One look at any Bruins social media post since Monday evening will tell you that general manager Don Sweeney's decision to fire head coach Bruce Cassidy is not a popular one.
Sweeney didn't expect it to be. Asked about the fan reaction on Tuesday morning, Sweeney compared it to the reaction in 2017 when he fired Claude Julien and replaced him with Cassidy.
"Well, if you go back, when I promoted Bruce, I think there was a similar reaction. I expected it then, and I expected it today," Sweeney said. "It's not a comfortable position to be in when you've got a popular coach, both publicly and the amount of success that he's had. Yeah, it's gonna be an unpopular decision, and it's not gonna resonate. It didn't sit well with me. A very difficult decision, as I referenced, both personally and professionally."
A lot of the criticism of Sweeney and the front office isn't just about this one decision, though. Without trying to guess at a percentage, it's clear that there is a fairly sizable chunk of the Bruins' fanbase that doesn't have a lot of faith in Sweeney at this point, for a variety of reasons -- poor drafting, some bad signings, an inability to build one last Cup winner in Patrice Bergeron's final years, and now this Cassidy firing.
Asked what his message would be to those fans who don't have faith in the front office right now, Sweeney initially pushed back on the idea that it was a widespread sentiment, and then said that he and everyone else in the organization hold themselves to the highest standard possible.
"You can be more specific if you'd like. I think that's a generalization. If you feel that way, then I'm perfectly happy to answer the question," Sweeney said. "I don't think I've lost faith in myself as a manager. I don't think our winning percentage over the last six years, seven years that I've been a general manager would necessarily support that. We haven't won [the Stanley Cup]. That's what supports that. That's why I stand up here today to try to make the necessary changes, and I will.
"And to answer your question, if I don't, guess what? Somebody else will be standing up here. I referenced that with the Jacobs family and with Cam [Neely], that one of the best parts about working for this organization is to be held to that standard, knowing that you have the full latitude to make the recommendations and the decisions that you think are right. And then when they're not, they get somebody else.
"That's as categorically honest as I can possibly be. That's as black-and-white as it is. To be held to that standard, and to aspire to be best in class, is exactly what you want to be part of. Then, when the decision is made, they just categorically make a business decision and say, 'This is in the best interest of the Boston Bruins,' and I might not be part of that."
Sweeney was then asked why Cassidy deserved to be fired, while Sweeney and Neely deserved to stay. After all, if Sweeney is referencing winning percentage, then Cassidy's .672 mark with Boston is pretty darn impressive.
"It may fall the other way at some point in time. Today, that's not the day," Sweeney said. "I made a decision as to what my recommendation would be in changing the course. We've had a good team. We're gonna continue to have a good team. Do we have to pivot based on where our injuries are? It may come, and maybe they make the decision then that I'm not the right guy.
"As it stands right now, I have the support of the people I work with and work for, and I'm thankful for that. I didn't make the decision to change the coach because of that. I made the decision because I've been in the place when I hired Bruce six years ago, and I'm the same person that stands here today and says, 'I need to make a change.' As I referenced, the messaging, the direction, and some of the things that aren't resonating as loudly as they did, that's part of the exercise."
