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When it comes to now and later, Don Sweeney’s mentality has not changed |
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Since being handed the keys to manage the roster of the Boston Bruins, Don Sweeney has always had the same goal: try to win now without mortgaging the future.
With the additions of Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie, Sweeney accomplished his goal.
Sure, Sweeney could have pushed his chips all in, looking to hit a home run at the expense of the future by landing one of the bigger named available forwards.
Sweeney easily could have paid a king’s ransom for New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri or sent an offer to the New York Rangers that was more enticing then ultimately signing Chris Kreider to a seven-year extension was for them.
Both moves would have significantly increased the Bruins chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in as many years and significantly increased the likelihood of the Bruins emerging victorious this time around.
However, both moves would have negatively impacted the future of the Bruins, something Sweeney refuses to do.
“We’re just trying to balance winning right now and doing the best we can for our hockey club and keeping obviously an eye on the future and not jeopardizing that or compromising that,” Sweeney said Monday afternoon. “But you know you’re going to at this time of the year, you just know it. You’re dipping into that bucket that you just don’t want to, it’s just whether or not you’re in there with two hands or one."
With the addition of Kase and Ritchie, the Bruins Stanley Cup bucket becomes more full, while the cap space saved and future assets retained,—that otherwise would have been traded for a bigger name—helped keep the Bruins future bucket from emptying out.
By trading David Backes’ unwanted contract—enticing the Ducks by adding Axel Andersson and a 2020 first-round draft pick—for Kase, and then yesterday, swapping Danton Heinen for a cheaper Ritchie, Sweeney was able to free up some valuable cap space that will be needed after what the Bruins hope is another run to the Stanley Cup Final, and one they hope to be more successful than the last.
The Bruins are expected to have just under $24 million in cap space this summer.
“We’re trying to address our hockey needs first and foremost, and we tried to do that with these two acquisitions,” Sweeney said. “We have a lot to do to get [to the Stanley Cup]. Our guys, our team, have put themselves in position to hopefully take another run, but it’s one step at a time.”
The Bruins will take that first post deadline step to another hopeful run Tuesday night with the Calgary Flames in town.
While Kase needs another practice or two before jumping into game action, Ritchie is expected to make his Bruins debut Tuesday.
"We’ll have to see where [Ritchie] best fits here. We’re gonna start him with [Charlie] Coyle. He’ll play the left side and [Anders] Bjork will move to the right,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday morning. “He’s obviously played in the league, big-bodied guy. Should be able to contribute with a net-front presence.”
From an offensive numbers standpoint, there’s not much separating Heinen and Ritchie.
But Heinen lacks the size and physical ability that Ritchie brings to the table. After being pushed around at ease by the Blues in their seven-game Stanley Cup Final series in June, adding size, skill and a physical tone to the lineup was of importance to Sweeney.
“It was an area that we felt we needed to address from some interiorized play, size and strength, net-front play, contested puck battles; things we feel that Nick will bring to the table for us,” Sweeney added. “He’s done it in Anaheim, and we think that he’ll address some of those needs for us moving forward.”
By adding Kase and Ritchie while only losing Heinen from the active roster, Sweeney has put Cassidy and his coaching staff in good shape to get the Bruins back to the Stanley Cup Final.
He's done so without mortgaging the future.
Once again, Sweeney has filled his two most important buckets.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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