Management Don Sweeney & Cam Neely speak to the media - 6/15/21

[Mr. Make-Believe]

So if @BrainOfJ does his Pulitzer Prize winning investing on the Nash trade thread you will be down as hating it?

I’m a Sweeney Fanboy who hated Bergeron, McAvoy, and Pastrnak pick and went with Vancouver in 5 in 2011 but there are many here who’ve never wrong in their universe.

if you had Nash playing 17 games and career over God bless you, you are from a higher source

I loved the deal but hey we all know I would do that

I’m more busting your chops on this one, Dan. I’ve always been a vocal supporter of the Nash trade, even if the cost was something that made me uncomfortable. That was a good deadline for Sweeney and if Nash hadn’t gotten hurt, I believe he would have re-signed in Boston.

Personally this “analysis” of Gorton vs. Sweeney is something I find tedious and tiresome. You can make any GM an absolute hero/total POS if you boil down the tenure to just the wins or mistakes respectively. Very little honesty in this futile and pointless debate.

Traditionally, I’m mixed on Sweeney. Lots of things he’s done I love. Lots of things he’s done (or failed to do) that I’ve hated. But he’s in my good graces as of today, because the most recent things on his resume are Reilly (I’m with Bill on this guy - I really like him, what he brought and want to see him back) Hall and Lazar… all for couch change. It’s Cassidy I’m pissed with.

Management has its work cut out for it this offseason though. I don’t even know what to do from here - or even what I’d want to happen. We’ve already lost Chara from our “core” and we’re staring down the barrel of losing two more in Krejci and Tuukka. I guess all I ask is whatever they decide, I want to see the courage to go all-in on that decision.

 

[Hamilton Brian]

I find all of Neely's end-of-season press stuff sounds the same. Same messages, same frustrations, same things that is missing from the team.

Learned well from his buddy Harry! Say enough, chance a word, add some punctuation, some hyperbole, and an explanation mark. Season recap done and in the can.

 

[Gordoff]

What is the point of your list if you don't stick with it? It boggles my mind. Query all your scouts, come up with your draft rankings list & then just stick with it, especially in early rounds. This isn't hard.

Right, Sweeney was already an assistant GM here he didn't fall out of an airplane and into the front office. He was supposedly groomed for the position. He obviously didn't have his finger on the pulse of the situation and was caught with his pants down. I know what his scouts may have told him to do but the buck stops at his feet. So far, 6 years and status quo. That status being that they would not have moved forward at all if not for the "Perfection Line" & Rask. Basically this team is stagnating and as soon as Bergy, Marchand, DK and Rask retire or leave it's gonna hit the fan bigtime. That time is fast approaching. The cupboard is bare, this falls at Sweeney's feet.

 

[TCB]

I’m more busting your chops on this one, Dan. I’ve always been a vocal supporter of the Nash trade, even if the cost was something that made me uncomfortable. That was a good deadline for Sweeney and if Nash hadn’t gotten hurt, I believe he would have re-signed in Boston.

Personally this “analysis” of Gorton vs. Sweeney is something I find tedious and tiresome. You can make any GM an absolute hero/total POS if you boil down the tenure to just the wins or mistakes respectively. Very little honesty in this futile and pointless debate.

Traditionally, I’m mixed on Sweeney. Lots of things he’s done I love. Lots of things he’s done (or failed to do) that I’ve hated. But he’s in my good graces as of today, because the most recent things on his resume are Reilly (I’m with Bill on this guy - I really like him, what he brought and want to see him back) Hall and Lazar… all for couch change. It’s Cassidy I’m pissed with.

Management has its work cut out for it this offseason though. I don’t even know what to do from here - or even what I’d want to happen. We’ve already lost Chara from our “core” and we’re staring down the barrel of losing two more in Krejci and Tuukka. I guess all I ask is whatever they decide, I want to see the courage to go all-in on that decision.

I guess you right on how you want to spin your web on making any GM a hero or a POS, but Sweeney has been ridiculously bad. I mean transactions and drafting statistics don't lie.

The bad far out weighs the good with him. Sure if U just want to say Sweeney drafted McAvoy . Ill give him that and he's made a few decent deals but his bad has been earth shattering and he as of today left the Bruins cupboards bare. This guy has continually dug himself deeper and repeatedly even after he climbed his way up the pit, that he helped orchestrated, he'd make another move to fall back down.

One step forward two steps back, can't wait for his next move.

