Bruins sign Don Sweeney to a two-year contract extension

The Bruins have signed Don Sweeney to a two-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.

Sweeney — who has spent 10 seasons as general manager of the Bruins after being named to the position ahead of the 2015-16 season — was set to enter the final year of his contract in 2025-26. The former Bruins defenseman will now be tasked with retooling a roster that significantly underwhelmed in 2024-25. 

“Don has navigated a disappointing period for our club with conviction, purpose, and a clear vision toward the future of the Boston Bruins,” Bruins President Cam Neely said in a statement. “He made difficult decisions around the trade deadline with the confidence they will pay dividends as we craft a path back to contention. 

“He is continuing to follow that track with a robust and thorough search for our club’s next head coach, while also preparing for the upcoming NHL Draft and free agent signing period. I am confident in the plan he has followed these past few months – and excited for what’s to come for our team. The expectations in Boston have always been clear. It’s about winning championships.”

Neely’s comments come a few weeks after the Bruins president acknowledged that the team had still not come to a decision on Sweeney’s future. 

“I’ve given it a lot of thought, 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,” Neely said on April 23. “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, that falls on all of us. I’ll figure that out in the near future, with that particular question whether we’re going to resign Don or not, but he’s got another year left. Again, it takes two to tango.”

In 782 games under Sweeney, the Bruins have posted a 458-233-91 regular season record and punched a ticket to the postseason in eight out of 10 seasons.

But Sweeney and the Bruins have a lot of work ahead of them this summer as they try to right the ship on a roster that finished with the fifth-worst record in the NHL at 33-39-10. 

Years spent either relinquishing draft capital or whiffing on draft picks has left Boston’s prospect pipeline barren, while the early returns on hefty contracts for the likes of Elias Lindholm and Jeremy Swayman were underwhelming in 2024-25. 

But with nearly $30 million in available cap space, the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in their possession, and Boston restocking its draft cupboards following a trade-deadline fire sale, the Bruins have plenty of options available this offseason to try to retool their roster around franchise fixtures like David Pastrnak moving forward.

The first step is Boston hiring a new head coach, with the Bruins potentially assuaging some of the concerns for any new bench boss by ensuring that the team’s GM has an extension in place. 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.