BOSTON — Team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney received a seal of approval from Boston Bruins ownership some 10 days after the record-setting Black and Gold were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in underwhelming fashion.
Bruins CEO and alternate governor Charlie Jacobs was among those to speak with reporters at TD Garden on Tuesday during the organization’s season-ending press conference. Jacobs was joined by Neely, Sweeney and head coach Jim Montgomery, each of whom expressed their disappointment in Boston’s first-round exit.
Jacobs, however, expressed how neither he nor his father, Jeremy Jacobs, the owner of the Bruins, were seeking any changes to the management group. It comes after the Bruins set NHL records for most wins in a season and most points in a season en route to the Presidents’ Trophy, in large part because of the roster Neely and Sweeney assembled before the season and ahead of the trade deadline.
“I don’t (want changes),” Charlie Jacobs said. “I just got finished mentioning that I feel like our general manager, our team president, pushed all the right buttons to deliver the best possible team we could for this year. And I applaud them for the work they’ve done. I’m far from asking for a management change.”
Charlie Jacobs spoke on behalf of his father and the team’s owner, too. He expressed that while Jeremy Jacobs wants answers as to what led to Boston’s first-round exit, he’s not looking to shake up the organization.
“Certainly not complacent,” Charlie Jacobs said when asked about the feelings of ownership. “I talk to the chairman every day, and he watches every hockey game for the Boston Bruins, and frankly watches a lot of other teams play, too. And I think at first it was disbelief we were out in the first (round). And then, like all of us, the fans, he wants answers. He wants to understand how could this possibly transpire. Personally, I feel the same way.
“I feel accountable for the fan base here, and the responsibility to deliver the best club we possibly can for the people of Boston and New England,” Charlie Jacobs continued. “I do feel like our management pushed all the right buttons this year, to deliver the best possible team we could for our fans. And at some point you have to hand that off to the coach, the general manager, the team president to execute. And we’re all in this together, and we share in the disappointment.”
Charlie Jacobs surely is not the only one who feels the level of disappointment. As players have expressed themselves, Neely shared how he felt “empty” after Boston’s exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers.
