Bruins ‘believed to be among top contenders' for Rick Tocchet: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins are in the early stages of a pivotal offseason for the franchise, and part of that process will be finding a new head coach.

B’s general manager Don Sweeney said last week that Joe Sacco, who replaced Jim Montgomery on an interim basis back in November, remains in the mix for the position, as does assistant coach Jay Leach.

Which external candidates might the Bruins be considering?

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that the Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken are “believed to be among the top contenders” for Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet, 61, parted ways with the Vancouver Canucks last month. He spent the last three seasons as Canucks head coach and led them to the playoffs only once (2023-24).

Tocchet has nine total seasons of NHL head coaching experience between the Canucks, Arizona Coyotes (now the Utah Mammoth) and Tampa Bay Lightning. He played in 1,144 games as an NHL player, too, including 10-plus seasons with the Flyers and two with the Bruins.

It would make more sense for the Bruins to hire a head coach who is younger and capable of fixing the team’s lackluster offense, including the power play. Player development needs to be a priority for the Bruins, too. Tocchet probably wouldn’t be the best fit when you consider those factors, but he does have a lot of NHL experience as a player and a coach.

Sweeney also was asked last week if any potential head coach candidates were still in the playoffs, to which he replied, “yes.” There are eight teams remaining in the playoffs, as of Tuesday.

The Bruins, Flyers, Canucks, Kraken and Chicago Blackhawks are among the teams with head coach vacancies.