Two big reasons why Marco Sturm hire was smart move by Bruins originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have welcomed Marco Sturm as their next head coach.

The longtime NHL player, who played five seasons with the Bruins from 2005 through 2010 and famously scored the winning goal in overtime of the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, was officially hired Thursday.

This will be Sturm’s first ever NHL head coach job, but he does have head coaching experience at the international level (he won Olympic silver with Germany in 2018) and the AHL level with the Ontario Reign. He had been the Reign’s head coach since the 2022-23 season. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings for four years.

Sturm has a tough job in front of him. The Bruins just completed their worst season in almost two decades. They tied for the fifth-worst record in the league, couldn’t score consistently, struggled to defend at a high level and saw a steep decline in goaltending.

There are two key reasons why the Sturm hire has a good chance of being a success.

One of them is player development. The Bruins have done a poor job developing from within for about a decade. Sure, they’ve had a few hits, but their lackluster drafting and development is among the reasons why they’ve lacked the necessary depth to make deep playoff runs in recent years.

Sturm, during his time with the Kings at the NHL and AHL levels, did a great job developing and building relationships with Los Angeles’ top young players. Two of the best examples are center Quinton Byfield (No. 2 pick, 2020) and defenseman Brandt Clarke (No. 8 pick, 2021). The Bruins acquired a couple young players/prospects at the trade deadline in March, most notably Casey Mittelstadt, Fraser Minten and Will Zellers. They also have the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

In total, Boston could have five first-round picks and four second-round picks in the next three drafts.

Even if the B’s end up trading some of these picks, the players they do get will benefit from Sturm’s ability to connect with players and put them in positions to maximize their potential.

Another reason why the Sturm hire should work out is the impact he can make on the Bruins’ defense. The backbone of the Bruins for the last 10-15 years has been a strong, fundamentally sound defensive structure that’s hard to play against. But for the last two years, the Bruins have been a below average defensive team.

Yes, the goaltending was horrible in 2024-25, and Jeremy Swayman had by far the worst season of his career, but the B’s didn’t do him many favors on most nights.

The Kings have been a very good defensive team for much of the last 10-15 years. Most of their success has been built on a foundation of sturdy defense and good goaltending. The Bruins clearly like that system and are hoping Sturm — a defensive-minded coach with plenty of experience in L.A. — can bring the best elements of it to Boston.

In fact, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was asked at the team’s end-of-season press conference in April about the kind of coaching style his team needed, and he specifically mentioned improving defensively and the Kings’ success in that area.

“If you don’t defend in the NHL, you don’t have sustained success,” Sweeney said at that April 23 press conference. “However you want to do, whether that’s zone, man to man, whether it’s a hybrid, whether that’s neutral zone, whether that’s — look at L.A.’s situation this year, going from 1-3-1 to a little bit more of a pressure situation that they’re doing, but they still do a really good job. They led the League in goals against.

“That’s part of winning hockey, it just has to be, and it’s going to be part of our fabric. We’re going to get back to that. Now, we have to continue to evolve offensively, as I referenced, the scoring deficiencies that we had this year in our power play in particular put a lot of pressure on our team that you have to be perfect. Our goaltenders previously have been really, really good. This year, they weren’t as good as what they had been. That’s fact, and our team in front of them didn’t defend with the same level of conviction. So the structure has to be there. It has to be part of the fabric of what a coach believes in.”

So it wasn’t surprising that the first thing Sweeney said about Sturm’s hire in a press release Thursday was about restoring the team’s defensive excellence.

“Throughout this process, our goal was to identify a coach who could uphold our strong defensive foundation while helping us evolve offensively,” Sweeney said. “We were also looking for a communicator and leader – someone who connects with players, develops young talent, and earns the respect of the room. Marco impressed us at every step with his preparation, clarity, and passion.

“His path – playing for multiple NHL teams, coaching internationally, and leading at both the AHL and NHL levels – has shaped a well-rounded coach who’s earned this opportunity. As a former Bruin, he understands what this team means to the city and our fans. We’re embracing a new direction with Marco behind the bench and are confident his energy, standards, and commitment to a competitive, hard-nosed brand of hockey reflect exactly what Bruins hockey should be.”

