New Bruins GM Don Sweeney: Cam Neely And I Will Work Great Together
BOSTON (CBS) - Don Sweeney, the new general manager of the Boston Bruins, joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich show on Thursday morning just one day after being appointed to the position.
Sweeney, a former Bruins player, was considered a lunch pail guy throughout his NHL career, and is one of only 300 players in league history to play in over 1,000 games. Now he will try and bring that same fire and passion displayed on the ice to his general managing duties, a job he should have no problems adjusting to given his relationship with team president Cam Neely.
"The communication between Cam and I has always been very good. I certainly understand him; the passion that he has for this organization. I know what his bite is like and his bark is like because I've been beside him on the locker room and on the ice. That understanding and respect is there and it's mutual," Sweeney said.
However, as Sweeney points out, that doesn't mean they share a brain.
"We share some things that I think align and we've had some differences of opinion. Behind closed doors I've always said that the healthy part of organizations is to challenge each other, and then when the door opens again you have a unified front," said Sweeney. "Now I'm in a situation where I think I can have a larger impact, if not making the final decision on my own and present the case as I see it, but I think we'll work together great in that regard."
One of the major headlines from Sweeney's introductory press conference is that he said head coach Claude Julien is the man in charge "as of today," which led to speculation that there could be a change on the horizon.
While Sweeney didn't say definitively whether or not Julien is the man he envisions as the leader of the Bruins going forward, he was very complimentary of the veteran coach and discussed the DNA he wants to see of his players.
"I think we need to create anxiety in other teams, whether you do that with speed, skill, grit, size -- all the things. It's going to come in different shapes and sizes with players, because you're not just going to magically clone players," Sweeney said. "Would we like to have 20 Patrice Bergerons? So would every other team in the National Hockey League."
Mike Babcock, the newly-hired Maple Leafs coach, was the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL in Detroit, where he called home for the last 10 seasons. The title of longest-tenured head coach now belongs to Claude Julien, and Fred Toucher was curious to hear Sweeney's opinion about the shelf life of coaches.
"I think we all have a shelf life. You guys don't just roll out the same program every morning. You have producers, you have people that you're bouncing things off of, and having fresh ideas and a fresh approach," said Sweeney.
"I think the game [of hockey] itself evolves. You're seeing a tremendous influence of younger players, and that integration is so important as you go forward in a salary cap era. All those things have to be taken into account, and so I think the coach has to continue to evolve [too]. Their capacity to change and evolve as the players do is important."
Sweeney stressed Thursday morning, as he did during his introductory press conference, that the organization must be patient with players and allow them to develop. The Bruins had some down years in the NHL Draft under GM Peter Chiarelli, but Sweeney, who was appointed GM of the Providence Bruins in 2014, is more comfortable with the farm system at present.
"We had a gap in our draft that has shown up here a little bit. I think over the last couple years, you look at the prospects that we currently have in the pipeline and I feel much better about it," he said. "But we definitely had a gap for a period of time."
Sweeney also addressed the term of his deal, the lengthy process it took for him to get the job, and the tough road ahead with the lack of salary cap flexibility.
Listen below: