Management Don Sweeney III

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prizminferno

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Feb 14, 2019
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Simmonds with another massive stinker and played less than 10 min of 5 on 5. 13 total TOI, the worst Pred on the ice by far.

Sweeney > you
 

KnightofBoston

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Mar 22, 2010
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The Valley of Pioneers
boston fan here 100% but little worried about upcoming playoffs. Here is my reasons :
1) do not want bruins to play Toronto in first round and it looks like a pretty much guarantee
2) think the bruins would have a better shot being a wild card seed ( first wild card position)
3) do not want to play Toronto because I think the bruins are peeking to early they are playing
there best hockey right now. Need to play there best hockey in april. Also think Cassidy and Sweeney
should start sitting players periodically here namely Bergeron, chara, krejci, marchand, McAvoy, krug,.
They need to be well rested facing the leafs.
4) on to the leafs they are facing some adversity now but lets dig deeper : last season there #3 and #4 centres
were Thomas pleckanic and domenic moore. They have added John Tavares, and Nic Petan who I think will
start with the Marlies and by time playoffs start will be the regular number 4 centre. that is an upgrade from
last season. Also added Muzzin on D which will upgrade there d core from last season with dermott being one
year older with experience under his belt.
5) remember last season the series went 7 games with kadri being suspended for 3 of the games.
6) this season with the additions of Tavares and muzzin and everything else being equal the leafs will beat the bruins
7) the bruins added Coyle and Johansson and have a healthy Carlo as opposed to last season, do not think that
will be enough to overcome what the leafs will throw at them.
8) Toronto's 4th line will consist of Petan, Nick Baptiste, and Trevor Moore come playoff time ( book it) they will be the
talk of the series.


Two questions

What master do you serve?

And,


Does their name rhyme with shmoronto shmaple queefs?
 

kjpm

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I think Sweeney's progressed every year he's been GM. His most criticized moves took place early on in his tenure (2015 draft, Backes signing, Beleskey, etc.). He's clearly learned from his mistakes. He's no longer been targeting slow physical players that are past their prime but is bringing in more skilled, younger guys in their prime who fit the system. Their player evaluation certainly seems to have improved.

He stuck to low-risk players in their prime this past offseason and avoided taking on additional anchor contracts. I think a more inexperienced Sweeney probably would have brought back Riley Nash based on his career year last year, but I'm glad he didn't (though I know some still think he should have). I'm sure Columbus wishes he did now. The John Moore deal was maybe a bit controversial, but he'd be easily moveable if necessary and a great insurance policy should another defenseman get injured in the playoffs this year (knock on wood!). Also gives them some depth should lose a defenseman to Seattle.

I loved his trade deadline this year, especially compared to years past (thinking the Stempniak and Liles year in particular). Coyle and Johansson have fit like a glove so far. He managed to improve the team significantly without mortgaging the future or overpaying. I actually liked the Nash deal last year, though obviously in hindsight it didn't work out due to the concussion issues. Nash played great before the Paquette hit and he managed to offload half of Beleskey's contract and Spooner, who I was never enamoured with. Definitely nice to see him aiming higher than the Drew Stafford journeymen types.

I think what will be key moving forward is to avoid taking on any more anchor contracts and signing older players to long term deals that require buyouts. This is what got Chiarelli in trouble and was undoubtedly an issue for Sweeney in his first few years. He needs to draft well and keep those ELC contract guys coming in to manage the cap when the older, middling guys get too expensive.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with what Sweeney's done. I think he's an above average GM and am far more comfortable with him than I would be most other GMs. At least he's not out there trading for Eric Gudbranson in 2019.
 

whatsbruin

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Feb 27, 2002
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I'm not going to say Sweeney is a genius, but he has done a damn fine job, even with a few warts.
He has a great goalie, and a great backup.
He has a strong defense, two who are almost exclusively defensive d'men, one almost exclusively offensive, and four who can play strong D, and move the puck extremely effeciently.
He has, what you can argue is the best number 1 line in hockey.
He has, a fantastic #4 line in hockey. Little more O from Accari would be nice but he contributes in other ways.
With the TDL acquisition of Johansson, it looks like he really solidified the 2nd line, as he did with the TDL pick up of
Coyle.

Backes is an issue, but where would Backes be without the concussions and digestive issues ?
Now, you can say he was gifted a strong core, but over the years, since he has been GM, there have been some
strong arguements from people on here to Trade Rask instead of Jones (How does that look now). Chara is useless and time to get rid of him. Marchand isn't worth the hassle, trade him. Krecji disappears for too long. DeBust. If Sweeney had all those thoughts, made those moves, what would this team look like ?

He is still learning, and I think getting better every season.
 

TwineTickler

TheUltimateBruin
May 13, 2006
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Thank you mr. Sweeney for not trading Grizz. Can you imagine.

Now we move Krug in the offseason (I hope). Terrified about them reupping him long term at big money. If Gryz got moved I would think it's far more likely that they reup Krug... so I'm hoping Donny is looking into moving Torey in the Summer... but agreed, very happy to still have Grizzy.
 