 

[Gordoff]

I guess you right on how you want to spin your web on making any GM a hero or a POS, but Sweeney has been ridiculously bad. I mean transactions and drafting statistics don't lie.

The bad far out weighs the good with him. Sure if U just want to say Sweeney drafted McAvoy . Ill give him that and he's made a few decent deals but his bad has been earth shattering and he as of today left the Bruins cupboards bare. This guy has continually dug himself deeper and repeatedly even after he climbed his way up the pit, that he helped orchestrated, he'd make another move to fall back down.

One step forward two steps back, can't wait for his next move.

Ha, I keep hoping and praying that I'm wrong about him and he's going to shock the ever loving sh*t out of me but.....
There's always tomorrow and "hope floats." LOL
It's almost like the longest episode of "The Office."

 

[TCB]

Ha, I keep hoping and praying that I'm wrong about him and he's going to shock the ever loving sh*t out of me but.....
There's always tomorrow and "hope floats." LOL
It's almost like the longest episode of "The Office."

That's it exactly. I'd love to see him turn this ship around but I have very little faith in him, like him or not his past history isn't good, a GM duty just isn't for the now its also to build for the future and Sweeney has self inflicted himself not only with the past and the present with bad drafts, signings and trades, he has also managed to, make the future look very bleak.

They have the talent and still the pieces but so far from what ive seen from Sweeney, he's not the man I want directing this team,. I hope Im wrong, but so far he's had a whole lot more bad than good.

 

[Gordoff]

That's it exactly. I'd love to see him turn this ship around but I have very little faith in him, like him or not his past history isn't good, a GM duty just isn't for the now its also to build for the future and Sweeney has self inflicted himself not only with the past and the present with bad drafts, signings and trades, he has also managed to, make the future look very bleak.

They have the talent and still the pieces but so far from what ive seen from Sweeney, he's not the man I want directing this team,. I hope Im wrong, but so far he's had a whole lot more bad than good.

We all would. Gotta admit though, he's like Teflon, nothing so far has stuck to him.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I guess you right on how you want to spin your web on making any GM a hero or a POS, but Sweeney has been ridiculously bad. I mean transactions and drafting statistics don't lie.

The bad far out weighs the good with him. Sure if U just want to say Sweeney drafted McAvoy . Ill give him that and he's made a few decent deals but his bad has been earth shattering and he as of today left the Bruins cupboards bare. This guy has continually dug himself deeper and repeatedly even after he climbed his way up the pit, that he helped orchestrated, he'd make another move to fall back down.

One step forward two steps back, can't wait for his next move.

And this is fair too. I’m more on the case of the Gorton/Sweeney argument where one person says all the bad things that one guy did and then another person mentions a bunch of shit from the other GM and… on and on.

You want to judge, take the whole body of work. I’m not a Sweeney humper, but there are far worse out there.

Is this management team the right one for the future? I’m skeptical too. Depending on how this offseason goes…

 

[missingchicklet]

That's it exactly. I'd love to see him turn this ship around but I have very little faith in him, like him or not his past history isn't good, a GM duty just isn't for the now its also to build for the future and Sweeney has self inflicted himself not only with the past and the present with bad drafts, signings and trades, he has also managed to, make the future look very bleak.

They have the talent and still the pieces but so far from what ive seen from Sweeney, he's not the man I want directing this team,. I hope Im wrong, but so far he's had a whole lot more bad than good.

Leopards normally don't change their spots. I like to believe that people learn from their mistakes and can show growth. Hasn't been the case with this crew. DS has been GM for 6 seasons. The guys he inherited 6 seasons ago are still the main contributors to the team offensively. A couple good d-men and a promising goalie have been added via draft, but other than that DS has been a failure in building for the future. The cupboard is largely bare, despite what some of the pom pom crew tell us every year, then get let down. Results of 6 seasons of this GM: DNQ, 1st round loss, 2nd round loss, SCF loss, 2nd round loss, 2nd round loss. That would look better if the Bs system had some really good players in the pipeline, but even that is considered weak to mediocre other than at goalie. Just look at the prospect pool rankings by various sources. The Bs are near the bottom in all of them. Point is, DS has had enough time to build around the core he inherited as well as build for the future. He has failed. Keeping him in charge and expecting different results is sheer stupidity at this point. Same can be said of Cassidy. He is who he is -- talented in some areas but his glaring weaknesses give him a ceiling, and he has shown he is inflexible.

