When the Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery in November of 2024, they named Joe Sacco the interim coach for the rest of the season. Talk about taking one for the team. Yikes.
Sacco had to oversee a trade deadline that saw some key and franchise players shipped out at the trade deadline in March of 2025. After that fire sale, Boston fell all the way down the Eastern Conference standings to a tie for last place with the Philadelphia Flyers, while finishing in the basement of the Atlantic Division.
At the end of the season, general manager Don Sweeney began a search for his next head coach and settled on a former Bruins forward, Marco Sturm. It was an interesting hire, to say the least. After being an NHL assistant and head coach in the American Hockey League (AHL), he got his first shot in the NHL in Boston. All he did was have a season that not many people saw coming. Let's grade Don Sweeney's 2025-26 season in terms of moves made and how they worked out.
Don Sweeney made correct decisions in the summer of 2025
First things first, it's hard to argue that Sweeney didn't nail the hiring of Sturm. Talk about a home run. He came in and put his system in place. Yes, it took some time for the Bruins to adjust to it, but once they figured things out by the holidays, they took off. They finished with 100 points and the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot. They took advantage of some teams having tough seasons and dealing with injuries.
How about the offseason additions and re-signings from last summer? Let's start with Tanner Jeannot. When he signed for five years and $17 million, well, that looked like a tough contract on the books. However, it is turning out to be the opposite. Jeannot had six goals and 16 assists, but his physical presence in the bottom six was just what Sturm needed.
How about the July 1 trade for Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers? All Arvidsson did was come in and be part of one of the top second lines in the NHL last season with Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittlestadt. Not bad for a $4 million investment. Let's not overlook the signing on defense of Jonathan Aspirot and Jordan Harris.
Some of the other moves, well, didn't work out as well. Re-signing defenseman Henri Jokiharju for three years and $9 million is looking like a swing and a miss. Alex Steeves' signing was a good one, but extending him in January was a mistake. Mikey Eyssimont is someone who, if Sweeney can dump this offseason, he needs to.
As for the trade deadline this past March, for the most part, Sweeney stood pat and made a minor move in acquiring Lukas Reichel from the Vancouver Canucks. Overall, Boston surprised a lot of people this past season, and Sweeney pushed more of the right buttons than the wrong ones.
