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Penguins Have Interviewed Jay Leach, David Quinn, Jay Woodcroft For Head Coaching Vacancy

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The Penguins have obtained permission to and completed an interview with Bruins assistant Jay Leach for their vacant head coaching job, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman added that they’ve also considered promoting assistant David Quinn to the head job and talked to former Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft.

Those names get added to a list that includes former Blues bench boss Drew Bannister, Capitals assistant Mitch Love, and Kings assistant D.J. Smith. Out of the six, Bannister is the only one who hasn’t been confirmed to have an interview.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported back in April that the Bruins were receiving calls on Leach for teams interested in interviewing him for head coaching roles, but it’s been quiet since on who’s talked to him. He’s not a complete newcomer to the organization. His first coaching job in North America was as an assistant with the Pens’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the 2015-16 season. The Bruins plucked him the following year for their AHL squad, and he’s remained in the Boston organization since, aside from a two-year stint with the Kraken as an assistant in their first two seasons in the league.

Quinn hasn’t been linked to coaching vacancies outside the Pittsburgh organization in this hiring cycle. Of the six candidates mentioned, he has the most experience as an NHL head coach. The 58-year-old took an assistant role in Pittsburgh last summer after being fired by the Sharks. Also, he served on the United States’ bench at the 4 Nations Face-Off as an assistant under Mike Sullivan, whom he’s now considered a potential replacement for with the Pens. The Rhode Island native has a 137-185-50 (.435) record in 372 regular-season games as a head coach with San Jose and the Rangers since 2018. His only playoff appearance was in the 2020 qualifying round, and the Hurricanes swept his New York club.

This is the first mention of Woodcroft in connection with the Pens’ vacancy. He’s been considered for two other jobs this summer – the Ducks and the Bruins. While the former opted to hire Joel Quenneville instead, he’s still a legitimate possibility in Boston and likely has a better chance of landing that gig with a smaller field of known candidates. The 48-year-old had a 79-41-13 (.643) record over three seasons as bench boss in Edmonton. His Pittsburgh connection is fragile – he helped defeat the Pens in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final as a video coach with the Red Wings.

Don’t expect news on a hiring until later this month, with general manager Kyle Dubas out of the country, Josh Yohe of The Athletic said yesterday. He’s GMing Canada at the World Championship.

Jay Woodcroft Among Bruins’ Head Coaching Candidates

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Former Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft is among the possibilities to become the Bruins’ next head coach, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, who described him as a “leading candidate” for the vacancy on Wednesday’s Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast. Rick Tocchet also remained in consideration this morning, but he’s on the verge of being scooped up by the Flyers.

Aside from serving as an assistant coach for Canada at the 2024 World Championship, Woodcroft has been out of work since the Oilers fired him one month into the 2023-24 campaign. He held the Edmonton job for less than two calendar years but pulled together an exceptional 79-41-13 (.643) record in that time, including one of just four 50-win seasons in Oilers franchise history in 2022-23.

Despite the relative lack of head coaching experience at the NHL level, Woodcroft is no stranger to the league. This past season was his first without working in the NHL in some capacity since the 2004-05 lockout. He was picked up by the Red Wings as a video coach when play resumed and, three years later, was hired by the Sharks as an assistant. He remained in San Jose through 2015, when Edmonton hired him as an assistant. He also spent a few years as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield before being promoted to the NHL in a head coaching capacity for the first time.

Boston’s interest in Woodcroft makes sense considering their explicitly stated desire for more offense in 2025-26. During his tenure, the Oilers led the league in goals per game (3.80), power play percentage (29.3%), and were sixth in shots per game (34.0).

His name hasn’t come up a ton this cycle aside from being mentioned as a person of interest in the Ducks’ coaching search a few weeks ago before they opted to hire Joel Quenneville. AHL Ontario head coach Marco Sturm was also reported as being in the running within the last week.

Latest On Rick Tocchet

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May 13th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tocchet won’t have to wait much longer for a new head coaching role. Dreger indicates that Tocchet will land a new gig this week, and the Bruins, Flyers, and Kraken have been the most interested suitors, similarly to Friedman.

May 12th: Former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet is the most recent entrant to the market after unproductive extension talks led Vancouver not to pick up his contract option for 2025-26. While there’s been some expected interest in his services already – the Bruins are believed to want to interview him – the market for his services isn’t as strong as some would have anticipated, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal today.