The upcoming offseason is a pivotal one for the Bruins. In addition to owning the No. 7 overall pick in the upcoming draft, they also have around $26.2 million in salary cap space (per PuckPedia) and a more robust collection of trade assets (prospects, draft picks, etc.) compared to this time a year ago.

Sweeney made a good hire with Sturm, but his work is far from over.

It has long been rumored that enigmatic Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov would leave his NHL future behind to return home to Dinamo Minsk, his hometown club in the KHL. But he may not be going anywhere after all.

On Wednesday, former Washington and Montreal goalie Zach Fucale signed with Minsk, becoming the highest-paid goalie in the KHL, as announced by his agency, Gold Star Hockey, on Telegram.

With this news, Minsk now has two well-established goalies on its roster in Fucale, who was apparently invested in significantly, and Vasili Demchenko, who recently signed a two-year contract extension with the KHL outfit.

It's also worth noting that the three goalies share an agency, so nobody is doing Kolosov any kind of favors in terms of facilitating a return to Dinamo.

And that, ultimately, leaves Kolosov as the odd man out, as Dinamo continues to respect the contract he has with the Flyers and refuses to wait for further clarity on his future in the NHL.

Kolosov, 23, is one of three goalies on the Flyers' roster as things stand, joining Ivan Fedotov and Sam Ersson. All three of them will see their contracts expire at the end of the upcoming season, which leaves an opportunity for someone to take the reins and establish themselves as a player the Flyers want to build with.

Kolosov, while the youngest of the bunch, is no further along that trail than his more seasoned counterparts. The Belarusian has shown flashes, yes, but he's been equally unimpressive at both the AHL and NHL levels.

In 29 games in the Flyers organization last season, Kolosov managed just a 10-15-2 record with a save percentage no higher than .884 in either league.

So, in order to forge a path to an NHL future for himself, Kolosov must play out the last year of his contract and show evidence of positive development to justify another deal from the Flyers.

He's got the support of his colleagues and countrymen behind him, and even those back home wish to see Kolosov stick it out and make something of himself in the Orange and Black.

Whether the Flyers give him the chance to do that remains to be seen, but other options for Kolosov are far and few between at this moment in time, and a return home does not appear to be among them.

As the draft draws near and the rumours intensify about who could land where, we’ll be taking a look at some of the options that could make sense for the Montreal Canadiens. Today, we’ll take a gander at KaShawn Aitcheson.

A robust 6-foot-1 defenseman coming in at 198 pounds, he is yet another left-shot blueliner, but he packs a punch and a physical side that isn’t all that present in the Canadiens’ present defensive corps. Of course, Arber Xhekaj can hit, but the jury is still out on whether or not he’ll be a regular member of the team in the future.

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According to Marco D’Amico from RG.org, Aitcheson could be one of the players the Canadiens are keeping a close eye on in readiness for the draft. In 64 games with the OHL’s Barrie Colts this season, he put up an impressive 59 points. Then, in the playoffs, he produced a further 12 points in 16 tilts.

This represents a 20-point increase in his 2023-24 production, and even more notable, while he accumulated 126 penalty minutes in his second season in Barrie, he reduced this to a more manageable 88 penalty minutes this season. This shows that he has learned how to control his physical game better and recognize where the line is. This is an excellent quality for an 18-year-old, especially since it’s one of the reasons Xhekaj is struggling to establish himself as a real regular under Martin St-Louis.

Despite his high offensive production, Aitcheson also excels in his end, playing a brand of punishing hockey that reminds me of the style of play Marc Bergevin liked his defensemen to play. Combining that style, play, and production in a mobile defenseman would be a winning formula.

Still, according to D’Amico, the Canadiens made several scouting trips to watch Aitcheson play this year, and he’s also represented by Quartexx management, the agency co-founded by GM Kent Hughes, and where he worked until his hiring by the Canadiens.

