Confirmed with Link: Bruins hire Don Sweeney as GM

[ODAAT]

Interesting photo they used for the official announcement:

Sweeney the intellectual? Sweeney the techie? Sweeney the capgeek?

I'm also sure John Henry will appreciate the subtle NESN plug...

PJ needs a comb

Ok, let the Sweeney era begin

 

[Ace0813]

funny, that would have been a good tagline for the 2014-2015 Bruins

I thought that was Behind Our G

 

[LavioletteScores]

Look at the computer, it's a secret code... HP as in Hall-Pastrnak, Krejci's wingers next year.

Nah, unknown stars Hewlitt and Packard will do just fine.

 

[Kovi]

when have I ever steered you wrong.....great move I don't care what he says, his actions will speak louder

Su Chang's sounds good one of these days

SC sounds great. I may be starting a new job soon, so we should get the horses out of the barn.

I give Sweeney a chance....I still dont like in house moves.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Does he have a son in some high school that he can draft ?

Outstanding

 

[Hockey64]

From a backwards look at this hiring, we know the upper management (Neely, Jacobs, Sinden) were interviewing a number of candidates. A bit of speculation, but would guess that each candidate had to provide some sort of vision for what they would do with roster/coaching.

And then Upper Management then selects the vision that most closely resembles their own feelings.

So the selection of Sweeney at least fits one piece of the puzzle where we can start to speculate what his vision was that allowed him to get hired and a fair number of people here are suggesting it may be the old boys club where nothing changes.

If we are to believe that the vision Sweeney presented won the group over, was there any hint as to what Neely, Jacobs and Sinden were suggesting as to what they wanted? I was thinking there was some mention in the press that at least Neely wanted change, am guessing Jacobs wanted change (with his comments during the season). Thus I am having a difficult time believing that Sweeney's vision is one of status quo.

Only time will tell and at least the first domino to fall has happened. Looking forward to the next 6-8 weeks!

 

[DoubleAAAA]

JFJ will help with trades/contracts.

That's what he was brought in to do and it wasn't by Chiarelli.

Because if JFJ has excelled at anything in his career ... it's trades and contracts

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Yeah, this definitely isn't what I wanted to see.

I'm willing to give Sweeny a chance. I think, despite being PC's right hand man, he has a different vision than what PC had going on.

JFJ gets a lot of grief for his stint in TOR, but he did some good work in SJ afterwards. If recent history has shown us anything, it's how dysfunctional that TOR franchise was. Nobody was succeeding there until it was burnt to the ground and rebuilt.

That's not on JFJ. I think he will be fine here, whatever his role.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

What is wrong with this guy, why is he dragging his feet signing players!


Too soon?

Oh great ... he's #evaluating.


(Am I doing this right?)

 

[ThorntonFightClub*]

The more I think about this the more it smells like a mouthpiece for Cam and Charlie who needs to get permission to blow his nose

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Ferguson has an eye for talent... Chad Kilger, Jeff O'Neill, Jason Allison, Hal Gill, Pavel Kubina, Boyd Devereaux, Mark Bell

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/ferguson-timeline/

 

[neelynugs]

Interesting photo they used for the official announcement:

"why is campbell out there again?"

 

[sarge88]

For now, for me, no knee jerk reactions. Congratulations to Don and I hope he can earn the trust shown in him today. I think that it's a good move but of course the the proof is in the pudding....
I'm very glad that it's over, that they don't have to worry about compensation to the Rags and that ol' goat Sather. Now they can move ahead and do what needs to be done and look forward instead of around and behind as we've all been doing...Here's to Donny Sweeney, Cam Neely et al!

I feel much the same way, the only difference is that I don't think it's a good move.

I will give it time to play out, however, in hopes that Sweeney was against almost every single move Chia made over the past year and a half or so.

 

[Greek_physique]

Ferguson IMO is very similar to MOC.

Doesn't make the best of trades, however he drafted fairly well:

T.Rask, A.Strolman, Kadri, Gunnerson, Kulemin, Komorov.

