November 19, 2024 | 4:17pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

BRUINS FIRE COACH MONTGOMERY, SACCO TAKES OVER

Jim Montgomery

The Boston Bruins have relieved Jim Montgomery of his duties as Head Coach and have named Associate Coach Joe Sacco as interim head coaching duties.

Montgomery named the 29th head coach in team history on July 1, 2022. He joined the Bruins organization following two seasons as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues from 2020-2022.

Over 184 regular-season games behind Boston’s bench, Montgomery compiled a 120-41-32 record.

“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,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney said in a statement. “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.”

Sacco is in his 11th season behind the Bruins bench, where he most recently served as Associate Coach. He previously held the role of Assistant Coach from 2014-24.

Before joining the Bruins organization, Sacco served as an Assistant Coach for the Buffalo Sabres in 2013-14, and as Head Coach for the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-13, where he compiled an overall record of 130-134-40.