Bruins GM Don Sweeney throws in the towel on the season.

Things appear to have taken a drastic turn for the Boston Bruins coming out of the Four Nations Face-Off and unfortunately that drastic turn is not a positive one.

After an extended layoff due to the tournament, the Bruins returned to action on Saturday in a desperate fight to close the gap between them and the teams ahead of them in the National Hockey League's Atlantic Division. Unfortunately for the Bruins they would come out of the break with an uninspired effort against an Anaheim Ducks team that is nowhere close to playoff contention, managing to pick up just a single point after losing in overtime.

It was not the way the Bruins wanted to come out of the break and it would now seem that the ugly loss to the Ducks may have been the final straw for the Bruins this season.

There are now multiple reports indicating that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney appeared to be throwing in the towel on Sunday when speaking to the media, indicating that the Bruins have no intention of making any big additions ahead of the NHL's trade deadline with the team currently trending in the wrong direction.

The Boston Globe's Conor Ryan was just one of the reporters to comment on Sweeney's demeanor today:

Will have more coverage from today, but sure feels like Sweeney and the Bruins are finally waving the white flag on this year.

Expect to see them listening to offers on several roster players before the deadline.

Ty Anderson of 985 The Sports Hub shared a similar sentiment after Sweeney's media availability on Sunday.

Felt like the closest thing you'll get to Don Sweeney throwing the towel in on a season. Wouldn't commit to any specific term, but sounds like it's unlikely that they're moving any future capital for 'now' players.

Sweeney certainly sounded dejected about the season when speaking on Sunday, and his comments definitely made it seem like the Bruins are much more likely to be sellers ahead of the NHL's trade deadline on March 7th. You can see a clip of Sweeney's comments today in the short video below: