Bruins fireplace Jim Montgomery; Joe Sacco takes over as interim head coach

Bruins fire Jim Montgomery; Joe Sacco takes over as interim head coach initially appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have fired head coach Jim Montgomery after somewhat greater than two seasons on the bench.

The choice to make a training change was introduced by the workforce Tuesday afternoon. Montgomery was within the last yr of his contract. He will likely be changed by Bruins affiliate coach Joe Sacco. Sacco is in his 11^th season behind the Bruins bench. He was the Colorado Avalanche head coach from 2009-10 via 2012-13.

“At this time, I made a really troublesome choice on the subject of a training change,” Bruins common supervisor Don Sweeney said in a press release. “Jim Montgomery is an excellent NHL coach and a fair higher particular person. He has made a constructive affect all through the Bruins group, and I’m each grateful and appreciative of the chance to work with him and study from him. Jim’s accomplishments because the Bruins head coach embrace a record-breaking and historic season, and I wish to thank his complete household and need him, Emily, J.P., Colin, Ava and Olivia all of the success and happiness with their subsequent alternative.

“Our workforce’s inconsistency and efficiency within the first 20 video games of the 2024-25 season has been regarding and under how the Bruins wish to reward our followers. I consider Joe Sacco has the teaching expertise to convey the gamers and the workforce again to specializing in the constant effort the NHL requires to have success. We are going to proceed to work to make the required changes to satisfy the usual and efficiency our supportive followers anticipate.”

Montgomery’s firing is not tremendous shocking when you think about Boston’s difficult start to the season. The Bruins entered Tuesday with a 8-9-3 file. Regardless of the tough begin, the B’s are nonetheless within the second wild card playoff spot within the Japanese Convention standings.

Expectations have been very excessive for the franchise coming into the 2024-25 marketing campaign after it won a round in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and spent a lot of money in the offseason (free company, particularly) to enhance the roster.

However as a substitute of taking a step ahead, the B’s have taken a step again in lots of sides. The workforce’s high gamers aren’t assembly expectations offensively. Each particular groups models have struggled, too. The ability play ranks useless final (thirty second) and the penalty kill is twenty sixth.

The Bruins even have been remarkably undisciplined, main the league in penalty minutes and minor penalties taken. The B’s additionally have not scored at a excessive degree and rank thirty first with 2.40 targets per recreation. They’ve additionally been the league’s worst third interval workforce with a minus-12 purpose differential over the ultimate 20 minutes of regulation.

Montgomery was employed in July of 2022 to switch Bruce Cassidy. The B’s set NHL information for probably the most wins and factors by a workforce in Montgomery’s first season, however that pleasure was brief lived as they have been eradicated within the first spherical by the Florida Panthers. The B’s have been within the Presidents’ Trophy combine once more final season and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs within the first spherical earlier than dropping to the Panthers once more in Spherical 2.

Montgomery finishes his Bruins profession with a 120-41-23 file within the common season and a Sept. 11 file within the playoffs. He received the 2023 Jack Adams Award.

The Bruins’ first recreation with Sacco in cost will likely be towards Utah on Thursday evening at TD Backyard.