5 Candidates The Bruins Should Not Hire As Their Next Head Coach

Hiring a new head coach is a tedious process, and it has already begun for the Bruins. 

At their year-end press conference earlier this week, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney revealed what qualities he’s seeking in the team’s next bench boss.  

“Communication with players nowadays is paramount,” Sweeney said. “Structure, detail, being organized, is paramount. You can’t have it and survive. I want a coach that’s going to evolve a little bit offensively…driving internal competitiveness is something we have to get back to, and a coach has to be an extension of that. So we are going to address those things through the coaching search.” 

Sweeney also announced that he has started forming a pool of candidates he’s considering for the role. Among them is Joe Sacco, who Sweeney said is already a finalist after serving as the interim coach of the Bruins for 62 games this past season. 

It may take some time for Sweeney to figure out who the other finalists will be. But while he’s still in the early stages of the search, it’s important to eliminate those who don’t fit the bill. 

Here are five people who shouldn’t be the next coach of the Boston Bruins. 

John Tortorella: 

John Tortorella is one of the most polarizing figures in all of hockey. You either love him…or you don’t. 

Younger players usually fall into the latter category, as they’re typically not used to the brash, unapologetic approach that Tortorella is known for.

It certainly didn’t work while Tortorella coached the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers, and likely won’t for the Bruins as they enter a similar stage, implementing some of their prospects into their lineup.

Peter Laviolette:

At this point in his career, it’d be easier to name the teams that Peter Laviolette hasn’t coached. 

The Franklin, MA, native has worked for six different organizations during his 23 seasons as an NHL head coach, achieving a considerable amount of success, but none that has lasted. 

In 2006, he won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes, only to be fired three years later.

What’s most important for the Bruins in this search is finding someone who can bring them stability because whoever they hire will be their fifth head coach in nine seasons. 

The New York Rangers thought they had stability when they won the Presidents’ Trophy two years ago in their first season under Laviolette. This season, they missed the playoffs altogether as off-ice issues completely derailed the team, including several players taking issue with receiving little playing time and a lack of communication from the head coach as to why. 

Gerard Gallant:

In a similar vein to Laviollette, Gerard Gallant is another frequent rider of the coaching carousel. 

Gallant has made stops with four organizations throughout his coaching career, but didn’t last more than three years with any of them. 

Perhaps if the Bruins truly believe, without a shadow of a doubt, they can not only be a playoff team next year but a championship contender, Gallant makes sense. He comes with a history of getting the most out of his players early on, before his message quickly wears thin.

Joel Quenneville:

There isn’t a candidate who’s going to come with a better resumé than Quenneville, who has three Stanley Cups to his name and owns the second-most wins by a head coach in NHL history. 

However, no candidate is going to come with more baggage, either. 

Quenneville was reinstated by the league last summer after serving a three-year ban for his role in mishandling a sexual assault allegation while serving as the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. 

While Quenneville has served his punishment, the Bruins can’t afford to deal with the negative PR that would inevitably come with hiring him after their signing of disgraced forward Mitchell Miller blew up in their faces in 2022. 

Jay Leach:

There will be a day when Jay Leach becomes an NHL head coach. He has plenty of promise and his highly regarded around the league. 

So highly, in fact, that the Bruins brought Leach back to the organization last summer after he spent three years behind the bench as an assistant in Seattle, presumably with the intent he’d take over as the head coach in Boston at some point down the line.

That chance, though, came much earlier than anyone anticipated when the Bruins fired Jim Montgomery this past season. But instead of promoting Leach, they chose Sacco to fill the role. 

If Leach wasn’t ready to take over then, it’s unlikely he’s any more prepared now. 

There’s also the fact that the Bruins are already facing enough criticism at the moment as it is for sticking by Sweeney and team president Cam Neely. 

That is not in any way Leach’s fault. But naming him the head coach only reinforces the narrative that the Bruins are unwilling to listen to outside perspectives to benefit the team. 

And while you’d think his current role makes him a top choice to earn the job, it’s exactly why he shouldn’t. 

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