Marco Sturm and Don Sweeney on what comes next in the Bruins rebuild

New York Times

a day ago

BOSTON — Fourteen candidates had interviewed with general manager Don Sweeney for a chance to become the next head coach of the Boston Bruins. Marco Sturm, hired on June 5, bested the other 13 because he made his strengths come through: experience, vision, structure, positivity, player development and communication.
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'It was a pivotal moment for our franchise and to learn about reshaping our team,' Sweeney said on Tuesday at a news conference introducing Sturm as coach. 'To go through the process of hiring a coach who was committed to reestablishing and renewing our identity. To hiring a coach that was committed to playing with structure. To have an understanding of player development. To value communication and culture within our locker room. To understanding the game has evolved offensively.'
For parts of four seasons, Sturm took cross-checks from Zdeno Chara and received passes from Patrice Bergeron. Those moments shaped Sturm into who he has become as a coach.
'It started right at practice,' Sturm recalled Tuesday. 'Little things like that. The way we prepared. The way we competed every day. It doesn't matter whether it's a practice or a game. That, for me, changed the whole thing right away.'
It pleases Sturm, then, that David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy also practiced and played with Chara and Bergeron. Sturm's initial chats with his alternate captains revealed their shared experience.
'I can tell right away,' Sturm said. 'They learned from Bergeron. They learned from Chara. Because they already have it in them. That really got me excited too. We've just got to guide them again. We've got to reestablish the whole thing. Because these guys are not here anymore. So now, it's going to be up to us and the new group to lead this group to a new era.'
Sturm acknowledged, however, the task at hand. His new employer is short on NHL players. Sturm needs a right-shot defenseman and multiple forwards. Whether Sweeney can supply him with such help remains to be seen.
'I love challenges,' Sturm said.
So what's next for Sturm and Sweeney?
1. Hire an assistant coach. Jay Leach, Chris Kelly and Bob Essensa are remaining. Sturm wants an assistant with power-play expertise. This was the job Sturm initially had when he was an assistant for Todd McLellan with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Bruins need major help. They were at 15.2 percent in 2024-25, No. 29 in the NHL.
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The power play, however, will not all be on a new assistant. Sturm identified hiccups in predictability and connectivity when he reviewed video of the Bruins power play. He will insist, for example, that if he keeps Pastrnak on his strong side and Elias Lindholm in the bumper, the two right-shot forwards improve their reads.
2. Communicate to the players how the 2025-26 Bruins will play. Defensively, Sturm believes in structure. The Ontario Reign, where he coached for the past three seasons, used a hybrid in their end. Once they got the puck, Sturm preferred possession exits, but gave his players the green light to read what was best situationally.
'He stressed playing the right way,' Reign defenseman Joe Hicketts said. 'Sometimes the right way was gaining the zone and getting the puck out. Other times, it was making those small little plays to have zone exits with possession.'
Offensively, Sturm likes players with pace. The Bruins were No. 28 last year with 2.71 goals per game.
'We've got to have better entries. Not turn pucks over,' Sturm said. 'That part was a big issue. In the offensive zone, we've got to build that structure in place. We've also got to be more hungry.'
3. Go deeper to learn player personalities. Sturm has an idea of how he'll interact with Pastrnak and McAvoy. They have been around.
He is not familiar with prospects such as Matt Poitras and Fraser Minten, who could make varsity breakthroughs in 2025-26. Young players will require more of Sturm's attention.
'You can't treat everyone the same way,' said Sturm, who appreciated the straight-shooting style of Darryl Sutter and Claude Julien. 'So you've got to have a good feel for it — who to poke, who not. That's why I still like the mix in the locker room. The older guys, they still have that Bruins DNA. I love it. But there will be some other guys. I can't just treat those guys like the older guys.'
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4. Use every mechanism to add players. Sweeney has draft capital, such as the two first-rounders he has in 2026 and 2027. He has approximately $30 million in cap space, although Morgan Geekie and Mason Lohrei, the top two pending restricted free agents, need new deals. The GM has his first three picks in 2026 as the framework of an offer sheet.
'This is about a growth opportunity for the organization as well. Marco is a big part of that moving forward,' Sweeney said. 'So we will reshape.'
Sturm will have input. He will then shift his systems to fit the reinforcements Sweeney brings in.
'The overall thing, it's already in place,' Sturm said of his philosophy. 'But now I've got to find out what kind of players I have. I'm going to react.
5. Deepen the prospect pool and improve development. With the counsel of his amateur staff, Sweeney will draft an impactful player at No. 7 on June 27. The two second-rounders will also be critical.
The work starts there. Multiple candidates told Sweeney during interviews how they perceived the organization's work on player development.
'Those are eye-opening at times. And it's constructive,' Sweeney said. 'You have to take it to heart and make adjustments. We're not currently playing right now. So you have to accept the failures we have. Coaches were honest in pointing that out. Marco went through some of the things he felt we had done well, the things we'd gotten away from, where the league is at, where the league is headed to. It's all important parts of it. The player development part of it was certainly a big part of those conversations.'
(Photo of Marco Sturm: Marcel Kusch / Getty Images)