The Boston Bruins hired Marco Sturm as coach on Thursday to help the Original Six franchise get back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 2016.

The Bruins picked the former Sharks forward to replace interim coach Joe Sacco, who took over from Jim Montgomery in November and led the team to a 25-30-7 record — much of it after a trade deadline roster purge. Sturm becomes the 30th head coach in Bruins history after spending the past three seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Sacco, a Bruins assistant and former Avalanche head coach, replaced Montgomery 20 games into this season, but with the team unable to challenge for a playoff berth general manager Don Sweeney traded away captain Brad Marchand and other veterans, and the Bruins stumbled to a 33-39-10 record overall, tied for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Only three teams in the league were worse.

CEO Charlie Jacobs said the results were “absolutely unacceptable” and apologized to the fans for the performance.

Sturm, who was a Bruins forward from 2005-2010, is a former head coach and general manager for the German national team and spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings.

Sturm’s Ontario Reign team went 119-80-11-6 and made three consecutive playoff appearances.

As a player, Sturm skated in 938 career NHL games with Boston, Florida, Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Jose — the team the drafted him in the first round in 1996 — from 1997-2012. He recorded 242 career goals and 245 assists with a with a plus-59 rating.

Sturm was a first-round pick by the Sharks in the 1996 NHL Draft, 21st overall. He spent eight seasons with San Jose before he was traded to Boston in a multiplayer deal that sent Joe Thornton to the Sharks.

Sacco was a candidate for the permanent job. Others who reportedly received consideration were Washington Capitals assistant Mitch Love, former Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson and Bruins assistant Jay Leach.

GOLF

Cristobal Del Solar came off the Korn Ferry Tour with the nickname “Mr. 57.” He flirted with a 59 late in the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario.

Ten under with two holes left on the par-70 layout, Del Solar bogeyed the par-4 17th and parred the par-5 18th for a 9-under 61 and a share of the first-round lead with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark.

Del Solar, the 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Chile, and Olsen took advantage of soft greens on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley after rain Wednesday night that continued into the morning.

Del Solar earned the “Mr. 57” moniker in February 2024 when he shot a 13-under 57 in the first round of the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia for the lowest score in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

Cameron Champ shot a 62, Jake Knapp had a 63, and Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Trey Mullinax and Ricky Castillo were at 64.

mls

The Vancouver Whitecaps said a “significant number” of players who traveled to Mexico for last weekend’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final have become ill.

The Whitecaps canceled practice Wednesday and had a modified session for cleared players Thursday after both players and staff reported gastrointestinal symptoms.

Sporting director Axel Schuster told reporters on Thursday that about half of the 75 people who returned to Canada via charter following the game reported symptoms. The Whitecaps lost 5-0 to Liga MX team Cruz Azul for in the tournament’s championship game in Mexico City.

The Whitecaps were scheduled to play the Seattle Sounders in a Cascadia Cup rivalry match at BC Place on Sunday. Nine players will already be missing because of national team duty.

Schuster said the Whitecaps have been in contact with the league about whether the team would have enough players for the game.

MOTORSPORTS

A three-judge federal appellate panel ruled in favor of NASCAR in the antitrust lawsuit filed by two teams, one owned by Michael Jordan, and vacated an injunction that required 23XI and Front Row be recognized as chartered teams as their case snakes through the legal system.

Both race teams sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals. The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates. 23XI, which is owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, joined Front Row in suing NASCAR after 13 other organizations signed the renewals.