Following a disappointing start to the 2024-2025 NHL season, the Boston Bruins have parted ways with head coach Jim Montgomery. This move didn’t come as a surprise to many Boston fans as it was evident that some change needed to be made.
Montgomery came to Boston as the head coach in 2022, taking over the position formerly held by Bruce Cassidy. Aside from the slow start to this season, Montgomery found a lot of success in the regular season. In his two full seasons as head coach, the Bruins held a regular season record of 112-32-20.
Montgomery’s first year in Boston was a memorable one as he led the Bruins to the best regular season in NHL history back in 2022-2023. The Bruins went 65-12-5 with 135 points. This of course allowed Boston to claim the Presidents’ Trophy, their first since 2014. Jim Montgomery was also named the winner of the 2023 Jack Adams Trophy, awarded to the best head coach in the league.
Unfortunately Boston’s historic regular season wasn’t followed with similar playoff success as they were upset in the first round by the Florida Panthers. The Bruins took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series before dropping three straight games, putting an end to their historic season.
In the 2023-2024 regular season the Bruins finished with a record of 47-20-15 and 109 points, good enough for the second seed in the Atlantic Division. The real test for Montgomery and the Bruins would be the playoffs after a first round exit a year earlier.
Once again the Bruins started out taking a 3-1 series lead, this time against the Toronto Maple Leafs. History almost repeated itself as Toronto would force a Game 7 but Boston would go on to win and advance to the second round. Unfortunately for them, they would once again be eliminated by the Florida Panthers.
Between the playoff struggles and inabilities to close out a series, a slow start was the last thing the Bruins needed. Knowing that something had to change, the Bruins departed with Jim Montgomery in an effort to turn their season around.
