It's been a difficult start to the 2024-25 NHL campaign for the Boston Bruins. After two phenomenal regular-seasons — one of them historic — with Jim Montgomery at the helm, the head coach's future could be up in the air as the turmoil surrounding the team continues.
The B's are 6-6-1 through 13 games, and currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. The roster is struggling, but maybe of even more concern is the attitude of Montgomery toward a couple of his best players.
The bench boss laid into captain Brad Marchand after a costly turnover a couple of weeks ago, and the clip went viral. More recently, he benched David Pastrnak for the entire third period in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Seattle Kraken.
And according to multiple NHL insiders, his job might not be safe.
“If they don’t turn it around, they’ll fire the coach,” said The Fourth Period's Dennis Bernstein on TSN Radio. “The team looked disconnected.”
“Montgomery is not gonna be the coach of the Boston Bruins by Thanksgiving if they [don't turn things around],” echoed NHL Network analyst Bill Lindsay.
The Bruins have not had the kind of playoff success the front office was hoping for in each of the last two seasons, especially after 2022-23's historic campaign.
But the regular-season hasn't been an issue in Boston over the last few years, which is why the mediocre start is even more pronounced in 2024-25. Whispers of a disconnect between the head coach and his locker room have only added fuel to the fire.
Bruins playing .500 hockey in 2024-25
There has been chatter across the league that the current roster is not fully in sync with Montgomery's coaching style, and that does look to be evident in the early going. The Bruins' excellent defense system has showed signs of cracks, while the top players are not producing at the prolific clip we are used to seeing.
“I’ve said this since the beginning, I’ve said it numerous times, I’m really lucky to work with the leaders I get to work with,” Montgomery said after Sunday's win, per NHL.com's Joe Pohoryles. “I’m very fortunate. In other places, you see coaches that, you know, it’s a big problem, [but] I’m lucky with the accountability that exists in this culture and the leaders that I get to deal with because that allows me to hold everybody accountable.”
Montgomery has certainly been holding his players accountable, first by reaming out Marchand on the bench and again by sitting Pastrnak for an entire period. But could those incidents end up costing the 55-year-old his job?
While this is just speculation, it's becoming more and more clear that change might be needed for this club to turn things around. Although it's unexpected, Montgomery very well could be on the hot seat ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.
If there isn't improvement soon, general manager Don Sweeney might have no choice but to make a change.
Follow Us
Subscribe
