The Boston Bruins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after having missed last season, and they are matched up against the Buffalo Sabres, a team that hadn’t advanced to the postseason since Boston’s most recent Stanley Cup-winning year of 2011.
While it was the Sabres who drew first blood in the series thanks to a dramatic comeback effort in Game 1 in Buffalo, the Bruins responded on Tuesday night, taking a 4-0 lead into the third period thanks to a pair of goals from first-year Bruins forward Victor Arvidsson and then withstanding a late comeback by Buffalo.
The series is now knotted at one game apiece, with things now shifting to Boston’s TD Garden for Games 3 and 4. But in the hours that followed Boston’s dramatic 4-2 win over the Sabres, general manager Don Sweeney has taken care of an important matter of internal business regarding the future of a depth defenseman.
The Boston Bruins Have Announced A Contract Extension For Defenseman Billy Sweezey
As confirmed by multiple Boston Bruins insiders, the club has re-signed defenseman Billy Sweezey to a one-year, two-way contract through the 2026-27 season, which carries a salary cap hit of $850,000.
The Massachusetts native and Yale University graduate appeared in 69 games for the American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins this past season, scoring once and adding 16 assists.
So far, based on the reaction to the signing, it was a good move from Sweeney.
“This is an A+ move,” wrote Bruins insider Mark Divver. “Billy is a heart and soul player, a culture builder, an important part of Providence’s competitive mindset With his Yale degree, he could make more money doing something else, but he loves hockey Good keep by the Bruins.”
The Bruins Have Locked Up Depth Defenseman Billy Sweezey
Before making it to the professional ranks, Sweezey played high school hockey at Noble and Greenough School of the Independent School League of New England, and would later move on to suiting up for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
He was never drafted into the NHL, and would later sign a contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In 2021, he would later sign with the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom he would later sign a two-year, two-way contract with in 2022.
He later made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets in February 2023 against the Minnesota Wild before eventually being sent back down to the AHL.
In 2024, he was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Bruins on July 1, 2024. He would spend his first season with the organization playing in Providence, scoring one goal with nine assists in 69 games played while also accumulating 67 penalty minutes and a plus-seven rating.
This past season, he racked up 84 total penalty minutes along with an impressive plus-21 rating.
He’s appeared in a total of nine NHL games, all with the Blue Jackets. During that span, he registered an assist along with nine penalty minutes and a minus-three rating.
Bruins Announce One-Year Contract Extension For Defenseman