Boston Globe Will the Bruins' ownership do anything about this mess?

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Bruins ownership was dealt an emphatic, “Yo, are you listening?!” moment after the second period of the club’s embarrassing, historic 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay Saturday night on Causeway Street.

The protracted thunderclap sounded like this: “Booooooooooo!” and “Boooooooo!”... and “Boooooooo!” and …

You get the idea. The general throat-clearing from the TD Garden stands went on and on. Vox populi was rightly vexed. The listless home team had been outshot, 21-0, in the middle period. To repeat: 21-0. In their own building, an address that once had the opposition shaking in their long socks.
To review: the Lightning recorded better than one shot per minute in that second period, while the Bruins went for a skate straight to puck Palookaville. And we thought they coulda been contendahs?

Per the NHL, which began tracking shot stats in 1965, never had there been such a night for the Bruins in the last 60 years, and likely not one like it since opening the barn door for business in 1924.

To be clear, the Bruins have been held shotless for a period (as recently as Nov. 9 this season) but never while the other side manufactured rubber at such Goodyear/Bridgestone rates. The only comp: the 15-0 period the Rangers slapped on them in a 5-1 Blueshirt win at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 14, 1979.

After the Lightning game, a couple of the players in “Black & Gold” — Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm — owned up to the risible performance, each labeling it an “embarrassing” night. Good on them. Not easy to say, but it had to be said.

It remains an endearing part about hockey that its players know when they stink out the joint and they’ll freely admit it, largely because they’re smart enough to know that we know when they stink. That’s especially true in this town, where we have a century-plus of acquired hockey wealth that has included some sensation highs (see: Orr to Sanderson back to Orr!) and some soul-shredding lows (see: Don Cherry counting fingers behind the visiting bench at the Forum, May 10, 1979).

If only Bruins ownership were as blunt, as accountable, as honest, as ready to stand up and say, “This ain’t right.”

The bile and bellowing from the customers Saturday night should underscore to owner Jeremy Jacobs (not spotted here for years) and his progeny (most notably, son Charlie, the Bruins' CEO) that their franchise/cash cow has reached a crossroads. No telling if they’ll do something about it, or frankly, if they even recognize it.

What they have today is an overmatched product that will not win, and could force season-ticket holders to bail, and most critically, a franchise badly in need of adding legit, varsity, bona fide players.

It’s up to team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney to fix it via trade and/or free agency, and therein lies the crossroads.

Virtually everything the Jacobses know about hockey, their team, and how it’s constructed, and how the hockey sausage is made up and down the organization, is based on what Neely and Sweeney tell them.

At this dire hour, that’s it, because, well, that has been the Jacobs ownership model here for 50-plus years. They own. They observe. They let the hired help take care of all the hockey things and the building(s). They monitor the dollars in and out.


Now, to that latter point, Jacobs ownership boosted their hockey ticket prices by a “blended” average of 9 percent late last season. Less than a month ago, as Causeway burned with the speed of a California brushfire, ownership tacked on another “blended” 4 percent for 2025-26.

Put it all together and you get a 13 percent wallet grab at a time when the team stinks to high heaven and the American consumer at large, even here amid the gold-cobblestone roads of the Hub, is having a helluva time coming up with discretionary income (defined as money left over for hockey after purchasing a $6.29 dozen of eggs).

So, again, it’s not solely hockey truths that escape the Jacobses. For good reason, they’ve come to believe that the sky’s the limit when it comes to what they whack customers for tickets, not to mention beer and hot dogs.

Sorry, that model crumbles when fans are booing the team off the ice, including that guy in the lower bowl Saturday night who taped the word “FIRE” above “NEELY” on the back of his Bruins sweater. That, folks, is a five-minute cross-checking penalty with an added deuce for instigating.


Up until early on here in the 21st century, ownership had Harry Sinden in place as the franchise’s omniscient hockey overseer. It worked great, until it didn’t, the senior Jacobs not compelled to make an overhaul until the Joe Thornton trade to San Jose proved to be the plug that pulled the stopper out of the bottom of Jacobs’s deep tub of trust. Harry wasn’t completely out, per se, but he was very much out of the day-to-day picture, for both better and worse.

Here’s the truth as of St. Paddy’s Day 2025: Whatever ownership now decides is in the best interest of the team and its roster is what Neely and Sweeney tell them is in the best interest of the team and its roster. It has been that way for nearly 10 years, including this season’s collapse.

