With an extension that keeps him signed with the Boston Bruins through the 2027-28 season, general manager Don Sweeney is starting to narrow his search for a new head coach.

In a phone conversation with the Herald on Wednesday during a break from the team’s amateur scouting meetings in Vermont, Sweeney said the extension helps in that endeavor. But he also didn’t think the lack of an extension has been much of a road block, either.

“I’ve been able to separate the personal and the professional in this situation. I understand everyone’s attention is focusing on going into the last year (of his contract). I’ve been very honest in all my coaching discussions in terms of where I sit and why I’m looking forward to hiring a coach to set up the Boston Bruins and a lot of what we did at the deadline,” said Sweeney. “And I did it with the intention of being here but also with the intention of the organization being the priority. And I think any coach wanting to coach the Boston Bruins should have the same outlook of working together. All the coaches I’ve spoken to expressed sincere interest in coaching the Boston Bruins and the opportunity that’s there. They know what the organization represents and I think that’s come to the forefront.

“Does it help in terms of alignment when we’re talking? Yeah, there’s no question it takes away some of the question marks as you’re going through the process. One of the things I talked about as a priority is a coach that knows how to communicate across a wide spectrum of players. That’s what’s required of head coaches now at this level. You’ve got young players, you’ve got established players, you’ve got players that are working their way up the lineup. So to have a line of communication between the coach and the GM, it’s always an important variable, so I’m appreciative that we have that … The timing, it’s probably unique in the fact that we’re going through a coaching search, but deep down, I think I was separating personal and the professional in my approach to things.”

Sweeney said he expects to have a coach in place “well before” the June draft.

Sweeney did confirm that he held discussions with Rick Tocchet, a Bruin teammate for parts of two seasons, though no formal offer was made. As many expected, the Philadelphia Flyers, where Tocchet spent much of his playing career, were aggressive in going after him and they eventually got their man.

One interesting note on the coaching search is that when asked if he was still waiting to speak with any coaches still involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Sweeney said that he was not. Unless something changes, that would eliminate one coach who has been a leader in the rumor mill clubhouse, Dallas assistant Misha Donskov.

Considered one of the bright minds in the game, Donskov would seemingly check a lot of boxes. He was part of the group that built the expansion Vegas Golden Knights roster and was an assistant under Bruce Cassidy when the Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023 before moving on to Dallas. He was also on the Team Canada coaching staff for the Four Nations Faceoff, for which Sweeney was the GM. One box he doesn’t check, however, is head coaching experience at any level.

Sweeney didn’t mention any names in the search, other than to say that interim coach Joe Sacco and assistant Jay Leach are still under consideration. Possible candidates that do have head coaching experience are former Bruin Marco Sturm (Kings’ AHL affiliate Ontario Reign), Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton Oilers and their AHL affiliate) and Capitals’ assistant Mitch Love (Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey as well as the AHL teams in Stockton and Calgary).

On the free agent front, Sweeney has put himself in good position with two first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 to attempt an offer sheet to a restricted free agent, whether it be Toronto’s Matthew Knies (who has said he wants to stay in Toronto), the Rangers’ Will Cuylle, or any other RFA. He didn’t rule it out, but whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.

“I think every manager looks at it every year. Whether you’re in position to do it the way St. Louis did it last year (taking advantage of a cap-strapped Edmonton to offer sheet Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg), it does take a unique situation that align for those two teams. I think there’s an opportunity to force (a team’s hand) that may exist sometimes. But the cap space that the vast majority of teams should have this summer would probably alleviate some of that stress. That being said, it might upset the re-signing decisions that you may or may not have. So I think it’s a really good tool. It’s potentially more prevalent but it’s hard to say whether anyone’s going to execute it this summer.”

He again expressed a conviction that his own top RFA, arbitration-eligible Morgan Geekie, will be a Bruin next season.

“We’ve been in constant communication with Morgan’s camp since the time the season ended,” said Sweeney, who didn’t fear an offer sheet coming Geekie’s way. “I have no issues with the timeline of our discussions. We’d like to get it done. We know that it’s going to be somewhere between a one- and an eight-year deal. How’s that?”

Concerning the team’s leadership, Sweeney wasn’t ready to say whether he’d have a captain or if there would be a committee of leaders.

“We’ve had this discussion with (CEO) Charlie (Jacobs), (team president) Cam (Neely) and myself. We think it’s important to have a coach and start to re-establish that leadership group and have those open dialogues with the coach and organizationally,” said Sweeney. “I think we’d be comfortable either way. We have excellent candidates (David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy being the obvious ones), so we’d be comfortable either way. We’ll let it play out naturally with the leadership of this group and have it get re-established and then we’ll make an organizational decision.”