An NHL insider just revealed the real reason Jim Montgomery was fired
The Boston Bruins made an unpopular decision this week, and that was to fire winning coach Jim Montgomery. Montgomery had success behind the Bruins bench, despite the roster being subpar for a coach like himself.
The turnover from retirements and trades hadn't helped their situation, as they lost David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron to retirement.
Despite being short-handed, Montgomery helped will the team to a berth in the playoffs, with a roster consisting of veterans and young players, like John Beecher, Trent Frederic, and Morgan Geekie.
The third season of his coaching career with the Bruins saw him lose his job with a 9-9-3 record to start the season. The team looked disjointed, and brutal early in the season, and it looked as if Montgomery had lost the room.
However, according to NHL Inside Elliotte Friedman, there may have been more to Montgomery's firing than we suspected.
There was internal conflict between the front office and Montgomery.
Thoughts podcast. "Because I don't think it is as simple as they made him an offer and they couldn't come to a deal.... I think it was deeper than that."
Instead of being blamed on the team's inability to extend Montgomery, he believes it was a conflict of vision regarding the Bruins' future.
Likewise, he had issues with the assistant coaches available to him and wasn't able to select those to his liking.
Friedman also believes that the primary driver of the firing was a conflict behind the scenes between, the front office and Jim Montgomery. Did they ever really like him?
If that is the case, this is a trend that has continued since Claudie Julien. How is Don Sweeney and Cam Neely able to shield themselves from the consequences at this point?
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 24 | 286 ANSWERS An NHL insider just revealed the real reason Jim Montgomery was fired Should the Boston Bruins have fired Don Sweeney and Cam Neely before Jim Montgomery? | ||
| Yes | 244 | 85.3 % |
| No | 42 | 14.7 % |
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