Don Sweeney

Don Sweeney is in his ninth season as the Bruins General Manager, as he was named to the position on May 20, 2015. He oversees all aspects of the team’s hockey operations, and he also serves the club as an Alternate Governor on the NHL’s Board of Governors.

He is the eighth man to hold that position, is the fourth who also played for the team (joining Hap Emms, Milt Schmidt and Mike O’Connell) and is the first former Bruins draft pick to rise to that post. The team’s eight-year record with Sweeney at the helm is 378-174-66 for a .665 win percentage which ranks first in the NHL over that span. He was voted by his peers as the NHL’s General Manager of the Year in 2018-19 as the club advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, and the club won the President’s Trophy with the league’s best record in both 2019-20 and 2022-23, including setting the best marks in NHL history with 65 wins and 135 points last season.

Sweeney’s ascension to the head of the club’s hockey operations began as the club’s eighth pick, 166th overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft and he moved through the organization as a player for 15 seasons and in various front office capacities for nine years prior to assuming his current position.

He began his front office career in June, 2006, when he was named the team’s Director of Player Development. He assumed the role of Director of Hockey Operation in July, 2007 and held that post for two years until he was elevated to Assistant General Manager in 2009.

Over his six seasons as the team’s Assistant General Manager, Sweeney oversaw the development of the team’s drafted prospects at the AHL, junior hockey, college, and European levels in addition to having a supervisory role in the day-to-day operations of the hockey department. He also oversaw all hockey operations matters for Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence.

He conceived, organized and ran the team’s first off-season Development Camp in July, 2007, bringing club’s top prospects to Boston in advance of main September training. Development camp gives the prospects the opportunity to get to know each other on and off the ice while teaching them the level of dedication and training necessary for them to reach the next stage of their careers. The Bruins’ Development Camp is now an annual event during a normal off-season with the 16th such camp taking place in July, 2023.

Sweeney played four seasons of college hockey at Harvard University. He earned both NCAA East All-American and ECAC First Team All-Star honors with the Crimson and played in the 1986 NCAA Finals before graduating with a degree in Economics.

The defenseman played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League, including 15 in a Bruins uniform. He is one of seven players, and just the third defenseman, in team history, to play over 1,000 games in a Boston sweater and he still ranks fourth on the team’s all-time games played list. He also ranks in the top ten on the club’s all-time list in career assists and points by a defenseman. He played his final NHL season with the Dallas Stars in 2003-04.