The Boston Bruins thrust Don Sweeney into the general manager position in replacement of Peter Chiarelli on May 20, 2015.
Originally he made some questionable decisions—trading both Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic for draft picks and then passing on now-stars Mathew Barzal and Kyle Connor in the opening round of the draft. However, it is because of those decisions, along with the promotion of Bruce Cassidy to head coach, that Sweeney has been able to lead the Bruins back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the last two seasons.
Since his initial flurry of activity on the trade block, Sweeney has followed the model of drafting and developing young players and integrating them into a lineup already rife with veterans. Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk are two of the most shining examples of this method. McAvoy stood out in his rookie season as he put up 35 points as a 20-year-old. DeBrusk was successful as well as he racked up 16 goals and 43 points. More importantly, DeBrusk was one of the strongest forwards during the Bruins’ playoff run. It’s safe to say his game seven performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t soon be forgotten in Boston.
That goal propelled the Bruins into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, an achievement that many believed was unattainable for last year’s team. Building off of that success, Sweeney kept it simple this offseason. He refrained from making a massive splash with a huge contract on day one of free agency, something that many general managers have fallen victim to—including himself with Matt Beleskey’s contract in 2015.
The biggest moves from this offseason were signing defenseman John Moore to a five-year deal for $2.75 million a year and goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a two-year deal at the same yearly price. Both of these signings, along with the re-signing of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and bottom-six forward Sean Kuraly to two and three-year deals respectively, solidified the lineup for the next few years.
Sweeney managed to put together a very potent combination of veterans who’ve been in the game for over a decade and young players who are just starting their rookie or sophomore season. Any holes that are in the lineup will likely be filled either by rookies Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson when it comes to the top nine, and smaller offseason pickups Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom.
Players like Donato can bring a huge influx of offensive spark outside the top line that the Bruins desperately needed against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. Bruins fans will be hoping to see a lot more of this from the Harvard standout in the near future.
Don Sweeney and the Bruins have a recipe for success boiling. The smartest thing that the management and coaching staff can do to bring this team to a point where they can challenge for the Stanley Cup is to add small pieces like a Chris Kelly or Rich Peverley when necessary. It was those small pieces that put the Bruins over the hump in 2011.
If Don Sweeney learned anything as assistant general manager to Peter Chiarelli, it’s how to take that extra step to become Stanley Cup Champions. Staying the course and sticking with what he’s already put in place is Sweeney’s best bet.
