One of my core beliefs is that, if you hire the right person, you should never have to fire them.
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That’s why I was disappointed this week when the Boston Bruins fired head coach Jim Montgomery.
This was yet another case of “What have you done for us lately”? The Bruins were off to a slow start this season. They had an 8-9-3 record when Montgomery was dismissed.
The decision came from general manager Don Sweeney, although I suspect there was a nudge from team president Cam Neely.
The good news is that Montgomery shouldn’t be out of work long because he’s a good — no make that very good — coach. There will be teams lined up to hire him as a head coach, but the Canadiens won’t be in the queue.
That’s not to say that Montgomery wouldn’t be a good fit in Montreal. He grew up in Montreal’s East End, speaks French, was general manager Kent Hughes’s teammate at Collège St-Laurent and even played a few games for the Canadiens after leading Maine to an NCAA championship. I suggested last week that Martin St. Louis could benefit from having an assistant coach with head coaching experience in the NHL, but Montgomery is not that guy.
He has proven in Boston and at a previous stop in Dallas that he merits a head coaching role and he can afford to wait for the right opportunity because the Bruins are on the hook for his $2-million salary this season.
Montgomery left Boston after putting together a 120-41-23 record. In his first season. The Bruins amassed a record 135 points and Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He did an even better job last season. The Bruins had 109 points, but had to deal with the retirement of its two best centres, Hall of Famer-in-waiting Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Montgomery has a winning percentage of .659 for his career and that that’s the fourth-best mark among coaches with more than 200 games. Scottie Bowman is at .657 and Toe Blake checks in at .635.
In both of Montgomery’s seasons in Boston, the Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers in the playoffs, but it should be noted that the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup final in 2023 and won it all earlier this year.
The Panthers’ 2023 loss was to the Vegas Golden Knights, who were coached by Bruce Cassidy. Sweeney was in a position to hire Montgomery because he fired Cassidy after six winning seasons, including a trip to the Cup final in 2019.
Sweeney has to share some — most? — of the responsibility for the Bruins’ current dilemma. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman missed training camp because he was embroiled in a contract dispute and free agent signings Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov haven’t lived up to their billing.
What’s next for Montgomery?
Detroit, Nashville, Chicago and Pittsburgh have all been touted as possible destinations, but my money is on St. Louis.
Montgomery, who is No. 4 on the NCAA all-time scoring list, had only 34 points in 122 NHL games. His lone full season as a player was with the Blues in 1993-94 when he had six goals and 14 assists in 67 games, but he became the answer to a trivia question when he was traded to the Canadiens for Guy Carbonneau. He would play five games for Montreal before he was traded to Philadelphia.
Montgomery’s wife, Emily, is from the St. Louis area and he has a close relationship with Blues president Doug Armstrong. When problems with alcohol torpedoed Montgomery’s stay in Dallas, Armstrong helped him resurrect his career by hiring him as an assistant coach.
One possible roadblock is that the Blues signed Drew Bannister to a two-year contract earlier this year. Bannister turned things around after he replaced Craig Berube midway through last season, but the Blues are off to a slow start in the 2024-25 campaign.
Who’s next? Montgomery was the first NHL coach to be fired this season, but he won’t be the last. BetOnline.ag is offering 3-1 odds that Nashville’s Andrew Brunette will be the next to go, while Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan is at 4-1 followed by Detroit’s Derek Lalonde at 5-1.
One surprise is that Jared Bednar, whose injury-plagued Colorado Avalanche team is fourth in the Central Division, is listed at 6-1.
According to oddsmakers, the Islanders’ Patrick Roy (20-1) has a better chance of being fired than the Habs’ St. Louis (25-1). The Blues’ Bannister is at 20-1.