Craig Berube’s heart sank when he heard the news out of Boston on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs coach is tight with Jim Montgomery and, when the Bruins fired their bench boss following a start of 8-9-3, Berube flinched.
From 2020-22, Montgomery was an assistant coach on Berube’s staff with the St. Louis Blues.
“It’s upsetting,” Berube said after the Leafs morning skate on Wednesday morning. “I know Monty personally. We brought Monty into St Louis to work with us for a couple years and he was fantastic.
“I feel for coaches. It’s a tough business, it really is. This one’s more personal for me.”
On Dec. 12 last year, Berube was given a similar pink slip by the Blues. St. Louis had lost four games in a row, falling to 13-14-1 when general manager Doug Armstrong decided to put an end to Berube’s reign behind the team’s bench.
It was one that included, of course, a Stanley Cup title in 2019.
Down the hall at Scotiabank Arena, current Vegas Golden Knights coach and former Bruins bench boss Bruce Cassidy weighed in on Montgomery’s firing. Cassidy texted Montgomery earlier in the day.
“I’ve been there, I know that (feeling),” Cassidy said. “We’re all friends. Listen, we sign up for a certain amount of credit and blame.
“He has a young family. That’s the part that’s always tough, I think, is on the kids. That’s where I feel sympathy for him and his family. That’s difficult on them.
“He did a great job there. He will land back on his feet. He has a great resume. I don’t know where it will be. We all end up somewhere because someone got let go. That part we know and we’re aware of and we deal with just fine. It’s the family part that is always difficult.”
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