Expectations were high in the 2024-25 NHL season for the Boston Bruins, and for good reason. Not only did they make the playoffs the season prior, but they won a round. They then proceeded to add veterans Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov on hefty contracts in free agency, hoping to load up and win now. The opposite wound up occurring.
The Bruins got off to a slow start and fired head coach Jim Montgomery as a result. The Bruins replaced Montgomery with Joe Sacco, and unsurprisingly, didn't see much improvement. They were 8-9-3 with Montgomery and went 24-30-7 with Sacco.
Things got so ugly for Boston this season to the point where fans chanted on numerous occasions to fire longtime general manager Don Sweeney. While fans certainly had reason to believe that a move like that might transpire, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was quick to pour cold water on that dream. Sweeney is expected to remain in his current role, leaving Bruins fans understandably disappointed.
Sources say no changes are expected in #NHLBruins front office. Both Don Sweeney and Cam Neely have been in lockstep, hard at work on the next iteration of the club.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 14, 2025
Bruins fans don't get their wish granted after lost season
To say this is disappointing would be an understatement. Sweeney sticking around only adds to the frustration Bruins fans are currently feeling.
This was the first time since the 2015-16 campaign that the Bruins have missed the playoffs, and it came in fairly embarrassing fashion. Expectations were high, but seemingly everything Sweeney touched flopped.
Lindholm had just 47 points this season. Zadorov led the league in penalty minutes. Jeremy Swayman had a down year after signing a lucrative extension. Even Montgomery went to the St. Louis Blues soon after being fired by Boston and has gone 34-18-7 with them. The Blues are on the brink of clinching a playoff berth after a slow start to their season thanks in large part to Montgomery. Again, nothing went right.
Sweeney, to his credit, did do a fine job at the trade deadline, even if trading Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, of all teams, was an unpopular decision. Still, how is this team going to be much better next season? David Pastrnak is one of the best players in the world, but their second-leading scorer was Morgan Geekie with 57 points. Marchand, who was traded, wound up finishing tied for third in points.
Boston is projected to have a decent amount of cap space, but after the Lindholm and Zadorov failures, how can anyone trust Sweeney to make the right additions?
His track record during his decade-long run in Boston is solid, but the NHL is a what have you done for me lately league. Sweeney's failures this past season were so catastrophic to the point where it's fairly surprising that he's sticking around. Hopefully, for the sake of irate Bruins fans, Sweeney can turn things around over the summer.