The issue there, of course, is that Neely and Sweeney engineered the team that Saturday got bum-rushed out of its own building by a solid, but not great, Tampa team, and Monday night stands again to be in for a rough ride at home against the visiting Sabres, who haven’t suited up for a playoff game since April 26, 2011.

We hear nary a peep anymore from the 85-year-old senior Jacobs. Charlie once in a while emerges to tell us he has handed the full faith and trust of all hockey operations over to Neely and Sweeney. They’re his guys and he’s sticking to ‘em.

Meanwhile, round ‘n’ round it goes, with the end of the season (April 15 vs Devils, good seats still available) at hand, the draft on the horizon (June 27-28), followed by July 1 free agency. It can only get better, right?

What we have, at the moment, is 21-0 and status quo. Unless ownership hears and sees what’s going on.
 
I find this to be a little unfair, in the context of the article:

The issue there, of course, is that Neely and Sweeney engineered the team that Saturday got bum-rushed out of its own building by a solid, but not great, Tampa team, and Monday night stands again to be in for a rough ride at home against the visiting Sabres, who haven’t suited up for a playoff game since April 26, 2011.

I mean a key point in the article is whether or not ownership is a aware of where the team stands and if management can/will do what's necessary to change things. The team that Neely and Sweeney "engineered" on Saturday night is the result of them taking the steps necessary to improve the team going forward.

It's not the finished product.
 
For the "tear it down and rebuild" crowd, this is just more evidence that this market can't handle a true rebuild. We sold off our players at the TDL and after 2 games of being out played (as they should based on the talent) fans are losing it.

If you called for them to be sellers, this is what you asked for. Don't start crying now and being pissed because the team is icing 4th liners on the 2nd line. Enjoy the last 14 games of the season and lets see who may have a future on this team.
 
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For the "tear it down and rebuild" crowd, this is just more evidence that this market can't handle a true rebuild. We sold off our players at the TDL and after 2 games of being out played (as they should based on the talent) fans are losing it.

If you called for them to be sellers, this is what you asked. Don't start crying now and being pissed because the team is icing 4th liners on the 2nd line. Enjoy the last 14 games of the season and lets see who may have a future on this team.

Agreed, our 2 best defensemen are out. The team sold off as much as it could at the deadline, and then beat 2 very good teams before having a bad weekend at home.

Many people on this board want the team to tank next year. And that would require making the team worse in the offseason (or a repeat of bad injury luck). But make no mistake this is not representative of the fanbase, and if they were to tank next year, you'd see articles like this every week, you'd see the crowd booing on a regular basis. and you'd see a lot of empty seats. And unless they won the lottery and got the next one after the year you'd see a big drop in season ticket sales
 
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For the "tear it down and rebuild" crowd, this is just more evidence that this market can't handle a true rebuild. We sold off our players at the TDL and after 2 games of being out played (as they should based on the talent) fans are losing it.

If you called for them to be sellers, this is what you asked. Don't start crying now and being pissed because the team is icing 4th liners on the 2nd line. Enjoy the last 14 games of the season and lets see who may have a future on this team.

I don't really care about how bad they look right now, but the reason they had to trade pieces is that they sucked before.

And the larger point is right. How much longer is ownership going to let this go on? After a decade of Don Sweeney this team:

1) Lacks NHL talent
2) Has the worst prospect pool in the league
3) Has some of the absolute worst long-term contracts in the league.

They Bruins are f***ed, and it's all Don Sweeney's making. All of it. Actually, it's even worse than that, because he inherited his best player from the last GM.

What has Don Sweeney done well besides ride Patrice Bergeron and Hall-of-Fame goaltending to regular season success? What has he excelled at in his role? And, most importantly, now that the big squad is really bad, what has he done to at least position the Bruins for future success?

The Bruins fired Peter Chiarelli and at the time they did the organization was in far, far, far, far better shape. So what's different about Don Sweeney, and by extension Cam Neely my favorite player ever?

We know. We all know. And it sucks.
 
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For the "tear it down and rebuild" crowd, this is just more evidence that this market can't handle a true rebuild. We sold off our players at the TDL and after 2 games of being out played (as they should based on the talent) fans are losing it.

