Bruins Give Don Sweeney A Two-Year Contract Extension As They Try And Find A New Head Coach

Oh brother... didn't think I was going to wake up this morning and see a Don Sweeney extension press release in my inbox but here we are! The Bruins have given Sweeney a two-year extension through the 2027-2028 season, with Cam Neely giving his full backing...

“Don has navigated a disappointing period for our club with conviction, purpose, and a clear vision toward the future of the Boston Bruins. He made difficult decisions around the trade deadline with the confidence they will pay dividends as we craft a path back to contention. He is continuing to follow that track with a robust and thorough search for our club’s next head coach, while also preparing for the upcoming NHL Draft and free agent signing period. I am confident in the plan he has followed these past few months – and excited for what’s to come for our team. The expectations in Boston have always been clear. It’s about winning championships.”

This is also the same Cam Neely that said, a month ago, that Sweeney did in fact have one year left of his contract and that he would have to figure out if he was going to re-sign him or not. So it's not entirely surprising that, even much to my dismay, that Sweeney did get an extension, it's just simply the timing.

As of last week, Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the Bruins have interviewed several candidates for the their head coaching position, Marco Sturm!!!!, Jay Leach, Jeff Halpern, Jeff Blashill all believed to be apart of the wide net. They obviously missed out on Mike Sullivan, who chose New York and Rick Tocchet, who chose Philadelphia. Mitch Love and Jay Woodcroft could be options, too though. There's always the option of returning with Joe Sacco, but I highly doubt that. Sweeney indicated that they'd like to speak to guy's who are still playing (Misha Donskov of Dallas, one of those). Grinnelli brought this to Elliotte's attention on Game Notes last week asking if Donskov was a part of the search...

I do believe he is, also where was Misha Donskov over 2 weeks in February…. [4 Nations] for Canada… so Don Sweeney saw him up close.

So is the Sweeney extension just posturing? Could be. Could be so a Head Coach that comes in doesn't feel nervous knowing the GM is essentially a lame duck. Which is objectively hilarious because this was Sweeney a month ago.

Or it could just be that they want Sweeney (and the team) to feel secure with such a busy summer coming up. That being said, I'm sure the Jacobs will have no problem firing Sweeney either way if things go awry. So outrage over an extension could truly just be much ado about nothing. I just hate the sense of the reward of the extension when the Bruins have failed. But hey, thanks to Brad Marchand for locking in a 2027 (or 2028) 1st round round pick from the Florida Panthers! He just has to play 1 more game to fulfill the (play in at least 50% of the playoff games) portion of the trade. 

PuckPedia updated the trade stipulations to say that the 1st round pick will become a 2028 1st round if Florida's 2027 1st transfers to Chicago as part of the Seth Jones trade, or if the pick is top 10.

My gut tells me it's Marco Sturm or Misha Donskov who will be behind the bench for Boston. But with Dallas still in the playoffs that may not come to fruition until later. So the Bruins will continue to interview and do their due diligence and we'll see where they land. Like I said, busy summer ahead with the 7th overall pick in the draft and free agency just 42 days away.