Weeks before it was clear Tocchet wouldn’t be back with the Canucks, he was being linked to the Flyers, where he spent a good portion of his playing career. Philly remains on the hunt for a permanent bench boss after firing John Tortorella late in the season. While Tocchet was reported as a favorite a few weeks ago, there’s yet to be confirmation he’s been interviewed by the Flyers. Friedman told Dhaliwal that Tocchet remains “high on their radar,” but they’ve expanded their search to other names enough (like Pat Ferschweiler and Jay McKee) that Tocchet is no longer a clear-cut frontrunner for the job.

As for other landing spots, Friedman believes Tocchet will ultimately end up commanding too much money for Boston to go his direction. Vancouver’s extension offer to Tocchet was in the $4MM range annually, Friedman said. While money wasn’t the primary reason Tocchet opted not to extend, it stands to reason he won’t take much less, if at all, than that figure after receiving a firm offer.

Another team demonstrating interest in Tocchet during this offseason’s hiring cycle is the Kraken, Friedman relays. It doesn’t appear the interest is mutual at this stage, though. There’s a legitimate possibility he goes unhired and returns to a familiar television job on TNT’s intermission panel, where he served between being let go by the Coyotes at the end of the 2020-21 season and being picked up by the Canucks midway through 2022-23.

There are other jobs out there – the Blackhawks and Penguins. It stands to reason he wouldn’t prefer the former if he’s not interested in another Western Conference non-contending team in Seattle. Pittsburgh remains an intriguing option – he won a combined four Stanley Cups there as a player and assistant coach – but it’ll be a while before they make a decision, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote earlier this month.

Bruins Considering Marco Sturm, Rick Tocchet For Head Coach

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The Boston Bruins are considering a variety of candidates for their head coaching position, and Marco Sturm is in the mix, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. While Sturm, 46, has never been a head coach in the NHL, he has had a successful start to his coaching career.

He has compiled a 119-80-17 record in three seasons as the head coach of the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL-affiliate. He also served as an assistant for the Kings from 2018-2022, giving him some experience behind an NHL bench. Of course, Sturm also nearly 1,000 career games as an NHL player, suiting up for six teams over his 14-year career, including parts of five seasons with the Bruins.

Moreover, he has shined in his international coaching opportunities. He was named head coach and general manager of Germany’s national team in 2016, where he led his home country to a quarterfinal’s appearance at the 2016 World Championships. Then his squad went on a Cinderella run at the 2018 Olympics, where they won a silver medal.

Veteran NHL coach Rick Tocchet is also under consideration for the role, according to RG’s James Murphy. As Murphy notes, Tocchet and GM Cam Neely have a strong relationship dating back to their playing days, and the two may share a similar philosophy to how to move a franchise forward. The Canucks did not pick up Tocchet’s club option on April 29. The Canucks expressed interest extending Tocchet, who won the Jack Adams Award after recording a 50-win season and winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24. However, it seemed Tocchet was more interested in a fresh start elsewhere.

And as Murphy notes, Tocchet is a legitimate candidate for several teams seeking an experienced voice behind the bench. Teams to be linked to Tocchet include the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, and Utah Mammoth, should they make a coaching change. Tocchet has complied a 178-200-30 career coaching record through six seasons but was 108-65-27 (.608) across three seasons with the Canucks.

Bruins Sign Patrick Brown To One-Year Extension

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The Boston Bruins are getting some of their offseason planning out of the way a few months early. The Bruins announced they’ve signed depth forward Patrick Brown to a one-year extension for the 2025-26 NHL season with a salary of $775K.

Brown’s new salary will be $25K less than he’s been paid in the NHL with Boston over the last two years. He joined the Bruins organization on the opening day of free agency in 2023, signing a two-year, $1.6MM agreement.

The Bruins have used Brown sparingly at the NHL level. Since joining the team for the 2023-24 NHL season, Brown has tallied two assists in 26 games, averaging 9:50 of ice time a night in a fourth-line role. He hasn’t been very noticeable in Boston outside of being a physical depth piece.

Still, Brown has had exceptional value with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. The Bloomsfield, MI native scored 11 goals and 32 points in 42 games in his first year with the club before managing 17 goals and 46 points in 56 contests this season as the team’s captain.

Despite having a bye through the first round the last two years, Providence had not won a playoff series since the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs. Fortunately, that reality changed recently, as Brown and the AHL Bruins defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds in the First Round of the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Providence will need to mount a serious comeback in the Division Semifinals to knock off the Charlotte Checkers, but the organization is comfortable keeping Brown in place as captain next season, regardless.

Blues’ Torey Krug Not Expected To Resume Playing Career

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Blues defenseman Torey Krug isn’t expected to play again due to his ankle surgery last summer, general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters today (including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic).

