The Boston Bruins have fired head coach Jim Montgomery, the team announced on Tuesday. The change comes amidst a disappointing start to the Bruins after general manager Don Sweeney spent big money attempting to upgrade the roster in the offseason.
Boston is 8-9-3 through 20 games, and the team just suffered an embarrassing 5-1 home loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night. That might have been the final strike against Montgomery, who was in his third season behind the Bruins' bench.
In a lengthy statement, Sweeney said the team's on-ice performance wasn't living up to expectations. Sweeney also expressed confidence in interim head coach Joe Sacco.
"Our team's inconsistency and performance in the first 20 games of the 2024-25 season has been concerning and below how the Bruins want to reward our fans. 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. We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect."
The Bruins hired Montgomery in 2022, and he immediately led the team to the greatest regular season in NHL history with 65 wins and 135 points, and the league's Presidents' Trophy that goes along with that accomplishment. That postseason, Boston blew a 3-1 lead to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers in the first round.
Last season, Boston still put up 109 points under Montgomery and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. Then, for the second year in a row, the Bruins came up short in a seven-game series against the Panthers.
Sweeney signed center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov to big contracts over the summer in hopes of making a deep playoff run this season. However, the new additions have failed to click, and the rest of the roster hasn't been able to pick up enough of the slack.
Montgomery leaves the Bruins with an overall record of 120-41-23.
Sacco will now try to get the Bruins back on track in his first head coaching gig since his four-year stint with the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2013. He went 130-134-30 with one playoff appearance in that time.
