During his time as general manager of the Boston Bruins, Don Sweeney has made some moves that have backfired and moves that have worked out. Not every move is going to work out, but there are some free agent signings where there is an overpayment.
Sweeney has built contending teams in multiple ways as GM of the Black and Gold, through free agency and trades. He has even hit it big a few times through the NHL Entry Draft. Here are the five worst contracts handed out by Sweeney since taking over in 2015.
5. Milan Lucic
I'm not sure what the thinking was with this signing in the summer of 2023. Honestly, it's one thing to bring a player back to sign a one-day contract to retire when they are well past their prime, but it's another thing to bring a player back just because he was a fan favorite and thinking he was going to make an impact worth bringing back.
Now, because of off-ice issues, Milan Lucic's return only lasted four just four games with a pair of assists, but this one-year, $1.5 million contract never had a chance of working out. Lucic was supposed to bring toughness to a lineup that was sorely missing it, but the Lucic they were looking for was a couple of years too late. A lot of people will never understand this signing. There was no need to bring him back.
4. Jimmy Hayes
Coming off a career-year with the Florida Panthers in 2014-15 with 19 goals and 16 assists, the Bruins were in the market for some bottom-six help and traded Reilly Smith to South Florida for Jimmy Hayes. A few days after acquiring him, Boston signed him to a three-year contract for $6.9 million with a $2.3 million AAV.
In his first season in his hometown with the Bruins, he had 13 goals and 16 assists in 75 games, but things went downhill from there, and he had two goals and five points in 58 games a year later. He finished his career the following year with the New Jersey Devils, with 33 games played.
3. John Moore
In the summer of 2018, Sweeney signed defenseman John Moore to a five-year, $13.75 million contract with an AAV of $2.75 million. After a strong first season, and helped the Black and Gold advance to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues with 13 points in 61 regular-season games and then averaged 14 minutes a night in 10 postseason games.
After that year, injuries took over and played a huge role in his remaining time in Boston, and he played just 36 games over the next three seasons before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a deal that brought Hampus Lindholm to Boston in 2022. It was a good deal to get out from under if you're Sweeney.
2. Matt Belesky
The biggest free agent splash in 2015 was Matt Belesky after he opened some eyes with 22 goals and 32 points for the Ducks, which prompted Sweeney to sign him to a five-year deal for $19 million with an AAV of $3.8 million. After a 15-goal, 22-assist first season with the Black and Gold, things went south quickly after that.
Over the next year-and-a-half, he would play 63 games with the Bruins and record just three goals and eight points, all in the 2016-17 campaign. He would be traded to the New York Rangers during the following season, which brought Rich Nash to Boston. He played in four games with the Rangers in 2018-19 before calling it a career.
1. David Backes
When free agency began in 2016, Sweeney inked former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes to a five-year, $30 million contract with a $6 million AAV. At the time, it was a good signing, but over time, the contract looked like a big overpay.
Backes had 17 goals and 21 assists in his first season with the Bruins in 2016-17, then followed that up with 14 goals and 19 assists a year later, then things went south quickly as he had eight goals and 15 helpers over the next year and a half before being traded. He was sent to the Ducks at the trade deadline in February of 2020 with prospect Axel Andersson for forward Ondrej Kase. he played in 21 games with Anaheim before calling it a career.
