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Jim Montgomery (ice hockey)

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Jim Montgomery
Born (1969-06-30) June 30, 1969 (age 55)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for
Current NHL coach St. Louis Blues
Coached for Dallas Stars
Boston Bruins
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1993–2005
Coaching career 2005–present

Jim Montgomery (born June 30, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, he played a total of six seasons for the Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars.

Playing career

[edit]

Montgomery played for the Cégep de Saint-Laurent Patriotes in Montreal in 1987–88, before joining the Pembroke Lumber Kings, junior A hockey team in the Central Canada Hockey League in 1988–89. The following season he joined the University of Maine and played four years with the team, winning numerous awards and establishing himself as one of the best prospects in ice hockey. Most notably he was named an All-Star for three consecutive years (1991, 1992, 1993), and was named NCAA tournament's most outstanding player (MOP) when he captained Maine to a record of 42–1–2 and the 1993 National championship. His three third-period goals lifted the Black Bears to a 5–4 comeback win over Lake Superior State in the title game. Montgomery finished his career at Maine as the school's all-time leading scorer with 301 points on 103 goals and 198 assists. His number 19 was retired by Maine, one of three players who have that honour,[1] the others being Hobey Baker Award winners Scott Pellerin (no. 8) and Paul Kariya (no. 9).

Following college, Montgomery was signed by the St. Louis Blues. For the 1993–94 season he skated in 67 contests and scored 20 points, both NHL career highs. Following the season the highly touted Montgomery was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Guy Carbonneau. For the 1994–95 season, however, things did not work out, and after just five games Montgomery was released by the Canadiens.[2] Later in the year he was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers and skated in eight regular season contests and seven playoff contests with the Flyers. Montgomery is credited with nicknaming the dominant line of John LeClair, Eric Lindros, and Mikael Renberg the "Legion of Doom".[3] The 1995–96 season saw Montgomery play only five games with the Flyers but he had a career year with the Flyers minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). He scored 105 points in 78 games and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.

It would be another four years before Montgomery would return to the NHL. He played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany during the 1996–97 season, followed by two full years with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. During the 1999–2000 season Montgomery played part of the year with the Phantoms and spent the majority of the year with the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League (IHL).

In 2000, Montgomery was signed by the San Jose Sharks, and played the majority of the 2000–01 season with the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the IHL, also making 28 appearances for the Sharks. The following year he was signed by the Dallas Stars and played nine games with the team over two years, spending most of his time with the Utah Grizzlies of the AHL. Montgomery then played one season with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian Superleague (RSL) and then played with the Missouri River Otters of the United Hockey League (UHL) before retiring in 2005.

Career statistics

[edit]
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1988–89 Pembroke Lumber Kings CCHL 50 53 101 154 112 — — — — —
1989–90 University of Maine HE 45 26 34 60 35 — — — — —
1990–91 University of Maine HE 43 24 57 81 44 — — — — —
1991–92 University of Maine HE 37 21 44 65 46 — — — — —
1992–93 University of Maine HE 45 32 63 95 40 — — — — —
1993–94 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 6 14 20 44 — — — — —
1993–94 Peoria Rivermen IHL 12 7 8 15 10 — — — — —
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 8 1 1 2 6 7 1 0 1 2
1994–95 Hershey Bears AHL 16 8 6 14 14 6 3 2 5 25
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 5 1 2 3 9 1 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Hershey Bears AHL 78 34 71 105 95 4 3 2 5 6
1996–97 Kölner Haie DEL 50 12 35 47 11 4 0 1 1 6
1997–98 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 68 19 43 62 75 20 13 16 29 55
1998–99 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 78 29 58 87 89 16 4 11 15 20
1999–2000 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 13 3 9 12 22 — — — — —
1999–2000 Manitoba Moose IHL 67 18 28 46 111 — — — — —
2000–01 San Jose Sharks NHL 28 1 6 7 19 — — — — —
2000–01 Kentucky Thoroughblades IHL 55 22 52 74 44 3 1 2 3 5
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 8 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Utah Grizzlies AHL 71 28 43 71 90 5 0 1 1 23
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2002–03 Utah Grizzlies AHL 72 22 46 68 109 2 0 0 0 2
2003–04 Salavat Yulaev Ufa RSL 20 0 7 7 10 — — — — —
2004–05 Missouri River Otters UHL 42 20 27 47 64 3 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 122 9 25 34 80 8 1 0 1 2
AHL totals 451 165 328 493 538 56 24 34 58 136

