Management Don Sweeney

[Kalus]

Considering the conditions he is working under, he has done quite well. Put it in context. He took over a team that was past its peak and starting to slow down and he managed to retool and keep them competitive for many years longer than you could have reasonably expected.

Now on those conditions. He is working for an owner (and his son) who wants them to be a playoff team every year. A good year is 2 to 5 home playoff games. Sweeney did t have the option to blow the team up and rebuild. The owner wouldn’t allow it.

So, in the context of managing a team past its peak and keeping them competitive for nearly every year for almost 10 years now, job well done.

 

[Sevendust]

I clearly implied skill wins but hey great interpretation

I can't remember any stanley cup winner that won based on skill only. I didnt say that the Bruins have to be the meanest and dirtiest team in the league. Just keep your identity and don't get pushed around.

 

[DKH]

Yeah because signing an aging power forward who already showed in the last seasons that he barely can keep up with the speed of the NHL would have changed this whole teams mentality. What a hot take. Admit it, Donny f***ed this team up. Bruins used to be the hammer, now they are the nail and Donny is responsible for this.

About the other crap you wrote, show some respect and don't get personal.

Dude go get help

You can thank me later

Best of luck

 

[GordonHowe]

Why would it rot from the head? Wouldn’t it all rot simultaneously?

If anything, the guts would rot first. That’s where the feces is.

Thank you for your appetizing comment.

A fish always rots from the head. If you want to know why an organization is the way it is, look to the top.

That means coaching, that means a general manager, president, so-called, and most importantly, ownership.

Draw your conclusions.

 

[Sevendust]

Dude go get help

You can thank me later

Best of luck

Help for you? Stay classy, you are better than this. Just accept the truth. People can also have a different opinion from yours. I know you sometines think this but you are really not the center of the universe.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Thank you for your appetizing comment.

A fish always rots from the head. If you want to know why an organization is the way it is, look to the top.

That means coaching, that means a general manager, president, so-called, and most importantly, ownership.

Draw your conclusions.

Yeah a fish rotting is a good analogy for something tonight and it’s not the Bruins.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Thank you for your appetizing comment.

A fish always rots from the head. If you want to know why an organization is the way it is, look to the top.

That means coaching, that means a general manager, president, so-called, and most importantly, ownership.

Draw your conclusions.

I was just goofing, definitely familiar with the idiom haha

 

[bbfan419]

He's not done unless he quits! Sinden is still around, that should tell you something.

True, the fact that old goat Sinden still has anything to do with this team is just insane, they should have sent him out to pasture decades ago.

 

[bme44]

DS just does not get enough credit for some of the under the radar moves he makes.
Signing Braezeau and Geekie are just two of the several ,that have certainly helped the Bruins with this playoff run.

 

[mjhfb]

DS just does not get enough credit for some of the under the radar moves he makes.
Signing Braezeau and Geekie are just two of the several ,that have certainly helped the Bruins with this playoff run.

Every time I look at Boston's forward lineup, especially the top six, I'm amazed they got this far.

 

[Hookslide]

Why would a GM be afraid of a fine? He and Monty should have ripped the league hard after the Marchand punch and non call on goalie interference.

Even just for the freaking catharsis of the fans.

FINE! FINE ! FINE!..............You mean you want Jeremey to reach in his back pocket and take some of that playoff revenue out of his wallet and pay a fine, not happening my friend.

 

[Riverfront]

don sweeney has done a very good job this season with managing the cap.
with bergeron & krejci's overage bonuses and all, he was handcuffed from
day 1. Furthermore signings of brazeau, geekie, heinen, wootherspoon, all
solid moves. Also keeping Lohrei and not trading him also, because i am
sure he was asked about at the trade deadline and Sweeney did not bite.
Bruins had a solid regular season it is very difficult to make the playoffs in
the first place and got past the first round in the playoffs, better then what
happened to them last year. They are still fighting but all in all there are only
8 teams remaining and they are one of them. There should be no complaints
from BRUINS fans !

 

[goldenblack]

In a transition year from losing generational players, Don has outperformed.

His next big test is trading Linus and using up the coming cap space.

 

[Patdud]

DS just does not get enough credit for some of the under the radar moves he makes.
Signing Braezeau and Geekie are just two of the several ,that have certainly helped the Bruins with this playoff run.

shake ups to the pro scouting staff certainly paid dividends this bridge year finding pieces just good enough to fill out the roster. wining the line matchup on lines 2 and 3 can be just as important as winning a matchup on line 1.

