14 hours Ago By Christopher Hurley, Boston Hockey Now
BRIGHTON – With his team in turmoil, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is turning to a familiar face to help steady the ship. After firing head coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday, the Bruins GM appointed longtime assistant coach Joe Sacco as interim head coach. A Medford native, Sacco is currently in his 11 th season behind the Bruins bench.
He served under Montgomery as associate coach, holding the role of assistant coach from 2014-24. He takes over the head coaching reigns following the Bruins lackluster 8-9-3 start. “It’s been a tough 24 hours for myself and for the staff,” said Sacco, following the team’s practice Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena.
“We obviously lost a real good coach in Jim, and even a better person. I established a strong relationship and bond with Jimmy over the last two and a half years. He certainly made me a better coach over that time.
I wish him all the best. He’ll land on his feet. He’s too good of a coach.
But it’s time for us as a staff and as a group to make sure we move forward.” Sacco is no stranger to the NHL head coaching ranks. The former Boston University Terrier previously served as head coach with the Colorado Avalanche for four seasons from 2009-10 to 2013-14.
“It’s a bittersweet day for me,” said Sacco, noting the team’s season long struggles. “I’m excited for the opportunity, I’m not going to lie. This is an Original 6 franchise.
To be back getting another crack at it as the head coach was always important to me. Sometimes it’s not the way you want to get it, but it’s an opportunity I was waiting for.” Sacco, along with assistant coaches Chris Kelly and Jay Leach, led the team through an energetic 90-minute practice session.
He was pleased to see that the team’s energy level and execution were both very high, which bodes well for the squad moving forward. “It was important that we hammered those two details home today.” said Sacco.
“I like the result of the practice this morning.” The coach and his staff are now looking to make the necessary tweaks to get the team back in the right mindset. So whats the quickest way a team can regain its mojo? “We get back to it by our work ethic,” said Sacco.
“It starts there. Whether it’s in practice, pregame skate or in the weight room. When you have that foundation everything else will take care of itself.
Typically, when you have good energy at practice, good enthusiasm, the execution will take care of itself after that.” “Right now our job is to make sure they believe that they’re a good team,” he added. “We have good players in this room.
They’re capable of more. Our job as a coaching staff is to make sure that we get that out of them. I think it starts there.
” Sacco will remain a focal point on both the defense and penalty kill. Kelly will continue to work on the power play. “We’re going to try to make some changes within the structure of what we’re doing,” said Sacco.
“That doesn’t mean we’re just going to stand pat. We’re going to make some changes that are going to help our guys succeed.” Check Out: Bruins Winger David Pastrnak Reveals Off-Season Injury Sweeney feels Sacco will help transition the team from its stagnant start.
“We’ve placed Joe in a position now here to get his hands on the steering wheel,” said Sweeney. “Joe is well equipped to be able to do this and lead this group. He has institutional knowledge for a number of years of teams teams that have been successful, and where it needs to get back to be successful.
He’s well equipped to handle it.” Bruins team president Cam Neely concurs. “Joe Sacco has a wealth of experience and knowledge of our roster and can help lead our team in the right direction,” said Neely.
“He has a strong understanding of our standards and expectations, and I trust he will do all he can to accomplish our organization’s goals this season.” The first order of business on Sacco’s agenda is to make the squad a harder team to play against. “I want other teams to know that it’s going hard to score goals against us,” said Sacco.
“Our offense will come. There are enough players here that can score goals. Our focus has been too much on that.
Let’s focus on keeping the puck out of the net and being harder to play against. I’m very confident that this group will score goals.” A former Medford High Mustang and Boston University Terrier, Sacco got drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round (71st overall) of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.
He enjoyed a 13-year professional hockey career playing for five NHL teams, including the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. He scored 94 goals and 213 points in 738 NHL games, hanging up the skates following the 2002-03 season. Sacco began the next phase of his hockey career as an assistant coach with the Lowell Lock Monsters in 2004-05.
After two years as assistant, Sacco was tabbed head coach of Colorado’s AHL franchise, the Lake Erie Monsters in 2007. He led the Monsters for two seasons, promoted as head coach of the Avalanche in 2009. In his first season at the helm, Sacco led an upstart Avs squad to a 43-30-9 record.
It was a 26-point improvement from the previous year, earning them a trip to the 2010 playoffs. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach that season, along with Dave Tippett and Barry Trotz. Sacco spent four seasons in Colorado compiling a 130-134-30 record from 2009-10 to 2013-14.
After serving as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres, Sacco headed back to the Bay State. He bolstered former Bruins coach Claude Julien’s staff in 2014-15. He remained in that role under Bruce Cassidy and Montgomery.
“I’ve been with this organization for over 10 years now,” said Sacco. “I’ve been with some of these players just as long. They know who I am.
They know how I act around the locker room and one-on-one individually. I’m straight-forward. I don’t try to sugarcoat a lot of things, but I’ve also had the experience and the pleasure of working with some really good coaches in the past, not just Jim.
I was able to work with Claude Julien and Bruce Cassidy. Everybody has different ways of motivating their teams and individuals. You take the good from certain individuals, but at the end of the day if you’re not yourself it’s not going to work.
I’m just going to try to do that.” A Mustang Hall of Famer, Sacco spearheaded a Medford hockey movement in the mid-80s. He led a handful of local products into the Division I college ranks and ultimately the NHL.
Following his lead were Keith Tkachuk , Shawn Bates , Mike Morrison and Joe’s younger brother, David Sacco . The brothers played together in NHL stops in Toronto and Anaheim. Sacco left his mark at Medford High.
From 1984-87 he was the school’s all-time leading scorer in boys hockey with 230 career points. Bates eclipsed Sacco’s milestone with 242 points in 1993. Christopher Hurley is a writer for Boston Hockey Now.
Reach out to him at [email protected].
This article first appeared on Boston Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission..
