NHL Notebook: Which coaches could replace Bruce Cassidy on Bruins' bench?

The Bruins are looking to the future. 

While Don Sweeney is not the type of general manager to outright declare the start of a roster teardown, his comments on Tuesday morning as they pertained to what the franchise is looking for in its next bench boss were easy to decipher.

For all of the concerns that the Bruins’ decision to can Bruce Cassidy was going to lead to Boston retreading the same flawed roster with a familiar name at the helm like Mike Babcock, Rick Bowness, Rick Tocchet or Peter DeBoer — it seems as though Sweeney and Co. are already looking in a different direction. 

It remains to be seen just how significantly Boston uproots its core and augments its supporting cast this summer and in the years ahead. But regardless of if Boston settles on a retool or a rebuild, the B’s will inevitably need to incorporate a bevy of younger players into the lineup in 2022 and beyond. 

As such, the B’s would be wise to set their sights on a younger bench boss capable of working with a crew of green skaters that will need to live and learn with the challenges that present themselves over the span of an 82-game NHL season. 

Sweeney seemed to concur. 

 "I’m certainly going to be open-minded,” Sweeney said of Boston’s coaching search. “I’m going to cast the net a little wider. I don’t think it’s an absolute prerequisite. As I’ve said, we’ve got an experienced group of guys that want to win, know how to win and a young group of guys as the next core — Charlie and David being part of that, that hopefully can bridge and will continue to bridge the next group of young guys that will come in.

"Now, the coach needs to direct that ship and be able to communicate effectively across all those age groups. And that’s certainly why I want to make sure I cast the net wide enough. I don’t believe it’s an absolute prerequisite to have a coach behind an NHL bench.”

So, if the Bruins are looking at adding a fresh face to the bench in order to usher in a potentially transformative stretch for this franchise — who is out there?

Here are a few potential candidates:

Jay Leach

This one seems fairly obvious, no?

The Bruins might be looking for a fresh new voice in the room — but the B’s also looooooooove those ties to the franchise, be it a former player or a coach who cut his teeth somewhere down on the farm.

Prior to joining the Seattle Kraken and serving as Dave Hakstol’s assistant this past season, Leach looked like a head coach in waiting with Boston — serving as head coach with the Providence Bruins and posting a record of 136-77-26 to go along with two division titles. 

Yes, Cassidy’s inability to draw stronger results from Boston’s crop of youngsters like Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic and others might be more of an indictment on the state of the B’s prospect pipeline than Cassidy’s coaching ability. 

But if the Bruins are really looking at embracing a youth movement (and giving their younger players an extended look in 2022-23), it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the organization settles on a coach like Leach, 42,  who already eased guys like Studnicka, Frederic, Oskar Steen and Jakub Zboril along during their first taste of pro hockey. 

There are plenty of links here that make Leach a fairly obvious (and safe) candidate for the Bruins if they’re looking at ushering in a new chapter. 

David Quinn

Quinn doesn’t have any direct coaching links to the Bruins, but his fingerprints are all over this roster. 

The 55-year-old coach, hailing from Cranston, Rhode Island, could be an appealing candidate if Sweeney is looking for a coach with NHL experience that also has a solid track record of catering to and encouraging younger players.

While Quinn’s tenure as head coach of the New York Rangers wasn’t exactly stellar (96-87-25 record over three seasons), he has remained active around pro-hockey circles — coaching Team USA in the 2022 Olympics and the 2022 World Championships. 

Quinn already has a strong rapport with a few B’s regulars, as he coached both Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk during his time as head coach at Boston University (100-59-20 record on Comm. Ave, including a National Championship game appearance in 2015).

Nate Leaman 

If the Bruins are indeed casting a wide net with their coaching search, it would come as no surprise at all if they give Leaman a call. 

He may not have professional coaching experience, but there’s a reason why Leaman’s name always gets dropped when a coveted coaching gig opens up in the NHL ranks. After coaching Union College for eight seasons, Leaman has developed a powerhouse program at Providence College — leading them to an NCAA title in 2014-15 and boasting an overall record of 225-136-51 with the Friars. 

Much like Quinn, Leaman has played an active role in developing Bruins talent, be it Noel Acciari, Tim Schaller and current PC forward Riley Duran. Aside from those coaching connections, Leaman also served as a consulting coach during one of Boston’s recent development camps. 

One thing worth watching, however, is that Leaman just signed a multi-year contract extension with the Friars during an offseason in which he was contacted by both BC and BU for their respective head coaching jobs. Leaman has been loyal to Providence for years now, although the chance to lead an Original Six franchise might be too tempting to pass up. 

