Will GM Don Sweeney and President Cam Neely be fired by the Boston Bruins organization any time soon?
Much to the dismay of fans everywhere who have just witnessed the Bruins as they were demolished at the trade deadline he won’t.
According to NHL Insider Jimmy Murphy, if the Bruins were to fire Sweeney and Neely, they would’ve done so over the Four Nations Face-Off break, which of course nothing happened.
Status quo for Jeremy Jacobs.
The Bruins are now 7th in the Atlantic Division, with a record of 29-28-8 with 66 points under Interim Coach Joe Sacco.
This seems like an entirely fireable offense for Sweeney who has missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in nine years.
All the while the last time the Bruins did make the finals, in 2019 they were unable to finish the job against a hot St. Louis Blues team who worked their way up from last place to win the cup against a tough Boston Bruins team.
The team’s nine-year record at the helm is 425-194-81 for a . 665 win percentage, which ranks first in the NHL over that span. He has twice won the President’s Trophy with the league’s top mark, and the team has a current stretch of eight straight playoff appearances.
While the statistics above are impressive, this says nothing of his drafting capabilities and his trade record.
His last free-agency was a disaster, and Head Coach Jim Montgomery would pay the ultimate price for players who were unable to push the Bruins into winning territory.
Now, the Bruins are back to square one, as the retooling has begun.
Why the Bruins traded Brad Marchand, and is there any shot at a Boston return?
The Boston Bruins were the biggest sellers at the NHL trade deadline, and their fire sale included the surprising trade of team captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. The Bruins and Marchand were trying to work out a contract extension ahead of the deadline, but Marchand was shipped to Boston’s biggest nemesis in the Eastern Conference when the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Marchand and the Bruins both landed on a three-year extension, but there was a significant gap on the average annual value of the pact. Marchand requested a meeting with Boston management to get the deal over the finish line, but did not get the results he anticipated.
That surprised Marchand, who then told the team to trade him to Florida.
“Where I think this really went sideways was there was a point this week where Brad Marchand — who is currently injured and not in the lineup — asked for a face-to-face meeting with Bruins management,” Friedman said on Sportsnet. “I don’t know exactly when it was. I don’t know exactly who was there. But it did happen, and in that meeting Brad Marchand asked for a compromise. He said ‘I will compromise, I will bend on some of my ask. I’m asking the Bruins to bend on some of their stance. And we’ll find a way to get this deal done,’ because he wanted to stay as a Bruin.
“It just didn’t happen. The Bruins had gone as far as far as they were willing to go,” said Friedman, adding that Marchand was “stunned” by that stance. “I think it really hurt Marchand that the face-to-face meeting couldn’t get a deal done.”
After spending his first 16 NHL seasons with the Bruins, Marchand is now joining a Panthers team looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. That destination makes losing Marchand even tougher for Bruins fans, as Florida ended Boston’s run in each of the last two postseasons.
Could Brad Marchand re-sign with the Bruins?
The Bruins received just a conditional second-round pick for Marchand, which could become a first-round pick depending on how much he plays for the Panthers this postseason. Marchand is currently managing an upper-body injury and could be out the next several weeks.
Bruins radio analyst Bob Beers wasn’t surprised that Marchand was dealt, but he was surprised about his landing spot. Beers said Boston’s return for its captain was not as big as it could have been had Marchand been healthy at the deadline.
“If he was healthy, they definitely could have gotten a a first-round pick,” Beers told WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton on Sunday night’s Sports Final.
While Marchand will have a chance to win another Cup with Florida this season, Beers said the door should be open for Marchand to return to Boston when he becomes a free agent.
“I hope so. He has meant so much to this organization and the respect factor is off the charts in terms of what he has done and what he has meant to this organization. I hope that is a possibility, but that is to be determined,” said Beers. “I hope the best for him. And if the best for him is coming back to Boston, open arms. Please come back.”
