has a job.

Meanwhile I’m feeling good. I hated the “lame duck” GM unless we were tanking for McKenna. We get a coach (seriously, who good is going to sign up for a lame duck GM is a valid point everyone knew already — doesn’t matter who reported it this week). Our Florida pick is almost certainly a 1. Toronto lost so our first gets better.

 

[LJReborn]

Has Sweeney earned this extension though? We didn’t just miss the playoffs, we were the 5th worst team in the NHL by record. Ping pong balls screwed us to 7th pick.

It was all part of the plan. Remember how 2023-24 was the much ballyhooed "bridge year" for the Sweeney disciples and they just had to get through it and suffer the fate of dead cap room for giving bonus money to Bergeron and Krejci the year before. 2024-25 was going to be THE YEAR to get back to the top and be the legit Stanley Cup contender we all want with all this glorious cap room and Daddy Jacobs money. Well that failed miserably and here we are. The season they were to rise to prominence again they were the worst team in the conference. Good times

 

[Fenway]