I've had a good time over the past week re-watching all the 2011 Bs playoff games and some of the 2013 games. It was great to have a well-assembled team built for the playoffs, a coach who didn't get his ass handed to him by the other coach, big strong D who punished the other teams, and players who didn't play neutered and fought like hell for every possession, especially the bottom 6 guys.

 

[Gordoff]

And this is fair too. I’m more on the case of the Gorton/Sweeney argument where one person says all the bad things that one guy did and then another person mentions a bunch of shit from the other GM and… on and on.

You want to judge, take the whole body of work. I’m not a Sweeney humper, but there are far worse out there.

Is this management team the right one for the future? I’m skeptical too. Depending on how this offseason goes…

Right, this off season is probably the most pivotal in his tenure. We're at a crossroads and we all know that they aren't going to start a deep rebuild but yet another refresh (for lack of a better term). If he blows this, with all of the cap space that he has and could have this summer he and the Bruins will be in a bad way. Conversely, if he were to rebuild the defense with IMO 2 burly, talented, body moving defensemen and then rebuild the 3rd and 4th lines with some of the (right) names being thrown around here they can be in contention. This team really needs guys both on the back end and the bottom 2 forward lines who are a PIA to play against and also punish/move opposing players from in front of our net and pound opposing defensemen on the other end. Without some fairly sweeping changes in those positions it'll be Business As Usual and we won't get past the second round again (if we're lucky).

 

[TCB]

And this is fair too. I’m more on the case of the Gorton/Sweeney argument where one person says all the bad things that one guy did and then another person mentions a bunch of shit from the other GM and… on and on.

You want to judge, take the whole body of work. I’m not a Sweeney humper, but there are far worse out there.

Is this management team the right one for the future? I’m skeptical too. Depending on how this offseason goes…

His whole body of work is his problem, its been disastrous, point blank.

And Is there really far worse out there ?

Sweeney has been been pretty bad, I mean major mistakes that continue to set this franchise back, from the 2015 draft to signing Backes and Belesky. Those alone will go down in Bruins history as one of the the worst drafts (from what could of been) and more than likely two of the worst signings ever in Bruins History.

The Nash deal was terrible, and I don't care what anyone thought of it when it first happen good or bad a GM gets paid for results and acquiring a player who had a history of concussions was very risky. The Rangers will prosper from this trade for many years, Nash is out of the league as are 8 more players who Sweeney has traded away futures for. He had A double whammy with Backes and Belesky two he had signed as Free-agents and who were moved along with a Bruins first round pick to help shed some or all of their salary, inexcusable. He strapped himself salary wise with the two bad signings and then had to trade away futures to move those players and find cap relief.

Letting Chara and Krug walk for free and then never addressing the loss in the off-season. One can counter well he gave the youth a chance to step up. He failed and ultimately he's responsible and needs to make darn sure he has replacements to support the talented core he inherited. He's traded away a whole lot of picks for players who were one and out and that's not out of Boston but out of the league.

He's failed to address the second line RW since 2015. He continues to take the off-season off and try's to make a splash come deadline by trading away future assets. He's failed same old carousal year after year has left his cupboards nearly bare.

Even his better deals come with warts, he acquired Johansson but in giving up a 2nd and a 4th once again at the deadline he let Johansson walk in the off-season for free and Johansson signed elsewhere for peanuts. His trade for Coyle was sweet but then he turns around and Gives him a NMC, Charlie Coyle your third-line center a NMC, that's a head-scratcher.

Giving away R.Smith for Jimmy Hayes not so good, a 3rd for Rinaldo not so good , a 2nd and 4th for Lee Stempniak was point blank Terrible, a 3rd and a 5th for Liles not so good, and even when he did do good he turns around and shoots himself in the foot with the two previous trades mentioned above and the deals leading up yo the 2015 draft.

This past deadline Ill give him props in the deals he made. Lazar and Reilly for a 3rd was a heist and taking advantage of Hall saying he would only play for the Bruins, well even if it did fall in his lap, you can't blame him for that, but really how much credit can u give him ? Adams had to get something and the Bruins were the team. But he still didn't fix the right-side yet again and he failed to bring in a sure top fire shut-down guy on the left side to help replace krug and Chara. The bruins were also one series win and out that's not good enough. As he traded a talented young Anders Bjork and two more picks in a 2nd and a 3rd and as of today Smith nor Hall have a contract with the bruins.

This isn't a resume other teams will be knocking down his door to hire, if the Bruins were to show him the door today.

 

[CartographerNo611]

Also, good thing they didn't grab OEL for a discount to help eat up minutes and PK time on the LHD.

