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Boston Bruins new head coach Marco Sturm, left, speaks as general manager Don Sweeney looks on during an NHL hockey news conference, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Last summer, the Boston Bruins made two moves to keep the decision-makers in lockstep.
While the team searched for the 30th head coach in franchise history, Don Sweeney signed a two-year extension. That extension kicks in this summer, and it runs through the 2027-28 season.
Shortly after that, on June 5, 2025, Marco Sturm was named the Bruins head coach. He played in Boston from 2005-2010, scoring 106 goals in 302 games, and spent the previous three years running the Ontario Reign (LAK-AHL). A first-time NHL head coach, Sturm immediately looked like a smart move. He wanted to focus on defensive structure, but he also had experience working with and developing young players.
MARCO STURM: A
Expectations
The Boston Bruins opted for a first-time head coach to usher in their retool, as opposed to hiring a retread. Sturm, whose NHL coaching experience was limited to four seasons as an assistant, was hired to reshape the structure and defensive identity and to help reestablish a culture.
However, he was not just stepping into any role. Expectations are high in Boston, and he knew that from his playing days. Each of the previous three head coaches won the Jack Adams Award in Boston, but the shelf life for a coach is short. Fortunately for Sturm, there was more wiggle room, as he’s a first-timer taking on a team that woefully disappointed and underwent significant change in 2024-25.
Naturally, Sturm had ideas for how he wanted the season to unfold. Aligned with Don Sweeney and Cam Neely’s call to be a tough out, it was up to the German-born coach to install the structure and show any sign of improvement from the season before.
Season Review
And he did.
It was a rocky and very streaky start for the Bruins, but Sturm adjusted early. The top pairing of Mason Lohrei and Charlie McAvoy did not work out as planned. Lohrei was scratched for five games at the beginning of the season and rebounded afterward. Sturm also tried him on the right side, which worked until the postseason.
The Bruins entered the holiday break on a four-game losing streak and lost their first two games out of the break. However, the tide turned on December 31 in Edmonton, where the Bruins exploded and beat the reigning Western Conference Champions 6-2. From that point forward, the Bruins went 25-9-8 and finished the season with 100 points and a playoff spot, a clear sign the group had bought into Sturm’s structure and system.
They also carried a 13-game home winning streak from January into March.
Once the Bruins got to the postseason, he said they were the “bigger, stronger, and more physical” team, and that ruffled some feathers. While it is the style the Bruins play and the quote did not seem inaccurate in real-time, the Sabres had bulletin board material for Round 1. They came out like the “bigger, stronger, and more physical” team and took care of the Bruins in six games.
Towards the end of the year, Sturm laid a runway for James Hagens to play in his first five NHL games. He promptly pulled him out after Game 3 when searching for a spark in the lineup. Regardless of the decision, Sturm was outspoken about his desire to work with younger players, saying his AHL experience helps him manage call-ups and college transitions.
Sturm finished eighth in voting for the Jack Adams Award, collecting 25 points (one first-place, three second-place, 11 third-place).
Future
A coach’s contract is not normally public information, and Sturm’s is no different. However, his first year showed early signs of a positive future. Younger players like Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten each claimed full-time roles under Sturm, and players like Viktor Arvidsson and Jeremy Swayman bounced back to form this year.
Sturm knows that nothing carries over into next season, and the Bruins have to go back to day one:
“It’s a new season again. So there’s nothing; we got to earn our identity again. We got to start from scratch, and we got to build something again,” Sturm said about moving on to his second year. “I see a lot of teams [who] were not in the playoffs this year, they will be back in the picture. So you just can’t rest in this league. Expectations will be higher. We’re not going to be the surprise team anymore.”
Starting next season, Sturm will be joined by assistant coach Matt McIlvane. The two have history together, winning the 2018 silver medal with Team Germany. Assistant coaches Steve Spott, Chris Kelly, and goalie coach Bob Essensa are all staying on staff.
