Should the Bruins keep Mike Sullivan?
DAN SHAUGHNESSY
Globe columnist
Mike Sullivan deserves another shot. The disaster of 2005-06 was not his fault. Unfortunately, he is forever tainted by the mess and probably has to go as part of a thorough housecleaning. This is a team in need of new players, new coaches, a new general manager, and a new owner. Here's hoping that Sullivan is not part of the purge, but if the Bruins want to start over and give us another snappy slogan, they probably have to make a change on the bench.
NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL
Bruins beat writer
Yes, they should. He proved he could do the job in 2003-04, and this year he has had nothing but adversity to work with. Despite being out of contention and having a depleted roster long on effort but short on talent and depth, he still has the team playing hard right to the end. That has to count for something, and it says that the players haven't quit on him. Could he do things better, such as how he manages timeouts? Sure. But given a better and healthier team, he has the chops to turn it into a winner.
JIM HOBAN
Sports copy editor
How can they keep him? They fired the general manager, Harry will be gone shortly, and Charlie will be in charge before the NHL draft rolls around. The Bruins could use an exciting player or two, but they're not that far from contending (example: 32 one-goal losses this season). The Bruins are set in goal, they'll get a high pick in the draft, and they'll have money to spend on real, live free agents (didn't we hear that one last summer?), so clean house.
KEVIN PAUL DUPONT
Globe hockey writer
Like the entire Bruins product this season, Mike Sullivan struggled, more the result of an inferior roster than faulty coaching. However, it's time for a whole new look on Causeway Street, and that includes behind the bench. Sullivan, in his first head coaching gig (there will be others), rarely cut back a player's ice time during a game, even if that player clearly wasn't willing to bring total effort. Good guy, Sullivan. Honest. Straightforward. But the best in the biz (examples: Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman) were never shy about telling even their best players to take a seat. He'll have to develop that edge if he is ever truly going to gain his players' attention and respect.
BOB RYAN
Globe columnist
We know Mike Sullivan will be gone. There will be a new general manager, and he will want his own guy. Fair? Look, Sullivan is a fine human being, a guy you'd want for a brother-in-law or next-door neighbor. And in another context he might be a superb NHL coach. But the issue with the Bruins isn't Sullivan or even Harry Sinden. The issue is a tired, failed regime that smacks of the pre-revolution czars, and Sullivan is part of all that. Jeremy Jacobs has held Boston's most loyal pro sports fans hostage for more than three decades. The team must be sold. The Bruins need a new owner far more than they need a new coach.
