Jim Montgomery signs five-year contract with Blues days after being fired by Boston Bruins

Jim Montgomery signed a five-year contract with the St. Louis Blues days after leaving Boston. The move comes after the Blues fired head coach Drew Bannister to bring in Montgomery, who previously worked as an assistant coach in St. Louis.

NHL insider Frank Seravalli shared the news on Sunday.

"Wow. #stlblues have fired Drew Bannister and hired Jim Montgomery. Montgomery returns to St. Louis, where he previously served as an assistant, just five days after being fired in Boston," he tweeted.

The Bruins fired Montgomery on Tuesday following his 8-9-3 start to the season and promoted associate coach Joe Sacco as their interim head coach. Bruins GM Don Sweeney called it a difficult decision, noting the team's poor performance in the first 20 games.

"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," Sweeney said per ESPN.

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."

Despite this, Sweeney praised Montgomery as a good coach and person.

"Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person." Sweeney said, "He has made a positive impact throughout the Bruins organization."

Montgomery led the Bruins to great success in the past, including a record-breaking 135-point season in 2023. He had a 120-41-23 record (.715 points percentage) over three seasons with the Bruins and reached the playoffs twice. However, Boston lost in both playoffs to the Florida Panthers.

The Blues hope Montgomery can bring his experience and success to their team.

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Jim Montgomery's firing and deeper issues behind Bruins' decision

Boston fired Montgomery despite his successful record. Sweeney said it was because of high team standards, poor performance and failed contracts. However, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman suggested deeper issues.

On the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman suggested Montgomery and the front office disagreed on team direction and assistant coach choices.

"I think it was deeper than that … I don’t know if [GM Don] Sweeney and Montgomery saw the future the same way.” Friedman said, per Yard Barker.

These differences may have caused the rift.

The Blues are 9-12-1 and are 5th in the Central Division. It will be interesting to see if Montgomery helps them turn things around.