Bruins coaching search down to final 5 names.

The Boston Bruins have not had a good track record with coaches as of late, with several high profile firings seemingly backfiring horribly for the franchise with coaches like Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery going on to continued success after being let go by the Bruins organization.

It is perhaps for that reason that there has been such a great deal of scrutiny on the Bruins' current coaching search, a search that is believed to now be down to a few select names.

Recently, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman narrowed down the list of potential candidates to just 5 names, with the coaches on his list boasting varying degrees at the NHL level.

Friedman began by highlighting a number of names that had met with the Bruins over the course of this past week, with 3 interviews reportedly taking place over that stretch of time.

"Boston this week they had in there, Mitch Love was there this week, Jay Leach had a formal interview this week, I believe Marco Sturm is there Friday," revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

While those may be the most likely candidates to earn the job, Friedman also highlighted two additional candidates including one the Bruins already have in house.

"I am under the impression that Joe Sacco is not out of the picture," admitted Friedman.

Another name that popped up on Friedman's list was that of former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft.

"I still think Jay Woodcroft is in the midst of this too," revealed Friedman.

All 3 of the men reported to have interviewed for the role this week would be taking over their very first NHL head coaching gig, with Mitch Love, Jay Leach and Marco Sturm having no NHL head coaching experience at all. All 3 men have previously served as assistant coaches at the NHL level however with Love currently employed by the Washington Capitals, Leach currently employed by the Boston Bruins and Sturm having previously served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings before taking over his current role as head coach of the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign.

Whether or not the Bruins will go with a rookie head coach or choose to rely on more experience in the end remains to be seen, but it sounds like we won't have to wait very long for an answer one way or the other.

"It's clear this week the Bruins were still in the middle of their process... so I have a feeling we might know this weekend and early next week at the latest," concluded Friedman.

Stay tuned.