The Boston Bruins Have Fired Head Coach Jim Montgomery and The Chicago Blackhawks Are Now Pressured
PUBLICATION
Sam Walker
November 19, 2024 (4:42 PM)
Boston Bruins officially fire head coach Jim Montgomery: the ball is now in Chicago Blackhawks' general manager Kyle Davidson's court
The Boston Bruins have made a big splash in the hockey world that's caused a huge shockwave, on Tuesday, they released the following statement:
«Today, I made a very difficult decision with regards to a coaching change. Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person. He has made a positive impact throughout the Bruins organization, and I am both grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with him and learn from him. Jim's accomplishments as the Bruins head coach include a record-breaking and historic season, and I want to thank his entire family and wish him, Emily, J.P., Colin, Ava and Olivia all the success and happiness with their next opportunity. Our team's inconsistency and performance in the first 20 games of the 2024-25 season has been concerning and below how the Bruins want to reward our fans. I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to bring the players and the team back to focusing on the consistent effort the NHL requires to have success. We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect.»
Said general manager Don Sweeney
Team president, Cam Neely, shared his own thoughts on the firing:
«On behalf of the Boston Bruins, we thank Jim Montgomery for his accomplishments and impact on our organization. Jim's open and honest communication with players, staff and management, as well as the positive attitude that he brought to the rink every day, helped lead our franchise to several on-ice accolades, including a historic 65-win season in 2022-23. We wish Jim and his family the best moving forward both personally and professionally. I'm supportive of Don's decision to address our current play and performance. Joe Sacco has a wealth of experience and knowledge of our roster and can help lead our team in the right direction. He has a strong understanding of our standards and expectations, and I trust he will do all he can to accomplish our organization's goals this season.»
With this big splash, the Chicago Blackhawks are now feeling the heat for some sort of change. They've been in quite the rut, much worse than the Boston Bruins.
Despite the Boston Bruins being a contending team, the Blackhawks should be nearing the end of their rebuild now.
But with Luke Richardson behind the bench, the team continues to fall in quicksand.
General manager Kyle Davidson stated that the Blackhawks are now entering a 'win now' mode at the start of the 2024-25 season, but have since failed to do so- despite aquiring several high-end players this off-season.
It's clear that it is a coaching issue, with Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks having several new line combinations in so little games this season.
Your move, Chicago...
| POLL |
NOVEMBRE 19 | 224 ANSWERS Boston Bruins Fire Head Coach Jim Montgomery, The Chicago Blackhawks and Kyle Davidson Are Ones To Watch Should the Chicago Blackhawks follow the Boston Bruins in firing Jim Montgomery and fire their head coach Luke Richardson? |
| Yes | 205 | 91.5 % |
| No | 19 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls |
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