How Patrice Bergeron Feels About Bruins Hiring Marco Sturm As Head Coach

Patrice Bergeron didn’t know what the future held for Marco Sturm after the two were teammates for parts of five seasons in the mid-2000s with the Boston Bruins.

Sturm played two more seasons in the NHL and took some time off before entering the coaching ranks. Sturm coached in Germany for a few years before joining the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach. He served as the head coach for LA’s AHL affiliate the past three seasons.

Bergeron kept in touch with Sturm throughout the years and followed his coaching journey, which brought him back to Boston with the Bruins announcing Thursday that Sturm will be the 30th head coach in franchise history.

“It’s always hard to know who’s going to be a coach down the road or not. But then I always saw the love of the game, the energy, I always saw the leadership in him and his ability to bring guys together just by who he was as a person,” Bergeron told the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy. “He obviously understood the game really well and had a knack for just staying composed when it was needed, basically. When it was a little harder or when things didn’t turn out the way we expected them to, we could rely on him to calm everything down by his demeanor. To me, it speaks a lot about a good quality for a coach. I’m really excited for him. I couldn’t think of a better candidate for the Bruins.”

Sturm isn’t exactly in the most enviable position after landing his first head coaching gig in the NHL. The 46-year-old has a lot of work ahead of him.

The Bruins, who finished tied for the fourth-worst record in the league this season, are still in the beginning stages of a rebuild, having dealt away members of their core like Brad Marchand and Brandon Carlo at this year’s trade deadline.

There are still star pieces on the roster in David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, but also an influx of youth that will be incredibly important for Sturm to develop and get more out of than his predecessors did.

It’s a lot for Sturm to navigate from behind the Bruins bench, but Bergeron believes he is ready for what lies ahead.

“I think it’s a challenge he’s up for,” Bergeron said. “You look at a coach that’s been around the American League, he’s been an assistant coach (in the NHL) as well. He’s a guy that’s able to develop and he’s been there. And he’s been through it himself as a player. He’s got lots of experience to bring it back and tach those guys and be able to relate to them.”