Bruins Daily

Bruins Brief: Looking Back At Sweeney’s Coaching Hires; NHL Trade Buzz

Published

2 weeks ago

November 23, 2024

AP Photo/Steven Senne

Good morning, my name is Andrew Fantucchio. It’s Saturday, November 23, and here are the top stories, news items, and highlights from surrounding the Boston Bruins and from across the NHL today.

Bruins News:

Sweeney Holds Fire To Players: After he fired Jim Montgomery earlier this week, Boston general manager Don Sweeney quickly held the flame to the Bruins players. With a vast majority of the roster underperforming, Sweeney threatened that more moves could be coming if things don’t turn around quickly.

Kastelic Gets Message, Brings Fight: One player who clearly understood Sweeney’s message was Mark Kastelic. As he’s done all year, Kastelic brought the energy to Boston’s lineup, with his two fights on Thursday night against Utah being the catalyst behind a landmark victory.

McLaughlin Called Up: Heading into a matchup with the Detroit Red Wings tonight, the Bruins called up Marc McLaughlin from AHL Providence.

Boston’s Loss Is Vegas’ Gain:

As much as Sweeney needed to make some sort of change to help the Bruins, he still chose to fire his second coach in two and a half years. After amassing an impressive run with the Bruins, Montgomery was swiftly shown the door, much like his predecessor, Bruce Cassidy, was.

But after losing his job in Boston, Cassidy quickly landed on his feet with the Vegas Golden Knights, and surely, Montgomery will, too, somewhere.

NHL Trade Buzz:

There’s buzz on the NHL trade market.

Even before he fired Montgomery, Sweeney was reported to be scouring the league, looking to make a major shake-up to the Bruins’ roster.

The Pittsburgh Penguins already did so earlier this month, trading Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals and more players could be shipped out soon.

Meanwhile, there could be a potential deal on the horizon for the Philadelphia Flyers. That is if they’re willing to pay the right price for a struggling Minnesota Wild star, of course.

Yesterday’s Scoreboard:

Jets: 4, Penguins: 1

Sabres: 3, Ducks: 2 (OT)

Today’s Schedule:

All Times EST

Boston Bruins v. Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.

Chicago Blackhawks v. Philadelphia Flyers, 1 p.m.

Minnesota Wild v. Calgary Flames, 4 p.m.

Seattle Kraken v. Los Angeles Kings, 4 p.m.

Colorado Avalanche v. Florida Panthers, 6 p.m.

Vancouver Canucks v. Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.

Dallas Stars v. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.

Utah Hockey Club v. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m.

New Jersey Devils v. Washington Capitals, 7 p.m.

Carolina Hurricanes v. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m.

Winnipeg Jets v. Nashville Predators, 7 p.m.

St. Louis Blues v. New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.

Buffalo Sabres v. San Jose Sharks, 8 p.m.

New York Rangers v. Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m.

More From National Hockey Now:

Florida: No team has enjoyed watching the Bruins struggle more than the Florida Panthers. But now it’s them who are having a hard time. After losing two straight games, the Panthers look almost unrecognizable.

Buffalo: Acquiring Jeff Skinner will be looked back on as one of the more disappointing moves in Buffalo Sabres history. How has buying out his contract worked out for them?

New Jersey: The New Jersey Devils are among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire NHL. And yet, some teams may still be overlooking them.

New York: Give me a sign. Is there any reason at all to believe in the New York Islanders?

San Jose: A former Bruins first overall draft pick is now a legend in San Jose as the Sharks prepare to retire the No. 19 of Joe Thornton. (+)