Boston Bruins fire head coach Jim Montgomery
The NHL saw its first coaching change of the season when the Boston Bruins announced their dismissal of 2023 Jack Adams Award winner Jim Montgomery on Tuesday.
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, November 19, that the team has relieved Jim Montgomery of his duties as Head Coach.
Associate Coach Joe Sacco will assume interim head coaching duties.
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Montgomery’s Bruins scuffled to an 8-9-3 start and were outscored 15-5 over the course of a three-game skid before Boston GM Don Sweeney cut the record-setting head coach loose.
The Bruins ranked in the bottom six of scoring offense and defense at the time of the move, and have suffered defeats of 4-0, 7-2, and 5-1 since beginning their November slate of games with a pair of encouraging shutout victories.
Without structure (101 team penalties, most in NHL), special teams success (league-worst 11.75 PP%), or goaltending (.888 team SV%) to fall back on, the Bruins needed something to change, and axing ‘Monty’ was the simplest answer.
For now, the keys to the kingdom will fall to interim bench boss Joe Sacco, the Medford native and Boston University alum who has served as an assistant for the Bruins since 2014.
“I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to bring the players and the team back to focusing on the consistent effort the NHL requires to have success,” Sweeney said in a press release. “We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect.”
Sacco needs to get more out of star goaltender Jeremy Swayman (.884 SV%) and big-ticket free agent Elias Lindholm (2 G, 9 P in 20 GP), among others, to have any chance of steering the Bruins to a ninth-straight postseason berth.
The 55-year-old hasn’t served as a head coach since the Colorado Avalanche fired him after four seasons (130-134-30) in 2013, but a decade of working alongside Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy, and Montgomery has provided him with a wealth of winning experience in the meantime.
Sweeney and team president Cam Neeley will closely monitor how the coaching change effects their roster when the Bruins round out a three-game home stand against Utah Hockey Club on Thursday evening.