One potential Bruins head-coaching target could be out of the running
"Unless something changes, that would eliminate one coach who has been a leader in the rumor mill clubhouse, Dallas assistant Misha Donskov.”
Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins are reportedly narrowing down their list in the search for a new head coach.
Speaking to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Sweeney confirmed that the Bruins plan to have a new bench boss in place “well before” the 2025 NHL Draft in late June.
While Sweeney did not mention any names to Conroy in his ongoing search for a coach beyond in-house candidates in Joe Sacco and Jay Leach, he did drop an interesting nugget of information about Boston’s pool of potential hires.
“One interesting note on the coaching search is that when asked if he was still waiting to speak with any coaches still involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Sweeney said that he was not,” Conroy wrote. “Unless something changes, that would eliminate one coach who has been a leader in the rumor mill clubhouse, Dallas assistant Misha Donskov.”
Speaking earlier this month, Sweeney confirmed that the Bruins were waiting to still talk to head-coaching candidates who were still involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Donskov and the Stars are about to begin their series against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, which could potentially put Donskov out of the running in Boston if no conversation has been had at this point in the coaching search.
Donskov has seen his stock soar against the NHL ranks during the past decade.
Initially the director of hockey operations with the Vegas Golden Knights, Donskov helped the franchise scout and help build its initial roster during the team’s expansion draft before eventually serving as an assistant coach on both Pete DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy’s staffs — winning a Cup with Vegas in 2023.
Donskov has spent the last two seasons with DeBoer and the Dallas Stars.
Donskov doesn’t have any head-coaching experience in the AHL or NHL, but his reputation as a pre-scout and video ace — as well as his experience in both scouting and development — would make him an intriguing hire.
But even if Donskov is out of the equation, the Bruins have several other potential targets still available — including Marco Sturm, Jay Woodcroft, Mitch Love, and others.
Speaking to The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride on Tuesday, Bruins team president Cam Neely said that the Original Six franchise is starting to ramp up its coaching search in the coming days.
“[Sweeney is] going to whittle that [list] down and do some in-person interviews coming up here shortly,” Neely told McBride. “So, he’s gone through a fairly extensive process, and I think he’s getting to a point where he’s going to now invite a few of them in for in-person interviews.”
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