A worrisome quote from Boston Bruins ownership in 2015 should ring true for the present
Boston Bruins President Cam Neely held a press conference this morning to discuss the 2021-22 NHL season and what his immediate future plans for the franchise may be.
He announced that one of the main focuses is obviously to give Patrice Bergeron his time and space on his decision but also that he plans on extending general manager Don Sweeney to a contract very soon. When asked about the coaching staff of the team, mainly head coach Bruce Cassidy, he was much more reserved and speculated a coaching change might need to happen. Cassidy did his best with the lineup he was given and constructed by Sweeney, so it feels like the head coach is just the guy to throw under the bus.
Even Boston media wasn't too fond of the announcements:
All that is going on right now is reminiscent of what happened after the team missed the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs and a few months before general manager Peter Chiarelli was fired by the Bruins in April of 2015. Including this quote from owner Charlie Jacobs:
"Everybody in the executive office is fully aware of how I feel, and they feel the same way, which brings us to the evaluation process, and it's fluid. I can't say at any moment that we have a final decision other than to say it would be an utter disappointment and failure."
"We're in a constant state of evaluation right now ... This is a fluid process."
Basically, when Jacobs was asked if he had confidence in the current management, he refused to back his general manager Peter Chiarelli and his team.
Chiarelli was fired on April 15th, 2015, just four days after the conclusion of the regular season. The team would also miss the postseason in 2015-16, but had records of 41-27-14 (2014-15) and 42-31-9 (2015-16), so was it really management's fault or just a tough Eastern Conference.
It just makes you wonder that if the Bruins had missed the playoffs this season, would they still be talking about an extension for Don Sweeney or be looking for a new general manager?
It seems like all that ownership cares about is money (duh), but the fact that the highest level of the entire organization is fine with mediocrity is not a good look or goal for success.
