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The Bruins are entering one of the most pivotal offseasons in recent memory — stuck staring at a crossroads that offers an opportunity for a retool/rebuild, or a path toward simply running things back with the current core in place.
And when it comes to making that consequential decision on what course to chart in the years ahead, the Bruins are going to once again hand the keys over to Don Sweeney.
The Bruins announced on Monday afternoon that they have signed Sweeney to a multi-year contract extension — with the 55-year-old holding steady in a GM post that he has helmed within this organization since the 2015-16 season.
“We are proud to extend Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract as General Manager of the Boston Bruins,” Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said in a statement. “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.”
Of course, Sweeney’s return wasn’t exactly a surprise, even though he entered the 2021-22 campaign on an expiring deal — with his current contract set to expire on Thursday now that the current NHL season is all but wrapped up.
After all, Cam Neely stressed in his last press conference with the media back on May 19 that the organization was planning on hashing out a new deal for Sweeney.
“I started talking with Charlie [Jacobs] and Mr. [Jeremy] Jacobs after the deadline about extending Don, so that’s my plan, is to do that,” Neely noted of a pending extension for the B’s GM.
Of course, even though Neely added that he wanted to hammer out an extension in short order, it’s been over five weeks between the Bruins president’s comments and Sweeney’s actual extension getting announced.
That gap stands as just the latest oddity in what sure feels like a rather precarious situation for Sweeney over the last year — especially given his standing as what could have been described as a “lame-duck” GM in 2021-22 given his expiring deal.
“To be honest, I really wanted to see how the year went,” Neely said when asked why an extension wasn’t signed sooner. “We had a lot of changes in the last offseason, so I just really wanted to see how that played out. Obviously, you get January, February, March – really good months for us. The team really came together. I thought we had a lot of depth and I was happy with what he did at the deadline.”
With a new deal in place, Sweeney might be on some steadier ground as far as his contract is concerned, but the task in front of him is more daunting than ever.
If Patrice Bergeron does indeed return for a 19th season, it’s pretty evident that this B’s team wants to try and squeeze every bit of possible contention capabilities out of this veteran core.
But that’s a task that’s easier said than done, with some of the hurdles in place courtesy of Sweeney’s own doing.
With players like Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk hampered for a few months of regular-season action due to offseason procedures, the Bruins are going to need more than just the return of a 37-year-old Bergeron to really move the needle on a roster that was already felled by numerous flaws in its first-round exit against Carolina.
And to complicate matters, the Bruins have just a little over $2.3 million in cap space (per CapFriendly) to not only re-up Bergeron on a new deal, but add to this current roster in an effort to put it over the top.
As such, Sweeney (who relinquished a hefty chunk of capital last summer on free agents and re-signings like Nick Foligno, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly, Tomas Nosek and Linus Ullmark) will need to get creative this offseason in order to retrofit this group to make the most out of what could be Bergeron’s final year in the league.
Be it trading NHL talent off the roster for cap relief, swapping lineup regulars in search of higher returns elsewhere or incorporating cost-controlled, younger players into the lineup, the Bruins have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks.
Oh, right — hiring a new head coach is also right up there on Sweeney’s to-do list.
It’s a hefty task for any GM, especially one who has been a conduit of some valid criticism over the years in Sweeney.
“I don’t think I’ve lost faith in myself as a manager,” Sweeney said in his last presser back on June 7th. “I don’t think our winning percentage over the last six years, seven years that I’ve been a general manager would necessarily support that. We haven’t won. That’s what supports that. And that’s why I stand up here today to try and make the necessary changes. And I will. And to answer your question, if I don’t, guess what? Somebody else will be standing up here. I referenced that with the Jacobs family and with Cam.
"One of the best parts about working for this organization is to be held to that standard, knowing that you have the full latitude to make the recommendation on decisions that you think are right. And then when they’re not, they get somebody else. That’s as categorically honest as I can possibly be. That’s as black and white as it is. To be held to that standard and to aspire to be best in class is exactly what you want to be part of. And then, when the decision is made, they just categorically make a business decision to say this is in the best interest of the Boston Bruins. And I might not be part of that.”
Sure enough, Sweeney is part of the plan for this franchise moving forward.
And now, the onus falls on him to untangle some of the roster mess that he wove himself over the past few years.
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Bruins announce preseason schedule
With the 2021-22 NHL season now in the rearview, we can finally look ahead to the 2022-23 campaign. And sure enough, the Bruins managed to toss out a few more nuggets of information on Monday morning, with Boston announcing its six-game preseason schedule.
The Bruins will open their preseason slate on Sept. 24 against John Tortorella and the Flyers, with the B’s staying in the Metro Division for all of their tune-ups before the 82-game marathon commences on Oct. 11.
Saturday, September 24 (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA)
Preseason game at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, September 27 (TD Garden, Boston, MA)
Preseason game vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 1 (TD Garden, Boston, MA)
Preseason game vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 1 p.m.
Monday, October 3 (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ)
Preseason game at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 5 (Madison Square Garden, New York, NY)
Preseason game at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 8 (TD Garden, Boston, MA)
Preseason game vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.