Bruins fire Jim Montgomery; Joe Sacco takes over as interim head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins have fired head coach Jim Montgomery after more than two seasons on the bench.
The decision to make a coaching change was announced by the team on Tuesday afternoon. Montgomery will be replaced by Bruins associate coach Joe Sacco. Sacco is in his 11th gradee season behind the Bruins bench. He was the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-10 through 2012-13.
“Today I made a very difficult decision regarding a coaching change,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a news release. “Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person. He has made a positive impact within the Bruins organization, and I am grateful and grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from him. Jim’s achievements as Bruins head coach include a record-breaking and historic season, and I would like to thank his entire family and wish him, Emily, JP, Colin, Ava and Olivia the best of luck and happiness in their next opportunity.
“Our team’s inconsistency and performance through the first 20 games of the 2024-2025 season has been concerning and below how the Bruins want to reward our fans. I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to get the players and the team back focusing on the consistent effort the NHL needs to be successful. We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect.
Montgomery’s firing isn’t all that surprising considering Boston’s rocky start to the season. The Bruins entered Tuesday with an 8-9-3 record. Despite the rough start, the B’s are still in the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Expectations were very high for the franchise coming into the 2024-2025 campaign after winning a round in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and spending a lot of money in the offseason (particularly free agency) to improve the roster.
But instead of taking a step forward, the B’s have in many ways taken a step back. The team’s top players are not living up to expectations offensively. Both special teams have also struggled. The power play ranks last (32nd) and the penalty kill is 26th.
The Bruins were also noticeably undisciplined, leading the league in penalty minutes and minor penalties taken. The B’s are also not scoring at a high level and are in 31st place with 2.40 goals per game. They were also the worst third-period team in the competition, with a goal differential of minus twelve in the final twenty minutes of regular time.
Montgomery was hired in July 2022 to replace Bruce Cassidy. The B’s set NHL records for most wins and points ever by a team in Montgomery’s first season, but that excitement was short-lived as they were eliminated in the first round by the Florida Panthers. The B’s were in the Presidents’ Trophy mix again last season, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round before losing again to the Panthers in Round 2.
Montgomery finishes his Bruins career with a 278-172-75 record in the regular season and a 16-17 record in the playoffs.
The Bruins’ first game under Sacco will be against Utah on Thursday night at TD Garden.
