Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney traded away Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and forwards Justin Brazeau and Marc McLaughlin recently.

Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has been accused of “threatening” his players before the NHL 2024-25 trade deadline.

A source told RG.org that Sweeney gathered the team’s core players after firing former head coach Jim Montgomery in November and told them they needed to improve or risk being traded.

However, despite the warning, the Bruins struggled, posting a 3-6-2 record from February 1 until the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7. In a surprising move, Sweeney traded away Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and forwards Justin Brazeau and Marc McLaughlin.

Don Sweeney reportedly told core players that they needed to improve or risk being traded.(Getty Images via AFP)Don Sweeney reportedly told core players that they needed to improve or risk being traded.(Getty Images via AFP)

“Don told the core back in November and again before the Four Nations: ‘If you don’t get this together, changes are coming for you!’ and clearly he held true to his word,” a source close to the situation told RG.org.

“They all knew this was coming if they didn’t start winning more and find consistency. He made it clear that he would do something exactly like this. He met with the leadership core and coaching staff after they fired ‘Monty’ [Jim Montgomery] and again right before the break.”

Brad Marchand Reacts

In an interview with RG.org, Marchand reflected on the changes.

“Anytime you don’t achieve what you’re expected to or what you set out to do, they’re going to make changes. I mean, ultimately, changes come when you’re doing well too, but whether you’re going to add or subtract, changes need to be made. Unfortunately, when it’s not going the way you want it to, the changes are going to be bigger. So, yeah, I think we saw the potential for the changes that were going to come,” Marchand said.

“We talked about it; we tried to stop it, and we just couldn’t,” Marchand added. “It just seemed like every time we tried to do the right things and change course, it wouldn’t come together for us. Unfortunately, sometimes, things like that happen, and you try to control it, you try to do whatever you can, and it just seems like everything that could go against us, would go against us. I mean, look at the goal in Carolina (a last-second 3-2 loss on March 6), you can’t plan for that stuff. You feel like you’re trying to do the right thing, and everything that could go wrong at that moment goes wrong.”

Don Sweeney Slammed

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Bruins analyst Mike Grinnell criticized Sweeney for trading Brad Marchand at the deadline, calling the move a major misstep.

“If the Bruins at the deadline signed Brad Marchand, and they went and traded for Brock Nelson and made additions then, yeah, put on the gas pedal. Let’s go win this thing. I didn’t make this decision. Don Sweeney made the decision to throw in the towel. And any m***n out there that says the Bruins are better without Brad Marchand, go f**k yourself,” he said, Bruins insider reported.