Was keeping Don Sweeney as GM the right move for Bruins?

The Boston Bruins signed general manager Don Sweeney to a two-year contract extension on Tuesday, paving the way for him to bring his Bruins tenure into a second decade. 

While the Bruins have been the best team by point percentage since he took over in 2015-16, they find themselves rebuilding after shipping out several veterans, including Brad Marchand, ahead of this season’s NHL Trade Deadline. 

After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for just the second time in 10 seasons, the Bruins will look to bounce back in 2025-26. 

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli to chat all things Bruins, and whether keeping Sweeney was the right move. 

Yaremchuk: Is this a sign giving Don Sweeney some stability? Is it a sign that the Bruins are going to be maybe more methodical with how they build this thing out, and aren’t looking for a quick switch here?

Anderson: I think it’s important to note that the job never really seemed to be in jeopardy. I think if you were paying close attention, like you thought, maybe they could make a change, but it didn’t feel like it would ever come in the front office. 

The decisions that Don Sweeney was allowed to make at the trade deadline, not just trading pending free agents, but trading guys that were under contract and had some pretty decent contracts, like Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle, that kind of told you that he was going to be the decision maker here in Boston. Sure enough, it plays out that way. 

For the Bruins, the most stable part of this is that you’re not telling him, ‘Hey, rebuild the roster, make it good, and also, you’re playing for your job,’ so to speak. Maybe they feel like they can get a better scope of their front office, a better direction, a better long-term sustainability model, let’s just say, versus if you miss the playoffs one year,  you’re fired. 

You can catch the rest of the Bruins discussion and Tuesday’s episode here…