GM candidates

[ThorntonFightClub*]

it's not like they ceased all hockey operations

And with no singular decision maker or direction, nothing will truly get done.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

And with no singular decision maker or direction, nothing will truly get done.

yeah like in 2006 when they signed Savard and Chara and drafted Kessel, Lucic, and Marchand while they had no singular decision maker or direction?

 

[hooked]

Here is my official vote for Don Sweeney as the new GM of the Boston Bruins...and here's why I would be happy with him at the helm.

-BRUIN FOR LIFE - He ranks 3rd in all time games played as a Boston Bruin behind only Raymond Bourque and Johnny Bucyk.

-FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE IN PLAYER DEVELOPMENT - While playing at St. Paul's School in Concord, NH he was drafted in 8th round of the 1984 NHL. He then went on to play five seasons with Harvard. He took the long road to the NHL by following a strict development path. No wonder the Bruins took him on as the Director of Player Development in 2006. He is the perfect choice for team that in just a few years will need to go through a bit of a rebuild if they want to remain competitive.

-A CAREER BASED ON OVERCOMING ADVERSITY - At 5'10" 184lbs he overcame an immense size disadvantage...and yet was a tough, reliable shutdown defender with a positive +/- over the course of his career.

-STRAIGHT SHOOTER - My buddy and I met Don Sweeney at a game he was scouting a few years back. He is no joke. Unlike Peter Chiarelli, who had the brains and the look of an office GM but lacked the toughness to take risks or push hard to get the right deals done, Don Sweeney's intelligence is enhanced by mental toughness and a no BS mentality. he doesn't mess around.

-HE'S SMART - Harvard Grad. (So, was Chia...but Sweeney is smart AND tough.)

Great post. Deserves to be on a new page.

 

[bcbruin1]

gorton

the Bruins have done probably 90% of their due diligence on Gorton. There are other ways to communicate other than directly face to face. That is why we live in a world with agents. The Bruins are 100% interested in Gorton. Gorton knows it. Sather knows it. The B's have repeatedly requested permission to interview him and have been denied. Behind the scenes Gorton is telling the B's he is interested and his agent is pushing it as well. The Bruins are concerned that he is leveraging them to get a longer extension from Sather. Those in the know say Gorton is very happy in NY and is more or less running the day to day operations with some oversight form Sather. The one part I am unsure of is how much longer Sather is going to stay. Everybody has a different story on that, is that is the one big factor in the Bruins favor. My guess at the end of this is that Sweeney gets the job and Gorton gets an extension and GM in waiting in NY.

For the record Sweeney will do a good job in my estimation. One of his faults though is that he is not a peoples person. Stand offish. Some will tell you arrogant, some will tell you shy.

 

[DKH]

the Bruins have done probably 90% of their due diligence on Gorton. There are other ways to communicate other than directly face to face. That is why we live in a world with agents. The Bruins are 100% interested in Gorton. Gorton knows it. Sather knows it. The B's have repeatedly requested permission to interview him and have been denied. Behind the scenes Gorton is telling the B's he is interested and his agent is pushing it as well. The Bruins are concerned that he is leveraging them to get a longer extension from Sather. Those in the know say Gorton is very happy in NY and is more or less running the day to day operations with some oversight form Sather. The one part I am unsure of is how much longer Sather is going to stay. Everybody has a different story on that, is that is the one big factor in the Bruins favor. My guess at the end of this is that Sweeney gets the job and Gorton gets an extension and GM in waiting in NY.

For the record Sweeney will do a good job in my estimation. One of his faults though is that he is not a peoples person. Stand offish. Some will tell you arrogant, some will tell you shy.

Good stuff

If Gorton came aboard what about the relationship with Bradley and the reasons he and Dore left.

What about Sweeney.

You say 'the Bruins' are 100% interested. Is that Neely? Is that Jacobs jr? Is that both?

Two people with contact in the league told me expext Chiarelli would be gone - one gave me the day and time pretty much, there are members here who I mentionted ahead of time. Both have pretty much told me it was Sweeney. I'm no insider and don't make calls so you I'm sure got me here but if I add up both and they know only each other in name it doesn't add up to Gorton unless Jacobs trumps Neely and their is quite a shuffling of high quality guys that will be unemployed less than 24 hours
Sorry for run on down park with dog- if Gorton there will be plenty of job openings and to me this is backed by Jacobs

As for Sweeney I'd go shy but super intense - and likely a 8/32 product

 

[Ice Nine]

the Bruins have done probably 90% of their due diligence on Gorton. There are other ways to communicate other than directly face to face. That is why we live in a world with agents. The Bruins are 100% interested in Gorton. Gorton knows it. Sather knows it. The B's have repeatedly requested permission to interview him and have been denied. Behind the scenes Gorton is telling the B's he is interested and his agent is pushing it as well. The Bruins are concerned that he is leveraging them to get a longer extension from Sather. Those in the know say Gorton is very happy in NY and is more or less running the day to day operations with some oversight form Sather. The one part I am unsure of is how much longer Sather is going to stay. Everybody has a different story on that, is that is the one big factor in the Bruins favor. My guess at the end of this is that Sweeney gets the job and Gorton gets an extension and GM in waiting in NY.

