List of Boston Bruins head coaches

Frank Patrick led his team into the playoffs in every season of his Bruins coaching career.
Dave Lewis coached the Bruins during the 2006–07 season.

The Boston Bruins, a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, has had 29 head coaches in its team history.[1] The franchise is a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The franchise was founded in 1924 and entered the NHL as the first American-based expansion team, playing its initial seasons at the still-active Boston Arena.[2][3] It is an Original Six team, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks.[1] Its home arena is the 17,565-person capacity TD Garden, where it has played since 1995, after leaving the Boston Garden.[1]

Art Ross served three terms as the Bruins head coach.[4] Ross, Lynn Patrick, and Milt Schmidt have all been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Harry Sinden, Gerry Cheevers, Tom Johnson and Frank Patrick are Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, and spent their entire coaching careers with the Bruins. Cooney Weiland, Dit Clapper, Terry O'Reilly, Steve Kasper and Mike O'Connell also coached only for the Bruins,[5][6][7][8][9] with Mike Sullivan taking over as head coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2015.[10]

Statistically, Tom Johnson was the most successful head coach, with a winning percentage of .738.[11] He is followed by Harry Sinden, who, averaging his two terms, had a winning percentage of .689.[12] The worst head coach statistically was Phil Watson, who, with a winning percentage of .268, only won 16 out of the 84 games he coached.[13] Claude Julien took over after Dave Lewis was dismissed in 2007.[14][15] Bruce Cassidy succeeded Julien on February 7, 2017, and served as head coach until his firing on June 6, 2022.[16] On June 30, 2022, the Bruins named Jim Montgomery head coach, replacing Cassidy.[17] Following an 8–9–3 start to the 2024–25 season, Montgomery was fired, and replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Joe Sacco.[18]

  1. ^ a b c "Boston Bruins – History". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  2. ^ "Northeastern University Athletics Official Website". Gonu.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  3. ^ Katy Fitzpatrick (October 2, 2009). ""New Season Brings Renovated Arena for Northeastern," USCHO.com, October 2, 2009". Uscho.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Art was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "List of honored Builders". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  6. ^ "List of honored Officials". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  7. ^ "List of honored Players". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  8. ^ "List of honored Players by Position". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sullivan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Crosby, Wes (December 12, 2015). "Penguins fire Johnston, name Sullivan coach". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015. The Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday fired coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Johnson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Watson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Dave Lewis ousted as Bruins coach". CBC Sports. cbc.ca. 2007-06-15. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Julien was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Bruins Relieve Bruce Cassidy Of Coaching Duties". NHL.com. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  17. ^ "Jim Montgomery Named 29th Head Coach Of The Boston Bruins | Boston Bruins". www.nhl.com. 2022-07-01. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  18. ^ Benjamin, Amalie (November 19, 2024). "Montgomery fired as Bruins coach, replaced by Sacco". NHL.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.