The Boston Bruins should have a new head coach in the near future. General manager Don Sweeney will conduct his final round of interviews next week and a decision should come shortly after, according to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun. 

LeBrun did not have a list of finalists for the Boston gig, but he did rattle off a number of coaches who have interviewed for the position.

"Marco Sturm, Jay Woodcroft, Mitch Love, Luke Richardson, Joe Sacco, Jay Leach among those believed to have interviewed," LeBrun reported Thursday.

With Sweeney signing a two-year extension earlier this week, it looks like his search for a new head coach is now entering its home stretch. Bruins team president Cam Neely said in-person interviews would begin soon in an interview with The Boston Globe after Sweeney's extension was announced.  

Bruins head-coaching candidates

Of the candidates named by LeBrun, Sacco and Leach are in-house options for Boston. Sacco was named interim head coach in November after the Bruins parted ways with Jim Montgomery, and Boston went 25-30-7 with him on the bench. He wasn't put in the best position to succeed, and his job was a lot tougher after Sweeney's fire sale at the trade deadline.

Leach was the head coach of the Providence Bruins for four years before he was named an assistant coach in Seattle in 2021. He returned to Boston in 2024 as an assistant on Montgomery and Sacco's staff.

Bruins fans are familiar with Sturm as well, given the 302 games he played with a Spoked-B on his chest. The 46-year-old has been coaching since his playing days ended, and has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate. Sturm would be a rookie head coach at the NHL level, but he was an assistant for the Kings from 2018-22 and also coached Germany's Olympic team from 2015-18. Sturm led Germany to a Silver Medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

The 40-year-old Love would be another first-year head coach, but is seen as one of the top young assistants in the NHL. He's been on Spencer Carbery's staff with the Washington Capitals the last two seasons, after he spent three seasons as the head coach of Calgary's AHL team. 

Richardson, 56, was the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for two-plus seasons from 2022-24, but was fired after an 8-16-2 start to the 2024-25 campaign. Overall, Richardson was 57-118-15 as head coach of the Blackhawks. He also has experience as an assistant with the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, and Montreal Canaidens, and was the head coach of Ottawa's AHL affiliate for two years.

The 48-year-old Woodcroft was previously the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers from 2022-24 and helped the team make the Western Conference Finals as interim head coach in 2021-22. He led the squad to a 50-23-9 record in his only full season as head coach in 2022-23, but lost to the Vegas Golden Knights (the eventual Cup champs) in the second round.

Woodcroft was dismissed after a 3-9-1 start to the 2023-24 season. Before he was Edmonton's head coach, he was head coach of the organization's AHL affiliate from 2018-22, where he compiled a 105-71-21 record. He was also an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks from 2008-15 and the Oilers from 2015-18. 

It's interesting to note one name LeBrun didn't mention: Dallas Stars assistant Misha Donskov. He's been a popular name in head coaching searches, but it doesn't sound like the Bruins are going to wait for Dallas' playoff run to end to chat with him about their vacancy. 

NHL head coaching vacancies

In addition to the Bruins, the Seattle Kraken and Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for a new head coach this summer. 

Three other teams have already filled their openings, with the New York Rangers hiring former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan, the Philadelphia Flyers hiring Rich Tocchet, and the Chicago Blackhawks tabbing Jeff Blashill as their next bench leader.