For the record Sweeney will do a good job in my estimation. One of his faults though is that he is not a peoples person. Stand offish. Some will tell you arrogant, some will tell you shy.

Great insights from bcbruin1 as usual.

Not surprised there's been contact between Bruins and Gorton -- no matter what Sather said to media, it's not like he can surveil Gorton's phonecalls and the moves of his agent(s) 24/7.

I always thought that what would lure Gorton to Boston is the fact that Sather is not going anywhere anytime soon. He enjoys his job, and he basically has Gorton running the show, but not getting the prestige and control of the full GM title. If the Bruins said: "you'll have full control here immediately" -- why would he stick around New York waiting for Sather to retire? Unless Sather put it in writing when he'd be done.

 

[DKH]

Anyone know who Gorton's agent is? I always wondered if an agent represents both sides which would probably be a conflict of interest but maybe doesn't matter.

If Boston is going to wait till after the Rags are out we may be looking into June.

sather is in his 70's have to think he will be pulling a Lou lams and Gorton os GM in NY sooner rather than later

 

[GordonHowe]

My fellow bruins fans
give me jeff Gorton or give me death

Death it is. ;-)

Sather isn't letting him go. Personally, I'm okay with that.

 

[GordonHowe]

the Bruins have done probably 90% of their due diligence on Gorton. There are other ways to communicate other than directly face to face. That is why we live in a world with agents. The Bruins are 100% interested in Gorton. Gorton knows it. Sather knows it. The B's have repeatedly requested permission to interview him and have been denied. Behind the scenes Gorton is telling the B's he is interested and his agent is pushing it as well. The Bruins are concerned that he is leveraging them to get a longer extension from Sather. Those in the know say Gorton is very happy in NY and is more or less running the day to day operations with some oversight form Sather. The one part I am unsure of is how much longer Sather is going to stay. Everybody has a different story on that, is that is the one big factor in the Bruins favor. My guess at the end of this is that Sweeney gets the job and Gorton gets an extension and GM in waiting in NY.

For the record Sweeney will do a good job in my estimation. One of his faults though is that he is not a peoples person. Stand offish. Some will tell you arrogant, some will tell you shy.

I second the "good stuff."

I also feel that your final prediction as to how this shakes out is correct. I don't see that wily old bugger Sather letting go of a good thing while helping out a competing club at the same time. No wonder Sinden & he are fishing buddies. Same gimlet cloth.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Good stuff

If Gorton came aboard what about the relationship with Bradley and the reasons he and Dore left.

What about Sweeney.

You say 'the Bruins' are 100% interested. Is that Neely? Is that Jacobs jr? Is that both?

Two people with contact in the league told me expext Chiarelli would be gone - one gave me the day and time pretty much, there are members here who I mentionted ahead of time. Both have pretty much told me it was Sweeney. I'm no insider and don't make calls so you I'm sure got me here but if I add up both and they know only each other in name it doesn't add up to Gorton unless Jacobs trumps Neely and their is quite a shuffling of high quality guys that will be unemployed less than 24 hours
Sorry for run on down park with dog- if Gorton there will be plenty of job openings and to me this is backed by Jacobs

As for Sweeney I'd go shy but super intense - and likely a 8/32 product

Donny was a nice guy when I was 8 or 9 and met him in the mall I still hope I wasn't too mean to him that it was just him and I'd have to wait around another 3-4 hours to meet Bourque and get his autograph too but he was cooler than Ray simply because it was just him and I got to talk to him for a bit not just move along in a massive line.



To me the reason that Gorton doesn't feel right is that he'd come with the expectations that he pull off trades like Rask for Raycroft and that just isn't realistic at all.



To me all Sweeney has to do is find the right partner for Krug who lets Torey play top pairing minutes and the 2 work together well and take a lot of pressure off Big Z. Given Donny's size and game as a player I think hes a good guy to give that task.


We need a top 3 defenseman so badly who is sound in his own end add one and Im gonna put money in my piggy bank to be buying hockey tickets into next June...don't add one and we are fighting for the 8th spot and our season will depend on how strong our Eastern conference competition is (a lot of the East is hard to project where do you put a team like the Habs or Panthers next year I can't tell you if they will be the same, better, or worse?)

 

[Ice Nine]

I second the "good stuff."

I also feel that your final prediction as to how this shakes out is correct. I don't see that wily old bugger Sather letting go of a good thing while helping out a competing club at the same time. No wonder Sinden & he are fishing buddies. Same gimlet cloth.

Sather not wanting to "let Gorton go" and "Gorton staying in NY as GM" are two different things. Of course Sather doesn't want to lose Gorton -- he's basically the GM in NY, except in title, prestige, and salary, while Sather gets to smoke cigars in the exec seats during Rangers games and get the glory.

I'm sure Gorton may leverage Bruins interest into a more concrete guarantee from Sather that Sather is going soon. My sense, is that Sather *doesn't* want to give up the reigns. He's like Sinden. He can't let go.

