BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins hired Marco Sturm as coach on Thursday to help the Original Six franchise get back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 2016 .

The Bruins picked Sturm to replace interim coach Joe Sacco, who took over from Jim Montgomery in November and led the team to a 25-30-7 record — much of it after a trade deadline roster purge . Sturm becomes the 30th head coach in Bruins history after spending the past three seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Sacco, a Bruins assistant and former Avalanche head coach, replaced Montgomery 20 games into this season, but with the team unable to challenge for a playoff berth general manager Don Sweeney traded away captain Brad Marchand and other veterans, and the Bruins stumbled to a 33-39-10

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