You don’t want OEL on the PK. He is a PP type of player. He is just a really expensive Kaberle when he was declining.

Better off just going after Forbert on the cheap since Boston has a size issue on the backend when Carlo is out. Good for Pk duties and can skate well for a big guy.

 

[Blowfish]

Is there really ?

Sweeney has been been pretty bad, I mean major mistakes that continue to set this franchise back, from the 2015 draft to signing Backes and Belesky. Those alone will go down in Bruins history as one of the the worst drafts (from what could of been) and more than likely two of the worst signings ever in Bruins History.

The Nash deal was terrible, and I don't care what anyone thought of it when it first happen good or bad a GM gets paid for results and acquiring a player who had a history of concussions was very risky. The Rangers will prosper from this trade for many years, Nash is out of the league as are 8 more players who Sweeney has traded away futures for. He had A double whammy with Backes and Belesky two he had signed as Free-agents and who were moved along with a Bruins first round pick to help shed some or all of their salary, inexcusable. He strapped himself salary wise with the two bad signings and then had to trade away futures to move those players and find cap relief.

Letting Chara and Krug walk for free and then never addressing the loss in the off-season. One can counter well he gave the youth a chance to step up. He failed and ultimately he's responsible and needs to make darn sure he has replacements to support the talented core he inherited. He's traded away a whole lot of picks for players who were one and out and that's not out of Boston but out of the league.

He's failed to address the second line RW since 2015. He continues to take the off-season off and try's to make a splash come deadline by trading away future assets. He's failed same old carousal year after has left his cupboards nearly bare.

Even his better deals come with warts, he acquired Johansson but in giving up a 2nd and a 4th once again at the deadline he let Johansson walk in the off-season for free and Johansson signed elsewhere for peanuts. His trade for Coyle was sweet but then he turns around and Gives him a NMC, Charlie Coyle your third-line center a NMC, that's a head-scratcher.

Giving away R.Smith for Jimmy Hayes not so good, a 3rd for Rinaldo not so good , a 2nd and 4th foe Lee Stempniak was point blank Terrible, a 3rd and a 5th for Liles not so good, and even when he did do good he turns around and shoots himself in the foot with the two previous trades mentioned above and the deals leading up yo the 2015 draft.

This past deadline Ill give him props in the deals he made. Lazar and Reilly for a 3rd was a heist and taking advantage of Hall saying he would only play for the Bruins, well even if it did fall in his lap, you can't blame him for that, but really how much credit can u give him ? Adams had to get something and the Bruins were the team. But he still didn't fix the right-side yet again and he failed to bring in a sure top fire shut-down guy on the left side to help replace krug and Chara. The bruins were also one series win and out that's not good enough. As he traded a talented young Anders Bjork and two more picks in a 2nd and a 3rd and as of today Smith nor Hall have a contract with the bruins.

This isn't a resume other teams will be knocking down his door to hire, if the Bruins were to show him the door today.

Reading this stuff hurts bad but also reeks Neely influence.

Cut ties with Neely and maybe things improve.

 

[BruinDust]

This isn't a resume other teams will be knocking down his door to hire, if the Bruins were to show him the door today.

I'm critical of Sweeney but I'd put money on if he was let go tomorrow he immediate goes on a short-list for a bunch of teams whose current GM involuntarily has one foot out the door so to speak.

Sweeney had more team success in his now 6 years at the helm than say Ron Francis did who was basically hand-picked by Seattle ownership. More team success than a lot of GMs really. He'd be in demand if he was suddenly unemployed.

On the flip side, I cannot envision Cam Neely as President of an NHL franchise anywhere other than with the Bruins. I don't think any franchise would hire him for that role.

 

[Blowfish]

I'm critical of Sweeney but I'd put money on if he was let go tomorrow he immediate goes on a short-list for a bunch of teams whose current GM involuntarily has one foot out the door so to speak.

Sweeney had more team success in his now 6 years at the helm than say Ron Francis did who was basically hand-picked by Seattle ownership. More team success than a lot of GMs really. He'd be in demand if he was suddenly unemployed.

On the flip side, I cannot envision Cam Neely as President of an NHL franchise anywhere other than with the Bruins. I don't think any franchise would hire him for that role.

Exactly ... Jacobs stand up and Ulf Neely out!

 

[member 96824]

Reading this stuff hurts bad but also reeks Neely influence.

Cut ties with Neely and maybe things improve.

