The Boston Bruins made it official, signing general manager Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract extension. The move comes just as his current contract was set to expire and keeps him at the head of the front office for the foreseeable future.
Bruins’ CEO Charlie Jacobs released a statement:
"We are proud to extend Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract as General Manager of the Boston Bruins. 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."
Team president Cam Neely also expressed praise and confidence in his general manager, explaining that he believes Sweeney is committed to doing “whatever it takes” to give the Bruins the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
Since the end of the season, which saw the Bruins exit the first round at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, Sweeney has drawn plenty of criticism. The firing of well-liked head coach Bruce Cassidy just a few days after he was told he would be back, some eyebrow-raising comments from a source close to winger David Pastrnak and the still unresolved issue of Patrice Bergeron’s future have made Sweeney the target of many fans’ ire.
Named general manager in 2015, Sweeney has taken the Bruins to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. The team has drafted and developed players like Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, Brandon Carlo and Jake DeBrusk in that time as well, a huge chunk of the team’s current core. Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm and others represent trades that Sweeney orchestrated as well.
It’s the other moves, including several missed draft picks and trades that have taken players like Ryan Lindgren out of the organization, that draw so much criticism and have made Sweeney such a hot-button topic for Bruins fans — and what will likely make the reaction to this news rather negative.
The team did not detail how many years the new contract is for. Sweeney is in the process of conducting a search for the team’s next head coach.
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