Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Hired as New Boston Bruins Head Coach
The Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery after a tough start to the season with no end in sight, and have tried to stop the bleeding by hiring a former Maple Leaf.
Sitting 8-9-3 in the Atlantic Division and spinning their wheels, the Bruins decided to make a change when it came to their head coach, and hope a new vision will bring them out of their funk.
So out goes Jim Montgomery, who leaves with a 120-41-23 record, and in comes former Maple Leafs forward Joe Sacco.
It's not too often that a team gets rid of a head coach with such a great record, but the past doesn't matter when you're not able to get results. Boston looks completely lost at times, and with how much tension there's been especially with their star players; Montgomery needed to go.
Who Is Joe Sacco?
Joe Sacco, a former Maple Leafs draft pick (71st overall) didn't have a fantastic NHL career but he did carve out a name for himself as a reliable player.
Playing with Toronto from 1990-1993, he scored 11 goals and 13 assists in only 60 games before heading to The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as part of their expansion team.
He spent 5 seasons there and had the best output of his career, with 130 points in 333 games including a career-high 19 in 1993 in his first season with Anaheim. After floating around with the Islanders, Capitals, and Flyers he transitioned into coaching.
Sacco has loads of experience with coaching at the AHL and NHL levels and led the Colorado Avalanche to a surprise playoff appearance in 2010.
He was fired after three seasons ending his time in Colorado. He then became an assistant with Buffalo and signed this summer with Boston and now gets a chance to turn their season around.
It's a homecoming of sorts too, as Sacco was born about 30 minutes outside of Boston in Medford, Massachusetts. His brother David is also a former Maple Leafs draft pick (195th overall).
He never had the career his brother had, he managed 18 points in 35 games while playing for Toronto then followed his brother to Anaheim.
David represented Team USA for the Olympics in 1994 finishing 8th, while Joe represented Team USA at the 1996 World Championships, winning bronze.
It remains to be seen if Boston can turn their season around with Sacco at the helm, but given his past experience with making the Colorado Avalanche a playoff contender after so much pessimism, Boston has a good chance to make things right.
There's no more excuses now for Boston, because if their stars don't pick it up; it won't matter who is behind the bench.
