The Bruins have had the worst possible season in recent history. Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Boston finished the 2024-25 season at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. And yet, for a team that has six Stanley Cups under its belt, you know good things are a-coming! But maybe seeing better days come riding on Don Sweeney‘s shoulders wasn’t exactly what the fans had in mind.

“What I’m trying to do and we’re trying to do as a staff is, we want to see us come together as a team as quickly as we can,” said interim coach Joe Sacco in March, when playoff elimination was already overhead for the Bruins. However, the coach’s words didn’t seem to go hand-in-hand with the team’s latest decision with GM Sweeney.

Don Sweeney has spent 10 seasons in Boston, with the 2025-26 season previously being thought of as his final year there. However, it looks like the collab won’t be ending next year, and the Bruins’ woes this season also weren’t enough for top brass to decide to part ways with the GM. In an X post from May 20, the official Boston Bruins account noted, “The #NHLBruinsand General Manager Don Sweeney have agreed to a two-year contract extension.”

Cam Neely, President of the Boston NHL team, said on the matter, “Don has navigated a disappointing period for our club with conviction, purpose, and a clear vision toward the future of the Boston Bruins.” Sweeney, too, was on Cloud 9 after being notified that he would need to hang around TD Garden for a while longer. “It’s an honor to be part of a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fan base. I fully understand and embrace the responsibility that comes with this role,” said the Don in an official statement. However, fans weren’t at all on board with the move, especially since the Bruins have now missed the playoffs thrice under the watchful (?) gaze of the current GM since he joined the Bruins in 2015.

“HORRIBLE,” one fan’s reluctance to turn off the caps lock would be enough to highlight the general sentiment that’s running through the average Bruins fan right now. The Bruins are 458-233-91 with Don Sweeney at the helm, and have posted 1007 points and .644 points percentage, which is a tie for best NHL stats during that time period. And yet, missing the playoffs still seems to remain the biggest hiccup for the fans as the general manager looks to extend his stay in Boston.

The Bruins put up a shambolic 33-39-10 performance this season, making things look dull for the most part. However, while many could argue that Jeremy Swayman missing the entire training camp due to his contract dispute might have resulted in Boston failing to shut out its foes, it seems like fans are more concerned with Sweeney’s contract extension.

Fans show reluctance to rally behind Don Sweeney

The Bruins took several debatable decisions along the way, which many feel only added to the team’s misery this season. From missing the playoffs to posting a 10-match losing streak for the first time since the 2009-10 seasons, the reasons for the fans’ grievances have been aplenty. Naturally, with Boston deciding to keep Don Sweeney on board when key figures like Jim Montgomery and Brad Marchand, the Canadian winger who’s making flowers bloom with the Panthers in the playoffs, have been let go, the Bruins clan is once again irate. “So more bad trades, bad contracts and failed cup runs? Sounds like a good time,” one fan pondered what’s ahead for the team. “Awful decision,” lamented another.

After missing the playoffs, the Bruins’ stars still refused to lose hope. Being the athletes they are, the only way now is forward. Elias Lindholm said in April, “We’re getting paid a lot of money to do this. There’s people out there who are struggling & we get paid millions to play hockey,” noting that motivation shouldn’t be hard to find. And yet, fans are finding it difficult to cope with Sweeney’s contract extension. “The Bruins do not deserve your financial support. They stink and it starts at the top. Don Sweeney has done an AWFUL job,” one fan stated flatly as to why this wasn’t the right call.

After Montgomery was sacked, Sacco was installed as the interim coach to help the Bruins navigate through troubled times. While Joe managed to post a respectable 25-30-7 since taking over, it wasn’t enough to get the Bruins to the postseason. And now, with Sweeney back, fans suspect that finding a new coach would get that much harder. “Not a chance a decent candidate was going to work for a lame duck GM,” one fan grunted.

However, in April, Don assured that a permanent boss would soon be available. “We’ve already started that process and knowing who’s available and narrowing that down as I go through some checkpoints,” he told reporters. But do you think Sweeney has what it takes to turn things around and prove the fans’ fears wrong? Tell us how you see the Bruins’ next season panning out with a comment below!