Sweeney made his NHL debut during the
1988–89 season, having spent half of the year with the
American Hockey League (AHL)'s
Maine Mariners. In the following season, he helped the Bruins win the
Prince of Wales Trophy by scoring six points in 21 games until they eventually lost to the
Edmonton Oilers in the
Stanley Cup Finals. In
1992–93, Sweeney played in all 84 games, putting up 36 points. In both the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons, he was second amongst Boston defencemen with 22 and 28 points, respectively. In
1997–98, Sweeney missed the last 23 games of the season with a
fractured shoulder that he suffered on March 1. In the next season, Sweeney achieved 205 hits and 85 blocked shots in 81 games. In the 1999–2000 season, he had 301 hits and 84 blocked shots; the following year he had 172 hits in 72 games, and in the 2000–01 season, he contributed 18 points in 81 games. In the 2002–03 season, Sweeney scored only eight points in 67 games as his team nestled into third place in the division. On November 14 that year, he also played in his 1,000th NHL game. Sweeney played 15 seasons and 1,051 games for Boston, being one of just four players—and two defensemen—in team history to play in over 1,000 games. Since July 2006, he has ranked third on the Bruins' all-time games played, while amongst all-time club defencemen, he ranks tenth in career goals (52), eighth in assists (210), and ninth in points (262). Sweeney ended his playing career in 2003–04 as a member of the
Dallas Stars. He retired with NHL totals of 52 goals and 221 assists for 273 points and 681 penalty minutes in 1,115 career regular-season games. He added nine goals and ten assists for 19 points with 81 penalty minutes in 108 career
playoff games. ==Executive career==