Cam lost my faith in 2015 and I agree he needs to go. Management was in the middle of blowing one of the greatest opportunities in salary cap sports that I can recall and the air was so stale upstairs you could still smell a cigarette that Harry Sinden smoked in 1992. Instead of addressing it, the gang all got pats on the back and promotions while the outsider was jettisoned off.

BUT

Where some of the rhetoric loses me is here. I don’t doubt that Cam sets a vision, maybe even some strategy. In his role he also rubber stamps all transactions. However, there is 0.0.0% chance he is pro scouting Florida panthers games, negotiating details of a trade, terms of a contract extension, etc. that goes to Don and the people put in place underneath Don.

No doubt once the boys club got all of themselves into position that Neely took a larger, more front and center role, but I just struggle with the logical leap when it’s probably just as likely he didn’t even know who Jimmy Hayes was.

 

[TCB]

I'm critical of Sweeney but I'd put money on if he was let go tomorrow he immediate goes on a short-list for a bunch of teams whose current GM involuntarily has one foot out the door so to speak.

Sweeney had more team success in his now 6 years at the helm than say Ron Francis did who was basically hand-picked by Seattle ownership. More team success than a lot of GMs really. He'd be in demand if he was suddenly unemployed.

On the flip side, I cannot envision Cam Neely as President of an NHL franchise anywhere other than with the Bruins. I don't think any franchise would hire him for that role.

I respect your opinion as always and he more than likely would be on a short list of some teams but I in no way see him being hired but Ive been wrong before.

With Francis, I feel they hired the Class act and the person in Ron Francis on who he is and the way he carries himself and how he's respected around the league more than the GM Ron Francis.

 

[BruinDust]

I respect your opinion as always and he more than likely would be on a short list of some teams but I in no way see him being hired but Ive been wrong before.

With Francis, I feel they hired the Class act and the person in Ron Francis on who he is and the way he carries himself and how he's respected around the league more than the GM Ron Francis.

You make a good point about Francis. Certainly his conduct and how he carries himself garners respect and is and should be a very important factor when deciding on hiring someone in a public leadership position such as Francis is in now. He's basically the only face of the franchise since it's early inception so in his case it's even more important to hire someone who is classy and commands respect. In particular when trying to sell the team to potential corporate sponsors who may not know a lot about the NHL and hockey. You want your Pres/GM giving those sponsors a positive impression whenever they interact.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Cam lost my faith in 2015 and I agree he needs to go. Management was in the middle of blowing one of the greatest opportunities in salary cap sports that I can recall and the air was so stale upstairs you could still smell a cigarette that Harry Sinden smoked in 1992. Instead of addressing it, the gang all got pats on the back and promotions while the outsider was jettisoned off.

BUT

Where some of the rhetoric loses me is here. I don’t doubt that Cam sets a vision, maybe even some strategy. In his role he also rubber stamps all transactions. However, there is 0.0.0% chance he is pro scouting Florida panthers games, negotiating details of a trade, terms of a contract extension, etc. that goes to Don and the people put in place underneath Don.

No doubt once the boys club got all of themselves into position that Neely took a larger, more front and center role, but I just struggle with the logical leap when it’s probably just as likely he didn’t even know who Jimmy Hayes was.

I think Cam knows the players, knows the league, knows the game.

But some posters think he has way more influence on player movement than he really does.

 

[NeelyDan]

I think Cam knows the players, knows the league, knows the game.

But some posters think he has way more influence on player movement than he really does.

How can you know this? To your point, how can anyone? Short of a legitimate insider. Is that what you're basing this statement on?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

How can you know this? To your point, how can anyone? Short of a legitimate insider. Is that what you're basing this statement on?

You are right, I don't know for a fact.

I'm basing it on job description.

Neely may have more influence than I think he does, but its not his job to decide who stays and who goes and who comes in. That is Sweeney's job.

 

[TCB]

How can you know this? To your point, how can anyone? Short of a legitimate insider. Is that what you're basing this statement on?

That goes both ways

 

[LouJersey]

I think Cam knows the players, knows the league, knows the game.

But some posters think he has way more influence on player movement than he really does.

Only on the bad moves, or when the player is over 6'1"

 

[NeelyDan]

That goes both ways

Sorry - what does?

 

[NeelyDan]

You are right, I don't know for a fact.

I'm basing it on job description.

Neely may have more influence than I think he does, but its not his job to decide who stays and who goes and who comes in. That is Sweeney's job.

You've said both influence and decision - gotta pick a pony and ride it. What I'd say is I agree it's the GM's job to decide, but to think any President wouldn't have some degree of influence is not realistic.