Coaching career

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Montgomery was an assistant coach for Notre Dame for the 2005–06 season. In 2006, Montgomery began a four-year stint as assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. On April 12, 2010, he was named head coach of the United States Hockey League (USHL) expansion franchise Dubuque Fighting Saints. In the team's first year, Montgomery guided the Fighting Saints to a 37–14–9 record and the 2010–11 USHL championship with a three games to one victory over the Green Bay Gamblers. He went on to win the Clark Cup again during the 2012–13 season. In 2013, Montgomery was signed by University of Denver as head coach of their Pioneers men's ice hockey team and led them to a berth in the NCAA tournament. He led the Pioneers to the 2016 Frozen Four. In 2017, his fourth year as the head coach of the Pioneers, he led them to the National Championship game after establishing them as the first-seeded team in the country for the majority of the season.[4] In 2016–17 season he was named the Spencer Penrose national coach of the year.[5][6]

Dallas Stars (2018–2019)

[edit]

On May 4, 2018, Montgomery was named as the head coach of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).[7] He led the Stars to their first playoff appearance in three years.

On December 10, 2019, the Stars fired Montgomery for "unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League."[8] At a press conference, general manager Jim Nill said the situation had come to light the previous weekend, and involved "a material act of unprofessionalism" egregious enough to demand Montgomery's immediate firing. He did not offer specifics "out of respect for everyone involved," only saying that it did not involve abuse of players or criminal conduct.[9] Rick Bowness, who joined the team a month after Montgomery's hiring in May 2018, was named interim coach, while Derek Laxdal (who was the head coach of the Texas Stars at the time) would be promoted to the assistant coaching position that was vacated by Bowness.[10]

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Montgomery was fired for "a personal behaviour issue," and the Stars were not divulging details to protect the privacy of both the whistleblower and Montgomery's family.[11] Montgomery told WFAA in Dallas that "there will be a time" when he speaks about the circumstances that led to his firing.[12]

On January 3, 2020, Montgomery announced that he had checked himself into rehab to deal with alcohol abuse. He said that the Stars had made "an appropriate call" in firing him, and that his dismissal made him realize he was living a "damaging lifestyle."[13] On January 7, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Montgomery was fired in part due to concerns about his drinking. Nill had reportedly confronted Montgomery on numerous occasions about drinking in public. The Stars had been aware of Montgomery's history with alcohol; he had been arrested for DUI in 2008 during his time at RPI.[14]

St. Louis Blues (2020–2022)

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On September 16, 2020, the St. Louis Blues signed Montgomery to a two-year contract, serving as assistant coach under Craig Berube.[15]

Boston Bruins (2022–2024)

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On June 30, 2022, the Boston Bruins named Montgomery head coach, replacing Bruce Cassidy.[16] Montgomery's "positive coaching" was widely assessed as a significant shift from his predecessor's approach, and led to major improvements in the team for the 2022–23 season.[17] The Bruins finished with a 65–12–5 record and 135 points, breaking both the previous record for wins (62), jointly held by the 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning and the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings, and for points (132), previously set by the 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens. The team received the Presidents' Trophy, while Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year.[18]

The Bruins entered the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs as the favourites for the championship. However, they were ousted in the first round by the Florida Panthers, squandering a 3–1 series lead in the process. The series was dubbed "one of the worst choke jobs in Boston sports history."[19] Much recrimination ensued about Montgomery's coaching decisions, in particular the choice to depart from the team's regular season goalie rotation between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman to playing Ullmark exclusively despite him dealing with an injury.[20][21] Ullmark defended Montgomery, saying "something that everybody does when things aren't going the way they want to is they're trying to find a scapegoat."[22]

On November 19, 2024, Montgomery was relieved of his head coaching duties following a 8–9–3 start to the 2024–25 season.[23]

Return to St. Louis (2024–present)

[edit]

On November 24, 2024, five days after his departure from Boston, Montgomery signed a five-year contract to return to the Blues as head coach, succeeding Drew Bannister.[24][25]

Head coaching record

[edit]

NHL

[edit]
Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
DAL 2018–19 82 43 32 7 93 4th in Central 7 6 .538 Lost in second round (STL)
DAL 2019–20 31 17 11 3 (37) (fired) — — — —
BOS 2022–23 82 65 12 5 135 1st in Atlantic 3 4 .429 Lost in first round (FLA)
BOS 2023–24 82 47 20 15 109 2nd in Atlantic 6 7 .462 Lost in second round (FLA)
BOS 2024–25 20 8 9 3 (19) (fired) — — — —
Total 298 180 84 33     16 17 .485 3 playoff appearances

NCAA

[edit]
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Denver Pioneers (NCHC) (2013–2018)
2013–14 Denver 20–16–6 14–12–3 6th NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinals
2014–15 Denver 24–14–2 16–11–1 4th NCAA East Regional Final
2015–16 Denver 25–10–6 19–6–3 3rd NCAA Frozen Four
2016–17 Denver 33–7–4 18–3–3 1st NCAA National Champion
2017–18 Denver 23–10–8 12–6–6 2nd NCAA Midwest Regional Final
Denver: 125–57–26 79–38–16
Total: 125–57–26

