Commentary: Don Sweeney attempts to fix Bruins’ broken culture

After a slew of signings on Tuesday it is fair for Bruins fans to ask whether their group is any better than it was just before they held their fire sale at the transaction deadline On paper it would be hard to answer in the affirmative But if there was one thing that GM Don Sweeney requested to accomplish on Tuesday with NHL free agency it was to make his company more competitive first when training camp opens in September and then when the roster whoever makes it goes to battle against other teams in October Time will tell if he succeeded in that endeavor Faced with an unusually thin free agent sector and not enough money to fill all the holes with high-end players if they were even available Sweeney went to work with a bucket full of spackle to fix the soul of the unit First he obtained veteran wing Viktor Arvidsson in a commerce with salary-dumping Edmonton for a fifth-round pick Next Sweeney s first foray into the FA sphere produced a whopping five-year deal million per season for low-scoring hit machine Tanner Jeannot who is one of the better fighters in the league saying Jeannot is a guy who makes everyone in the lineup a little taller Then he hired a couple more bottom six forwards in old friend hustle merchant Sean Kuraly x million and high-energy Mikey Eyssimont x million whom Sweeney referred to as a pain in the ass He also added depth defenseman Jordan Harris a Haverhill and Northeastern product to a one-year deal and a couple of -year-old minor league forwards Matej Blumel who scored goals in the last two seasons for the Texas Stars AHL and Alex Steeves who had goals for the Toronto Marlies AHL last year Now it s time for this collection of players heavier on tough bottom-six guys and last-chance hopefuls than elite level players to battle it out for roster spots It is an attempt to re-invigorate the custom that went missing We were at times last year even when we had our group an easy out And I can t stand for that stated Sweeney Sweeney has repeatedly declared throughout his managerial tenure that he doesn t want to hand a job to a young athlete and that resonated clear with this year s July crop If Fraser Minten Matt Poitras Fabian Lysell aren t ready to battle for a spot in September then they ll be wearing a P on their chest instead of a B If they re good enough for the NHL that shouldn t be a difficulty Make no mistake if a younger athlete has an opportunity to make our club he s making our crew I think what we did that two years ago making room for Matt Poitras proves that announced Sweeney But the competition is there That s what we want The sales of Brad Marchand Trent Frederic Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo as well as the flash-tank at the end of the season had to be done The company was trending in the wrong direction and there were no signs that it would reverse itself Those decisions already garnered them a sportsman James Hagens whom they believe could be a top line forward plus several other engaging prospects They ve also got two first-round draft picks next season when the crop of prospects is maintained to be deeper and two more first-rounders in The signing of Jeannot to five years was done partially with those young players in mind Can they compete for a playoff spot in - Considering they play in the Atlantic Division and Florida Toronto Tampa Bay Montreal and Ottawa are better than them at least on paper it will be complicated But it s not out of the question in a league in which half the teams make it The losses of Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy were devastating to the - band and their return should provide specific boost They still have one of the league s top goal scorers in David Pastrnak You never know how a group of players will coalesce under a new head coach And it sounds like Marco Sturm has a true believer in the newly-acquired Arvidsson who was on the Kings power play when Sturm coached it in LA in - before he took over the Kings top AHL affiliate I just think he sees the meeting really well he played it and gets it I think he s going to be a really good coach for the squad and a young group that we are and pushing for playoffs declared Arvidsson who has one year left on his deal at million With Jeannot hits Mark Kastelic and Nikita Zadorov there could also be specific entertaining old school nights at the Garden this winter But make no mistake This gang is no one s Stanley Cup contender The Bruins are in something of a holding pattern in which they hope to be competitive until the young guns arrive presumably to take them to the next level in a inadequate years As far as plans go fixing the lifestyle is a good place to start But the finish line is a long long way off