Why Bruins should remove interim tag from Joe Sacco

03/23/2025 07:21 PM

The Boston Bruins have endured a painful 2024-25 season that is almost certain to see them on the outside of the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoff structure for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The Bruins got off to a halting start when goaltender Jeremy Swayman held out for the majority of the team’s training camp and that created some uneasy feelings and perhaps some ill will. Once the season got underway, the Bruins got off to a ho-hum start and the team quickly parted company with former coach of the year Jim Montgomery and replaced him with veteran assistant Joe Sacco.

The Bruins had a brief surge under Sacco and it appeared they might be able to gain one of their usual top 3 spots in the Atlantic Division. If not, there didn’t appear to be much doubt about gaining one of the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference.

But the Bruins were nothing close to the team has been among the most consistent in the sport over the last decade. They lost key defenseman Hampus Lindholm early in the season with a lower-body injury and top blue liner Charlie McAvoy went down with a shoulder injury and subsequent infection while playing in the 4 Nations Face Off for Team USA.

The Bruins had signed center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason and both were expected to play significant roles. Elias Lindholm has been ordinary for the majority of the season, while Zadorov has led the league in penalty minutes. The signings have turned out to be disappointing moves for the Bruins.

It is clear that Sacco was not given a high-level team to work with and the team has struggled since February.

Bruins would be wrong to blame Sacco for their problems

While the Bruins never had the look of a championship-level team this year, the team began to fall apart in early February. After opening the month with home victories over the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild, the offense lost its ability to score key goals. They lost consecutive games to the Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights after going into the third period of both games with the lead.

When the team returned from the 4 Nations Face Off, the team continued to struggle in late-game situations. They lost three more games to the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders.

After ending the losing streak with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, they lost three more games prior to the trade deadline.

At that point, general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely realized the handwriting was on the wall and that the Bruins were going nowhere this season. The franchise that had been to the Stanley Cup playoffs 49 of the past 56 seasons — dating back to hockey legend Bobby Orr’s second season — was basically waving the white flag of surrender.

The Bruins traded established players like Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau, but it didn’t stop there. They also traded captain Brad Marchand — the team’s last link to the 2011 Stanley Cup champions — to the Florida Panthers.

Most Bruins fans could not accept the Marchand trade, especially because it came against the team that eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs in each of the past two years.

Sacco has been left with a shell of a team 

The Bruins won their next two games after the trade deadline, but that turned out to be a mere illusion. They have since lost five consecutive games.

Sacco has not publicly read his team the riot act or tried to light a fire. He also failed to challenge a late winning goal scored by the San Jose Sharks March 22 that appeared to be offside. He has not been perfect.

However, he has not been given a team that has been able to compete most nights.

Sacco is an experienced coach who served as the head man for the Colorado Avalanche for 4 seasons. He had been an assistant with the Bruins for more than 10 years when he replaced Montgomery.

The Bruins will have to do a massive retooling job in the offseason if they want to regain their stature. While Sacco appears to be an easy target for dismissal, they need his steady hand. Firing him would be a mistake.

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