Bruins
After a disappointing 8-9-3 start, the Bruins announced Tuesday that they’ve fired head coach Jim Montgomery.
Bruins associate coach Joe Sacco will take over because the team's interim head coach.
Montgomery was in the course of his third season with the Bruins, compiling a 120-41-23 record in 184 games as Boston's reserve coach.
Despite having plenty of standard season success in each of his first two seasons with Boston, the Bruins' sluggish play within the 2024-25 season prompted GM Don Sweeney to make a training change.
“Today I made a very difficult decision regarding a coaching change,” Sweeney said in a team statement. “Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person.
“He has been a positive influence throughout the Bruins organization, and I am both grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with and learn from him.”…Our team's inconsistency and performance through the primary 20 games of the “The 2024-25 season has been concerning and has resulted in the Bruins not wanting to reward our fans.”
Expectations have been high for the Bruins heading into the 2024-25 season, especially after Boston used much of its cap space to sign free-agent targets like Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov – and add goaltender Jeremy Swayman. had provided.
But despite the fact that Boston's roster seemed higher equipped – on paper – to handle the pains of the postseason, the Bruins were largely underperforming through the primary six weeks of the regular season and had significant deficiencies in several elements of the sport.
The team has yet to win three games in a row within the 2024/25 season and currently has the second-worst goal difference (minus 21) within the league.
The Bruins reached their breaking point on Monday, falling 5-1 to a rebuilding Blue Jackets team that entered November's game with only one win. The Bruins' worst power play within the league was worn out by two shorthanded goals against Columbus, while top Boston players like David Pastrnak (zero shots on goal) made no appearances.
“Everyone goes through difficulties. Whether (in your) life or your team,” Montgomery said after the loss. “That's what life is about. How do you get on your feet? It doesn't matter how hard you fall. It depends on how quickly you recover.”
The Bruins won't give Montgomery the chance to attempt to right the ship forward.
It didn't take long for the pressure to mount on Montgomery. Boston's head coach entered the 2024-25 season in the ultimate 12 months of his three-year contract with no clarity about his future.
“To be honest, I don’t think it would affect me,” Montgomery said before training camp about his unclear contract status. “I love being a Bruin. I appreciate that I am very fortunate to be the head coach of the Boston Bruins and that being with the Boston Bruins allows me to focus on that [coach] means staying in the present and getting better every day.
“I know it sounds cliché… but I can't allow myself to think about the future because I would be a bit hypocritical because I ask our players to always stay in the moment. I have to stay in the moment. So that's how I see things. It doesn't matter if I had an eight-year contract or a one-day contract. This is how I do it. This is my process.”
But as Boston's scoring performance dipped at each 5-on-5 and on the ability play, Montgomery made several moves in hopes of giving his team a spark.
Aside from routinely putting his forward lines in a blender to create a spark, Montgomery knocked out captain Brad Marchand on the bench in October And put Pastrnak on the bench for the third period of a game against Seattle just a couple of weeks later.
But none of Montgomery's moves looked as if it would shake up a Bruins team that has regressed across the board heading into the brand new season.
It is an abrupt end to a training period that began promisingly in Boston.
Montgomery was acquired from Boston in June 2022 to interchange Bruce Cassidy, and Montgomery's more relaxed approach initially paid off for the Bruins. During Montgomery's first 12 months in charge, Boston posted a 65-12-5 record and scored 135 points – breaking each the previous NHL records for wins and points in a single season.
For his efforts, Montgomery received the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year.
But Boston's record-setting season led to devastating fashion, blowing a 3-1 series lead and a shocking first-round upset of the Florida Panthers.
Some of Montgomery's coaching assignments during this series drew criticism, be it abandoning the goalie rotation in favor of an injured Linus Ullmark or several lineup shuffles that produced mediocre results.
However, Montgomery then led a short-handed squad to a 47-20-15 record within the 2023-24 season, exceeding several expectations, before ultimately being eliminated again by Florida within the second round of the playoffs.
Despite those strong regular-season performances, the dearth of a contract extension firstly of the 2024-25 season was an ominous omen for Montgomery's job security this fall – an omen that was confirmed Tuesday.
Joe Sacco brings PK expertise, 10 years with Bruins
Sacco, 55, was promoted to assistant coach in July after spending the last decade in Boston as a daily assistant coach. His trademark is his work on the PK for the Bruins, who had long been one among the highest units within the NHL before this 12 months's regression (twenty fifth overall, 75.6 percent).
With Sacco now on top of things, the Medford native will probably be tasked with getting Boston back on course. Sacco has been a member of Boston's coaching staff since 2014, serving as an assistant under Claude Julien, Cassidy and Montgomery.
“I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to get the players and team focused again on the consistent effort the NHL requires for success,” Sweeney said within the team release. “We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supporting fans expect.”
Boston will look to get back on course on Thursday when it hosts Utah at TD Garden.
image credit : www.boston.com