A familiar face: Bruins hire ex-player Marco Sturm as new head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins have completed their search and Marco Sturm is the franchise’s new head coach.
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He is the third Bruins head coach that general manager Don Sweeney has hired. Sturm takes over for Joe Sacco, who was named interim head coach last November following the firing of Jim Montgomery.
Sturm has a lot of NHL experience — he played in 938 career games — but this will be his first head coaching gig at this level.
Sturm has previously held the position of head coach of the German men’s national hockey team and led them to a silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. He also was an assistant head coach for the Los Angeles Kings from 2018 to 2022. He had served as head coach of the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, since the 2022-23 season.
Sturm has helped develop some of the Kings’ top young players, including forward Quinton Byfield and defenseman Brandt Clarke. Player development needs to be a huge focus for the Bruins over the next few years. The franchise has struggled in that area for a while.
Sturm played five seasons for the Bruins from 2005-06 through 2009-10. He was the hero of the 2010 Winter Classic when he scored in overtime to beat the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park. Sturm began his NHL career with the San Jose Sharks in 1997-98 and retired after spending the 2011-12 campaign with the Florida Panthers.