The Bruins might not have won the Stanley Cup this season, but that does not mean the front office did not receive any awards for the team's performance this season.
That's right: Don Sweeney was named the NHL's General Manager of the Year. He assembled a team which made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and played seven games in the final round. Granted, Game 7 did not go well, but it was the best season the Bruins had played since probably 2011.
Thrilled to win the award, Sweeney essentially said it was a team effort in which the entire organization should receive credit for earning.
“When you get the support of the people you work with and the players are so committed, you’re just trying to find potentially missing pieces,” he told reporters.
Sweeney did make some moves to bolster the team's depth.
In free agency last summer, he signed defenseman John Moore and forwards Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom. Not to mention, he added Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson at the trade deadline. Plus, he found a solid goaltender in Jaroslav Halak to back up Tuukka Rask.
“We’ve worked hard the last few years to kind of hone in on some areas that we felt we could fill some gaps,” he said. “And I can’t say enough for what Charlie and Marcus did for our hockey club, coming in and fitting in seamlessly. Obviously, our leadership group and every one of our players in the locker room welcomed them.”
So yeah, pretty cool to see him win the award.
He put the team in a position to win the Stanley Cup and they did not exactly deliver. That's not his fault, he should be praised for giving the team the depth they needed to make it there.
Hopefully, he'll make some more low-key good moves this offseason as well.