What To Know About Bruins Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco

The Boston Bruins have a new boss behind the bench for the rest of the season.

The Bruins announced Tuesday evening they relieved Jim Montgomery of his head coaching duties after two-plus seasons and placed the interim tag on Joe Sacco.

Sacco steps into his new role very familiar with the way of the Bruins. The 55-year-old is in his 11th season on Boston’s coaching staff — he entered this season tied with Carolina’s Jeff Daniels as the longest active assistant coach in the NHL — and was promoted to associate head coach this summer.

He began his coaching tenure with the organization when Claude Julien was at the helm and it says a lot that Sacco stayed on board with the Bruins through the departures of both Julien and Bruce Cassidy.

Sacco takes the reins of the Bruins with previous head-coaching experience under his belt. He was the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2013, where he complied an overall record of 130-134-40. Sacco was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award — the NHL’s Coach of the Year honor — in his first season after guiding the Avalanche to the playoffs. The missed the postseason each of the next three seasons, leading to his dismissal.

Sacco appears ready to make the most of the coaching opportunity in front of him.

“I’ve always felt like I’d like a second chance,” Sacco told The Boston Globe in July. “I’ve looked around at a lot of guys that coached their second time around … they’d had moderate success, but when they got that second opportunity, they really took off.”

Sacco added: “You grow from your experiences as a coach. You’re going to be a better coach the second time around. So, yeah, sure, if the opportunity is there, and presents itself and it’s the right situation, I would like to take a crack at it again.”

Sacco, a Medford, Mass., native and Boston University product, played 13 seasons in the NHL, suiting up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers before retiring in 2003. He immediately jumped into the coaching ranks following his retirement, joining the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Sacco coached for a couple of other teams at that level before taking the head coaching job with the Avalanche.

Sacco will now get a chance to make more of a mark on the Bruins from an elevated position and Boston’s brass has full confidence that he will do so.

“Joe Sacco has a wealth of experience and knowledge of our roster and can help lead our team in the right direction,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a team-released statement. “He has a strong understanding of our standards and expectations, and I trust he will do all he can to accomplish our organization’s goals this season.”