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missingchicklet

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Jan 24, 2010
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He has put the Bs in a better position to be successful than they were before the deadline. It is now up to the players and coaches to do their job. Regular season is nice and all, but the playoffs are what matter. Enough pieces are in place, but will they perform and/or be utilized properly? We shall see if the players and coaches have what it takes to progress over last season come playoff time. There is no reason they should not.
 
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TwineTickler

TheUltimateBruin
May 13, 2006
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He has put the Bs in a better position to be successful than they were before the deadline. It is now up to the players and coaches to do their job. Regular season is nice and all, but the playoffs are what matter. Enough pieces are in place, but will they perform and/or be utilized properly? We shall see if the players and coaches have what it takes to progress over last season come playoff time. There is no reason they should not.

I think a really important piece to not overlook is having Coyle next year. Yes I hope they get it done this year... but the Coyle move is huge to buy this core a shot at the Cup this year and next. Bjork coming back healthy, Debrusk/Mac/Carlo/Heinen a year older/better stronger... and then maybe MoJo coming back or we add another piece. He's put them in a better position to be successful now and in the long term.. and that's what you want a GM to do.
 

kjpm

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I think a really important piece to not overlook is having Coyle next year. Yes I hope they get it done this year... but the Coyle move is huge to buy this core a shot at the Cup this year and next. Bjork coming back healthy, Debrusk/Mac/Carlo/Heinen a year older/better stronger... and then maybe MoJo coming back or we add another piece. He's put them in a better position to be successful now and in the long term.. and that's what you want a GM to do.

Agree with this. The extra year of Coyle is huge. Imagine if Bjork had a steady, competent veteran like Coyle to play with on the third line at the start of this year as opposed to Kuraly/Backes/Nordstrom. I'd have to think he would have had a much easier time sticking in the lineup. I'd love to see a Bjork-Coyle-Heinen line next year, provided they find another top-six winger, be it Johansson or someone else.
 
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UncleRico

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May 8, 2017
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Now we move Krug in the offseason (I hope). Terrified about them reupping him long term at big money. If Gryz got moved I would think it's far more likely that they reup Krug... so I'm hoping Donny is looking into moving Torey in the Summer... but agreed, very happy to still have Grizzy.

If krug is traded I would honestly rather tie backes to the deal rather than maximizing the return. Let Vaak slide into the open LHD spot. But moving krug and backes would free up just under 12 million in cap space next year.
 

TwineTickler

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May 13, 2006
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If krug is traded I would honestly rather tie backes to the deal rather than maximizing the return. Let Vaak slide into the open LHD spot. But moving krug and backes would free up just under 12 million in cap space next year.

Easier said than done... I think we will have Backes all next year and maybe we can get Seattle to take him in the expansion draft if Backes agrees to it which is unlikely. Far more likely scenario is move Krug and don't resign big Z (which will be a big discussion in a few months) which frees up over 10mil. That money will help with Carlo/McAvoy/Heinen extensions. Assuming you don't get a defender back you go into next year with.

Vaak-McAvoy
Gryz-Carlo
Moore-Miller

That's pretty f***ing good, as long as Vaak is ready. The mobility/skating of that D core would be top 3 in the NHL.
 
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UncleRico

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Easier said than done... I think we will have Backes all next year and maybe we can get Seattle to take him in the expansion draft if Backes agrees to it which is unlikely. Far more likely scenario is move Krug and don't resign big Z (which will be a big discussion in a few months) which frees up over 10mil. That money will help with Carlo/McAvoy/Heinen extensions. Assuming you don't get a defender back you go into next year with.

Vaak-McAvoy
Gryz-Carlo
Moore-Miller

That's pretty ****ing good, as long as Vaak is ready. The mobility/skating of that D core would be top 3 in the NHL.

I doubt Seattle will take backes in the expansion draft when John Moore or gryz will be sitting there.
 

TwineTickler

TheUltimateBruin
May 13, 2006
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Fairfield County, CT
I doubt Seattle will take backes in the expansion draft when John Moore or gryz will be sitting there.

Remember teams were orchestrating deals ahead of time? Could be on of those situations. Seattle will have to get to the cap floor which could prove challenging. They will need some heavy contracts. One year of Backes might be appealing because of that and his leadership.
 

JoeIsAStud

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Feb 27, 2002
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I doubt Seattle will take backes in the expansion draft when John Moore or gryz will be sitting there.

Given that David Backes contract expires before Seattle Expansion draft, I think it is quite safe to say they will not take him.

If krug is traded I would honestly rather tie backes to the deal rather than maximizing the return. Let Vaak slide into the open LHD spot. But moving krug and backes would free up just under 12 million in cap space next year.

The problem is, any team that is looking at Krug is looking at him being one of the final pieces for a championship run. It is highly unlikely that any such team is going to want to also take Backe's contract.

Personally I don't expect Boston will trade Krug in the offseason. I think Sweeney really does view him as a core piece of the team. If they do move him it will most likely be to a contender.

If they move Backes then it is more likely that they will be including picks/prospects in order to offset the negative value.

Maybe Backes + Zboril + Cehlarik for a 6th
 
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