Jeff Halpern

You could make the argument that Jon Cooper is the best coach in the NHL these days, and it’s only a matter of time before teams start snapping some twigs off of the Bolts’ coaching tree in order to try and land another accomplished leader behind the bench.

Be it Halpern or fellow Tampa assistant coach Derek Lalonde, the Bruins would be wise to kick the tires on Cooper’s staff. Halpern, who logged 976 games in his NHL career, has served in some coaching capacity with Tampa since 2015, including some work on a loaded Tampa power play. He also served as a development coach for the Lightning, which ... well, the results speak for themselves. 

If the Bruins want a fresh voice without running the risk of gambling on a collegiate coach who hasn’t worked at the NHL level, candidates like Halpern do make plenty of sense. 

Frankly, my gut tells me that the Bruins focus on coaching candidates with ties to this region/organization — but my personal pick would be an outsider with a lofty track record like Halpern. 

Spencer Carbery

Much like Halpern, Carbery stands as another accomplished assistant coach in another market who has seen his stock soar as of late. Carberry, 40, does have some ties to the Bruins organization after serving as Leach’s assistant in Providence in 2017-18 before becoming head coach of the Hershey Bears. 

Carbery is coming off of his first season as an assistant on Sheldon Keefe’s staff in Toronto, where he was tasked with running a power-play unit that led the entire NHL with a 27.3% success rate. And while Toronto does boast a pretty stacked power-play personnel, that unit’s ascension to No. 1 in the league under Carberry was a major improvement — with the Leafs ranking 16th overall in 2020-21. During his time with Providence, Carbery was primarily responsible for the B’s defensemen.

A coach skilled in working with blueliners and the man advantage? Sounds an awful lot like Cassidy’s resume. 

Ryan Mougenel

Rather than poach Leach from Seattle, the Bruins could also focus their efforts on promoting the current Providence head coach in Mougenel — who led the Baby B’s to a 36-25-11 record in his first year at the helm in 2021-22. 

Mougenel, who served as an assistant on Leach’s staff from 2019-21, drew plenty of praise from his players down in Providence for his positivity and commitment to working with individuals through video/on-ice reps. 

Still, the Bruins would likely want a bit more of an experienced coach at the helm. The Bruins do like Mougenel, but a bit more seasoning might be required down in the AHL. 

Chris Kelly/Joe Sacco

While there’s always a risk that an entire coaching staff might be purged when its leader is let go, Sweeney did note on Tuesday that both Kelly and Sacco remain under contract right now. 

Kelly obviously has plenty of ties to the black and gold, and is well-liked in the B’s room, especially by the veteran cogs who logged shifts with him not too long ago. Sacco, who has been an assistant coach in Boston since 2014, does have previous head coaching experience with the Colorado Avalanche — and did step in as Boston’s interim head coach when Cassidy missed a few games due to COVID last winter. 

However, be it Sacco’s poor track record with the Avs (130-134-30 record and reports of friction with younger players) or the struggles with Boston’s power play this season (one of Sacco’s top coaching assignments this year), you wonder if the B’s opt for a clean slate. 

Marc Savard

It’s been quite the journey for Savard, who has overcome the concussion issues that robbed him of years of his dominant NHL career and has now seen his stock rise as an up-and-coming coach.

The 44-year-old is currently in his first season as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires — leading them to a first-place finish in their conference and a spot in the OHL championship series. It should come as no surprise that a playmaker like Savard has forged quite the track record when it comes to power-play proficiency, with Windsor boasting the third-best man advantage in the OHL. And during Savard's one season as an assistant coach with the Blues in 2019-20, St. Louis’ power play ranked third in the league. 

Yes, he doesn’t have as much experience as a few other candidates, but Savard has already made a sizable impact at just about every stop he’s made since his playing career ended. And even if the B’s opt for another bench boss, Boston would be wise to potentially bring Savard on board as an assistant — especially if the organization needs another set of eyes to oversee that power play. 

Marco Sturm

In keeping with ex-Bruins from the late 2000s, Sturm could also be another intriguing option for Boston — with the former forward just wrapping up his fourth season as an assistant coach with the L.A. Kings. Sturm has been mentioned in other coaching searches over the last few years, especially after the 43-year-old helped lead Germany to a silver medal in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang. 

Barry Trotz

Yes, we’ve focused more on younger coaches and fresher voices that might be able to connect with an expected influx of younger talent in the B’s room over the next few seasons. But let’s be frank. As obvious as it might be that the Bruins should orchestrate a rebuild (or at the very least, an aggressive retool), it doesn’t seem like Sweeney and Co. are taking any plan off the table.

