It has been a blast from the past over the past few months for the Boston Bruins. First, Marco Sturm signed on as the team's new head coach, a reunion nearly two decades in the making. Then, the team announced that Zdeno Chara was re-joining the organization as a Hockey Operations Advisor and Mentor.
Chara's hiring isn't just a paper transaction, as he was present at Warrior Ice Arena for Friday's practice, sitting in the coaching section, taking notes, and getting heavily involved in the process. The team wants him to start passing on some of his wisdom to the organization's defensive prospects, something that Adam McQuaid was doing before his recent promotion to Director of Player Development.
The Bruins love to reunite with past players; look at Chara, Sturm, McQuaid, Chris Kelly, Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, and the list goes on. Johnny Bucyk has been part of the organization in some capacity since the 1950s, so loyalty is vital to the Jacobs family. Let's look at three former Bruins who should return to the organization at some point.
Patrice Bergeron
Shockingly, Patrice Bergeron has stayed away from the game for as long as he has. We know how much he loved the sport and how much dedication he showed, and it's almost a given that he will return to give back eventually. While we got a glimpse of that with his appearances on NESN last season, someone of Bergeron's hockey intelligence should be behind a bench.
Sturm's introductory press conference featured numerous comments from the new head coach about how much he learned from playing alongside players like Bergeron during his tenure with the Bruins. Who better to teach Sturm's players the Bergeron way of playing than the man himself, as one of the assistant coaches?
Shawn Thornton
While Thornton wouldn't be on the hockey operations side, it was always a bitter pill to swallow that the adopted Bostonian left to go to the Florida Panthers and worked in business operations after his playing career ended. By all accounts, Thornton was very successful in that endeavor, which is an incredible story of perserverance for someone who had to battle to play a game in the NHL and transformed himself into a Stanley Cup Champion both as a player and executive.
The NBA's Atlanta Hawks recently hired Thornton as a senior vice president and chief partnership officer, which likely keeps him away from the Bruins' organization for at least the next few years. However, if Thornton ever wants to return to the NHL, there should be a shiny job waiting for him back in Boston and a house in Charlestown.
Brad Marchand
I guess Brad Marchand still has a spot on an NHL roster for the next six years, but there will likely be a media gig waiting for him whenever he decides to hang up the skates. One of the big media companies is going to hand him a massive deal, but if he wants to keep his post-playing career life more low-key, taking over for a retiring Andy Brickley on the NESN broadcast might be a good way to ease himself in and close the chapter on his Bruins career.