Krug, 34, was diagnosed with pre-arthritis in his left ankle last summer. After several weeks of evaluation, the Blues and Krug agreed on season-ending surgery. His issues stem from a fractured ankle he sustained seven years ago in the second round of the 2018 playoffs while a member of the Bruins, ending his season and causing him to miss the beginning of the following campaign.

As with any form of arthritis, without surgical correction, Krug could have lost mobility in his ankle entirely. Even with the procedure, Armstrong said Krug had just recently resumed his normal day-to-day activities (via Puck Report on X).

Krug’s career will draw to a close after playing the first four seasons of the seven-year, $45.5MM deal he signed with the Blues in free agency in 2020. Brought in as a replacement for captain Alex Pietrangelo, who signed a much richer long-term contract with the Golden Knights that summer, he was coming off a lengthy run of play as a top-four fixture in Boston and had twice finished top 20 in Norris Trophy voting. At the time of signing, he’d averaged over 20 minutes per game for five straight seasons and recorded at least 40 points every year in that period.

While Krug kept up his consistent offensive production after the move westward, the defensive warts in the 5’9″ lefty’s game began to outweigh his benefits over the past couple of years. Krug’s combined -57 rating across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons was sixth-worst in the league and third-worst among defensemen, trailing only Cam Fowler and Mario Ferraro – minute-munchers on the worst defensive teams in the league (Ducks, Sharks) during that period.

Still, Krug averaged 40 assists and 47 points per 82 games as a Blue, with most of his production coming at even strength. That wasn’t quite the level he clicked at in Boston, but still legitimately helpful output from the back end.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan State by the Bruins back in 2012, Krug burst onto the scene with four goals in 15 games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Boston to its second Finals appearance in three years, although they ultimately lost to the Blackhawks. In a couple of years, he was the team’s No. 2 left-shot rearguard behind Zdeno Chára and led their defense corps in scoring on multiple occasions, including a career-high 14-goal, 59-point season in 2017-18. Krug totaled 337 points in 523 regular-season games for Boston before leaving in free agency, ranking fifth in Bruins franchise history in points among defensemen.

Krug will likely remain on long-term injured reserve for the final two years of his contract at a $6.5MM cap hit before presumably officially retiring upon expiry in 2027. If St. Louis doesn’t want to deal with his contract, they could trade it to a team needing an LTIR cushion to stay cap-compliant.

The Michigan native steps away from his playing days after posting an 89-394–483 scoring line in 778 games, 14th in the league among defensemen since he debuted in the 2011-12 season. He was routinely an electric playoff performer for Boston, including posting 12 points in just 11 games in the 2018 postseason and leading them with 16 assists a year later in their loss to St. Louis in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. His career 0.70 points per game in the postseason matches Hall-of-Famers Nicklas Lidström and Chris Pronger.

All of us at PHR wish Krug a smooth, continued recovery as he looks to get back to normalcy.

Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports.

Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those eliminated already in the opening round. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Boston.

Last season, the Bruins relied on expert goaltending to mask their decline in 5-on-5 play and continue an eight-year streak of playoff appearances. But everything that could have gone wrong in 2024-25 did, pushing them out of a playoff spot and into their worst record in 18 years. Still led by general manager Don Sweeney, this front office remains an impatient one and got a head start on their retool by trading captain Brad Marchand, stalwart defenseman Brandon Carlo, and feisty bottom-six winger Trent Frederic out of town before the deadline. Now equipped with spending money and the No. 7 overall pick this summer, it’ll surely be an active summer in Boston with a quick return to playoff contention as the goal.

Wrap Up Coaching Search

Few thought that at the beginning of the season, the Bruins would be the first team to make a midseason coaching change. But after an 8-9-3 start to the campaign and a lack of productive extension talks with 2023 Jack Adams winner Jim Montgomery, that’s exactly what happened. Of course, Boston finished the season with a worse record under interim boss Joe Sacco (25-30-7), while Montgomery was scooped up by the Blues five days later and led them to a wild-card berth.

While Sacco will be interviewed as part of an expansive search, it’s hard to imagine the Bruins removing his interim tag with an unexpectedly strong wealth of candidates to choose from on a busy coaching carousel this offseason. Sweeney has been clear about improving their possession and scoring game as 2025-26’s top priority, so coaches with a propensity for low-event styles likely won’t be considered despite whatever interest they may have (looking at you, Greg Cronin).

There’s another thing to consider: unless a dream candidate emerges, don’t expect Boston to hand out a long-term coaching contract this cycle. They were already hesitant to pay one of the top names in the business in Montgomery, and it makes little sense to make a lengthy commitment to a bench boss with a roster that at least begins the offseason without much direction. That’s likely what quickly took them out of the running for Massachusetts native Mike Sullivan’s services – he received and accepted a rich five-year offer from the Rangers.

