Bruins, Don Sweeney agree to multi-year extension
The inevitable has finally become official, as the Bruins have come to terms on a multi-year extension with general manager Don Sweeney, according to team president Cam Neely.
“Having had the pleasure of working closely with Don for more than a decade, I’ve seen firsthand his tireless work ethic when it comes to all facets of front office management,” Neely said in a release confirming the extension. “He remains committed to doing whatever it takes to give the Boston Bruins the best chance to win every season. I look forward to continuing to work with Don as we endeavor to bring another championship to this city and our fans.”
“We are proud to extend Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract as General Manager of the Boston Bruins,” said Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs. “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.”
Sweeney’s extension was, again, a mere inevitability, as Neely said back in May that the plan was to extend Sweeney (and that the plan had the blessing of ownership). That was only reinforced when the Bruins fired head coach Bruce Cassidy and announced that Sweeney would be the one leading the search to find the next B’s head coach.
The extension comes less than two weeks away from the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal.
Hired as Peter Chiarelli’s replacement in 2015, Sweeney’s resume as Boston’s general manager has been a wildly mixed bag.
In addition to the disastrous first round of the 2015 NHL Draft, Sweeney and the Bruins have made repeated free agency blunders with big-money contracts to Matt Beleskey and David Backes, and committed too much to depth defenseman John Moore. (Sweeney had to eat money or attach a valuable draft pick to move all three of those contracts out of town via trade.)
But Sweeney has also done a solid job of making high-impact, in-season fixes, with trades for center Charlie Coyle, winger Taylor Hall, and defenseman Hampus Lindholm over the last three years plus.
The Bruins have also been a relatively consistent squad throughout Sweeney’s tenure, with only one did-not-qualify season, and an advancement out of the first round in all but two of their six trips to the postseason on his watch.
Sweeney, who first joined the organization in 2006 as their director of player development and served as an assistant general manager before his 2015 promotion, captured GM of the Year honors in 2019.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
