With Jim Montgomery out the door for the Bruins, a big question remains: What will be different for the Bruins under interim head coach Joe Sacco? Will he be able to bring something out of the team that Montgomery couldn't?
With Sacco having a major role as the Bruins’ associate head coach, those questions are fair to wonder.
Here we’ll take a look at what Don Sweeney and Joe Sacco said will be done differently in the Bruins’ final 62 games of the season.
What changes does Sacco want to make?
When you boil down the comments Sacco made Wednesday about what he wants to get out of his team, it comes down to three main things: effort, execution and being harder to play against defensively.
“I think we get out of it by going back to our work ethic,” Sacco said about how the Bruins can change course in a positive direction. “I think it starts there. Making sure that whether it’s in practice, pregame skates, wherever we are in the weightroom, that we start with a strong work ethic as a group. When you have that foundation everything else will take care of itself.”
Sacco said in the first two categories, he is happy with what the team showed him in his first practice as head coach.
“Today's practice was a good example, I thought the energy level was real high, execution looked good today. It’s day one with a new coach, but I like the progress that we made today,” Sacco said.
Both Sweeney and Sacco emphasized the need for the team to be harder to play against defensively.
“One thing we’re going to focus on is being a harder team to play against,” Sacco said. “And when I say that, I mean just stingier. We need to do a better job in front of our goaltenders. If you look at the 10 years that I've been here, we’ve always been a team that really takes pride in defending their goaltender, defending the netfront, defending the zone. For me that’s one area where we’re going to be more difficult to play against.”
However, Sacco said he wasn't as worried about the offense getting back on track.
“Our offense will come. There’s enough players in here that are going to score goals. I think the focus has been too much on that. Let’s focus on keeping the puck out of our net, being hard to play against, and I'm very confident this group will score goals,” Sacco said.
Do Sacco and Montgomery have different coaching styles?
In terms of coaching style, Sweeney said Sacco has a coaching style that is ‘a combination’ of Bruce Cassidy and Montgomery, both of whom he worked under.
“Joe will bring a lot to the table. It's a combination, having worked with both of those two successful coaches, so I think he'll be able to blend that with his own personality and his own style,” Sweeney said.
Sacco has been around the team for 11 years. He started with the Bruins in 2013 and spent three years under head coach Claude Julien, six years with Bruce Cassidy and the two most recent years working with Montgomery.
Sweeney said it could be the case that going back to a simpler style of play under Sacco could benefit the team.
“Whether we can play a little more north-south and direct, and get a little more volume-oriented and to the greasy part of it -- yeah I think we probably have to get more of a simplistic approach, because we haven't been able to execute,” Sweeney said.
Could there be more changes to the coaching staff, roles and personnel?
Though Sweeney said he will not be conducting a head coaching search right now, he said he will consider adding a complementary piece to the coaching staff.
“I haven't ruled out bringing in somebody to complement the group at this stage. I just ruled out that I wasn't going to go out and do a coaching search right now,” Sweeney said.
The rest of Sacco’s coaching staff includes assistant coaches Chris Kelly and Jay Leach as well as goalie coach Bob Essensa.
Sweeney said another step in the coaching change process will be conferring with the coaching staff about what new roles each one will take on.
“They’ve also talked about flipping things around from penalty kill and power play because we haven't performed to that level,” Sweeney said. “But we’re one less and that can put strain on a coaching staff…I have to sit with Joe and know the things he was doing, he has to leave behind some of that stuff and take on other duties.”
“In terms of finding the right fit for a new coaching addition,” Sweeney said, “I want to make sure I find a person that would balance that out a little bit.”
Sweeney also put his players on notice that roster changes could be next if the team's lackluster play continues.
“Moving forward, that rests with me now, from a personnel standpoint, and the players themselves, they have to understand that they're not where they need to be. We’re either going to get back there or there will be continued changes across the board,” Sweeney said.