Boston Bruins Name Marco Sturm Head Coach

By: Jack Studley  |  Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13

On Thursday morning, the team announced that Marco Sturm will be named the next head coach of the Boston Bruins. Sturm will take over for interim head coach Joe Sacco, who assumed the role on November 19, 2024. Sturm, a first-time NHL head coach, will be the 30th head coach in Boston Bruins franchise history.

Marco Sturm spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Ontario Reign, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. Over three seasons, Sturm compiled a record of 119-80-17, qualifying for the playoffs every year – making it out of the qualifying round in only one of those years. While in Ontario, Sturm oversaw the development of prospects in the Los Angeles Kings’ system, including Brandt Clarke and Alex Turcotte.

Before his time in the AHL, Sturm worked on the bench of the Los Angeles Kings. In November 2018, he joined the Kings alongside the hiring of former head coach Willie Desjardins. He stayed on staff when the Kings hired Todd McLellan and ultimately spent four years in Los Angeles before being named the head coach of the Ontario Reign. The Kings qualified for the playoffs in Sturm’s final season as an assistant, losing to the Oilers in seven games.

Marco Sturm is the first European head coach that the Boston Bruins have hired in their franchise history. Sturm is 46 years old and was born in Dingolfing, West Germany. Sturm has coaching experience with Team Germany, both at the Olympics and the World Championships. In 2018, Sturm coached an underdog Team Germany to a silver medal in Pyeongchang, a team that went in with +350 odds of winning a medal. Germany fell to the Olympic Athletes from Russia in overtime, 4-3, after playoff wins over Switzerland, Sweden, and Canada.

Sturm will replace Joe Sacco, who assumed the interim head coach role on November 19 after a tough 20-game start to the 2024-25 campaign. During Sacco’s tenure, the Bruins went 25-30-7 and struggled to stay consistent and healthy during the season. The Bruins finished tied for last in the Eastern Conference and will select seventh at this year’s draft. Sacco has been a member of the Bruins organization since 2014-15 when he was brought on as an assistant coach. He was promoted to associate coach before the start of the 2024-25 season and then assumed the interim role starting with game #21.

Sturm will be the 30th coach in franchise history and the team’s fifth coach since Don Sweeney was named general manager in May 2015. Sturm spent five seasons with the Bruins as a player, accumulating 106 goals, 87 assists, and 156 penalty minutes in 302 games. He was acquired in November 2005 as a part of the Joe Thornton trade and was traded to Los Angeles in December 2010 for future considerations. Marco Sturm has been seeking his opportunity to become an NHL head coach, and a homecoming with the Bruins is how it will get started. Now that the head coaching search has concluded, the Bruins will shift their focus toward re-signing free agents and preparing for the draft.