Bruins give GM Don Sweeney a 2-year extension to lead rebuild after first playoff miss since 2016
Article content
Neely said Sweeney has been searching for a new coach while also preparing for the draft.
'I am confident in the plan he has followed these past few months — and excited for what's to come for our team,' the former Bruins forward said of the former Bruins defenseman. 'The expectations in Boston have always been clear. It's about winning championships.'
A veteran of 16 seasons in the NHL, all but one of them in Boston, Sweeney took over the Original Six franchise's front office in 2015 and was given the league's General Manager of the Year Award in 2019 after the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final. He has also served as GM for Team Canada in its 4 Nations Face-Off victory this winter, and will serve as the country's assistant GM for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
'It's an honor to be part of a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fanbase,' Sweeney said. 'I fully understand and embrace the responsibility that comes with this role. Our fans have high expectations for this team, and so do I. The collective goal is to build a team that makes Bruins fans proud and ultimately brings another Stanley Cup back to Boston.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Forward
29 minutes ago
- Japan Forward
Kaori Sakamoto Reveals Plan to Retire After 2026 Olympics
Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto believes her window for success is coming to a close. "I feel like I have less than a year left," she said in Kobe. Kaori Sakamoto speaks to reporters at the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus on June 20, 2025, in Kobe. (©KYODO) Kaori Sakamoto, who won three straight world titles in women's figure skating from 2022-24, has decided to retire from competition after the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. Sakamoto made an announcement on Friday, June 20 in her hometown of Kobe. She revealed her plans during the opening ceremony at the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus, a new ice rink set to open to the public on July 12. The popular skater, who turned 25 on April 9, believes her window for success as a competitor is coming to a close. "I feel like I have less than a year left," Sakamoto was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. She added, "I'll be 29 at the following Olympics [in 2030], which is out of the question. [So] I'll try to bring things to a close the year I turn 26." Two-time Olympian Kaori Sakamoto at the 2022 Beijing Games. (©SANKEI) Sakamoto competed in the Winter Games twice. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, she placed sixth in the women's event. Four years later, she collected the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. She also helped Japan nab the silver in the team event. The medals were handed out at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to Russia's medal disqualification for doping. Japan had originally earned the bronze. Now, she has her sights set on reaching the podium in the women's singles event and the team competition in Italy. "Winning at least silver in both the individual and team events [at the Olympics] would be mission completed," Sakamoto said, according to Kyodo News. Looking ahead to the final chapter of her competitive career, Sakamoto said, "The time left is short, so I'll live each day to the fullest and hopefully the results turn out to be what I'm wishing for." Sakamoto said she plans to become a skating instructor after her retirement. Kaori Sakamoto in a December 2018 file photo. She won the women's title at the 87th Japan Figure Skating Championships in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture. (©SANKEI) In the 2015-16 season, Sakamoto claimed the silver medal in her Junior Grand Prix debut in Riga, Latvia. It signaled her rise to prominence on the global scale. In the 2016-17 season, she was the bronze medalist at the Junior Grand Prix Final and the World Junior Championships. Sakamoto also achieved notable success in the Japan Championships, winning the national women's title five times, including four consecutive times (2021-24). Kaori Sakamoto (KYODO) On the Grand Prix circuit, she was a dynamic performer. She won the NHK Trophy three times, triumphed twice at Skate Canada and once apiece in Skate America and the Grand Prix of Finland. Sakamoto also captured the Grand Prix Final title in the 2023-24 campaign, and followed that up with a third-place finish the next season. By winning her third consecutive world title in March 2024, in Montreal, Canada, Sakamoto became the first woman to do so since American Peggy Fleming (1966-68). Kaori Sakamoto displays her gold medal after winning her third consecutive women's title at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada. (©KYODO) "At the start of my performance, I accidentally caught an edge, but I managed to regain my composure and delivered a performance that left me satisfied," Sakamoto told reporters after her title-clinching free skate. "Once I landed the first