Those two factors will likely remain paramount over the amount of NHL experience when Boston assesses candidates in the coming weeks. With the Rangers as the only team to fill their vacancy so far, they’re not under a ton of pressure to make an immediate move. They’ll certainly want to have a name installed by sometime next month to help re-instill an organizational identity heading into free agency, though.

Find A Partner For Pasta

For years, the Bruins’ offense revolved around their top two centers, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí. They had to adjust to making wingers Marchand and David Pastrňák the cornerstone of their attack when Bergeron and Krejčí retired a few years ago, now just Pastrňák with no clear-cut No. 2 forward behind him. While Pastrňák has continued to produce at an MVP level despite the changes around him, the team’s overall production has yet to recover from the seismic identity shift.

The hope was that free-agent acquisition Elias Lindholm could help bandage that wound. Instead, the 30-year-old already looks like he has an anchor contract after producing just 17 goals and 47 points over a full 82-game schedule in his first season in Boston after inking a seven-year, $54.25MM deal. There’s hope for a rebound after Lindholm told reporters he played through a back injury all season, but he’s also topped the 60-point mark just three times in his career, and his aging curve isn’t conducive to a huge resurgence.

The center market this summer is on the thinner end as well. Aside from striking a trade for a younger, high-upside center, Boston will have to continue building from the wings out.

While someone like top UFA prize Mitch Marner will likely be out of their price range with an average of $2.4MM in cap space per open roster spot (per PuckPedia), the Bruins will presumably position themselves as top suitors for names like Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers to give Pastrňák some more legitimate secondary scoring and power-play support. If they’re looking to add a layer of depth down the middle, Sam Bennett could be an option as well if he reaches free agency – but, like the names they already have in-house, he’s a good second-line option at best, not a legitimate No. 1 center. Short-term veteran fits to help add depth could come from Dallas, with Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, and Mikael Granlund all slated for UFA status.

Decide Forward Personnel

Further to that, Boston now has quite the mushy middle with Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and Pavel Zacha as its top three centers. There was talk of Zacha being moved at the deadline, but the only move they made at center was flipping Charlie Coyle for Mittelstadt.

Therein lies the first question for the Bruins to answer: are all three of them back next year, and are all three of them playing center? Lindholm and Zacha both logged significant time on the wing earlier in their careers. Lindholm is likely too valuable now on faceoffs to entertain a move back to the wing, but Zacha could shift over if the Bruins bring in another depth center and reignite some chemistry with Pastrňák on his opposite flank.

Even if the Bruins re-sign all of their pending RFAs (a likely scenario) and have them all on the opening night roster in the fall, that only accounts for nine forwards. There are three to five open spots up front, leaving Boston to decide how to distribute them among internal up-and-comers (Fabian Lysell, Fraser Minten, Matthew Poitras) and external additions.  That’s also assuming no trades send a member of the current group out of town again.

Instill Goaltending Confidence

Boston’s biggest disappointment in 2024-25 was undoubtedly the play of goaltender Jeremy Swayman. After some testy contract negotiations throughout the summer, he signed an eight-year, $66MM deal days before the regular season but missed all of training camp in the process. He responded to the financial commitment with a 22-29-7 record, .892 SV%, and 3.11 GAA in 58 appearances. After starring with a gargantuan 55.2 goals saved above expected over his first four NHL seasons, he finished 10th-worst in the NHL with a -9.1 GSAx in 2024-25, per MoneyPuck.

Even during their last playoff contention window, the Bruins’ success relied on above-average goaltending. Regardless of what moves they make this summer, there’s little hope of them competing for a playoff spot next year if Swayman doesn’t rebound to at least league average, if not back into his usual top-10/top-15 performance relative to shot quality faced.

The good news – he’s 26 and the track record is there, so there’s plenty of time for him to rediscover his performance. There was very clearly a mental hurdle for Swayman, who faced hesitancy from his organization to commit to him despite finishing as high as seventh in Vezina Trophy voting in 2024 and grading out as one of the league’s best goalies in the early 2020s. A negotiationless offseason, a new coach, and some more positive messaging from the front office could all go a long way toward vaulting him back into consideration as one of the league’s better starters next year.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Morning Notes: Marner, Stars, Buium, Lindholm

