Being hired as the Boston Bruins' new head coach is a natural for Robbie Ftorek, who hails from the Boston area and gets to coach the team he grew up idolizing. And the Bruins, who are salary-conscious with both their players and coaches, get somebody with NHL experience who doesn't break their bank.

Ftorek, however, is their fifth coach in seven years and will most likely end up on the long list of coaches who are hired to be fired in Boston. In a sense I'm glad Bruins assistant Peter Laviolette didn't get the job. Unless history changes in Boston, Laviolette would have faced a quick, early setback on his NHL coaching resume. Laviolette will be a quality NHL head coach. He will get a chance someplace and should have success.

Even though Ftorek was fired with eight games left in the season last year in New Jersey, Boston has never been afraid of going against the grain in its decision-making. The Bruins hired the controversial Mike Keenan, whom no team would touch as a coach. Like Keenan, Ftorek is an intense taskmaster. But he has never succeeded anywhere else in the NHL. He may not have a good enough team to ensure success in Boston.

To improve the Bruins, Ftorek needs Joe Thornton to raise his game to a dominant level, even though Thornton performed well under Keenan. Combining Thornton with Jason Allison, the Bruins have two great centers to build around. They still need help on the wings and are lean and small in some areas. P.J. Axelsson (6-foot-1, 176 pounds) and Sergei Samsonov (5-8, 180) are tiny on the sides.

Ftorek won't succeed if goalie Byron Dafoe can't stay healthy and regain the form he displayed at his healthiest. Goaltending is what hurt Keenan. And maybe Ftorek can get defenseman Kyle McLaren to the level everyone has expected.

The Bruins are not that far away from being a good team, but they need to swing trades and spend money to surround their core people with good role players.

Former NHL player Bill Clement is a game analyst for ESPN.