Bruins’ Don Sweeney named a finalist for NHL GM of the Yr Award

Bruins

Don Sweeney helped construct a roster that set the report for many wins (65) in a single NHL season.

The Bruins have been unable to see a record-setting season by means of with a Stanley Cup championship, however little of the blame falls on the shoulders of common supervisor Don Sweeney.

With Boston mounted in a win-now window, Sweeney and Boston’s entrance workplace assembled one of many deepest rosters in latest reminiscence through the 2022-23 season.

For his efforts towards attempting to place the Bruins excessive, Sweeney was named a finalist for the 2023 NHL Normal Supervisor of the Yr Award on Wednesday afternoon.

Invoice Zito of the Florida Panthers and Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars have been additionally named finalists for the annual award. This 12 months’s winner will likely be introduced on the NHL Awards in Nashville on June 26.

Sweeney left his fingerprints throughout Boston’s revamped roster, beginning with the hiring of Jim Montgomery after the polarizing choice to let Bruce Cassidy go.

Regardless that Cassidy now sits only one recreation away from the Stanley Cup Remaining with the Vegas Golden Knights, the writing gave the impression to be on the wall that Cassidy’s messaging had gone stale in Boston’s dressing room.

Throughout an offseason the place each Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci returned for a mixed $3.5 million cap hit, Sweeney additional bolstered Boston’s ahead corps by swapping out Erik Haula for Pavel Zacha.

Zacha, who later signed a four-year extension with Boston in January, posted a career-high 57 factors in his first season with Boston. If one (or each) of Bergeron and Krejci retire this summer season, Zacha stands as an apparent candidate for a top-six function through the 2023-24 season. 

Different strikes Sweeney reeled off again in 2021-22 set the muse for Boston’s success this previous 12 months. After signing Linus Ullmark to a four-year contract in free company again in July 2021, the B’s netminder developed right into a Vezina Trophy frontrunner in 2022-23.

After buying and selling for Hampus Lindholm again in March 2022 (and signing him to an eight-year extension), the B’s blueliner was a Norris Trophy contender in his first full season with Boston.

Throughout Boston’s most up-to-date commerce deadline, Sweeney additional added to an already first-place roster by buying and selling for Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, and Garnet Hathaway in a flurry of offers.

The identical day that Sweeney dealt for Bertuzzi, he additionally signed David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $90 million contract extension.

Sadly, Boston let a promising Cup run slip by means of its grasp in opposition to the Panthers. Trying forward, Sweeney has a cap crunch to navigate because the Bruins look to retool on the fly.

Nonetheless, Sweeney is probably going thought-about the frontrunner to take dwelling his second GM of the Yr Award. Whatever the finish outcome, Sweeney went above and past to place his workforce in the most effective place to win this previous season.

Sweeney will likely be one in every of many Bruins representatives on the NHL Awards in Nashville. Together with Sweeney, Patrice Bergeron (Selke Trophy), Linus Ullmark (Vezina Trophy), David Pastrnak (Hart Trophy and Lindsay Award) and Jim Montgomery (Jack Adams Award) are all finalists for league accolades.