Even though he’s a left-shot defenseman, the mix of skill and grit he brings to the table could make the rearguard an attractive option for Montreal. Right now, he’s ranked 9th in the Central Scouting Ranking of North American skaters. TSN’s Bob MacKenzie has him in 18th place while Craig Button ranks him at 16th. THN’s Tony Ferrarri isn’t as impressed and only has him in 42nd place, but Ryan Kennedy puts him at number 12. Whoever said scouting was an exact science?

Photo credit:  Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

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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.

He is the third Bruins head coach hired by general manager Don Sweeney and the 30th head coach in franchise history. 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.

“Throughout this process, our goal was to identify a coach who could uphold our strong defensive foundation while helping us evolve offensively,” Sweeney said in a statement Thursday. “We were also looking for a communicator and leader — someone who connects with players, develops young talent, and earns the respect of the room.

“Marco impressed us at every step with his preparation, clarity, and passion. His path — playing for multiple NHL teams, coaching internationally, and leading at both the AHL and NHL levels — has shaped a well-rounded coach who’s earned this opportunity. As a former Bruin, he understands what this team means to the city and our fans.

“We’re embracing a new direction with Marco behind the bench and are confident his energy, standards, and commitment to a competitive, hard-nosed brand of hockey reflect exactly what Bruins hockey should be.”

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.

The Florida Panthers are going to have to come back if they want to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

Florida blew a 3-1 second period lead in Game 1 against the Edmonton Oilers, falling in overtime 4-3.

It was just 66 seconds into the game that Edmonton sent their already rabid fans into a frenzy.

Leon Draisaitl jumped on a rebound of a Kasperi Kapinen shot and fired the puck into a yawning cage, giving the Oilers an early 1-0 lead.

Midway through the period, Carter Verhaeghe picked up a loose puck toward the top of the Edmonton zone and fired a shot that deflected off Sam Bennett in front and past Stuart Skinner to tie the game at one.

The Oilers challenged the play for goalie interference, but officials ruled that Bennett, who appears to make contact with Skinner after falling to the ice, was tripped into the goaltender by defenseman Brett Kulak.

Officials confirmed the play was legal, and Florida was given a power play for the failed challenge by Edmonton.

The Cats took advantage of the man advantage as Nate Schmidt sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Brad Marchand at the side of the net. His shot sailed past a sprawling Skinner to give Florida their first lead of the series.

It didn’t take long during the second period for the Panthers to extend their lead.

Streaking through the neutral zone, Schmidt sent Bennett in along on Skinner, beating him over the blocker to put the Panthers up 3-1.

Edmonton responded quickly though, as Viktor Arvidsson fired a slapshot past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky just 1:17 later to close the gap back to one and get the fans energized again.

The Oilers tied the game 6:33 into the third period after Florida had been finding success keeping Edmonton from generating much of anything offensively.

From behind the net, McDavid found Mattias Ekholm creeping down from the point, and his shot went over a screened Bobrovsky’s glove to knot the game at three.

That’s how the score would remain through the rest of the third period, sending Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final to overtime.

Bobrovsky came up with big saves during overtime on Kasperi Kapanen, Trent Frederick and Evan Bouchard, but a power play goal by Draisaitl late in the OT session gave Edmonton the victory.

Tomas Nosek sent the puck over the glass with under two minutes to go, giving the Oilers' power play a chance, and then Florida, which had gone a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, suddenly became extremely aggressive while down a man. 

Alas, it's just one game, and as we all leaned last season, you've got to win four before you win anything. 

On to Game 2.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Bennett has six goals and nine points over his past six games.

Similarly, Matthew Tkachuk has eight points in six games. He picked up an assist on Bennett’s goal first.

Since returning from an injury for Game 7 against Toronto, Evan Rodrigues has nine points in the seven games since.

Draisaitl didn’t score a single goal during last season’s seven-game Final, but this year it barely took him a minute to light the lamp, and now he’s got two.

Schmidt logged his third multi-point outing of the playoffs with a pair of primary assists.

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Photo caption: Jun 4, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right wing Vasily Podkolzin (92) reacts after a goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the second period in game one of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. (Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images)