The Sheet Blog: Will Marco Sturm finally get his big break as an NHL head coach?

May 13, 2025, 10:49 EDT

Plenty of chatter lately about former NHLer Marco Sturm, currently coaching with the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. And with a new GM coming in L.A. (most likely Ken Holland, as reported) we don’t exactly know the status of head coach Jim Hiller. Managers generally get to bring in their own guys BUT that doesn’t necessarily mean Hiller’s out, it’s just that his situation gets a little cloudy. If it is Holland, and all indications are that it will be, my guess is Hiller is fine. Ken is a loyal manager, and the two have a background going back to the Detroit Red Wings days. If the next manager wants to bring in a new bench boss, Sturm will certainly get consideration as the homegrown guy, but there is also interest around the NHL.

The Vancouver Canucks are believed to have shown strong interest in Sturm, as have the Seattle Kraken. I think people wonder about Sturm and the Boston Bruins considering he played there, and I don’t think that’s off base. Matter of fact, it’s one of the things Pierre Maguire mentioned last Friday on The Sheet during our discussion of Sturm. Maguire had high praise for his work.

“I’ve heard Marco’s name a lot, part of it’s because of the time in Boston. And he’s coaching in L.A.’s farm system right now, and obviously, with a new general manager, we will see how that goes. My take on Marco, I sent him a long text after the 2018 Olympic Games. I was there calling the games, and had it not been for Seidenberg icing the puck and the greatness of Kirill Kaprizov, the Germans would have won the Gold. Marco Sturm was the coach. They were as well-coached as any team in the 2018 Olympics, and now we’re what, six years, seven years past that? Marco has only gotten better as a coach. So, I would think he’s going to surface somewhere as an NHL coach, whether it’s somewhere in his backyard out west or maybe even with the Boston Bruins, where he’s all tied in.”

Sturm was a finalist for the San Jose Sharks head coaching job that went to Ryan Warsofsky last year.

Mitch getting serious Love in coaching carousel

As we’ve been talking about on The Sheet and writing about here, there is a lot of smoke around Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love, with several teams showing interest. I’m told as many as five teams with openings are interested in talking to the two-time AHL coach of the year, who’s part of one of the most progressive-thinking benches in the NHL.

As someone from a team told me, “Mitch will be the next big coach in the NHL and will win Stanley Cups.”

Look, Washington head coach Spencer Carbery will win the Jack Adams this season, he’s the new hotness in the NHL and is already considered one of the best in the league, but the next hotness might just be the guy standing next to him on the Caps bench.

Sticking with the Caps organization, we keep wondering when Hershey Bears coach Todd Nelson finds an NHL gig. He’s been a winner almost everywhere he’s gone, most recently coached a Bears comeback win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL playoffs and will now face the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division Finals.

Another coach to keep on your radar both now and in the future is Brantford Bulldogs bench boss Jay McKee, who has drawn interest.

And speaking of the Bulldogs, I don’t think many would be surprised if former Brantford GM Matt Turek becomes the next assistant GM with the Ottawa Senators, who parted ways with Ryan Bowness last week. Turek couldn’t come to terms with the Bulldogs on a contract extension after the conclusion of the season.

Making a call on the Carlo call

I had a few people reach out wondering about Brandon Carlo playing the puck along the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goal line with a broken stick in Game 3 and what the call would be if it hadn’t been ruled a goal. To the chagrin of some, the call would have been a two-minute minor for equipment violation, same as it would be anywhere else on the ice. There is not a crease-specific ruling like there is for glove on the puck in the crease. Only way that would have been a penalty (which many suggest) would be if Carlo had thrown the broken stick at the puck, which he didn’t.

Adapt and survive

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a conversation I had with a coach who noted the game changes every five years, and you have a to adapt your team to the new ways to play. One coach I spoke with this weekend simplified even more, saying it’s such a copycat league that once someone tries something new, everybody starts trying it and eventually it becomes a new standard. That usually takes about five years, but it’s only one new idea.

Laughs line Levi’s lid

The second round of the AHL playoffs is a matchup between two of the league’s best teams – the Laval Rocket and the Rochester Americans. Think the Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche in the NHL.

Front and center will be Rochester goalie Devon Levi and one of the most interesting and hilarious masks we’ve seen in a while.

For the playoffs this year, Levi wanted to do something funny for the boys, complete with inside jokes.

Have a look.

The backplate of the mask has a picture of the hotel where he lives in Rochester (he has a place in Buffalo) along with a bitcoin logo. Levi says some of the guys on the team are into it.

The Rochester American mascot ‘The Moose’ is pictured holding a taco and bubble tea. Levi says Taco Tuesdays are the best day of the week, and the guys get so excited for it.

Buffalo Sabres/Rochester American legend Ryan Miller is featured prominently, but beside Miller is the funniest part of the mask. It’s Rochester equipment assistant Owen Ross who at the end of last season put on the pads and let 15-20 of the guys rip shots at him. The picture is Ross after enduring the barrage and frankly it looks like he’s about to be ill.

Hey, it’s a long season, anything to give the team a laugh.

Rink Fries

If I told you at the beginning of the season the Carolina Hurricanes were going to trade Martin Necas and Jack Drury and received Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, two first-round picks and $6 million in cap space in the next two seasons in return, what would you think?…Usually when a player switches agents, he’s looking for some kind of change, which is why I’m curious to see what happens with Sabres defenseman Bowan Byram, who’s now represented by Darren Ferris of Quartexx, who tends to get players what they want…the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs are now looking for a new GM + coach. Names we’ve heard include former Owen Sound GM turned media star Mike Futa, London Knights Assistant GM Rob Simpson and Lindsay Hofford who most recently coached and ran the U16 AA Toronto Titans to great success in the GTHL. It sounds like Hofford may have the inside track on the job…2025 NHL Draft prospect Malcolm Spence announced his commitment to Michigan this week, leaving the Erie Otters. As one CHL person told me recently, “Some players will leave, some players will stay and some will leave, not like it and come back.” This is the new development reality.

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