By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
We are still well underway with the Bruins head coaching search, and final interviews are expected to take place this week. On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that Jay Woodcroft, Mitch Love, and Marco Sturm are among the favorites for the three open head coaching jobs. The Bruins are one of the three teams who still need to hire their next head coach, along with the Seattle Kraken and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This report confirms what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, where he sensed a growing connection between Boston and Sturm, as well as between Pittsburgh and Mitch Love. Jay Woodcroft’s name has been linked to openings in both Pittsburgh and Boston, and he has not seen himself behind an NHL bench since his 3-9-1 start to the Oilers’ season in 2023.
On Tuesday afternoon, David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period confirmed that Jay Woodcroft had already had his latest follow-up interview with the Bruins, and Marco Sturm is still in the running as well. Also on Tuesday afternoon, RG’s Jimmy Murphy recently reported that the Bruins and Jay Woodcroft are “talking money,” but the Bruins are still also looking at Marco Sturm as well as internal candidate Jay Leach. This came after Murphy reported on Tuesday morning that Woodcroft is now “the frontrunner.”
Jay Woodcroft is a coach who is destined for another chance in the league, and it is looking more likely he will get that chance. He got his start in Detroit, under Ken Holland’s leadership, as a video coach. He climbed his way up the coaching tree by working with Holland, who did not give up on Woodcroft, bringing Jay to Edmonton when the Oilers hired him. Woodcroft worked for the Oilers AHL affiliate in Bakersfield before being named the head coach in the middle of the 2021-22 season.
My colleague, Neil Simmons, wrote a thorough analysis of why Jay Woodcroft would be a good fit as the head coach of the Bruins. Out of the reported candidates, Woodcroft is the only one who can write “NHL Head Coach” on his résumé, as he spent parts of three seasons as the leader of the Oilers bench, amassing a record of 79-41-13, with a 14-14 playoff record and a Western Conference Finals appearance – the Oilers first since 2006.
Murphy’s report that the Bruins and Woodcroft are “talking money” is the first real traction that the Bruins have had with a coach this offseason. Murphy reiterated that Sturm and Leach are still in the mix, but this report shows that Jay Woodcroft has taken a serious leap in negotiations.
Marco Sturm is a coach seeking to break into the league for the first time. His experience has been highly beneficial, as he served as the head coach of the 2018 German national team, which won the silver medal at the Olympics. He has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Ontario Reign and four seasons prior as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings.
I wrote about Marco Sturm yesterday, reviewing his résumé and examining why he would be a good fit in Boston. He was a finalist for the Sharks’ job last year and has been connected to openings in Vancouver, Boston, and Seattle this season. The Canucks are out of the running for Sturm after they promoted assistant coach Adam Foote, but the Kraken and Bruins are still in the mix for Sturm’s services.
Mitch Love, who was reported as a finalist for one of the three vacant jobs, seems increasingly likely to be with the Kraken or Penguins on the day he gets hired. On Monday’s 32 Thoughts, Friedman referenced his name as a strong possibility for the Penguins job and said the in-person interview would happen this week. The Bruins are not out on Love, though, as Fluto Shinzawa from the Athletic reported on Tuesday afternoon that he is a finalist for the Bruins job and will have an interview this week.
Jay Leach worked on the Boston Bruins bench this season as an assistant to Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco. He previously served as the head coach of the Providence Bruins from 2017-21. While in Providence, Leach put together a record of 136-77-26 and oversaw the development of Bruins prospects like Trent Frederic, Connor Clifton, and Jeremy Lauzon. Unfortunately, the Providence Bruins did not experience significant playoff success with Leach; the best result the P-Bruins achieved was two first-round exits in 2018 and 2019.
Leach served as an assistant coach to Dave Hakstol’s staff in Seattle for their first few seasons in the NHL. Hakstol was fired from Seattle in April 2024, and the Bruins announced Leach’s hiring less than two months later in June. Leach worked with the team’s defense this season, which proved to be particularly challenging when the Bruins lost Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy to injury. Additionally, the Bruins traded Brandon Carlo, which required Leach to work with a different variation of the defense than anticipated in the preseason.
In the post-season press conference, Don Sweeney mentioned that he was looking for somebody with “NHL exposure,” someone who can “evolve offensively,” and someone who embraces the position and is proud to be the coach of the Bruins. Woodcroft checks the boxes for NHL exposure, and his background as a video coach can help the offense evolve into something new, much like the Oilers did during their 2022 playoff run.
Sturm and Leach both carry similar years of experience on their résumé, with both having a handful of years as an NHL assistant and an AHL head coach, but neither has taken the throne as an NHL head coach. They both have ties to the Bruins organization, which seemingly checks the box for someone proud to embrace the position. Sturm’s playing time here would make him a good fit, given his prior knowledge of Neely and Sweeney’s expectations, as well as his lack of coaching experience with the Bruins.
Leach, the internal candidate, had already returned to the organization after the Bruins rehired him as an assistant coach following Dave Hakstol’s departure in Seattle. He was rumored to be a candidate for the Seattle job last year before they promoted their AHL head coach, Dan Bylsma. Leach was also connected to the Penguins’ opening this offseason. The Syracuse native played college hockey at Providence College and has spent a lot of his playing career in and around New England. It seems like a matter of time before Jay Leach gets hired as an NHL head coach; it is up to the Bruins to decide whether that time is now.
In the post-season press conference, Don Sweeney stated that he would interview both Joe Sacco and Jay Leach for the head coaching position, and it appears that Jay Leach has advanced to the final interviews. We also know that Jay Woodcroft is there, too, and “talking money” with the front office. We can expect to hear the decision soon, as the final interviews are scheduled to take place this week, with the announcement expected to follow thereafter.
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