Marco Sturm the right choice as Bruins head coach

It was interesting to look back and note that Bruins GM Don Sweeney specifically mentioned, during his end-of-season press conference, the LA Kings defensive structure and evolving offense as things he was interested in bringing to Boston. That’s the same Kings organization where Sturm has gathered years of experience both as an NHL assistant coach and an AHL head coach, and now the 46-year-old will bring that structure and style of play back to a Bruins team that strayed away from their roots over the last few years.

“We’re proud to name Marco as the 30th Head Coach of the Boston Bruins and welcome him, Astrid, Mason, and Kaydie to Boston,” said Sweeney in a press release with an introductory press conference expected in Boston next week. “Throughout this process, our goal was to identify a coach who could uphold our strong defensive foundation while helping us evolve offensively. We were also looking for a communicator and leader – someone who connects with players, develops young talent, and earns the respect of the room.

“Marco impressed us at every step with his preparation, clarity, and passion. His path – playing for multiple NHL teams, coaching internationally, and leading at both the AHL and NHL levels – has shaped a well-rounded coach who’s earned this opportunity. As a former Bruin, he understands what this team means to the city and our fans. We’re embracing a new direction with Marco behind the bench and are confident his energy, standards, and commitment to a competitive, hard-nosed brand of hockey reflect exactly what Bruins hockey should be.”

The other part of this equation in hiring Sturm is his obvious connection to the organization having played over 300 games in a Bruins uniform. It’s no overstatement to say the 46-year-old German forward was a significant figure in recent B’s history when looking at his time in Boston. Sturm was a part of the seismic Joe Thornton trade coming to the Bruins from the San Jose Sharks, and he scored a game-winner in Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens in 2008 that really helped bring the Bruins franchise back from irrelevancy.

A few years later, Sturm scored the game-winner in Boston’s first Winter Classic experience at Fenway Park and all the while brought an energetic, passionate personality as a player who finished with over 100 goals and almost 200 points in parts of five seasons with the Bruins. A knee injury late in his B’s run robbed him of his trademark skating speed and eventually ushered in the end of an NHL playing career that lasted almost 1000 games, but the connections still remain to the Bruins organization.

Cam Neely and Sweeney were both members of Bruins management when Sturm played for the Bruins, and he played with current members of the Bruins front office like Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid and Providence Bruins assistant coach Trent Whitfield. So Sturm will innately understand the pride that goes along with wearing the Spoked-B crest and also have familiar knowledge of the terrain in Boston when it comes to being the Bruins' head coach.

“I’m incredibly honored to be named head coach of the Boston Bruins,” said Sturm in a press release. “I want to thank Charlie Jacobs and the Jacobs family, Cam Neely, and Don Sweeney for trusting me with this opportunity. Boston has always held a special place in my heart, and I know how much this team means to the city and to our fans. I’ve felt that passion as a player, and I can’t wait to be behind the bench and feel it again. I’m excited to get to work and do everything I can to help this team succeed.”

Certainly, there were other directions that the Bruins could have gone down after an exhaustive search that included 15 initial interviews. Mitch Love was a strong candidate for multiple NHL head coaching jobs but didn’t end up getting any of the jobs after a couple of strong seasons as an assistant on the Washington Capitals bench. Jay Leach was an internal candidate after serving as an assistant coach on the Bruins' staff this past season, but the poor performance of several members of the B’s defensive corps last season made it difficult to see him as the right candidate for this group.

Jay Woodcroft was another name under consideration by the Black and Gold as well after a stint with the Edmonton Oilers prior to them hiring Kris Knoblauch. And several established NHL head coaches like Mike Sullivan and Rick Tocchet took other vacant jobs for several reasons, not limited to Sweeney’s contract uncertainty at the time and a big salary that was likely waiting for Sullivan to take the Blueshirts bench boss gig in New York.

Of the finalists for the job, Sturm was the only one that brings exactly the kind of accomplishment outside the organization that the Bruins were looking for while also holding enough connections to ensure that it’s going to be a collaborative process moving forward with an NHL team clearly looking for a different, better direction forward right now. There will be some fans that grumble and feel like this is an internal hire on some level, but that couldn’t be further from the truth for a player in Sturm that literally hasn’t been a part of the B’s organization in over 15 years.

Sturm was the strongest choice that the Bruins could have made with a head coaching hire outside the organization, and that’s a good thing as the long-term pathway of this organization will undoubtedly be tied to how the roster retooling goes at the NHL level over the next few seasons.