What’s ahead for the Bruins and their fans is not a total rebranding of the B, but more a restoration project, with the German-born Sturm hired in June to be the new-age bench boss charged with getting the Original Six franchise back in touch with its old ways after only one Stanley Cup title over the last 53 years.
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“Day 1, it will be about going back to our foundation,” mused Sturm, who turned 47 on Monday. “What is our identity? That’ll be the message, more than anything else, not systems or philosophy. For that day, it’s going to be, ‘OK, who are we?’ I’m not saying that got lost here, but we have to get our standard back on the right track again. That’s the key.”
The Bruins of September 2025 are in a spot quite similar to when Sturm, then a high-charged winger, first arrived on Causeway Street 20 years ago in the swap that sent Joe Thornton to the Sharks. Mike Sullivan was the Bruins’ coach, until Dave Lewis replaced him months later, until Claude Julien replaced Lewis the following summer.
Marco Sturm (center) scored 106 goals, including in overtime of the Winter Classic at Fenway Park in 2010, during parts of five seasons with the Bruins from 2005-10.Jim Davis/Globe Staff/Boston Globe
In a span of 1½ seasons, Sturm played for three coaches here, and the underlying need then, as now, was for the franchise to regain its identity as well as to put more pucks in the net. Meet the déjà-vu-all-over-again Bruins, albeit with Sturm lacking the luxury of a 6-foot-9-inch Zdeno Chara being hired on as the backline’s block of cornerstone granite.
“We know it’s going to be a grind, especially this season with the Olympics [wedged into a three-week block of February],” said Sturm, adding more detail to what he’ll say to his guys on Day 1 of camp. “We’re going to need everybody, and we’re going to need their best, every damned day.”
After missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2015-16, the Bruins Sturm has inherited have the goaltending and defensive corps to compete for a playoff spot. The new coach was particularly encouraged on Monday after meeting with Hampus Lindholm, just back in town over the weekend. The smooth-skating Swedish defenseman has fully recovered from the fractured kneecap that cost him three-quarters of last season.
“So, knock on wood,” said Sturm, smiling wide as he tapped knuckles on his office desk, “we should be OK on D and in net.”
Jeremy Swayman, refreshed and recharged after backing Team USA to the gold medal at the World Championship this past spring, returns as the No. 1. Groomed and paid to be the franchise stopper, he’s expected to be just that after slumping to 22-29-7 in last season’s protracted train wreck that too often crashed into his net.
It’s the offense that remains the biggest question, and potentially, the biggest bugaboo.
Other than bringing in Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont as needed agitators and a solid center support component in veteran returnee Sean Kuraly, general manager Don Sweeney was unable to trade for or purchase top-six scoring talent.
It was clear in talking to Sturm that he’s well aware that offense could be a soft spot, one that new assistant coach Steve Spott, an accomplished power-play architect, could help alleviate.
“With Spotter . . . it was not easy, I would say, to find the right guy. A lot of coaches reached out to me [as applicants],” said Sturm. “But deep down I was looking for the right guy, the right fit. Not just for me but for the coaches, the organization, and most importantly for the guys I have in the room. He just stood out.”
In part what made Spott “the perfect fit,” said Sturm, was a résumé that reflected Spott’s success working with high-end forwards such as Thornton and Tomas Hertl in San Jose, and Mikko Rantanen in Dallas.
“And we have guys here like Pasta [David Pastrnak] and others, and that’s important,” added Sturm. “He’s very detailed and a good communicator . . . and he had other opportunities, too, and he chose to be here.”
Otherwise on offense, Sturm will be pitching opportunity, particularly to youngsters. He named Matt Poitras and Fraser Minten as prime examples of hopefuls who’ll be given their looks.
As a player, he lived that, too. A 19-year-old Sturm made the Sharks’ varsity in his first NHL training camp in the fall of 1997, winning over tough-as-nails coach Darryl Sutter with his tireless legs, IQ, and the sheer want to land full-time work in the world’s top league.
“I don’t care if it’s an 18-year-old or a 40-year-old, it doesn’t matter,” offered Sturm. “If you play the right way and if you play through the lineup, I will give you the ice time, right? I always say the same thing: It’s up to the player. If you played good enough, and if you are going to show me, if it’s Matty or a Minten who plays really well in exhibition, you will play. That’s how I see it.”
The puck is about to drop and, yes, there are jobs for the taking. For those interested, see the new boss behind the bench — the guy who grew up in BMW’s factory town (Dingolfing) who says he’s ready to steer the Bruins out of the ditch.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.