Bruins
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around why people call for [Neely and Sweeney’s] heads.”
The morning after the Bruins’ disappointing 2024-25 season came to a close on Tuesday night, Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs penned a letter to fans — acknowledging the disastrous shortcomings this winter, while also pledging decisive action during a pivotal offseason.
Here is the full text of Jacobs’ letter, which was released by the Bruins on Wednesday morning:
To our loyal and dedicated fans,
The 2024-25 season was undoubtedly one of the most challenging of my tenure with the Boston Bruins. Like you, our diehard fans, I bleed black and gold. Today I share your disappointment as the team clears out their locker stalls ahead of a long offseason.
While we have certainly enjoyed some exciting moments this past year, including a Centennial Game and 100th anniversary celebration for the history books, we ultimately fell far short of expectations. Yet, your passion never faltered. You showed up and you believed until the final horn. We cannot thank you enough for your support. Simply put, you are the greatest fans in hockey.
Over the past decade, hockey operations, on-ice talent, hard work, and commitment brought Bruins hockey to a level of success we are proud of — but we are not satisfied. Our goal of winning another Stanley Cup remains unchanged.
It’s clear that we have a lot of work to do, and that work is already underway. Despite how difficult it has been to say goodbye to some of our most beloved Bruins this season, these decisions were rooted in the best interests of the future of our franchise.
Together with our hockey operations leaders, we are actively preparing for the NHL Draft and anticipate a top-tier selection with more draft capital in hand than we have had in recent years. We are also eager to bolster our roster through free agency and open the door for some of our young prospects to take the next steps in their development.
There is only one way forward from here; expectations and accountability are higher than ever.
I’m incredibly proud to be a Bostonian. I take even greater pride in being a Boston Bruin. Together with leadership, we are embarking on an ambitious journey to restore glory to this great franchise.
Thank you for your unwavering support.
Charlie Jacobs
This marks the first time since 2016 that the Bruins will be on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs — with a season that once opened with so much promise quickly devolving into disaster.
The Bruins have plenty of work to to do this summer — be it potentially finding a new head coach, identifying a potential franchise fixture with their first-round pick in the NHL Draft, and making the proper signings/trades to bolster a roster that both struggled to score (27th in goals scored) and protect the net (26th in goals allowed).
It stands as a daunting undertaking for a franchise looking to right the ship in short order — an offseason objective that seemingly will be carried out by GM Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely.
Beyond Jacobs’ acknowledgement that the team’s “ hockey operations leaders” will remain involved in offseason planning, the team’s CEO also further backed both Sweeney and Neely during a wide-ranging interview with The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
“While understanding the criticism of some in the fanbase and media, Jacobs pointed to the success of the last decade, including a Stanley Cup Final appearance and the record-setting regular season of 2022-23, when he said, “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around why people call for [Neely and Sweeney’s] heads,’” McBride wrote.
Even though the Bruins closed out the year mired at the bottom of the NHL standings, Jacobs preached optimism when it came to Boston’s ability to right the ship moving forward.
“When I think of a rebuild, I think of somebody sort of hitting that proverbial Looney Tunes [TNT plunger], ‘Let’s blow this up and start over.’ And I don’t think we’re there,” Jacobs told McBride. “I think we’re in a place where we need to build, and to use Don’s terms specifically, to retool, to make this a more competitive team for next year and for years to come.”
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