Bruins GM sends stark warning to players after firing Jim Montgomery

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Nov 20, 2024 22:05 GMT

The Boston Bruins made a monumental change in leadership on Tuesday. They fired coach Jim Montgomery a quarter of the way through his third year behind the bench.

The Bruins have been nothing short of inconsistent in the early goings of the 2024-25 campaign. They are 8-9-3 and bear little resemblance to the performance that Boston fans are accustomed to seeing.

After the decision went public, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said it was difficult. However, he issued a stern warning to the players on notice by hinting that further changes could happen if their fortunes don't improve soon.

"Moving forward, that rests with me now," he said. "From a personnel standpoint and the players themselves, they have to understand that they're not where they need to be. We're either going to get back there, or there'll be continued changes across the board."

Only a handful of Bruins players are playing on expiring contracts, most notably captain Brad Marchand, Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie.

In the meantime, Joe Sacco, who has been a Bruins assistant coach for the last decade, will take over. He was previously the coach of the Colorado Avalanche and a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy in 2009-10.

He'll coach his first game for Boston on Thursday against the visiting Utah Hockey Club at TD Garden.

The Bruins fired Jim Montgomery despite an impressive winning percentage

Montgomery was hired in the summer of 2022 after former bench boss Bruce Cassidy was fired. He led the Bruins to an NHL-record 65 victories during the 2022-23 season. However, they were stunningly eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the opening round of one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

Despite the shocking postseason exit, Montgomery won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's top coach for the year.

He then led the Bruins to a comfortable postseason position this past spring. Montgomery won his first postseason series against the Toronto Maple Leafs as Boston's coach before the Panthers eliminated them.

But fans and media began to sense the writing on the wall after watching Boston's disappointing play this season. Montgomery's fate was sealed after an embarrassing loss to the rebuilding Columbus Blue Jackets on home ice Monday night.

He finishes his Bruins coaching career with a 120-41-23 record (.715 win percentage). Given that strong stat line, Montgomery likely won't have to wait long to find new employment.