If you called for them to be sellers, this is what you asked. Don't start crying now and being pissed because the team is icing 4th liners on the 2nd line. Enjoy the last 14 games of the season and let’s see who may have a future on this team.
Exactly, but I do understand the anger from fans that are attending the games for those prices.
 
You simply cannot let Cam and Don draft again and couple that with panic overpays for Ehlers types. They HAVE to step in and have somebody with a new vision take over.

On top of that you need to go completely outside of the organization with both GM and coach. No Jay Leach, Jay Pandolfo etc. I firmly believe Cam is the true issue.
 
I don't really care about how bad they look right now, but the reason they had to trade pieces is that they sucked before.

And the larger point is right. How much longer is ownership going to let this go one? After a decade of Don Sweeney this team:

1) Lacks NHL talent
2) Has the worst prospect pool in the league
3) Has some of the absolute long-term worst contracts in the league.

They Bruins are f***ed, and it's all Don Sweeney's making. All of it. Actually, it's even worse than that, because he inherited his best player from the last GM.

What has Don Sweeney done well besides ride Patrice Bergeron and Hall-of-Fame goaltending to regular season success? What has he excelled at in his role? And, most importantly now that the big squad is really bad has he done to at least position the Bruins for future success?

The Bruins fired Peter Chiarelli and at the time they did the organization was in far, far, far, far better shape. So what's different about Don Sweeney, and by extension Cam Neely my favorite player ever?

We know. We all know. And it sucks.


You’re not counting the hypothetical cup wins that @DKH says they should have won?

If COVID didn’t happen that’s at least 1 cup win right there. If Monty didn’t mess around with the lines in the record setting year that’s 2 cups.
 
I think it's fair to criticize this management group for where this team currently stands, their lack of communication to fans/media, and for the insane ticket prices for the product on the ice.
If only Bruins ownership were as blunt, as accountable, as honest, as ready to stand up and say, “This ain’t right.”

The bile and bellowing from the customers Saturday night should underscore to owner Jeremy Jacobs (not spotted here for years) and his progeny (most notably, son Charlie, the Bruins' CEO) that their franchise/cash cow has reached a crossroads. No telling if they’ll do something about it, or frankly, if they even recognize it.
However, I do find this part a bit disingenuous. Management's actions this trade deadline is Sweeney and Neely saying, "This isn't right." Now the question should be, are they the ones that should right the ship?
 
Kevin Paul Dupont absolutely lives for times like these.

As others have pointed out, he's not completely wrong. However he is off base in that Saturday's team roster and performance is largely irrelevant right now. However, he's not off base in that raising prices for a product that is at best under development is probably going to bite him.

Still, when I think of reporters like Dupont and Shaunnessy, I always think:

1742218251235.png
 
You simply cannot let Cam and Don draft again and couple that with panic overpays for Ehlers types. They HAVE to step in and have somebody with a new vision take over.

On top of that you need to go completely outside of the organization with both GM and coach. No Jay Leach, Jay Pandolfo etc. I firmly believe Cam is the true issue.

Remember what happened last time the Bruins fired the GM after the season and before the draft?

Odds are a new GM comes in thinking he's the smartest guy in the room.

I'll stick with the guy that is experienced and knows the team and its needs inside and out.
 
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Kevin Paul Dupont absolutely lives for times like these.

As others have pointed out, he's not completely wrong. However he is off base in that Saturday's team roster and performance is largely irrelevant right now. However, he's not off base in that raising prices for a product that is at best under development is probably going to bite him.

Still, when I think of reporters like Dupont and Shaunnessy, I always think:

View attachment 994069

I never really get this criticism of KPD. The guy was the most right out of any media member about the Bruins for an entire generation, but because being right about them at that time meant what you were saying was obviously negative people hold it against him.

It's not like he was ripping a dynasty during an historic run of success the way some writers and radio personalities ripped the Pats during theirs, you know?
 
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Kevin Paul Dupont absolutely lives for times like these.

As others have pointed out, he's not completely wrong. However he is off base in that Saturday's team roster and performance is largely irrelevant right now. However, he's not off base in that raising prices for a product that is at best under development is probably going to bite him.

Still, when I think of reporters like Dupont and Shaunnessy, I always think:

View attachment 994069
They can definitely be over-the-top and annoying but IMO they are necessary to holding the teams accountable. Sadly I think they’re a dying breed, newer beat guys don’t seem interested in ruffling feathers.
 