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

USHL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
DBQ 2010–11 60 37 14 9 83 1st in Western Conference 9 2 .818 Won Clark Cup
DBQ 2011–12 60 36 20 4 76 3rd in Eastern Conference 2 3 .400 Lost in Conference Semifinals
DBQ 2012–13 64 45 11 8 98 1st in Eastern Conference 9 2 .818 Won Clark Cup
Total 184 118 45 21 257   20 7 74  

Awards and honours

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As player:

As coach:

References

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  1. ^ "Jim Montgomery". denverpioneers.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Cowan, Stu (August 19, 2014). "Marking the 20th anniversary of Habs trading captain Carbonneau". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Meltzer, Bill (November 11, 2006). "Legion of the Doomed". Inside Hockey. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  4. ^ Maiman, Beth (April 8, 2017). "Frozen Four: Denver beats Minnesota Duluth 3-2 to win first NCAA hockey title since 2005". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "Denver's Jim Montgomery is CCM/AHCA Men's Division I Coach of the Year". ahcahockey.com. April 4, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  6. ^ "Denver's Montgomery Wins AHCA's Penrose Award as Division I Men's Coach of the Year". www.nchchockey.com. April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  7. ^ "Stars name Jim Montgomery as head coach". NHL.com. May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Jim Montgomery dismissed as head coach of Stars". NHL.com. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  9. ^ DeFranks, Matthew (December 10, 2019). "Dallas Stars fire coach Jim Montgomery 'due to unprofessional conduct'". Dallas News. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Dallas Stars fire head coach Jim Montgomery for 'unprofessional conduct'". CBC.ca. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. ^ Elliotte Friedman (December 11, 2019). "31 Thoughts: Jim Montgomery firing hockey's latest bombshell". Sportsnet.
  12. ^ Alex Rozier; Mike Leslie (December 11, 2019). "Fired Dallas Stars head coach promises 'there will be a time' he'll talk". WFAA.
  13. ^ Shanna McCarriston (January 3, 2020). "Former Stars coach Jim Montgomery releases first comments since being fired for 'unprofessional conduct'". CBS Sports.
  14. ^ Mac Engel (January 7, 2020). "Dallas Stars previously had warned Jim Montgomery about his relationship with alcohol". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Miller, Corey (September 16, 2020). "Former Stars head coach, Blues forward Jim Montgomery named assistant coach in St. Louis". ksdk.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "Jim Montgomery Named 29th Head Coach Of The Boston Bruins". NHL.com. July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Shinzawa, Fluto (April 14, 2023). "Jim Montgomery, Bruce Cassidy and how positive coaching helped transform the Bruins". The Athletic. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Satriano, David (May 5, 2023). "Hakstol, Montgomery, Ruff named Jack Adams Award finalists for best coach". NHL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Murphy, Jimmy (May 1, 2023). "Despite Epic Collapse, Montgomery Doesn't Regret Much". Boston Hockey Now. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Shinzawa, Fluto (May 1, 2023). "Bruins coach Jim Montgomery made too many wrong moves to overcome". The Athletic. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Roche, Scott (May 1, 2023). "Blame for Bruins' Playoff Collapse Spreads Deep in Locker Room". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Ryan, Conor (May 3, 2023). "Linus Ullmark offers support for Jim Montgomery amid criticism for Bruins' first-round exit". Boston.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  23. ^ Schram, Carol (November 19, 2024). "Boston Bruins Fire Jim Montgomery, 1st NHL Coaching Change Of 2024-25". Forbes. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  24. ^ "Montgomery hired as Blues coach, replaces Bannister". NHL.com. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  25. ^ "Blues relieve Drew Bannister of coaching duties; hire Jim Montgomery as Head Coach". NHL.com. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  26. ^ "2013–14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  27. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  28. ^ "Montgomery, DeBoer, Brind'Amour, Cassidy named NHL All-Star coaches". sportsnet.ca. January 11, 2023.
  29. ^ Russo, Eric (April 14, 2023). "Bruins Close Out Historic Regular Season with Win in Montreal". nhl.com.
  30. ^ "Montgomery of Bruins wins Jack Adams Award as top coach in NHL". nhl.com. June 26, 2023.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the Dallas Stars
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Boston Bruins
2022–2024 		Succeeded by
Joe Sacco
(interim)
Preceded by Head coach of the St. Louis Blues
2024–present 		Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jack Adams Award
2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player
1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Spencer Penrose Award
2016–17 		Succeeded by
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