| Don Sweeney | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Sweeney in 2013 | |||
| Born | (1966-08-17)August 17, 1966 (age 59) St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Dallas Stars | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 166th overall,1984 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1988–2004 | ||
Donald Clarke Sweeney (born August 17, 1966) is aCanadian formerice hockeydefenceman whoplayed over 1,100 games in theNational Hockey League (NHL), mostly with theBoston Bruins. He ranks among the top ten in many Bruins team statistics, including fourth overall in total games played. After retiring from hockey following the2003–04 season, he worked briefly as a broadcaster before rejoining the Bruins as a team executive in 2006. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup when the Bruins won in 2011.
He is the currentgeneral manager of the Bruins, a position he has held since May 2015 after replacingPeter Chiarelli.
Sweeney grew up inSt. Stephen,New Brunswick. In high school, he skated forSt. Paul's School inConcord,New Hampshire.[1] He was drafted to the NHL by the Bruins out of high school, 166th overall in the eighth round, but he postponed his NHL career in order to attend college. He decided to attendHarvard University, where he lived inGrays Hall during his freshman year. He played hockey for four years there for theCrimson ice hockey team, where he was named anNCAA East All-American and anECAC First Team All-Star in 1988.[2]
Sweeney made his NHL debut during the1988–89 season, having spent half of the year with theAmerican Hockey League (AHL)'sMaine Mariners. In the following season, he helped the Bruins in the NHL to win thePrince of Wales Trophy by scoring six points in 21 games until they eventually lost to theEdmonton Oilers in theStanley Cup Finals.
In1992–93, Sweeney played in all 84 games and put up 36 points and ended up winning the Adams Trophy that year. In both the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons he was second amongst Boston defenceman with 22 and 28 points, respectively. In1997–98, Sweeney missed the last 23 games of the season with afractured shoulder that he suffered on March 1. In the next season, Sweeney achieved 205 hits and 85 blocked shots in 81 games. In the 1999–2000 season, he had 301 hits and 84 blocked shots, and in the following year he had 172 hits in 72 games and in 2000–01 season he contributed 18 points in 81 games. In the 2002–03 season, Sweeney scored only eight points in 67 games as his team nestled into third place in the division. On November 14 that year, he also played in his 1,000th NHL game.
Sweeney played a total of 15 seasons and 1,051 games for Boston, being one of just four players—and two defensemen—in team history to play in over 1,000 games.
Since July 2006, he has ranked third on the Bruins' all-time games played list, while amongst all-time club defencemen, he ranks tenth in career goals (52), eighth in assists (210) and ninth in points (262).
Sweeney ended his playing career in 2003–04 as a member of theDallas Stars. He retired with NHL totals of 52 goals and 221 assists for 273 points and 681 penalty minutes in 1,115 career regular season games. He added nine goals and ten assists for 19 points with 81 penalty minutes in 108 careerplayoff games.
Following the firing ofPeter Chiarelli as Bruins' general manager on April 15, 2015,[3] speculation had surrounded Sweeney's status within the Bruins front office, as Sweeney's early May 2015 meeting with Bruins head coachClaude Julien may have been an indication that as well as Julien remaining as the Bruins' head coach into the2015–16 season, Sweeney could possibly have been in line to become the Bruins' next general manager.[4] On May 20, the Bruins named Sweeney as the team's general manager.[5]
On June 26, at the2015 NHL entry draft and in his first major move as GM, Sweeney tradedrestricted free agent defencemanDougie Hamilton to theCalgary Flames in exchange for the Draft's 15th overall pick (used to selectZachary Senyshyn) and two second-round draft picks. Shortly after, he traded long-time Bruins forwardMilan Lucic to theLos Angeles Kings in exchange for the 13th overall pick (used to selectJakub Zbořil),Martin Jones andColin Miller. Four days later, on June 30, Sweeney then traded Jones to theSan Jose Sharks for a first-round pick in2016 (29th overall, used to selectTrent Frederic)
With Sweeney as the General Manager the Bruins return to prominence in the2018–19 season, winning the Eastern Conference Finals and securing a berth at the2019 Stanley Cup Finals against theSt. Louis Blues. Despite losing to the Blues, Sweeney was recognized as theNHL General Manager of the Year Award at theNHL Awards Ceremony inLas Vegas, Nevada, on Jun 19, 2019.[6]
Sweeney was named the general manager of Team Canada ahead of the inaugural4 Nations Face-Off.[7] Team Canada would ultimately win the tournament.[8]
Sweeney and his wife, former figure skaterChristine Hough, have twin sons, Jarrod and Tyler.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | St. Paul's School | ISL | 22 | 33 | 26 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Harvard University | ECAC | 29 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Harvard University | ECAC | 31 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Harvard University | ECAC | 34 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Harvard University | ECAC | 30 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Maine Mariners | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 36 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 42 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 58 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 58 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 1989–90 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 11 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 77 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 67 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 25 | ||
| 1991–92 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 75 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 74 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1992–93 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 84 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 68 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 75 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 50 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 77 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 82 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 59 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 81 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 64 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 81 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 72 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 81 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 63 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,115 | 52 | 221 | 273 | 681 | 108 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 81 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Canada | WC |  | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| Senior totals | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | General manager of the Boston Bruins 2015–present | Incumbent |
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