The trade deadline has passed, and the Boston Bruins were quite busy this year. But this season, unlike the past seasons in Don Sweeney’s tenure, they were sellers, not buyers. Overall, they traded Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, and most importantly, captain Brad Marchand, from the roster. While there are still great building blocks for this team in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Jeremy Swayman (when he bounces back after a disappointing season), the reality is that the franchise is entering a rebuilding stage.
Sweeney took over as general manager (GM) in 2015, the last time that the franchise was in a rebuilding mode. The Bruins just missed the playoffs in 2016, and then were back in the postseason in 2017, where they have appeared every season since. Credit to Sweeney, making the playoffs for eight seasons in a row is an accomplishment. He’s done a good job in his tenure retooling and rebuilding on the fly, going through the losses of key figures like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and Torey Krug, while keeping the team competitive.
But the time has come. The Bruins are entering a rebuild, and even though it was started under Sweeney, it should be carried out by someone else. After nine seasons, the franchise could use a fresh perspective as general manager.
Reality of Sweeney’s Tenure
Before Sweeney took over as GM, the position was held by Peter Chiarelli, who was hired in 2006. Similarly, he took over the position after the Bruins had not made the playoffs after a three-season stretch of postseason appearances. His first season in charge, the team didn’t make it, but then followed the 2006-07 season with a seven-season playoff streak that included the Stanley Cup win in 2011. The playoff streak was broken in the 2014-15 season, Chiarelli was fired, and the rebuild began.
Sweeney’s tenure has followed a similar pattern: he took over after a season in which a playoff streak was broken, missed the playoffs in the first season of his tenure, and then had a long stretch of postseason appearances. But while the patterns are there, the same results aren’t.
In the Bruins’ eight postseason appearances under Sweeney, they’ve only made it past the second round in one season, 2018-19, when they lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues. Chiarelli’s tenure had a decent amount of second-round exits, but he also had a Stanley Cup win and a second Finals appearance in 2012-13 when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.
So, while it has been impressive that Sweeney has kept this team in the postseason picture for so long, it isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before by a Bruins GM. The argument could even be made that he’s done a worse job with the team than his predecessor, who was replaced at the first sign of a rebuild.
Additionally, the Bruins’ long playoff streak is much more of a testament to the longstanding guys on the roster like Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, Chara, and Tuukka Rask, none of whom were drafted by Sweeney. There is also another team tied with Boston for eight straight playoff appearances, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are now on their third GM in that stretch.
This is not an article to completely bash Sweeney. He’s had his good moments. While his overall drafting skills are not great, he’s had some success with second-round picks (Carlo, Mason Lohrei, and Matthew Poitras) and even found Swayman in the fourth round. He’s made some great trade deadline deals in the past, particularly in 2021 when he was able to get Taylor Hall while retaining the Bruins’ first-round pick in the draft. Morgan Geekie was a fantastic free agent signing, and his contract extensions to Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy were both fair to the players without being completely detrimental to the team’s ability to bring in other talent.
But at the end of the day, he’s been in Boston for nine seasons with only playoff appearances and a Stanley Cup Final loss to show for it. Even their record-setting 65-win season in 2022-23 is great, but what does it mean at the end of the day without a Cup win? Most GMs have gotten way less runway than he has in Boston, and with a rebuild on the horizon for the first time since Sweeney took over from Chiarelli, it’s time to bring in a new perspective.
Sweeney’s Track Record with Young Players
The Bruins have changed coaches. They’ve made adjustments to the roster. They’ve done everything but change the GM in the last nine years. After making so many big changes at the trade deadline, the franchise should go the whole nine yards and replace the GM as well.
A lot of what needs to change for this rebuild boils down to one major factor, young players, and Sweeney’s track record is not great. The Bruins have one of the weakest farm systems in the NHL. Yes, they haven’t had many high draft picks, but they aren’t the only team that has been competitive for several seasons and traded away picks for players at the deadline. Yet, their prospect pool is considered lower than teams like the Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, or Carolina Hurricanes. As a consequence of their weak farm system, they’ve consistently had to bring in expensive veteran players either at the trade deadline or free agency.
Under Sweeney, the Bruins have selected nine players in the first round: Jakub Zboril (2015), Jake DeBrusk (2015), Zachary Senyshyn (2015), Charlie McAvoy (2016), Trent Frederic (2016), Urho Vaakanainen (2017), Johnny Beecher (2019), Fabian Lysell (2021), and Dean Letourneau (2024). It’s not the greatest list, especially when starting to look at guys who were available around these picks in the draft, names like Mathew Barzal (2015), Kyle Connor (2015), Thomas Chabot (2015), Alex DeBrincat (2016), Robert Thomas (2017), and Wyatt Johnston (2021). Of Sweeney’s first-round picks, only four of them are still with the team, and only two are consistently playing in Boston every night.
It’s not just the picks themselves, it’s the front office’s development strategy that seems to have hampered many of their prospects as well. Young players can’t prove themselves in the NHL if they aren’t given opportunities to play. The team has been struggling for most of the 2024-25 season. Why aren’t Georgii Merkulov and Fabian Lysell, the team’s two main prospects, playing in Boston? Even now, both are healthy and getting points down in Providence. In light of all the deadline changes, why are they not getting called up? Throughout his tenure, Sweeney has prioritized bringing in aging veterans with a proven track record even if they’re on the backslide of their career, rather than giving opportunities to young players, and that is not the mindset a GM needs going into a rebuild.
Either Sweeney has failed to properly identify and draft or sign college free agents outside of a handful of players, or they have hampered the development of these guys by giving them minimal opportunities to grow and prove themselves. Neither option is good, especially if a team is going into a rebuild. What good are all these draft picks and young players being brought in by the fire sale that happened at the deadline if the GM has a track record of not drafting or developing young players well?
The Marchand Situation
Even before the trade deadline, there were already chants at Bruins games to fire Sweeney. But the trading of Marchand has only stirred up more resentment towards him from the fans. While this in and of itself should not be the main concern by ownership, the information that is coming out about how the extension talks went and the way Sweeney has talked about it so far should raise some alarm bells.
Marchand was a player who repeatedly expressed over the years that he wanted to be a lifelong Bruin. Before his trade, he was the second-highest point scorer on the team (only trailing Pastrnak) and took over the captain position after Bergeron’s retirement in 2023. He spent 16 seasons in Boston and was a fan favorite for years. He will be a free agent this summer, but at 36, he hasn’t slowed down too significantly (21 goals and 47 points in 61 games this season).
Trading him, in general, is going to upset fans, but sending him to the Florida Panthers of all teams for only a conditional second-round pick that may become a first in either the 2027 or 2028 Draft has enraged the city of Boston. It’s great that he’s going to a contender and a team he wanted, but the return? That’s it? For Brad Marchand? Less impactful players went in deals with similar or higher returns this deadline.
There have been several rumors floating around about what the contract extension offer was from Sweeney to Marchand’s camp. Some report it was a two-year deal, others a three-year deal, which, given his age, is very reasonable. But the issue is that the two sides were far apart on the average annual value (AAV), with the Bruins allegedly offering a deal with a $3 million AAV. That is not great considering he was the second-highest point scorer (and has been for many seasons), and the cap is projected to increase by $7.5 million next season. Even taking into account his age, a three-year deal with a $5 million AAV isn’t that crazy, and it’s not a long-term commitment if he does suddenly fall off dramatically, which is a risk with any deal.
But this has been another hallmark of Sweeney’s tenure. Not only has he struggled to develop young players, but he’s also lowballed current players, let them walk, and then overspent to bring in guys in free agency. Look at the David Backes contract from earlier in his career. Look at him letting DeBrusk go last season and then bringing in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov on expensive, long-term contracts that have not looked good in their first season.
This whole situation, from lowballing a legacy, 16-year veteran and captain, to trading him last minute for a poor return, has really left a sour taste in the mouths of fans. But it also sends a concerning message to other players on the team and around the league. Pastrnak and McAvoy are undoubtedly professionals, but there has to be some worry for them that they could get similar treatment when they’re up for extensions. That is not the message anyone should want a front office sending to their star players.
Bruins Need Change
The Bruins have already taken steps to tear it all down. They’ve fired their coach. They’ve traded away major roster pieces. Now it’s time to fully commit to the rebuild and bring in a new GM as well. A new perspective isn’t a bad thing. Sweeney has had nine seasons. He had his highs, and he’s had his lows, and there are valid concerns about his ability to draft and develop young players. The details of the Marchand extension talks have also not painted him in a great light for fans and players alike.
Sweeney inherited a great core group of players when he took over the team in 2015, and he failed to build a championship roster around them. Now in 2025, the Bruins still have a talented core group of players to build around, but I don’t think anyone but team ownership is confident that Sweeney is the best person to do that.
