NHL Rumors: Top insider names Brad Marchand as shock trade candidate after Jim Montgomery firing

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Nov 22, 2024 14:33 GMT

Things have not gone according to plan in Boston, with Jim Montgomery being fired and rumors sparking of a Brad Marchand trade. One year removed from a playoff run and two years removed from a historic 65-win season, things are trending in the wrong direction.

Unless things turn around, trades may be in order to sacrifice this season for the ultimate good of the franchise. That may even mean a shocking trade of the captain according to hockey insider Chris Johnston.

"This is not a player we expected to find on the Big Board, even if he’s currently playing out the final year on his contract," Johnston said via The Athletic.

"But as a league source noted this week, 'I don't think anyone in Boston thought this is where they'd be at.' If the decision to replace Jim Montgomery with Joe Sacco behind the Bruins bench doesn’t produce the desired results, some difficult personnel decisions will almost certainly follow."

The Boston Bruins (9-9-3, fourth in the Atlantic division) bounced back with a 1-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. Last year, they finished second in their division by a single point to the eventual champion Florida Panthers.

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Brad Marchand opens up on Jim Montgomery's firing

For now, Brad Marchand is still on the Boston Bruins, but with rumors swirling, he might follow Jim Montgomery out the door. The coach was fired this week after a rough start, one that Marchand says the players are responsible for.

Jim Montgomery was fired (Imagn)

Brad Marchand said via NHL:

"Very disappointing day, and also very frustrating is this [is] a reflection of our play. And it was avoidable. That's the tough part about this is that if we had done our job in here, he would still be around, so [we] feel terrible as a group, individually that we let a really good coach and a really good person down and the effect it has not just on him, but on his family. It's a crappy day."

Overall, Montgomery was 120-41-23 as the coach of the Bruins, but he will look for a new team to lead during the 2025-26 season.