As long as we're not throwing away 1st rounders for immediate help, we're a little better off

 

[Strange Universe]

first order of business - lock up Dougie

Two cheeseburgers and one large fry to go please.

Let's give the man his opportunity before we all ##it on him already.
I am with DKH and others that believe he has the abilities to turn things around for us.
Go B's Go!!

 

[SPV]

I'm sure this has already been said, but it's worth repeating. Sweeney & Neely are lifelong Bruins, so you have to feel a little more confident that they both care about the future of the team at least as much as we do, well maybe not "us" in the lunatic fringe, but your regular lifelong Bruin fan.

 

[sarge88]

poor don sweeney will be public enemy number 1 soon enough

Not if he doesn't suck!

 

[Ice Nine]

JFJ gets a lot of grief for his stint in TOR, but he did some good work in SJ afterwards. If recent history has shown us anything, it's how dysfunctional that TOR franchise was. Nobody was succeeding there until it was burnt to the ground and rebuilt.

That's not on JFJ. I think he will be fine here, whatever his role.

It is very well deserved grief. He was an utter disaster in Toronto. I don't think a few years in SJ, with Doug Wilson holding his hand, erases the debacle.

He really, really, liked signing old, declining players as GM in Toronto, often to oversized contracts: Joe Nieuwendyk, Brian Leetch, Jason Allison, Jeff O'Neil, Lindros, Jason Blake, Ron Francis, Ed Balfour.

The exact opposite of what we need in Boston moving forward.

 

[LSCII]

Can't help but feel underwhelmed by this news. I know it was expected, but it just seems like more of the status quo. Once the other shoe drops and they announce Sweeney's choice of coach will be Julien, I just don't see a dynamic shift in how the on ice product will look. Besides all that, I feel that Julien was just as culpable of last season as Chiarelli was. Yes PC messed the cap up and left the team short up front, but Julien's misuse of the roster they did have caused just as many problems, IMO.

So for next year, my expectations are already incredibly low, and getting even lower as we hear that Sinden will have an expanded role. Ugh. Pair this news with Bob Kraft's p***yng out against the NFL yesterday, and I'm not sure the sports world in Boston can get much bleaker.

 

[Flannelman]

PJ needs a comb

Ok, let the Sweeney era begin

no, that's how BMC leaves him, all disheveled from their rendezvous

sorry, beemer, your secret crush on PJ has never been so secret.

 

[RustyBruins72]

I'm sure this has already been said, but it's worth repeating. Sweeney & Neely are lifelong Bruins, so you have to feel a little more confident that they both care about the future of the team at least as much as we do, well maybe not "us" in the lunatic fringe, but your regular lifelong Bruin fan.

How would you explain what happened in Edmonton? Just 2 guys who didn't know how to manage?

You can't tell me they didn't care. or. maybe you can.

 

[ThorntonFightClub*]

Not if he doesn't suck!

Chiarelli was the most successful GM in team history and was still hated

 

[SPV]

How would you explain what happened in Edmonton? Just 2 guys who didn't know how to manage?

You can't tell me they didn't care. or. maybe you can.

well I certainly 'could' tell you that. but no, I don't have a response to that. I'm trying to be a glass half full person.

 

[NeelyDan]

Can't help but feel underwhelmed by this news. I know it was expected, but it just seems like more of the status quo. Once the other shoe drops and they announce Sweeney's choice of coach will be Julien, I just don't see a dynamic shift in how the on ice product will look. Besides all that, I feel that Julien was just as culpable of last season as Chiarelli was. Yes PC messed the cap up and left the team short up front, but Julien's misuse of the roster they did have caused just as many problems, IMO.

So for next year, my expectations are already incredibly low, and getting even lower as we hear that Sinden will have an expanded role. Ugh. Pair this news with Bob Kraft's p***yng out against the NFL yesterday, and I'm not sure the sports world in Boston can get much bleaker.

Lol, why do you even watch sports?

 

[LSCII]

Lol, why do you even watch sports?

Clearly for the incredible interactions with fine posters such as yourself.

Don Sweeney was hired and trained by what former Bruin's GM? Why would you expect startlingly different results than his predecessor?