May 1, 2025 | 11:30am ET
By Shawn Hutcheon, TheFourthPeriod.com

SWEENEY’S STATUS COULD PLAY ROLE IN BRUINS COACHING SEARCH

Bruins GM Don Sweeney

BOSTON, MA — On the day Boston Bruins management held its End-of-Season availability at Boston’s TD Garden, three seats were set up on the podium. That meant just one thing: Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs, President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney would be in attendance, but Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco would not, indicating that the Bruins will have a new face behind the bench when the 2025-26 season begins.

According to Sweeney, Sacco’s lack of attendance did not mean that the man appointed interim head coach after the organization fired Jim Montgomery on November 19, 2024, would not return as Boston’s bench boss for the 205-26 season. Still, he has not been told that he would either.

“We met with our coaches in a debrief, and I've spoken at length with Joe,” Sweeney said at the media availability. “He's aware that we're going to have a head coaching search, he's aware that he'll be part of the final group of coaches that we get down to, because I think he's earned and deserved that.”

So, Sacco is one of the finalists, while at the same time the list of available NHL coaches seems to grow each day.

As of this writing, John Tortorella (Philadelphia Flyers), Peter Laviolette (New York Rangers), Greg Cronin (Anaheim Ducks), Dan Bylsma (Seattle Kraken), Mike Sullivan (Pittsburgh Penguins), and Rick Tocchet (Vancouver Canucks) are NHL coaches available for hire.

Two NCAA coaches, David Carle of the University of Denver and Jay Pandolfo of Boston University, are also believed to be on Boston’s list of candidates.

Pandolfo might have the advantage over Carle. He spent five seasons (2016-17 to 2020-21) as an assistant coach with the Bruins before moving across town to BU. NHL coaching experience is something Sweeney prefers, should he consider either of the two.

“I've started the background part of the criteria, speaking with people that I know will be available, are currently available, that would be interested.” Said Sweeney. “Does it have to include NHL experience on the head coaching level? No, it has to include some form of it, should include some form of NHL exposure. The person who comes into this door is going to have success. We're going to set them up for that. We're going to work with them with that. But having NHL experience is part of that. They don't have to be currently an NHL coach, but exposure to the league is important.”

Sweeney knows what he wants in the franchise’s next head coach, and asked what coach would not want to guide a team that possesses a history that has spanned 100 years?

Well, the answer might be a coach who will not know if the general manager will be in Boston longer than one year.

Sweeney has one year remaining on his contract, and despite Neely saying early in the press conference that Sweeney is the right man for the job of returning the Bruins to Stanley Cup contenders, the club’s President revealed that he has not decided on whether to extend Sweeney’s contract.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” Neely said. “I'm still contemplating what the best course of action is, but as I mentioned, I really feel like Don has done a good job here for the most part. Him and his staff have been very collaborative. I like when I sit in their meetings, how collaborative they are. Obviously, the year that we had is a huge disappointment, and that falls on all of us, not just Don. I'll figure that out in the near future, whether we’re going to resign Don or not, but he's got another year left.”

The comment left people wondering, “Why is he doing this again?”

The “this” is viewed as negotiating through the media.

Before the recently completed season began, Neely commented publicly on contract negotiations with goaltender Jeremy Swayman, implying that the Bruins had offered a contract worth a total of $64 million. At that time, many observers took it as Neely negotiating through the media. Historically, it has been the organization’s policy to avoid doing that at all costs. Which is why Neely’s revelation concerning Sweeney’s contract status surprised people.

All of this brings us back to the next head coach.

The coach and the GM must have a strong working relationship. They discuss their team and individual players every day. They need to be on the same page for their team to be successful. In most cases, a trust forms between the two.

One of the main reasons for that trust comes from the fact that the GM hired the coach for a specific term. That does not guarantee that both will work together for that term, but as in most occupations, the prospective employee will want to know that the person who hired them will not walk out the door soon after they join the company/organization.

Assuming that every candidate will want to coach the Bruins for more than one year, he will want to know that the general manager will be in Boston longer than one year. And he should know it. That information will be part of the coach’s decision whether to take the job. I could be wrong, but except for Todd McLellan, who signed for one season with the Los Angeles Kings in 2023, coaches want more than a one-year contract, especially when they are expected to mold a team that finished last in the Eastern Conference – and fourth-worst in the League – into a Stanley Cup contender.

Sweeney’s uncertain future with the Bruins could, and most likely will, be a hurdle for the organization to clear during the interview process, making signing the general manager to a contract extension or relieving him of his duties Boston’s highest priority at this point.

Until it is decided whether to keep Sweeney or let him go, Boston’s GM does not plan on letting his contract status get in the way of making decisions concerning the team’s future.

“Every coach that comes through the door will be looking forward to working for the Boston Bruins,” said Sweeney. “We have a 100-year history. We have an incredible amount of success that's going to drive the bus. Don Sweeney interviewing the person is not driving the bus. I'm entrusted to make every decision possible in the best interest of the organization, and I'm never going to stop doing that.

“We took a step back with a (trade) deadline, and now we're going to take our steps forward, and a coach is going to understand that, and he's going to love being part of the Boston Bruins organization, regardless of whether or not he's working with Don Sweeney.”

There is a lot to love about coaching in Boston. As Sweeney noted, the Bruins are one of the most historic franchises in the League. The city itself is one of the most historic locations in America. The fans are passionate and know the game, and they know what they want from their team. But not knowing if the man who interviewed him and recommended him to ownership as the next coach will be here after next year could make the right man for the job hesitate in accepting the job or not take the job at all.

If Sweeney is not signed to a new contract, a new GM would have different ideas on how to build the team, and that could spell the end of the line for the coach, and no coach wants to go into a new job with that in the back of his mind.