Joe Sacco almost immediately finds post-Bruins gig in NHL
The longtime Bruins staff member is taking his talents to NYC.
Mar 17, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins head coach Joe Sacco speaks to the media after their overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
The Bruins may have moved on from interim head coach and longtime assistant Joe Sacco, but the National Hockey League as a whole did not.
In fact, the Medford, Mass. native found work almost immediately after the Bruins announced the hiring of Marco Sturm as the team's new head coach, with Sacco named an assistant on Mike Sullivan's staff in New York.
Sullivan obviously has his own wealth of experience from his decade-long run in Pittsburgh, headlined by two Stanley Cups, and a 20-year track record of NHL coaching in some fashion. But the 56-year-old Sacco will certainly be the most experienced voice behind Sullivan on New York's bench, having been involved in the NHL coaching game since the 2009-10 season.
And with Sullivan, Quinn, and Sacco all together on Sullivan's staff, it's a three-headed Boston University Terrier monster on the Ranger coaching staff, with all three having played for BU. And though the three of them never played together, they were teammates with one another at the university.
Sacco's departure from the Bruins organization comes after what was an 11-year run with Boston, with 10 of those seasons spent as an assistant on the Black and Gold's staff, and with a 62-game ending as the team's interim head coach. Sacco was a legitimate contender for the B's full-time head coaching gig prior to the B's going with Sturm, and had plenty of support in the organization, but ultimately the sides decided to part ways for a fresh start.
Given his familiarity with the organization and the B's clear appreciation for Sacco, it was always worth wondering if Sacco would be willing to return to his previous role as an associate coach with the club. Speaking on his own break-up day in April, Sacco opted not to discuss that possibility, instead focusing on trying to win the head coaching gig with the Bruins.
That obviously did not happen, and his departure from the B's will force general manager Don Sweeney and the Bruins to search for a new right-hand man to Sturm as he begins his NHL head coaching career.
Sweeney and Sturm will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, where we should get some more clarity on Sturm's coaching staff and the fate of some of the current staff holdovers (Chris Kelly and Jay Leach).