And if the Patrice Bergeron/David Krejci duo does return and the B’s decide that the best path forward is running it back with this core in place and trying to tread water in October/November, then it’d make sense that the B’s would want to target an established veteran coach. 

And among a pretty crowded pool of established candidates, Trotz should stand near the top of qualified and effective bench bosses (along with Cassidy, but alas….). 

Of course, just running things back should be viewed as an extremely short-sighted maneuver by this team, so targeting someone like Trotz would be ill-advised. And if Sweeney and Neely were not thrilled with Cassidy's systems and its emphasis on defense over consistent O-zone generation, they’d be in for a rude awakening with Trotz and his strengths as a coach. 

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OTHER NOTES

Cassidy already fielding plenty of offers 

In what shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, Cassidy has already soared to the top of the list of many teams that are looking for a new head coach.

During his near-hour-long Zoom call with the media on Thursday, Cassidy confirmed that he has already had discussions with a number of teams — noting that he hopes to be back on a bench right away for the 2022-23 season.

As for the type of team that Cassidy hopes to lead moving forward? 

 “I hope we’re hard to play against," Cassidy said. "I hope we’re structurally solid. I hope we create offense when the situation dictates and the players that have the ability to do that will do it. I hope we’re a team and we stick together all over the ice.”

While the Flyers have been linked to Cassidy, that seems to be a team bracing for a loooooong rebuild. If you’re looking for a “win-now” situation, a team like Vegas does make an awful lot of sense, especially with that roster poised for a bounce-back after getting decimated by injuries.

They’re a bit further away from contention, but also wouldn’t be surprised if a team like the Red Wings intrigues Cassidy, especially given their young core and the support of a front-office staff led by Steve Yzerman. Frankly, it’d be a good way for Cassidy to twist the knife if he can help Detroit cultivate that next generation of talent after the Bruins did little to stock their prospect pipeline for him.

 One other team to watch out for? The Florida Panthers. Andrew Brunette did a fine job as an interim head coach. But if that team is looking for a coach that can help put them over the top? Cassidy makes an awful lot of sense, especially with the high-octane offense already present on the roster.

Join a Cup contender AND have the opportunity to stick it to your former employer for the next couple of years? That’s an offer that’s almost too good to pass up. 

A few other quick hitters from Cassidy’s Zoom call

Most vivid memory from his time with Boston? 

"Game 7 – Stanley Cup Finals, 2019, is something I'll never — that we weren't able to get the job done,” Cassidy said. “Everything before that is a terrific memory in terms of a playoff run. It's exhilarating to have that opportunity and that's my goal — to get my name on the Stanley Cup. 

That memory is a tough one. Winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, I was in charge of the Black Aces. I was in Vancouver on the ice, lifting in the Cup up — well down the line, mind you, I knew my place — but still to be able to lift it is an outstanding memory.  Being on the Duck Boats after. Played a very very, very small part in it but still felt like 'Hey, this is something I want to do as the head guy and we were very close. Always disappointed and apologetic to the fans of the Bruins that we didn't quite finish the job. But again, hopefully, it happens somewhere else.”

On being on the move and facing criticism in this market

"For anybody that's a father that you have to talk to your children about, 'Hey this is what's going to happen.' Listen, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know where we're going to be next," Cassidy said. "We're fine, like everyone's healthy. I mean the first thing you go through. There's a little bit of that sort of shock effect and they're younger, but at the end of the day, you know that — Listen, (his son, Cole) is used to a little bit of it at school. Sometimes there's a passionate fan base and like Cole, if one of your classmates says 'Oh, your dad sucks or that Bruins suck', well, use your words but it's part of what happens. 

"Now if they start talking about your sister and your mother, you got the green light to punch him in the nose. But at the end of the day, those are the parts that are difficult. But another opportunity hopefully will arise because of the work we've done here. And as I said, great memories and part of the business, learn from the better next time.”

I’ll also echo what has been shared by my colleagues on the Bruins beat — it’s rare for a fired coach to hold a press conference of any sort after getting the pink slip, but Cassidy facilitated the chat through the Bruins and pretty much answered any question that was tossed his way.

Cassidy’s candidness, accessibility and hockey knowledge will definitely be missed when covering this team. 

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To close our notebook, a well-deserved stick tap for Milton Academy’s Jake Thibeault. Nine months after suffering a severe spinal injury, the Fitchburg native walked across the stage at his high-school graduation — just as he said he would. 

Way to go, Jake.