According to several confirmed reports on Thursday evening, the Boston Bruins are set to hire their next head coach. Former NHL player and head coach of the Dallas Stars Jim Montgomery will be the 29th bench boss in the history of the original six franchise.
The 53 year old Montgomery with take his second job as bench boss, after Boston fired Bruce Cassidy back on June 7. Cassidy signed on in Las Vegas to become head coach of the Golden Knights four days later. Montgomery was hired by Dallas in May 2018 and immediately took the Stars back to the playoffs for the first time in three years. But Montgomery’s tenure in Dallas didn’t last long. On Dec. 10, 2019, he was fired by the Stars for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.” General manager Jim Nill said there was a “material act of unprofessionalism” that led to Montgomery’s firing, without elaborating further. On Jan. 3, 2020, Montgomery announced that he was checking into rehab for alcohol abuse.
In September 2020, the St. Louis Blues hired Montgomery to serve as an assistant under head coach Craig Berube. He was primarily involved in special teams, helping St. Louis to rank second overall (25.5%) on the power play and 10th (81.3%) on the penalty kill the past two seasons. Montgomery was a player himself, appearing in 122 NHL games from 1993 to 2003 between the Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Stars. He recorded nine goals and 34 points. He was also a star in college at the University of Maine, leading the Black Bears to a 1993 Division I National Championship and a 42-1-2 record where he earned the NCAA Tournament MVP that season. Montgomery finished his four years as the all-time leading scorer at Maine with 103 goals and 198 assists (301 points). He is one of only three players to have his jersey retired by the school, with the others being Hobey Baker Award winners Scott Pellerin and Paul Kariya.
After hanging up his skates, Montgomery made several successful coaching stops prior to rejoining the NHL ranks. He was head coach of the United States Hockey League’s Dubuque Fighting Saints from 2010 to 2013, guiding the club to league championships in 2010-11 and 2012-13. In 2013, Montgomery was named head coach at the University of Denver and led the Pioneers to a National Championship in 2017. Montgomery was also voted the National Coach of the Year for the 2016-17 season.
Boston is coming off a sixth consecutive playoff appearance, which ended in a Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round this spring. Montgomery has an overall NHL head coaching record of 61-43-10.
