Boston talking-head reveals hard truth about Bruins’ extending Don Sweeney

As you would guess, the Boston Bruins extending general manager Don Sweeney two more years beyond 2025-26 was met with anger from most fans. It was met with excitement from NHL fans of other clubs, especially in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

Boston fans were calling for Sweeney to be fired as the season was coming down the home stretch, with chants at the TD Garden of “Fire Sweeney” breaking out. While it would have been a justified move by the organization, they instead extended him ahead of what is a pivotal off-season for the franchise. One Boston sports radio talk show host reacted to the news, and honestly, he spoke the hard, honest truth.

Boston sports talkshow host unleashed the hard honest truth about Don Sweeney’s extension

If you listen to Boston sports talk shows, you know all about Michael Felger of the Felger and Mazz Show on 98.5 The Sports Hub. If you have listened to the show, you know that he has taken that not everybody agrees with. It comes with the territory. However, speaking after the announcement of Sweney’s extension, the former Boston Herald scribe spoke the hard, honest truth.

"They believe in him,'' said Felger. "That, I think, says all we need to know about the motivation of the Bruins organization. They are not championship-driven; they are playoff-driven. That's what they've always been, and I think that's what (Tuesday's) news tells us once again. I think Don Sweeney is a playoff-caliber general manager. I don't think he's terrible, I think he's OK, not great. I think he's good enough to get you above the 16th mark in the league, and I'd probably stay there. That's about it. They're a year-in and year-out playoff team, one of the better regular-season teams in hockey, and that's what the track record shows. They're bringing him back, and so what am I led to believe, that's all they want. They believe in him.

He’s not wrong. Bruins management would disagree, but Felger is correct. During Sweeney’s tenure in Boston, the Black and Gold have made one Stanley Cup Final, losing Game 7 at home to the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Since then, there has been a lot of postseason failure, with the biggest failure coming in the 2023 playoffs when they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers after winning the Presidents Trophy and setting the NHL record for wins and points in a regular season.

Management will tell you that championships are a priority, but Bruins fans know that if the Jacobs family gets one round of playoff hockey inside their arena, then they will be happy. More rounds mean more money and happy owners. If the Boston Bruins were serious about winning championships and not just making the playoffs, they would have moved on from Sweeney by now. Not many GMs get the number of do-overs that Sweeney does.