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were without star winger Mitch Marner at Sunday morning’s practice, as Marner attends to the birth of his first child. He isn’t expected to miss any time, helped along by Toronto’s second round matchup against the Florida Panthers beginning at home on Monday. Marner finally broke through the 100-point glass ceiling this season, scoring a career-high 102 points in 81 games played. He also recorded just 14 penalty minutes – a career-low. Those marks have carried into the postseason, with Marner netting one goal, eight points, and no penalties in six games of the first round. He is notably just under two months away from hitting the open market, unless Toronto can manage an eight-figure contract extension before July 1st. Marner is performing at a top mark at the perfect time – but he’ll have to hold onto the scoring role if Toronto wants to get by a Panthers lineup that averaged the fifth-most goals-per-game in the first round.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Dallas Stars head coach told the media on Sunday that it is still unlikely Jason Robertson or Miro Heiskanen are ready for the start of the second round, per Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas News. DeBoer did share a glimmer of hope, though, adding that both players should be good to go at some point during round two. The Stars lineup will undeniably improve when they receive their top goal-scorer and top defender back from prolonged injury – an exciting thought to consider after they beat the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game series. Robertson and Heiskanen – who both have returned to skating at optional practices – will have at least four more games to work their way back into the lineup.
  • Star prospect Zeev Buium only appeared in four games before the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from playoff contention. He performed well in those appearances, netting one assist and four penalty minutes from a depth role, and now faces the a transitional summer as he moves from college to the NHL full-time. Buium hasn’t shared too many details of what the summer will look like, but he did announce that he’ll join Team USA at the World Championship, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Buium represented his country at the World U18 Championshp in 2023 – netting six points in seven games – and at each of the last two World Juniors – where he combined for 11 points in 14 games. Now, he’ll get to join the Americans at the top flight – stepping onto a blue-line full of young-and-upcoming defensive talent. Buium will fight for a role over Mason Lohrei, Jackson LaCombe, and Michael Kesselring.
  • Speaking of Worlds, the Boston Bruins have shared that centerman Elias Lindholm will join the Team Sweden roster immediately. Lindholm hasn’t played at this tournament since 2019, when he scored six points in eight games. That was Lindholm’s third-consecutive season joining the Swedes at the World Championship. Across the trio of years, he combined for 19 points in 26 games. Lindholm’s only opportunity to represent Sweden since 2020 came earlier this year, when he participated in three games of the 4-Nations Face-Off and managed no scoring. Lindholm totaled 47 points in 82 games of the NHL season, his lowest scoring pace since he recorded 21 points in 58 games as a rookie.

Will Sweeney Outlast Boston's Next Head Coach?

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  • In an insightful article regarding the Boston Bruins’ head coaching search, Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period exposed a meaningful fact: the hiring General Manager may not be around for more than a year. Don Sweeney’s contract concludes after the 2025-26 season, and although he’s received an endorsement from team President Cam Neely, plenty can change in a calendar year. For any heading coaching candidate considering joining the Bruins, job security will be something to weigh.

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Jeff Blashill, Jeff Halpern, Jay Leach Drawing Interest For Head Coach Vacancies

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Bruins assistant coach Jay Leach and Lightning assistant coaches Jeff Blashill and Jeff Halpern are among the names under consideration for the eight active head coaching vacancies across the league, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

Leach has another year left on his contract in Boston, Pagnotta relays, but the Bruins have evidently granted him permission to speak to other teams as he’s already begun the interview process for a few positions. He landed with the Bruins last summer after being a finalist for the Kraken’s HC job – he was an internal promotion option there, but they opted for the recently-fired Dan Bylsma instead. He was also a candidate for Boston’s head coach vacancy in 2022 after departing the organization for the Kraken.

The 45-year-old Leach now has a decade of coaching experience after retiring as a player in 2013, including four years as head coach of the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence from 2017-18 through 2020-21. The New York native was an assistant coach for Adler Mannheim in 2014-15 when the German club won the DEL championship with a roster featuring former NHLers Jochen Hecht, Glen Metropolit, and Brandon Yip, among others.

Pagnotta also implied Blashill, still active in the playoffs with Tampa, has already completed some interviews. He’s taken a back seat to Jon Cooper with the Bolts since being let go by the Red Wings in 2022 following an unceremonious tenure as head coach there. Blashill only made the playoffs once in his first season with the rebuilding Wings, compiling a 204-261-72 (.447) record. He was a candidate for the Sharks’ vacancy last year and even had a second interview, but was passed over for rookie bench boss Ryan Warsofsky.

As for Halpern, teams are waiting until the Lightning’s postseason comes to an end before being given permission to talk to him. Halpern has been on Cooper’s staff as an assistant since 2018 and has only ever coached within the Lightning organization, serving as a development and assistant coach with AHL Syracuse from 2015-16 through 2017-18. The veteran of nearly 1,000 NHL games as a player was interviewed by the Capitals during their hiring cycle in 2023, but they opted to go with Spencer Carbery instead.

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