NHL
Montgomery was out of a job for just five days.
It didn’t take long for former Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery to find his next job.
Just five days after the Bruins fired Montgomery, the St. Louis Blues announced that they’ve hired him as their next head coach.
The Blues relieved Drew Bannister of his duties and signed Montgomery to a five-year contract to become the 28th coach in franchise history.
Montgomery, 55, spent the previous two-plus seasons with the Bruins. During his tenure, the Montreal, Quebec, native led the Bruins to the top regular-season record and point total in the National Hockey League, as well as consecutive playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024. In 2022-23, he guided the Bruins to the Presidents’ Trophy after a record-breaking season.
He was an assistant with the Blues for two seasons from 2020 to 2022.
The Blues are currently 9-12-1 after a loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Bruins, who named Joe Sacco their interim head coach, are 10-9-3 after outlasting the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
Montgomery joins Claude Julien as coaches who have been fired by the Bruins and gone on to work for the Blues. Julien is currently a Blues assistant.
It’s not uncommon for former Bruins coaches to find new roles quickly. It took the Las Vegas Golden Knights eight days to scoop up Bruce Cassidy and the Montreal Canadiens seven days to hire Julien.
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