{"id":581909,"date":"2026-05-23T13:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/581909\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T13:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:45:18","slug":"bruins-begin-defensive-reset-with-coaching-change-the-hockey-writers-boston-bruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/581909\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins Begin Defensive Reset With Coaching Change – The Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Bruins have taken the first step in an attempt to fix the defensive woes that have plagued them for a few seasons. When the Bruins are at their best, they play a strong two-way game that emphasizes accountability. It\u2019s for this reason that the Bruins are opting to move on from assistant coach Jay Leach, who was in his second stint with the Bruins organization.<\/p>\n

The 46-year-old spent four seasons as the Providence Bruins head coach<\/a> before joining the Seattle Kraken as an assistant coach in 2021. He\u2019d spend three seasons in Seattle before rejoining the Bruins, this time at the NHL level, tasked with running the team\u2019s defense and penalty kill. During this time, the Bruins would rank 26th in the NHL with 3.30 goals allowed per game in 2024-25, and then 14th with 3.01 goals allowed per game in 2025-26. It\u2019s important to note that much of this improvement to the middle of the league was more a result of Jeremy Swayman\u2019s heroics all season long than a meaningful improvement in defensive structure.<\/p>\n

\"MarcoBoston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm will have a chance to bring in his own assistant coach to run the team\u2019s defense. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say that head coach Marco Sturm has a unique defensive system that isn\u2019t the easiest to grasp. Because Sturm himself didn\u2019t hire Leach, allowing the assistant coach\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The Bruins\u2019 defensive struggles weren\u2019t solely tied to coaching, though, especially following the retirements of Patrice Bergeron <\/a>and David Krejci<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Additional Context on Leach\u2019s Departure<\/p>\n

An interesting note about the reporting of Leach\u2019s departure from the Bruins is that David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period originally reported<\/a> that the Bruins wouldn\u2019t be renewing Leach\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne other thing, there was a bit of a weird one on, with Jay Leach, the assistant coach in Boston,\u201d said Friedman.<\/a> \u201cSo I had heard that he\u2019d been given permission to talk to other teams. And Dave Pagnotta reported he\u2019d been let go by the Bruins. And I heard that\u2019s disputed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friedman would continue by noting that Pagnotta isn\u2019t necessarily wrong, but that the details are probably a little more complex than originally reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I think Dave will be right, in the sense that I don\u2019t, whenever you\u2019re given permission to talk to somebody else, then it\u2019s just a matter of time, right? I don\u2019t think technically he\u2019s been let go, but I do think he\u2019s got enough of a name and a reputation out there, that there are going to be other opportunities for him,\u201d Friedman noted. \u201cSo 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\u2019ll see. But I think in the long run, Pagnotta will be right, in the sense that I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be back in Boston next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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