I think it's fair to criticize this management group for where this team currently stands, their lack of communication to fans/media, and for the insane ticket prices for the product on the ice.

However, I do find this part a bit disingenuous. Management's actions this trade deadline is Sweeney and Neely saying, "This isn't right." Now the question should be, are they the ones that should right the ship?

I think management (Sweeny) communicated quite well what was going on after the trade deadline deals.

Management has nothing to do with ticket prices, that's ownership's decision.
 
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I think management (Sweeny) communicated quite well what was going on after the trade deadline deals.

Management has nothing to do with ticket prices, that ownership's decision.
There was communication from Sweeney in regards to the trade deadline, but Sweeney and Neely don't really do any impromptu meetings/interviews with the media at all. Ditto on ownership.
 
Exactly, but I do understand the anger from fans that are attending the games for those prices.

So are the fans mad at the product or the fact that they bought tickets thinking the team would be good and they sucked? Fans could have sold their tickets and recoup some of the money if they didn't want to go.
 
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So are the fans mad at the product or the fact that they bought tickets thinking the team would be good and they sucked? Fans could have sold their tickets and recoup some of the money if they didn't want to go.
Yeah fair. I think there’s different levels of fandom, not every fan is really interested in following a rebuild. And if they don’t understand the NHL hard cap vs other leagues they may think it’s just ownership cheapness or incompetence. My uncle for example always says “this is Boston they make enough money pay the guys to come” and I have to remind him lol.

Also think in this area fans expect winning from all their teams at this point, and the Bruins have been on a decent run, might take them some time to adjust.

Some are angry that they traded Marchand, even though it was the right move, it’s hard to see an aging great franchise player for what they currently are and not what they were.
 
What has Don Sweeney done well besides ride Patrice Bergeron and Hall-of-Fame goaltending to regular season success? What has he excelled at in his role? And, most importantly now that the big squad is really bad has he done to at least position the Bruins for future success?
But, but he traded Vaak, to help get first 50 RS games in '22-23 of Hampus Lindholm,
a 2nd All Star Team selection.

Literally, after 10 NHL campaigns as GM, McAvoy and that, is all he has left on the current roster signed beyond this season, from the six 1st Round picks between
2015-2017. Look no further than that 3 year generational draft disaster. Which isn't including the three 2nd Rounders he had to supplement his three 1st Round picks in 2015.
 
Do you think that's unusual for NHL management across the league?
I would say so. To you, me, and the rest of the fans here who are more in the know than the average fan, we've seen the writing on the wall with this current club all season and weren't surprised by any trade deadline deals (except for the Marchand deal perhaps). However, we saw the media and fan response to the deals the Bruins made, and it was mostly negative. To the average fan, the Bruins blew up their core, they are now a bunch of nobodies etc. etc. The way we look at it, the Bruins got rid of players that didn't have a future on this team and made deals that would help the retool.

I think if Sweeney or Neely spoke to the media a few times regarding the state of the team, the average fan wouldn't feel as blindsided as they may currently be.
 
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But, but he traded Vaak, to help get first 50 RS games in '22-23 of Hampus Lindholm,
a 2nd All Star Team selection.

Literally, after 10 NHL campaigns as GM, McAvoy and that, is all he has left on the current roster signed beyond this season, from the six 1st Round picks between
2015-2017. Look no further than that 3 year generational draft disaster. Which isn't including the three 2nd Rounders he had to supplement his three 1st Round picks in 2015.

The Bruins drafted 9 players in those 3 drafts that are still full-time NHL players today.

That's actually pretty good, especially considering where they drafted.
 
I would say so. To you, me, and the rest of the fans here who are more in the know than the average fan, we've seen the writing on the wall with this current club all season and weren't surprised by any trade deadline deals (except for the Marchand deal perhaps). However, we saw the media and fan response to the deals the Bruins made, and it was mostly negative. To the average fan, the Bruins blew up their core, they are now a bunch of nobodies etc. etc. The way we look at it, the Bruins got rid of players that didn't have a future on this team and made deals that would help the retool.

I think if Sweeney or Neely spoke to the media a few times regarding the state of the team, the average fan wouldn't feel as blindsided as they may currently be.

The average fan you are speaking about probably wouldn't even tune in to what Sweeney or Neely had to say.

I really don't think management is concerned about fan reactions. Nor should they be.
 
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