Brandon Carlo is a huge part of the Boston Bruins' success, and general manager Don Sweeney couldn't express that enough Tuesday.
Carlo signed a two-year contract with the Bruins on Tuesday morning worth $2.85 million per season and Sweeney said he couldn't have been happier.
"It's a really, really important day for us. [Brandon is a] big, big part of our club," said Sweeney according to BostonBruins.com's Eric Russo. "As I referenced with Charlie the other day, really important [pieces] of what we accomplished last year, what we hope to accomplish this year, and many, many years going forward."
He added: "Brandon is going to be a part of the Boston Bruins and I indicated that while we were going through negotiations, to him and to everybody else. I'm very excited to have him back in the fold."
At just 22, Carlo is maturing into one of the best young defensive-defensemen in the NHL, and naturally, Sweeney recognizes that.
"I said this to Brandon this morning - from a leadership standpoint, he's able to now feel comfortable in his own skin to take the next young player and realize this is how we do things," said Sweeney. "And I think he wants that. So, for me, I don't think you can put a ceiling on what he's capable of doing."
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Carlo has managed to flourish paired alongside Torey Krug and develop specific skills in order to benefit the Bruins.
"But he also has to live to his own ideals of what he does really well," Sweeney said. "And obviously, shutting down and taking responsibility to end games, to close out games, to protect teammates, to block shots, to do the things that other players might not be willing to do, he does really well."
Carlo will have a lot more responsibility on his shoulders come the start of the regular season, but he should be able to handle it just fine as he's improved each season since joining Boston in 2016.
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