 

[Ice Nine]

For the record, being "shy" and being GM of a NHL hockey teams, seems like an odd combination.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

For the record, being "shy" and being GM of a NHL hockey teams, seems like an odd combination.

For the record, I have run into Sweeney a couple of times while he was scouting. I thought he seemed very focused, but in my limited exposure to him, I didn't get the "standoffish" feel at all.

The last time was when the USNTDP team was playing an exhibition with a local college and he seemed very at ease, jeans, intently watching the game. I spoke to him briefly and he was very pleasant.

 

[DKH]

For the record, being "shy" and being GM of a NHL hockey teams, seems like an odd combination.

I think he may be to intense and manage it. Neely will probably take losses better than Sweeney. He hates to lose more than most and if he is top dog he's got to realize you aren't going 82-0.

I could write a bunch of blurbs on him that show great side and super personal which is why I want him. I ran into him - we live in neighboring towns and I see him around as my kid played youth hockey where he is from and involved. After the Bruins traded Kalus I ran into him and started *****ing about what a horrible deal and they should have given Krejci instead.

Sweeney took the time to explain to me how good Krejci was going to be and pretty much relax you will see we kept the right guy. He was as right as he was nice. Still pissed me off I was wrong but I remind myself other than that and hating the Bergeron pick I been pretty good

 

[Ice Nine]

For the record, I have run into Sweeney a couple of times while he was scouting. I thought he seemed very focused, but in my limited exposure to him, I didn't get the "standoffish" feel at all.

The last time was when the USNTDP team was playing an exhibition with a local college and he seemed very at ease, jeans, intently watching the game. I spoke to him briefly and he was very pleasant.

Fair enough -- I've never met the guy. Just commenting on what bcbruin had said.

Different people can take different impressions of people.

For the record, I've been called "standoffish" but I'm really not.

 

[Ice Nine]

I think he may be to intense and manage it. Neely will probably take losses better than Sweeney. He hates to lose more than most and if he is top dog he's got to realize you aren't going 82-0.

I could write a bunch of blurbs on him that show great side and super personal which is why I want him. I ran into him - we live in neighboring towns and I see him around as my kid played youth hockey where he is from and involved. After the Bruins traded Kalus I ran into him and started *****ing about what a horrible deal and they should have given Krejci instead.

Sweeney took the time to explain to me how good Krejci was going to be and pretty much relax you will see we kept the right guy. He was as right as he was nice. Still pissed me off I was wrong but I remind myself other than that and hating the Bergeron pick I been pretty good

Also good stuff.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Fair enough -- I've never met the guy. Just commenting on what bcbruin had said.

Different people can take different impressions of people.

For the record, I've been called "standoffish" but I'm really not.

Based strictly on the way you post, standoffish is the last thing I would have thought about you

 

[Ice Nine]

Based strictly on the way you post, standoffish is the last thing I would have thought about you

Also fair.

 

[DKH]

Also good stuff.

here's another Sweeney story- I ran into him with my kid and he was not with Boston yet as assistant GM; I told him she was in learn to skate and very good but didn't want to play hockey. She was about 3 feet tall so he knelt down and explained what a great game hockey was, how much fun, the kids you will meet, on and on

my kid started playing for a youth hockey team that week, was on several league, state championship teams and was captain of her HS team

I tried my ass of to get her to play and he did it in 10 minutes- she still laughs at this today

 

[Fire Sweeney]

the Bruins have done probably 90% of their due diligence on Gorton. There are other ways to communicate other than directly face to face. That is why we live in a world with agents. The Bruins are 100% interested in Gorton. Gorton knows it. Sather knows it. The B's have repeatedly requested permission to interview him and have been denied. Behind the scenes Gorton is telling the B's he is interested and his agent is pushing it as well. The Bruins are concerned that he is leveraging them to get a longer extension from Sather. Those in the know say Gorton is very happy in NY and is more or less running the day to day operations with some oversight form Sather. The one part I am unsure of is how much longer Sather is going to stay. Everybody has a different story on that, is that is the one big factor in the Bruins favor. My guess at the end of this is that Sweeney gets the job and Gorton gets an extension and GM in waiting in NY.

For the record Sweeney will do a good job in my estimation. One of his faults though is that he is not a peoples person. Stand offish. Some will tell you arrogant, some will tell you shy.

Thanks for the insight. If the Rags end up promoting Gorton, there may not be anyone of his caliber available when Sweeney is fired in a couple of years.

 

[Gordoff]

Thanks for the insight. If the Rags end up promoting Gorton, there may not be anyone of his caliber available when Sweeney is fired in a couple of years.

"The negativity in this town sux" Rick Petino

 

[Danton Heineken]

Gorton has to be leveraging. His history with the Bruins aside, I'm sure he would much rather be GM of the Rangers. Way more money to work with, and the franchise is in a much better position in the short term and long term than the Bruins are.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

[/B]
"The negativity in this town sux" Rick Petino

Sorry but he just doesn't have what it takes to succeed.

 

[Mione134]

I wouldnt MIND Sweeney, but if it means hiring him keeps Claude? I dont want him.

 

[Si Hopkins]

Sorry but he just doesn't have what it takes to succeed.

Who's your guy?