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By: Declan Flavin | Follow me on Twitter / X @FlavinDeclan

What did you think of Don Sweeney’s press conference ahead of this year’s National Hockey League trade deadline? Because if you’ve been listening to the decision maker down in Fort Myers regarding Boston’s baseball team, you may find Sweeney’s temperament somewhat refreshing.

Regardless of whether crossing sports is relevant to you or not, there are obviously general managers, or equivalently titled figures, who tend to shy away from discussing any past moves the team has made. Sweeney has never been one of these types, but specific to this Monday in March, he made a comment that was extraordinarily transparent.

“You’re not wrong that we likely spent too much collateral in assets to try and win. I’m not going to apologize for trying to win. I’m going to apologize that we haven’t won.” -Sweeney on history of trading the team’s draft picks, via WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin

He’s right to admit this as well, as the Boston Bruins, have previously dealt a couple of first-round picks, second-round picks, and a third-round pick for the combination of Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Andrew Peeke. The intention has been there, but the success in identifying the right guys specifically for the playoffs has been falling behind.

In the end, though, the city of Boston does want a leader in the chair who knows what they want and pushes transactional boundaries to get there, whether they need to learn through trial and error or not. Titles will always be the end-all-be-all, but fans know that the future doesn’t always reveal the linear and predictable tales that analytics spit out, and Sweeney’s personality aligns with the black-and-white mentality around the area.

In terms of the GM-to-fan relationship for this deadline, Sweeney also can’t really go wrong, regardless of the moves he decides to make. Whether the Bruins sell, stand pat, buy, or do a little of the first and third options, fans are able to digest this GM’s retool plan, a plan that ownership has given him the opportunity to pursue after multiple hearty kicks at title-achieving rosters.

It harkens back to the give-and-take that Sweeney has played with fans and the media since his arrival to the lead chair in 2015, along with the fact that he hasn’t had a clear chance to retool for quite a long time. Yes, he’s made mistakes in his time as GM, but Sweeney continues to bring who he is to both fans and ownership.