Sturm on Returning to Boston: “It’s Nice to Be Home Again”

BOSTON – Marco Sturm knows this town.

He knows the people, the restaurants, the streets.

He knows what hockey means here. And he knows what it means to don the Spoked-B.

Perhaps, most importantly, he knows what it’s like to see the Bruins build back.

When the Dingolfing, Germany, native arrived on Causeway Street from San Jose in November 2005 as part of the return for Joe Thornton, the Black & Gold were trending in the wrong direction coming out of the league’s year-long lockout.

The Bruins were headed for one of the club’s worst seasons in recent memory, as they managed only 29 wins and 74 points in 2005-06.

But from there, things began to change. Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard were signed in the summer of 2006 and an ascent toward one of the best stretches in Bruins history began.

Nearly 20 years later, Sturm is aiming to begin yet another climb toward a golden era of Bruins hockey. Except this time, he’ll be doing so from behind the bench.

“I’ve been through it as a player here, almost exactly,” said Sturm, who was named the team’s 30^th head coach on Thursday morning.

“[Back then], we had to part with some good, core guys. We are in that kind of situation right now, some core guys are here, really good players, good pieces. Now, we just have to fill it up with some more good players and young players coming up, some exciting draft picks.

“I’m really looking forward to that because that’s where I feel comfortable, that’s where my strength is, to build teams up again and work with different types of players. Those experiences I had in the past definitely helped me.”

Of the 30 coaches in Bruins history, Sturm is the 14^th to have also played for the club. And it was in Boston where the 46-year-old believes he had the best years of his career.

Across five seasons, Sturm notched 106 goals and 193 points in 302 games. He scored 20-plus goals in four of those campaigns, twice leading the club (27 in 2007-08 and 22 in 2009-10).

“It was a little bit of a combination, I would say,” Sturm said when asked why he had so much success in Boston. “The timing was very critical. I was in the Joe Thornton trade so that year we were just not very good. But we got out and signed guys like Chara and Savard and added lots of good pieces. [Patrice Bergeron] became better and better. The timing was great because every year you could see us grow.”

Sturm’s emergence as one of the team’s leaders – both on and off the ice – was one of the reasons why the Bruins were able to right the ship. The additions of veterans like Andrew Ference and Shawn Thornton, coupled with the growth of young players like Bergeron, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic allowed Boston to begin building a new identity that was fueled by hard work, toughness, and accountability.

“As soon as the people here and the fans here in Boston see it…when they feel it, they’re all for it,” said Sturm. “I think that’s what happened here. We put in the hard work – and toughness…that came, too, with Lucic and Ference and Thornton. It was just a fun time.”

Sturm had a starring role in two of the premier moments of his Boston tenure. The winger potted the winning goal in both Game 6 of the first round against Montreal in 2008 and in the Winter Classic against Philadelphia at Fenway Park in 2010 – two victories that helped define that period of Bruins hockey.

“Those are the big ones,” said Sturm. “That [Winter Classic win] was also a little bit of a turning point for us. After that, we grew even more together as a team. We really took off, I felt like, after that. The series against Montreal…you just could see it and feel it. We were getting better and better.

“Those kinds of big moments, those moments helped. They bring you together…we had such a good group, funny group, good characters – a tough group – but also a lot of fun.”

Sturm believes that having gone through the different stages of the Bruins’ resurgence in the late 2000s will be a crucial advantage as he takes over an NHL bench for the first time.

“It will definitely prepare me a little bit better,” said Sturm, who spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the Ontario Reign, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. Sturm had spent the previous four seasons (2018-22) as an assistant with the Kings, following a three-year stint (2015-18) as head coach of the German National Team, which included a silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“The people and the fans here are so passionate, I have a lot respect for that,” added Sturm. “They let you know if you’re not playing well, but I also know they are behind you when things are going well. For me, it’s all about it being up to us to get back to playing to our identity and our culture.

“At the end of the day, that’s what the people want to see. Do we all want to win? Absolutely, we all want to win. Again, this is something I’m going to start right from Day 1, to create the standards again like it should be.

“It’s not going to just happen overnight. We have to be patient, and we’ve got a lot of work to do – we know that. But if everyone buys in, I think we’re going to be fine.”

Sturm is also eager to lean on some former teammates. He played with Tuukka Rask, P.J. Axelsson, and Adam McQuaid, all of whom hold roles within the organization. And with Chara and Bergeron still maintaining a presence around the rink, Sturm expects to have a strong support system that understands the standard that led to so much success during their tenures in Boston.

“Those guys are leaders for a reason. That’s why they were the best players here in this organization for a long, long time. I do want them around. I do like to get their opinion,” said Sturm.

“I know both guys stepped back a little bit and enjoyed their time with the family. But I’m sure guys will be around...Bergy, he was my guy when I played here, so hopefully I can convince him just to stop by once in a while, too.

“I always felt the support they gave me during my time here. For sure, nothing will change now.”

Sturm will also have the comfort of residing in a place that has become so familiar to his family. During his playing days, he lived downtown with his wife, Astrid, and children, Mason and Kaydie, embracing the European feel of one of America’s most iconic cities.

“We loved it,” said Sturm. “The one big thing for us, too, coming from Germany and being close to Europe…the mentality that Bostonians have is closer to us. It was not a shock for me, it kind of fits right into our culture. We just felt very, very comfortable here. Almost just like home. For us, it’s nice to be home again.”

While Sturm’s children are now college students, the family will be reuniting in a sense with both attending school in the area.

“I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason…having my kids now here, it makes it even better,” said Sturm. “What a lot of people don’t know is I lived by myself in L.A. for the last seven years. I was not around [my family] most of the time; it was very, very hard. But I chased my dream and did it the hard way.

“Thanks to my family and my wife, they allowed me to do that. That’s just the icing on the cake that we reunite here right now. Nothing was planned, but we are so happy. I can’t even tell you how excited we are.”

And if you told Sturm a decade and a half ago that he’d one day be at the helm of the same team he built such a foundation with…well, he wouldn’t have quite believed it.

“It’s hard to describe, actually,” said Sturm. “I never thought I would be the head coach of the Boston Bruins, let’s put it that way. If somebody would have told me after I left here as a player that I would be behind the bench and lead this team, I would have just shook my head. But here I am.

“A lot of things happened in between. I made that decision – and I’m glad I did – to become a head coach. Had really good success with Team Germany and had a really good experience with L.A. And now the dream came true. That’s what’s exciting about it.

“Yes, it’s my first stop as a head coach but I think on top of it, it’s the Boston Bruins and that’s where I played my best hockey...my best memories hockey-wise were everything that happened here. That alone makes it more special.”