Where do the Bruins go from here?

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported last week that Boston Bruins president of hockey operations, Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney are expected to return for the coming campaign.

With the Bruins since May 2015, Sweeney is currently the NHL’s fourth-longest tenured GM, a span that has counted two Atlantic Division titles and an eight-year postseason run from 2016-24 that was underscored by a trip to Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. The 2024-25 campaign marks just the second time the Bruins have not qualified for the postseason under Sweeney and the first since his initial year on the job.

Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli discusses why Sweeney deserves an extension.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The only thing that concerns me a little bit about the idea is that this might be a front office with a short leash. For example, if next year goes terribly, do they go back to Don Sweeney? Do they just allow him the proper time to do this the right way? Like, we talked about it with the New York Islanders the other day, Frank. I think these organizations can get themselves in trouble when you don’t have a lame duck GM, but a GM who needs to act a little desperate. I think that could be a problem. 

Frank Seravalli: Well, I think that’s the point that you get in front of right now if you’re Cam Neely and Charlie Jacobs is you say, we’re signing Don Sweeney to an extension. We believe in his vision for how this is all gonna play out, and we’re gonna allow him the proper runway to see it through. I think the front office shouldn’t hinge at all on next season’s results because you just ripped the band-aid off and traded five players from your roster at the deadline. Obviously, there’s gonna be a natural regression that occurs with that, so if that’s the case, then you need to see it through to the other end of what that vision is.