By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins announced that General Manager Don Sweeney has signed a two-year extension. The extension will run through the 2027-28 season, which would be Sweeney’s 13th on the throne if he survies that long. The Bruins front office is conducting interviews to find their 30th bench boss if franchise history. So what does this mean?
The Boston Bruins have entered a big summer, and the focus has shifted toward hiring the next head coach. This should be coming soon. On Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the Bruins are “starting to call their list.” TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that the Bruins will conduct final interviews sometime next week.
After the Philadelphia Flyers hired Rick Tocchet, RG’s Jimmy Murphy reported that he was not interested in the Bruins job because of the uncertainty around Sweeney’s future. Sweeney’s extension provides the Bruins with front office stability and gives the new head coach a chance to form a working relationship with Sweeney. On Wednesday’s episode of 32 Thoughts, Friedman believes this is “the Boston Bruins saying we’re gonna tie Don Sweeney to whoever he hires. New coach probably gets three years; Sweeney’s now got three years. The two of them are in lockstep together.”
On Wednesday, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald reported that Don Sweeney is no longer speaking to coaches still in the Stanley Cup playoffs – which eliminated a popular fan-favorite candidate in Misha Donskov. On Thursday afternoon, the Chicago Blackhawks announced Jeff Blashill as their head coach, and he was rumored to be a front-runner for the Bruins coaching vacancy. The Bruins sit with the Kraken and Penguins as the three teams without a head coach.
Coaches still on the Bruins’ radar include interim head coach Joe Sacco, assistant coach Jay Leach, Marco Sturm, Mitch Love, Luke Richardson, and Jay Woodcroft. As of Friday, both Sacco and Leach are still in the running for the head coaching vacancy, but the Bruins have cast a wide net and interviewed many people. Five coaching vacancies have already been filled this offseason, and the Bruins’ decision could come very soon, shifting their focus toward resigning players and preparing for the draft.
Joe Sacco, the interim head coach, was put in a difficult position when he took over. During his tenure, the Bruins went 25-30-7, finished tied for last in the Eastern Conference, and ended up with the #7 selection in the draft this June. A ten-game losing streak in March was the lowlight of his tenure and could impact the Bruins decision going into next season. The 56-year-old has worked in the Bruins organization since 2014. On the other hand, Jay Leach coached the Providence Bruins from 2017-21 before leaving to work on Dave Hakstol’s staff in Seattle.
The 45-year-old returned to the Bruins organization on Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco’s bench this season. Leach’s name has been linked to the opening in Pittsburgh, who also has been linked to Mitch Love and Jay Woodcroft – but Kyle Dubas was managing Canada at the World Championships in Sweden, and he has said that he will not be conducting in-person interviews until the tournament is over – Denmark upset Canada 2-1 on Thursday. It knocked the Canadians out of the World Championships, moving the Penguins’ timeline forward.
Jay Woodcroft’s name is tied to the Bruins job, with Frank Seravalli reporting that he is a “leading candidate” to land the job in Boston on the Morning Cuppa Hockey show last week. You can explore Jay Woodcroft’s coaching profile and learn more about how he would be a good fit in depth here.
Another name to consider for the Bruins head coaching spot is Mitch Love. The 40-year-old has not been the head coach of an NHL team yet but has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach on Spencer Carbery’s bench in Washington. Washington won the Eastern Conference this year, and Mitch Love was responsible for handling the team’s defense.
Before Washington, Love worked as their AHL head coach for the Calgary Flames affiliates. His first season was in Stockton, CA, before they relocated to Calgary for his second season behind the bench. Love won the AHL Coach of the Year award two times in his two seasons coaching in the league. He has been connected to the openings in Pittsburgh and Seattle, and the Penguins reportedly have him high on their list.
Marco Sturm is a name Bruins fans should remember, and he is receiving interest in becoming an NHL coach. The 48-year-old currently works as the head coach of the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings AHL affiliate, and spent some time working under Todd McLellan as an assistant for the Kings. He started by leading Germany to a silver medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics – Germany’s best Olympic result.
Elliotte Friedman joined the Spittin’ Chiclets Game Notes podcast last week, saying Marco Sturm is highly regarded in the coaching world. On Friday’s Bruins Vibes podcast, Jimmy Murphy said, “Marco Sturm is the leading candidate as of May 22 at 5:48 pm.” The Boston Bruins are not shy about hiring former players, and Sturm would fall right into that list. His lack of prior coaching ties with the organization could provide a fresh perspective behind the bench.
The Chicago Blackhawks let Luke Richardson go midseason, and in three seasons, he posted a record of 57-118-15. He did not have much to work with in Chicago, as they fully embraced a complete tear-down and rebuild. He inherited a Chicago team full of young players – like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Lukas Reichel – and aging veterans like Nick Foligno, Corey Perry, and Jarred Tinordi.
The expression that head coaches get hired to get fired applies to Richardson in Chicago, as it would have been hard for him to find success out of the lineup he was given during a transitional time in Chicago. Richardson is 56 years old, and on top of his time with the Blackhawks, he has eight years of NHL assistant coaching on his resumé and four more years as the head coach of the Binghamton Senators. He seems destined for a second head coaching opportunity in the NHL.
David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period joined the NHL Network on Thursday and reported that Kirk Muller’s name is also in the mix for the Bruins vacancy. The former second-overall pick has spent his coaching career mainly in the NHL, with a short stint as the Carolina Hurricanes head coach from 2011-14 and a brief interim coaching stint during the COVID bubble for Montreal. His resumé is full of stops in Montreal, Carolina, St. Louis, Calgary, and Washington – where he is now.
His head coaching record was not the strongest; during his time with Carolina, the team went 80-80-27. The 59-year-old coached the Hurricanes in the middle of nine straight playoff misses for the franchise. Muller checks the box for NHL experience, with this season being his 20th consecutive season behind an NHL bench; his playing career only helps him as a Stanley Cup champion.
The last name here is someone that the Boston Bruins should not rule out. Steve Conroy’s report on Wednesday said that none of the candidates were still in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Am I looking too deep into this? I hope not, but I hope that didn’t rule out the Calder Cup playoffs because Todd Nelson is a coach who knows how to win. His Hershey Bears were eliminated on Wednesday night at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers, stopping their campaign for their third straight Calder Cup.
Nelson also won the Calder Cup in 2017 as the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. His resumé includes stints as assistants in Atlanta and Dallas, with a stop in Edmonton as the interim head coach in 2015 – the same year they drafted McDavid – it seems safe to say the Oilers did not put Nelson in a position to succeed when he took the interim job. During his time in Hershey, his successful development of players like Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, and Dylan McIlrath should be considered due to their contributions to the Washington Capitals this season.
The Bruins know how they are approaching the coaching hire. By extending Sweeney through the 2027-28 season, the front office has set themselves up to offer a coach a three-year deal, building a unified relationship between Sweeney and the coach. Sweeney’s extension is signed, the coaching search is on deck, and we still have a rebrand, a draft, rookie camp, training camp, and preseason before October is here again. Buckle in.
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