 

[Drift]

For what was supposed to be a transitional year this team has really overachieved and that speaks a lot to what Sweeney and Monty have been able to do. Somehow we have found some good younger and cheaper players while basically rebuilding the whole team. You have Lohrei (people hated this pick), Wotherspoon, Peeke, Brazeau, Geekie, etc. So going into next year our D and Goalies are pretty much set with some sort of additional veteran pickup I imagine:

Lohrei - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Wotherspoon - Peeke
Some vet.

Swayman
Bussi

Off the books will be Gryz, Shattenkirk, Forbort (7.5 million). Rebuilding that on the fly with Swayman - Bussi (best guess there) going into next year is solid. He clearly has to improve our forward group and I think that is going to be one of the most telling things for next year and going forward. how does he fill that #1/2 Center spot. Will that be part of hte Ullmark trade? Was that his target this year when he tried to move Ullmark? I imagine it was and I am really interested to see who he snags with that.

Overall I think Sweeney has done well, I also feel like he learned from some mistakes and hopefully he keeps doing it.

 

[Hookslide]

don sweeney has done a very good job this season with managing the cap.
with bergeron & krejci's overage bonuses and all, he was handcuffed from
day 1. Furthermore signings of brazeau, geekie, heinen, wootherspoon, all
solid moves. Also keeping Lohrei and not trading him also, because i am
sure he was asked about at the trade deadline and Sweeney did not bite.
Bruins had a solid regular season it is very difficult to make the playoffs in
the first place and got past the first round in the playoffs, better then what
happened to them last year. They are still fighting but all in all there are only
8 teams remaining and they are one of them. There should be no complaints
from BRUINS fans !

He put himself in that bonus overage, never should have taken Krecji back, should have been preparing for the loss of Krecji and Bergeron a few years before the end came for them. Sweeney never addressed the the need for a RW on Krecji's line for years, now he needs to get Pasta some help lets see how he handles that. He also needs to look at a replacement for Marchand, one year left on his contract, needs to be addressed also, not the same player anymore.

For what was supposed to be a transitional year this team has really overachieved and that speaks a lot to what Sweeney and Monty have been able to do. Somehow we have found some good younger and cheaper players while basically rebuilding the whole team. You have Lohrei (people hated this pick), Wotherspoon, Peeke, Brazeau, Geekie, etc. So going into next year our D and Goalies are pretty much set with some sort of additional veteran pickup I imagine:

Lohrei - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Wotherspoon - Peeke
Some vet.

Swayman
Bussi

Off the books will be Gryz, Shattenkirk, Forbort (7.5 million). Rebuilding that on the fly with Swayman - Bussi (best guess there) going into next year is solid. He clearly has to improve our forward group and I think that is going to be one of the most telling things for next year and going forward. how does he fill that #1/2 Center spot. Will that be part of hte Ullmark trade? Was that his target this year when he tried to move Ullmark? I imagine it was and I am really interested to see who he snags with that.

Overall I think Sweeney has done well, I also feel like he learned from some mistakes and hopefully he keeps doing it.

Making mistakes.

 

[Son of Donegal]

Semantics. Athletic recruits have 86% acceptance rate. The point I was making was the fact he went to Harvard does not correlate to him being of high intelligence.

This is not an example of semantics. The 86% acceptance rate for athletic recruits doesn't prove your point any further since ALL prospective Harvard students (athletes or otherwise) are required to meet the same academic standards, which are significantly higher than all but a few other schools.

That being said, there are different ways to gauge intelligence aside from one's academic background. The bottom line is that Sweeney is the GM of one of the most important organizations in the NHL. Managing the roster is just one of several tasks that come with the job. You must be an extremely capable and intelligent human to do the work. For better or worse, he's managed to keep his job for a decade.

That being said, Sweeney has made questionable decisions over the years - and it is fair to call his intelligence into question. I hated this press conference too. He can be a smug, pretentious ass on occasion as he was this time. I would have love him to stick up for his team in that situation.

But...Don Sweeney is no idiot.

Despite this, he can be an absolute jerk.

 

[Kalus]

For what was supposed to be a transitional year this team has really overachieved and that speaks a lot to what Sweeney and Monty have been able to do. Somehow we have found some good younger and cheaper players while basically rebuilding the whole team. You have Lohrei (people hated this pick), Wotherspoon, Peeke, Brazeau, Geekie, etc. So going into next year our D and Goalies are pretty much set with some sort of additional veteran pickup I imagine:

Lohrei - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Wotherspoon - Peeke
Some vet.

Swayman
Bussi

Off the books will be Gryz, Shattenkirk, Forbort (7.5 million). Rebuilding that on the fly with Swayman - Bussi (best guess there) going into next year is solid. He clearly has to improve our forward group and I think that is going to be one of the most telling things for next year and going forward. how does he fill that #1/2 Center spot. Will that be part of hte Ullmark trade? Was that his target this year when he tried to move Ullmark? I imagine it was and I am really interested to see who he snags with that.

Overall I think Sweeney has done well, I also feel like he learned from some mistakes and hopefully he keeps doing it.

Good points. Poitras and Lysell probably have 3rd line floors and 2nd line ceilings at C and wing respectively. That’s pretty good.

The challenge is #1C. That is a slot that is nearly impossible to fill. If you don’t have one in the system, usually you are looking at signing a #2C UFA to a contract that pays them too much and too far into their regression years through their mid-30s.

 

[Drift]

Good points. Poitras and Lysell probably have 3rd line floors and 2nd line ceilings at C and wing respectively. That’s pretty good.

The challenge is #1C. That is a slot that is nearly impossible to fill. If you don’t have one in the system, usually you are looking at signing a #2C UFA to a contract that pays them too much and too far into their regression years through their mid-30s.

Completely agree which is why I think this is going to be a crucial year/move for his legacy and job going forward. Rebuilding this team while staying competitive year after year I imagine has made ownership extremely happy. He has done some good work there. That doesn't mean he doesn't have some warts (all GMs do), I just think some people on here over react to them and also forget that we went all in last year (which they also complain we never do). Can't have everything. But our forward group rebuild is a huge question mark going into next year and will ultimately be how he is judged. Fingers crossed he makes a good one haha

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Thank you for your appetizing comment.

A fish always rots from the head. If you want to know why an organization is the way it is, look to the top.

That means coaching, that means a general manager, president, so-called, and most importantly, ownership.

Draw your conclusions.

How the hell can anyone equate the Bruins with a rotting fish?

Had the 6th best record in regular season in a 32-team league. Currently still alive in the final 8 of the playoffs. In a season that was supposed to be transitional. Coming off the best regular season in NHL history.

 

[LouJersey]

Yes, but a fish rots from the head. If Sweeney is still in a position of power, things will stay as they are.

I'm glad I saw all those Marvel movies that explained what a multiverse was because I would think I am going nuts. You and I are definitely not on the same planet, but this board intersects them all

 

[Dr Hook]

Everyone's mileage on this seems to vary, but I am in the camp of Sweeney has done his job and no way he gets sacked. His job is to make the playoffs because by default any team that makes the playoffs has a chance at the Cup. How many times have we seen teams come from "nowhere" to make the SC Finals (and even win), or teams that were supposed to be wagons completely bottle it? It happens a lot. True, as @LouJersey said, Sweeney assembled the team that has not had great playoff success, but on the flip side, you can't really know how a player is going to perform under the extreme pressure till you have a solid sample size, and you also have to factor in injuries, fatigue, refereeing, illness, and a whole host of other factors that you can't know or predict going in.

I get that we can look at teams and get a good idea of which ones seem built for the playoffs, but here it seems like too many have never thought the Bruins were one of those teams. There is always something majorly flawed with them in those circles. Go outside the LF and you'll find that other fanbases and broadcasters and such have a lot more respect for the Bruins that their own fans often do.

 

[DaStinger]

Given the track record we can expect a top 6 center in 2-3 more years. We have to trade our picks somewhere, can't have Donny wasting them with off the board picks.

 

[rfournier103]

Don Sweeney has made both good and bad decisions, as we all do, and there are two things that we the fans know for certain:

1. Don Sweeney will be the General Manager of the Boston Bruins this offseason and for the ‘24-‘25 season coming up.

2. Nothing Don Sweeney has done in the past can be changed now.

This offseason and next year should be what Don Sweeney is judged on. What kind of talent can he get to beef up the top two lines? Especially at 1C and 2C.

There are players available to trade for a center or high end pick. Hopefully, Charlie Jacobs is watching closely, because what Sweeney does this summer should determine his fate.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Given the track record we can expect a top 6 center in 2-3 more years. We have to trade our picks somewhere, can't have Donny wasting them with off the board picks.

Like Poitras?

Or Lohrei?