Matt Vautour: Bruins passed on safer choices to chase Marco Sturm's higher ceiling
Anyone praising or criticizing the Bruins' choice of Marco Sturm to be the franchise's next head coach is guessing.
Nobody knows how a 46-year-old former player, who has never been a head coach in the NHL before, will fare.
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But to their credit or detriment, the Bruins' front office took a big swing. With Marco Sturm, they chose to chase the potential of a high ceiling rather than the safety of a probable high floor.
Years from now, history will judge that as either brilliant or risky. If Sturm is the next Kris Knoblauch, they'll be thrilled. If he's Ralph Krueger, they're in trouble.
There were safer choices. In the NHL, there's always a former coach ready to be a current coach. And this year was no different. The search cycle started with six former Stanley Cup-winning coaches available and several others with prior experience. But the Bruins went for the unknown.
Sturm has the benefit of being both a recognizable name and a fresh voice. Fans will like that he's the guy who scored memorable game-winning goals in the first Winter Classic in Boston and in Game 6 against the Canadiens in 2008. He'll understand what hockey means to the city and what the fanbase is like.
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But while he played for the Bruins, he earned his coaching stripes in Los Angeles and in Germany. He won't be more of the same.
His emphasis on defensive reliability meshes with Don Sweeney's preferred approach, but he'll come at it differently.
While both tenures ended in disappointment, Sweeney has previously identified and hired two good coaches.
Bruce Cassidy led the Bruins to the finals and Vegas to a Cup.
Jim Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award in 2023, but might have done a better coaching job in 2023-24 when he led a salary-cap ravaged team back to the second round of the playoffs. St. Louis improved upon his arrival.
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Sturm has a different initial assignment than the one given to his predecessors, though. Cassidy and Montgomery were given high-end rosters with a charge to win a Cup.
Sturm gets a team with pieces and question marks. While the Bruins have stated that they don't think this is a rebuild, but a retooling, they owe Sturm some patience. Like any new coach, he'll make mistakes.
But the Bruins are hoping his youth helps him connect with a roster of younger players in a way that helps spark their development and that the long-term results outweigh any growing pains.
Change the rule...
The Oilers won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on a power-play goal on one of the worst penalties in sports.
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Tomas Nosek accidentally flipped the puck into the stands, an automatic delay of game minor, creating a rare overtime power play. That a game that important was decided by a penalty so insignificant is bad for hockey.
A delay of game should be treated like icing. The team that committed the out-of-play flip should have a defensive zone faceoff and not be allowed to change lines. That gives them a disadvantage proportional to the infraction and enough disincentive not to do it.
No Charlie...
NCAA President Charlie Baker says he sees value in expanding the NCAA basketball tournaments. The only people who think this is a good idea are coaches and athletic directors, whose jobs and bonuses come making the field.
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Currently, the first day of the NCAA Tournament is one of the best days in sports. Expansion would turn it into the basketball version of the Independence Bowl.
Leave the tournament alone.
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America's favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
CATEGORY: CULTURE, IN THE POPULAR SENSE - $400 - Last Monday
It's something many use every day to unlock things online & the nickname of Red Sox prospect Jhostynxon Garcia.
— Answer below
The Top 5
Top 5 Boston Sports Beards of this century
In honor of David Andrews' retirement:
5 - Johnny Damon
4 - Jaylen Brown
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3 - Zdeno Chara
2 - David Andrews
1 - Jonny Gomes/Mike Napoli tied
Today in Boston Sports History
June 6
1944 — Since it's the 81st anniversary of D-Day. I'm straying from Boston sports for the day to mention that Yogi Berra (Navy) and golfing legend Bobby Jones (Army) each took part in the Normandy invasion.
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was also part of the history changing assault on the French beaches that day. Star Trek and Star Wars came together too. James Doohan (Scotty) and Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) were part of the Canadian Army and British Royal Navy, respectively.
Lightning round
Thunder in 5, Oilers in 7.
The Red Sox being lousy when they tried to be good is worse than being lousy when they didn't invest.
WWE is doing some great build-up for Trump vs. Musk at Summer Slam.
'Sinners' was terrific and might have one of the coolest movie scores I've ever heard.
Nic Enright coming back from cancer to make it to the major leagues is one of the reasons we love sports.
It's fun to watch the ball jump off of Blaze Jordan's bat.
The Bruins didn't get enough for Brad Marchand, but pushing that pick back a few years was actually smart. The Panthers are aging. They're better off if it gets pushed to 2028 and isn't Top 10 protected.
Real Jeopardy! Question:
What is Password?
Headline Crystal Ball:
Sunday:
Last week: I was on vacation from work and on vacation from being wrong in my predictive headlines.
Finally...
If you need me, I'll be at Bear's BBQ.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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