Boston Bruins: This coach may be hired by the Seattle Kraken

While the Seattle Kraken continue their search for their first head coach, a familiar name from the Boston Bruins may be headed to the northwest.

During Game 4 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Kraken were down to two final candidates for the open position and Boston Bruins’ assistant coach Joe Sacco may be one of them.

It’s the first time that Sacco’s name has been tied to the opening in Seattle, and the first hint at the possibility of him leaving Boston this offseason. It’s not a total surprise but this is the first time hearing his name associated with the Kraken, as Seattle GM Ron Francis has mostly kept the hunt for head coach under wraps.

Sacco has spent the last seven seasons in Boston as an assistant. He was originally hired in the summer of 2014, joining Claude Julien’s staff after four years as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and a year with the Buffalo Sabres as an assistant coach. In 2010, he was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. The native of Medford, Massachusetts also has spent time as a head and assistant coach in the AHL.

The only other time Sacco has been tied to a head coaching job while he’s been employed with the Bruins was back in 2018 when then-Boston University head coach David Quinn left the Terriers for the New York Rangers. Both Sacco and fellow Bruins assistant Jay Pandolfo were considered to be in the running for the position, as both are graduates of BU. Ultimately, both stayed at the NHL level and Albie O’Connell was hired as Quinn’s replacement.

If Sacco were to leave, it would be the first time the Bruins had a coaching change in any facet since the firing of Julien and the promotion of Bruce Cassidy in 2017.