double axel everything was OK again and I trusted my training." Longtime journalist Jack Gallagher, who has penned articles and Ice Time columns for JAPAN Forward and SportsLook for several years, analyzed the essential ingredients of Sakamoto's sustained on-ice success in one of his columns. "Ice Time has been covering Sakamoto since early in her days as a junior," Gallagher wrote in March 2024, "and what has always set her apart from her competitors is her strength, speed and mental fortitude. She is a powerful jumper, who is faster than the other skaters, and tougher." Kaori Sakamoto in a March 2025 file photo from the world championships. (Brian Fluharty/IMAGN IMAGES/via REUTERS) Sakamoto's retirement announcement grabbed the attention of skating fans around the world. For example, a number of thoughtful and upbeat tributes to the three-time world champion were posted on the popular Reddit r/FigureSkating online community, which has more than 78,000 members. One commenter wrote, "When I think of her coaching, I just imagine her happily chasing skaters around the rink to make sure they're skating with speed, energy and joy." Another posted the following: "Not a shock, but it still makes me sad ― she's probably my favorite current female skater. Skating will miss her." Sakamoto brought happiness to scores of skating fans in her homeland and elsewhere. Another Reddit commenter's remarks underscore that point. "Oh, I'll miss her so much," the skating fan wrote. "I started following skating right before the '22 Olympics, and can't really imagine it without her. Her strength, her confidence, her positivity; she brings so much joy to skating, and she's been such a lovely role model. Hoping this last season goes well for her. Wishing her all the best." Kaori Sakamoto (KYODO) On X (formerly known as Twitter), numerous figure skating aficionados also paid tribute to the popular skater. "Kaori Sakamoto had a lovely and long career, she will end her career after participating in Olympic Games thrice!" wrote one skating fan on X. "I'm hoping she can retire with [an] OGM (Olympic gold medal). But if she doesn't achieve it, I'm most proud of her amazing and long career." From left, Tatsuya Tsuboi, Kaori Sakamoto, Mai Mihara and Saki Miyake are seen at the opening ceremony at the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus on June 20 in Kobe. (KYODO) Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Paris' iconic cauldron from the Olympic Games returns to light up summer nights
PARIS (AP) — A year after it captivated crowds during the Paris Olympics, a centerpiece of the summer Games is making a comeback. The iconic helium-powered balloon that attracted myriads of tourists during the summer Games has shed its Olympic branding and is now just called the 'Paris Cauldron.' It is set to rise again into the air later Saturday, lifting off over the Tuileries Garden. Around 30,000 people are expected to attend the launch, which coincides with France's annual street music festival — the Fete de la Musique, the Paris police prefecture said. And it won't be a one-time event. After Saturday's flight, the balloon will lift off into the sky each summer evening from June 21 to Sept. 14, for the next three years. The cauldron's ascent may become a new rhythm of the Parisian summer, with special flights planned for Bastille Day on July 14 and the anniversary of the 2024 opening ceremony on July 26. Gone is the official 'Olympic' branding — forbidden under IOC reuse rules — but the spectacle remains. The 30-meter (98-foot) -tall floating ring, dreamed up by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and powered by French energy company EDF, simulates flame without fire: LED lights, mist jets and high-pressure fans create a luminous halo that hovers above the city at dusk, visible from rooftops across the capital. Though it stole the show in 2024, the cauldron was only meant to be temporary, not engineered for multi-year outdoor exposure. To transform it into a summer staple, engineers reinforced it. The aluminum ring and tether points were rebuilt with tougher components to handle rain, sun and temperature changes over several seasons. Though it's a hot-air-balloon-style, the lift comes solely from helium — no flame, no burner, just gas and engineering. The structure first dazzled during the Olympics. Over just 40 days, it drew more than 200,000 visitors, according to officials. Now anchored in the center of the drained Tuileries pond, the cauldron's return is part of French President Emmanuel Macron's effort to preserve the Games' spirit in the city, as Paris looks ahead to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Paris' iconic cauldron from the Olympic Games returns to light up summer nights
PARIS (AP) — A year after it captivated crowds during the Paris Olympics, a centerpiece of the summer Games is making a comeback. The iconic helium-powered balloon that attracted myriads of tourists during the summer Games has shed its Olympic branding and is now just called the 'Paris Cauldron.' It is set to rise again into the air later Saturday, lifting off over the Tuileries Garden.
