Key Quotes from Don Sweeney Ahead of Opening Night

With opening night just over 24 hours away, Boston Bruins general manager and alternate governor Don Sweeney spoke to the media on a variety of topics, covering offseason moves, the upcoming season, and more as the Bruins prepare for the New York Rangers and 2026-27.

After returning to the playoffs a year ago, Sweeney was tasked with making sure the Bruins would not be back on the outside looking in for the second time in three years. To do so, he and the Bruins will rely on a number of young players looking to break into the NHL full-time, as well as a group of veterans ready to lead a roster with postseason aspirations.

Matthew Poitras out short-term, not out of long-term picture

Earlier on Monday the Boston Bruins placed forward Matthew Poitras on injured reserve, delaying a decision on the 22 year old forward.

“Matty Poitras has a short-term injury that he'll work back from, and he'll get an opportunity when he's healthy and cleared, but we don't have a definitive timeline as he's just getting back on the ice the last couple days.”

Poitras was one of the more intriguing names entering camp, with Boston to make a final decision on him as they’d be forced to place the center on waivers if he did not open the season with the main team. It’s unlikely Poitras would have cleared waivers as he’d be an intriguing option for a number of teams looking to add young, cheap depth at the center position.

By placing him on injured reserve, the Bruins buy time to further evaluate other options on the roster and let Poitras return to 100%. Based on Don Sweeney’s quote, it appears Poitras will have the opportunity to earn a permanent spot in Boston when he’s back healthy. The move protects Boston against the possibility of an early season injury and gives them options if a young player, such as James Hagens, is slow to adapt to the NHL.

Michael DiPietro's competitiveness earns him NHL spot

With the Bruins dealing Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers on July 1st, the backup goaltending spot was opened for Michael DiPietro, last season’s AHL Most Valuable Player. After eight short stints, including a total of five games played, at the NHL level, DiPietro’s time to make an impact at the top level has arrived.

“Well, I'll start with Michael [DiPietro]. Michael's been biding his time in the American Hockey League and easily could have been picked up last year waiver-wise, and we're fortunate that he wasn't, and now he's part of our group. He’s competitive, humble, appreciative of opportunity, but he's not going to back off. He's going to want to continue to push Sway [Jeremy Swayman] and have every ounce of opportunity in the net that he can get. And that'll be all the way through practice. So, a good teammate, good person, and has waited for an opportunity, worked for an opportunity.”

There was a time last season where it looked like the Bruins were set to lose another all-star goaltender from Providence, after the former Providence Bruins standout helped Carolina win the Stanley Cup this spring. Boston was able to hang on to DiPietro over the course of the season, where he posted a .930 save percentage in the AHL, and decided he was ready to take the next step. By jettisoning Korpisalo the Bruins saved almost three million against the cap and put their faith in a rookie who has handled every test thrown at him.

James Hagens makes opening day roster

After being scratched in the last three playoff games against Buffalo, it was no guarantee that Boston’s top prospect would make the opening day roster.

"James [Hagens] obviously carried over productivity and confidence that he had in the two prospect games. It wasn't productive in the same light [in preseason], obviously, but he had chances, looking to shoot, playing with puck possession and intent is going to be important now. The regular season will present challenges. It goes harder as you get along, so he'll have to continue to adapt to that."

Boston’s general manager was impressed enough by the Boston College product to put him on the opening day roster after an impressive camp that included scoring six goals in two games against Buffalo in the Prospect Showcase. While not as productive as the showcase, Hagens left his mark on the preseason with the game winning shootout goal in the opener against Washington. Few players on the roster have the upside Hagens does and he could make an instant impact if his offseason work pays off.

Frederic Brunet earns a spot in the lineup

Frederic Brunet has been knocking on the door of an NHL roster spot each of the last two seasons, posting productive seasons in Providence with 61 points in 134 games, and has finally found his way on to the Boston roster on opening night.

“Frederic Brunet, I think we spoke about it last year in terms of where his growth was. Intent was this summer that he was going to put the work in and get an opportunity and earn a spot and this time he has. He's got to keep it. He's got to get in the lineup. He's got to maintain that, but he's brought mobility. That first pass ability, also the ability to get up the ice and join the rush. He had a good opportunity in one of the exhibition games to get up and fill the hole. Areas that we want to continue to grow and encourage our players on the back end to be even more involved.”

It should have come as no surprise that Brunet’s game would improve yet again, the defenseman’s track record is littered with examples of improving year over year at both the major junior and minor league level. His puck moving ability and speed inject a dynamic force into the bottom pairing as Boston look for more offensive production from their defensive core in 2026-27. While Brunet is in the lineup for now, Sweeney made it clear that it is up to the rookie to continue to make the case for why he should stay in Boston.

Looming expansion’s effects on roster building

Although no planned expansion has been announced and it’ll be at least three seasons before a new team hits the ice, that hasn’t stopped Don Sweeney from starting to prepare.

“If expansion comes along, you might lose at least one or two players in that sense. You've got to find a way to continue to replace and grow. And I think internally identifying the players that are part of your organization for the future is going to continue to be a big, big part of any team's success.”

Earlier this month, Boston gave Fraser Minten a new seven year deal, worth over $50 million. The new extension will tie him to the Bruins long past any potential expansion drafts, signaling that Sweeney views him as a foundational piece that was important to lock up long term. Contracts like Minten’s will be crucial to help the Bruins build and maintain depth while expansion plucks off pieces and the salary cap grows, driving up the price of free agents.

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