Leafs Coach Craig Berube Shares Surprising Reaction to Jim Montgomery Firing
Leafs coach Craig Berube has opened up about the shocking dismissal of Jim Montgomery by Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney on Tuesday.
Despite holding one of the best records in the NHL during his tenure with the Boston Bruins, Jim Montgomery was dismissed after a dismal 8-9-3 start to the season.
The veteran bench boss held a 120-41-23 record with the Bruins during the regular season, which also included their historic 2022-23 campaign when the team finished with a 65-12-5 record. Unfortunately, playoff success eluded him with a 9-11 record and just one series victory.
Berube and Montgomery used to work together when the former was the bench boss for the St. Louis Blues. After being let go by the Dallas Stars, he returned as an assistant with the Blues for two seasons before departing for the coaching position with Boston.
Berube and Montgomery worked well together as they posted a combined 76-42-20 record in those 2 seasons and 1 playoff series victory.
Now as the head coach of the Maple Leafs, Berube was able to face-off against his former ally twice this season, coming out on top in their most recent matchup by a score of 4-0 after dropping the first game in overtime.
Nevertheless, Berube had nothing but complimentary things to say about Montgomery when asked about his dismissal earlier today, and even mentioned how it was personal due to their prior history:
For the Bruins, it seems more like a personnel issue than a coaching one, but the head coach is usually the first one to take the blame in a lost season.
David Pastrnak leads the team with just 8 goals and 17 points, Brad Marchand is next with 5 goals and 13 points, and Elias Lindholm rounds out the top-3 with just 9 points.
Former Maple Leaf Joe Sacco will take over as interim head coach, which should give their next matchup against Toronto some extra flair when they face-off on the 4th of January.
