Former Boston Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery was fired by the Boston Bruins on Tuesday after leading the Bruins to a disappointing 8-9-3 start to the season. Just five days later, Montgomery is going back to a familiar place. The St. Louis Blues announced the firing of Head Coach Drew Bannister Sunday and have replaced him with Montgomery, who has been a player and an assistant coach with the Blues previously. Montgomery signed a five-year contract to be the 28th head coach in Blues history.
Montgomery led Boston to an NHL-record 65 wins during the 2022-23 season and a first-round loss to the Florida Panthers. The Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division the next season and were eliminated again by Florida, this time in round two. The team had been trying to change the identity of the roster and Montgomery’s style did not seem to fit.
Montgomery was hired before the 2022-23 season by Boston after the team fired former coach Bruce Cassidy, who has since led the Vegas Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup championship that same season. Montgomery is a Montreal native who finished his tenure as Bruins head coach with a 12-41-23 regular season record but only a 9-11 record in the postseason. Montgomery was head coach of the Dallas Stars for 114 regular season games from 2018-20 and registered a 60-43-10 record in the regular season and a 7-6 postseason record.
Montgomery was a player with St. Louis during the 1993-94 season after a brilliant career at the University of Maine-Orono and was an assistant with St. Louis for two seasons following his stint with Dallas. During his time with the Blues, the team posted a 76-42-20 regular-season record, including a 109-point effort in 2021-22 that tied the third highest regular-season point total in franchise history.
