Former Boston Bruins coach has the front office eating a huge helping of crow
During his tenure as general manager of the Boston Bruins, Don Sweeney has made some curious decisions. Up at the top was the firing of head coaches Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery. Both coaches won the Jack Adams Award behind the Boston bench and had the team as contenders.
After firing Cassidy, he was hired to coach the Vegas Golden Knights and in his first season, they won the Stanley Cup. That same year, Montgomery was in his first season as coach of the Black and Gold and he led them to an NHL record for wins and points in a regular season. They blew a 3-1 first-round playoff series lead to the Florida Panthers.
After making it to the second round of the postseason last season, the Bruins began this season slowly, and on Nov. 19, Sweeney fired Montgomery. Less than a week after being let go in Boston, Montgomery was hired to coach the St. Louis Blues, who were struggling worse than the Bruins. However, when the dust settles on the 2024-25 season, the Blues might end up being where the Bruins won’t be in late April.
Jim Montgomery has the Blues charging for a Western Conference playoff spot
Since the 4 Nations Face-Off break last month, the Blues are 9-2-2 and tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. The Calgary Flames are hanging around two points behind, but nobody is playing better hockey right out of the three teams than Montgomery’s Blues.
If Monty can lead St. Louis to the playoffs after being hired in late November while the Bruins are free-falling, well then the front office might need to look in the mirror. What this tells us is that the roster construction is not good for this season and that it wasn’t Montgomery’s fault. In reality, he would have Sweeney and Neely eating crow.
Imagine firing two straight head coaches, both of who won the Jack Adams Award in Boston, and they leave and have more success than their current teams do. So after all, you mean to tell us that it wasn’t the coach’s fault? Call me shocked.
This kind of track record would have most GM’s fired, but Sweeney seems to be getting more lifelines than most, which tells you all you need to know if you are looking for change after this season. It’s not coming, but rest assured, Joe Sacco and staff will likely be let go and Sweeney and Neely will find the next coach to take the fall for their shortcomings, year after year.