DON SWEENEY: A-
Expectations
Don Sweeney, fresh off signing a two-year extension over the summer, had to hire a new head coach. His extension provided the front office with some stability as Marco Sturm got started, giving them each a few years to work with each other as the team turned around from 2024-25.
The Bruins were coming off their first playoff miss since 2016, and the 2025 end-of-season press conference did not offer too much solace for Bruins fans hopeful for the future. The Bruins did have a top-10 draft pick for the first time since 2011, and they used it to draft Boston College standout James Hagens.
Ahead of the season, Sweeney and Cam Neely made it clear that the Bruins wanted to be a tough team to play against. They were going to be a “hard out,” and teams were not going to want to play against the black and gold.
Season Review
- Extended Morgan Geekie (6x$5.5M), Mason Lohrei (2x$3.2M), Henri Jokiharju (3x$3M), Marat Khusnutdinov (2x925K), Johnny Beecher (1x$900K), and Michael DiPietro (2x$812.5K)
- Traded a fifth-round pick for Viktor Arvidsson
- Signed Tanner Jeannot (5x$3.4M), Mikey Eyssimont (2x$1.45M), Sean Kuraly (2x$1.85M), Matej Blumel (1x$875K), Alex Steeves (1x$850K), Jonathan Aspirot (1x$775K)
- Traded Jeffrey Viel for a fourth-round pick
- Extended Alex Steeves (2x$1.625M) and Jonathan Aspirot (2x$887.5K)
- Traded a sixth-round pick for Lukas Reichel, extended him after the season (1x$950K)
The Bruins could not land a top-six scorer during last year’s free agency, so they embraced their physical identity with the signings of Jeannot and Eyssimont. Both provide a physical game, and coupling them with Nikita Zadorov and Mark Kastelic certainly helped the “tough out” call.
Locking in Morgan Geekie for six years and flipping a fifth-round pick for Viktor Arvidsson were two of Sweeney’s best bets. Geekie flew out of the gate and finished the season with 39 goals, while Arvidsson gave the Bruins 25. Jonathan Aspirot, another home run signing, proved to be one of the Bruins’ biggest surprises this season, and he spent quality time on the top pair.
Not all of Sweeney’s signings landed, though. Beecher was waived in November, Jokiharju saw limited ice towards the end of the season, and Lohrei was scratched again in the playoffs. Eyssimont played in 56 games and could not claim a full-time role in the lineup, and Blumel never made an impact on the lineup.
At the trade deadline, Sweeney opted to keep the group intact, saying the “group deserves the opportunity to continue to forge forward.” He added Lukas Reichel, a former first-round pick with upside, to give the team more speed in the short-term.
He also gave Marco Sturm a voice on call-ups and certain acquisitions. At the end of the season, Sturm said he had an influence on certain players landing in Boston, but then followed up by saying he knows that is not his job. It’s up to Sweeney, but if anything was made clear in Sturm’s first year, he has a say.
Future
Sweeney will be busy in the immediate future, if he has not been already. He just flipped outgoing prospect Andre Gasseau to San Jose, and now he has decisions to make on Andrew Peeke and Viktor Arvidsson, both of whom are unrestricted free agents on July 1.
At this year’s end-of-season press conference, Sweeney detailed the Bruins’ need for speed and skill. They do not have a No. 1 center, and it will be tough to find one this summer. They also need help on the blue line, specifically a right-shot. While it has been reported that Sweeney has been talking to Peeke, the Bruins have options to upgrade on July 1.
Marco Sturm alluded to it at breakup day, but the expectations are higher now that the Bruins made the postseason. The front office might not have to push for an immediate replacement at 1C, but they need to improve the lineup. The Atlantic Division is not getting any easier, and a healthy Florida only strengthens the competition.
Not every move last summer was perfect, but the Bruins and their brass took a step in the right direction.
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The post Bruins Report Card: Sturm, Sweeney Take a Step in the Right Direction appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.
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