Bruins Begin Defensive Reset With Coaching Change

The Bruins gave up 12.5 high-danger chances against per 60 at five-on-five this season, ranking 28th in the NHL, while also finishing 30th in expected goals against per 60 at 2.93, per Ty Anderson.

The Bruins penalty kill also struggled under Leach, successfully killing off just 76.3% of their penalties in 2024-25 and 77% in 2025-26.

It’s fair to say that head coach Marco Sturm has a unique defensive system that isn’t the easiest to grasp. Because Sturm himself didn’t hire Leach, allowing the assistant coach’s contract to expire could be the first step toward properly implementing the hybrid defensive structure the Bruins coach wants his team to play. This will give Sturm the chance to bring in his own choice of hire for the role.

The Bruins’ defensive struggles weren’t solely tied to coaching, though, especially following the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci and continued instability on the blue line over the last two seasons. The Bruins also dealt with significant injuries to their top-two defenders in Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm over the past two seasons, traded away their best shutdown defender in Brandon Carlo at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, and were playing four left-shot defenders for the majority of last season. Still, this is as good a time as any to part ways and start fresh.

Additional Context on Leach’s Departure

An interesting note about the reporting of Leach’s departure from the Bruins is that David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period originally reported that the Bruins wouldn’t be renewing Leach’s deal. Elliotte Friedman would follow up on this report on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, stating that Leach was actually granted permission to talk to other teams.

“One other thing, there was a bit of a weird one on, with Jay Leach, the assistant coach in Boston,” said Friedman. “So I had heard that he’d been given permission to talk to other teams. And Dave Pagnotta reported he’d been let go by the Bruins. And I heard that’s disputed.”

Friedman would continue by noting that Pagnotta isn’t necessarily wrong, but that the details are probably a little more complex than originally reported.

“Now I think Dave will be right, in the sense that I don’t, whenever you’re given permission to talk to somebody else, then it’s just a matter of time, right? I don’t think technically he’s been let go, but I do think he’s got enough of a name and a reputation out there, that there are going to be other opportunities for him,” Friedman noted. “So it was just kind of a weird one. But from what I understand right now, it is he has permission to talk to other teams, and we’ll see. But I think in the long run, Pagnotta will be right, in the sense that I don’t think he’ll be back in Boston next year.”

No matter how Leach departs the Bruins in the end, the outcome will be the same; the Bruins need to fix their defense, both in terms of personnel and implementation, and this is the first step towards doing so.