Kalman: If Sweeney Keeps Julien, GM Has To Give The Coach Time
BOSTON (CBS) -- There are still discussions to be had between newly promoted Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and Claude Julien, the incumbent coach Sweeney has inherited from former GM Peter Chiarelli.
Sweeney complimented Julien, who wasn't present at a TD Garden press conference Wednesday, and said he thinks "tremendously of him as a coach and as a person." But he also brought up some issues that were critical of Julien's work.
First, Sweeney expressed alarm over the one consistent problem the Bruins had in 2014-15 – their lack of urgency.
"And we have to get back a little bit the aggressiveness that is lost in our group," Sweeney said. "And maybe that's a result of being a little stagnant at times, to get ourselves in situations where we didn't make adjustments and changes that at times you were comfortable to a degree of some of the success that we had been achieving. The group had won a Stanley Cup and gotten back to the finals, there's a lot to be said for that. We have a coach in place at this time that has a lot of success and been a big part of that. There will be some changes going forward, personnel changes, there will be staff member changes."
In addressing the Bruins' lost identity this season, Sweeney picked out a specific example from the inconsistent season, when Boston squandered a 3-0 lead and lost to the Calgary Flames.
"I looked at a Calgary game this year in February where a team that was as hungry as what we used to be steamrolled us in the third period. We created very, very few scoring chances, if any," Sweeney said. "They were in our end the whole night. They ended up winning the game on somewhat of a fluky bounce, but they had turned the tide of the game, and there were too many nights where we weren't able to do that. In years past, we had been able to do that. We need to get back to that mentality, and we certainly have a number of players to lead in that direction and that charge, and if other players aren't willing to do that, then we're going to make sure we find and identify the players that are. And I believe in that. The structure, the accountability piece that it takes to win, if you're part of this organization, has to be in place."
Players ultimately bear the majority of the blame when a team lacks aggression, hunger and a killer instinct. But the old adage still holds that you can't fire all the players. Sweeney's allusion to comfort seemed as much an indictment of Julien as of the assemblage of players.
Sweeney's decision to keep Julien around for however long until the two men decide if they can work together shows Sweeney is truly open to keeping Julien around. The easy move here would be for Sweeney to fire Julien and bring in his own coach.
If Sweeney is keeping Julien around because he truly believes the Bruins' best chance to return to prominence is with the 2009 Jack Adams winner behind the bench, that's great. Julien has shown an ability to adapt to changes in the NHL and different types of rosters. Hopefully for the Bruins, Sweeney's not being forced into an arranged marriage with Julien just because ownership and Chiarelli extended Julien's contract last fall at a salary suspected to be among the greatest of any coach in the League.
If Sweeney/Julien becomes a relationship that starts next season, Sweeney is going to have to show the same patience with his coach that he was preaching on Wednesday about having with his players. It'll not only take Julien and his staff time to adapt some of the adjustments Sweeney will want; it's also going to take some time for Sweeney to give Julien the right players.
A healthy David Krejci at center makes the Bruins, especially forward Milan Lucic, better. A healthy Zdeno Chara will create improvement. But Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner are still young players learning. Other players will have to be replaced or will have to improve quickly. The Bruins defense corps couldn't be step up at the blue lines as often with Matt Bartkowski's development hitting a wall and Dennis Seidenberg's recovery from knee surgery taking longer than expected. The Bruins could cause "anxiety" in opponents with the diminutive Seth Griffith playing on the first line, or Reilly Smith shying away from traffic or Gregory Campbell getting last-second ice time down a goal.
Sweeney acknowledged that a lack of salary-cap flexibility in all likelihood will slow the process of getting all the right players in the right positions. That shouldn't be a fallback excuse just for the GM. The coach should be allowed to share it.
The Bruins need stability. It won't be fair to anyone if Julien isn't given the proper amount of time to implement the agreed-upon adjustments. The first four-game losing streak in October can't be grounds for a coaching change. Players don't function at their optimum level in that type of an environment.
An in-season shake-up could set the Bruins back, whereas a change in the summer could put them on the track Sweeney wants.
So as he makes his first crucial decision as Bruins GM, Sweeney should look back at his words. Does he truly believe the troubling things he saw this season weren't mostly Julien's fault? Does he believe Julien can coach the aggressive style and develop players the way he wants? If there's even a slight doubt in the new GM's mind, he should cut bait and go with his own man.
And if Sweeney determines Julien is the coach he wants, the new GM should make every effort to make sure the coupling lasts at least a year.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
