Bruins GM Don Sweeney blasts the NHL without blasting the NHL
The dust had barely settled on Boston’s Game 4 loss — complete with yet another controversial non-call that went against the Bruins — when the Bruins sent out an email informing the media that Don Sweeney would be speaking with the media on Monday ahead of the team’s flight down to Sunrise.
Teams are required to make someone available every day during a playoff series, but a general manager speaking in the middle of a series is typically rare. And given the events that had unfolded really since Game 2, it felt as if Sweeney was ready to absorb the fine and fire bomb the NHL and the NHL Department of Player Safety for their various missteps in this second-round series.
Instead, what followed on Monday was Sweeney essentially scolding the media for not directing officiating questions to what he views as the proper channels.
But it wasn’t a straight-up talking-to from Sweeney. It was instead Sweeney by all means calling out the league without calling out the league, using coded language that has called for more transparency from the league without putting players and officials in potential danger for fines and suspensions.
“The overall premise that I have is, to be perfectly honest with you, we should not be asking the coach after a game what what they feel about the officiating and what happens,” Sweeney said. “You guys should really be focused on what we didn’t do well enough in the course of the game to win a hockey game. Those questions should be directed at the official’s supervisor [of the] series and or the officials.
“You want full access and transparency? Then put the officials in front of the microphone to answer the question, because they’re the only ones that have the experience to be able to handle whatever interpretation they applied to Rule 69. That’s it. The rest of us, we clearly we challenged it because of our interpretation, right? You know, so the only ones that can answer that [are the officials].
“Don’t put out a statement. Just stand in front and answer the question. That’s as simple as that.”
To Sweeney’s point, the NHL does not allow ‘pool reports’ where a reporter is allowed to ask officials questions about rulings made during a game. This has been known for some time, and was spotlighted during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, where the NHL famously said they “don’t make comments on judgment calls” and left it at that in the wake of the Tyler Bozak trip on Noel Acciari in Game 5.
For what it’s worth, reporters at TD Garden did ask to hear from officials following Sunday’s Game 4. But those requests were not granted (because they never are), and that double-standard is clearly something that does not sit well with Sweeney and the Bruins.
“A player, a coach, people every game they go in and you guys go in and ask them [about] critical plays, good and bad. Fair?” Sweeney offered. “I don’t think it’s any different. If you want full access and if you want transparency and you want explanations, then the people that are making the decisions should explain it. Simple as that. For me, that’s another [area for] growth in our game.”
It especially hurts when the league has made it clear to teams that they are not to criticize the league and their officials at any point, and did so again at the start of the 2023-24 season, according to Allan Walsh.
Boston’s struggles in this rematch with the Panthers go far beyond officiating and missed calls, however, and while Sweeney and the Bruins want more transparency across the board, he also knows the situation they’ve backed themselves into being down 3-1 after blowing a two-goal lead in Game 4.
“It’s not a source of frustration on our part: Our guys played well last night, we had a 2-0 lead, and they clawed their way back into the game and we didn’t get it done,” Sweeney acknowledged. “It’s no different than how Toronto felt down 3-1 to us and how we felt last year. We just have to go down and win a hockey game, go execute the way we’re capable, and we’ll be fine.”