As the coaching carousel goes round and round, another big name is reportedly coming off the market as the Bruins search for a new bench boss continues.

After Mike Sullivan landed with the New York Rangers last week, multiple reports indicate that Rick Tocchet, linked by some to the B’s open, will take the Philadelphia Flyers job. And much like the case of Sullivan and the Blueshirts, it seemed like Tocchet, who turned down an opportunity to return as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, was destined to return to Philly, where he played much of his standout playing career.

After Sullivan, under whom Tocchet was an assistant in Pittsburgh when the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and ‘17, Tocchet had the highest name recognition on the market and had some options, including television as a fallback, to work the best deal possible. The B’s have not been known to get in a bidding war over coaches and, in the end, Tocchet is going to Philly.

Another name off the board, though not one that had been linked to the B’s, is Adam Foote, who was hired by the Canucks, who had been Tocchet’s assistant in Vancouver.

So where do the Bruins go from here? A number of options remain, as does competition, with Chicago, Seattle, Pittsburgh and possibly Los Angeles still looking for coaches.

A name that has come to the forefront in the last couple of days has been former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft, who was floated by the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli as being a strong candidate. And he does have the kind of NHL experience that GM Don Sweeney is looking for. The 48-year-old Woodcroft has been an NHL assistant in San Jose and Edmonton, a head coach in the AHL in Bakersfield and lastly, a head coach in Edmonton. He was a mid-season hire by the Oilers in 2021-22 and was an immediate success, going 26-9-3 and making the Western Conference finals with the talent-laden Oilers. Edmonton was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round the next year and, after a 3-9-1 start last season, he was fired. Kris Knoblauch took over and went 46-18-0-5, then going all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final.

There’s also former Bruin Marco Sturm, who has been coaching in the Los Angeles Kings organization for the last seven years, the first four seasons as an NHL assistant and the last three as the head coach of the Kings’AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Sturm could be a candidate for the Kings’ job, though new GM Ken Holland goes back to the Red Wings’ organization with current head coach Jim Hiller, so Hiller might be safe despite absorbing a rough first round loss to the Oilers.

Dallas assistant Misha Donskov, currently wrapped up in the Stars’ promising playoff run, is another possibility. He has not been a head coach at any level, a possible stumbling block. But he was an associate head coach with the Ottawa 67s and he has extensive international experience, including being an assistant for Team Canada, helmed by GM Sweeney, in last winter’s Four Nations Faceoff. He was on Bruce Cassidy’s Vegas staff when the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

Other NHL assistants who are generating some interest around the league are Mitch Love (Washington), Jeff Blashill (Tampa), Jeff Halpern (Tampa) while Hershey Bears (AHL) head coach Todd Nelson, who briefly held the Oilers head job in 2014-15 and has been an NHL assistant in Edmonton and Dallas, has had his name bandied about.

And until a coach is named, B’s interim coach Joe Sacco and assistant Jay Leach remain in the mix while long-time NHL head coach Peter Laviolette also remains out there….

Jeremy Swayman, seeking to regain his game at the IIHF World Championships, had a rough one in Team USA’s 6-5 overtime win over Norway on Wednesday. After recording a 13-save shutout win over Hungary earlier in the tournament, Swayman allowed five goals on 18 shots to the Norwegians, losing a 5-1 lead and giving up the tying goal late in regulation with the Norway goalie pulled for the extra skater. The Americans, who had suffered a 3–0 loss to Switzerland in their previous game, prevailed over Norway with Tage Thompson’s third goal of the game, a power-play tally in OT.