A few interesting names emerge in Boston Bruins head-coaching search
The Boston Bruins remain in the hunt for a new head coach, and potential candidates are beginning to emerge for the vacancy.
General manager Don Sweeney said last week the process is well underway, though he's waiting on a few candidates whose teams are still playing in the NHL playoffs. In-house candidates Joe Sacco (who was 25-30-7 after replacing Jim Montgomery last season) and assistant coach Jay Leach are in the mix, though Sweeney said Boston will explore coaches with experience "at different levels" of the game.
It sounds like Sweeney and company are extremely intrigued about finding the next young, bright hockey mind to come in and revamp the Bruins franchise. While a veteran coach could provide a quick fix, they might not be a long-term answer. The Bruins might be able to bounce back and return to contention in a few years with such a leader, but they could easily find themselves back in need of a reset if that veteran coach burns out before getting the team over the hump.
The Bruins won't be signing Mike Sullivan, who is now in charge of the New York Rangers after being dismissed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Boston wants an experienced voice who might be able to come in and right the ship for a year or two, Gerard Gallant or Peter Laviolette could get a look.
But new names -- and a potential favorite -- have surfaced in Boston's search for a bench leader.
Rick Tocchet
The 61-year-old Tocchet would be one of those experienced guys the Bruins could bring in, with nine seasons of head-coaching experience. He spent the last three seasons in Vancouver, and had the Canucks in the playoffs in 2023-24 after a 50-23-9 regular season. Vancouver made it to the second round that postseason, where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
Tocchet left Vancouver after a 38-30-14 season in 2024-25. Overall, he has a 286-265-87 record as a head coach between stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizona Coyotes, and Canucks. Tocchet is 11-11 in his playoff career with a pair of series wins, but his teams have never advanced out of the second round.
Tocchet does have a pair of Stanley Cup rings, which he won as an assistant coach in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. Jimmy Murphy recently reported that Boston is trying hard to get an interview with Tocchet, and he'd immediately become their top candidate if he sits down with the team.
Tocchet has a couple connections to Boston, including two seasons in a Bruins sweater (1995-96 and 1996-97) during his 18-year playing career. He was teammates with both Sweeney and Bruins president Cam Neeley at that time.
The big question will become whether or not the Bruins are willing to pay up to bring Tocchet to Boston. The Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Seattle Kraken are all expected to pursue Tocchet this offseason, and he could land one of the top coaching deals this summer.
Misha Donskov
When Sweeney referenced a coach who is still handling matters in the NHL playoffs, he could have been talking about Dallas Stars assistant Misha Donskov. The 48-tear-old is in his second season as an assistant in Dallas, with the Stars currently up 2-1 on the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets in the second round.
Before joining the coaching staff in Dallas, Donskov spent seven years with the Vegas Golden Knights; the first three years as director of hockey ops and four seasons as an assistant coach. He was hired to the Vegas staff before the franchise even existed and helped the team's front office build the roster from the ground up, which made the Stanley Cup Final in its first season as a franchise. Donskov was on Bruce Cassidy's coaching staff when Vegas won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Donskov also has experience in the OHL, where he served as an assistant for the London Knights from 2009-12 . He won an OHL championship in his final season with the club.
Donskov has been praised around the NHL for his work in scouting and player development, and would make a lot of sense for a Bruins team looking to restart. He also has a connection to Sweeney, and it's a lot more recent than sharing the B's dressing room in the mid 90s. Donskov was an assistant on Team Canada's coaching staff during the 4 Nations Face Off (a staff led by Jon Cooper and also featured Tocchet), which was put together by Sweeney, Canada's GM for the tournament.
Marco Sturm
The former Bruins player doesn't have any NHL head-coaching experience, but he has a solid record on the bench at a number of other levels. He's been at the helm of the Ontario Reign -- the L.A. Kings' AHL affiliate -- for the last three seasons and led them to a 119-80-17 record. Sturm also coached Germany in the Olympics from 2015-18, and won a Silver Medal in 2018.
Sturm does have some experience on an NHL bench, too. He was an assistant coach in Los Angeles from 2018-22 before he earned the head gig for the Reign.
Sturm played 302 of his 938 NHL games in Boston (remember his walk-off overtime winner to end the first Winter Classic at Fenway Park in 2010) and it sounds like the Bruins have a legit interest in him becoming the team's next head coach. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported last week Sturm is "under serious consideration" for the position.
Marc Savard
Savard was a star playmaker and fan favorite in Boston from 2006-11 before concussions brought a premature end to his playing career. He has become a rising coaching candidate over the last several years.
After serving as an assistant for the St. Louis Blues from 2019-20, "Savvy" was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL from 2021-23. He won 44 games in each of his two seasons on the bench, and the Spitfires lost in the title round of the playoffs in 2022. They lost in the first round in 2023.
Savard has since been an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was in charge of Toronto's power play last season, which was the ninth-best in the NHL. The Bruins converted on just 15.2 percent of their power plays last season, which ranked 29th in the league.
Like Donskov, Savard's team is still going in the NHL playoffs, with the Leafs currently locked in a 2-2 series tie with the Florida Panthers in the second round. So the Bruins would have to wait to chat with Savard about a potential return to Boston to become the team's next head coach.
