Ex-Bruins HC Jim Montgomery reflects on emotional Bruins firing; reveals first player who reached out

Jim Montgomery reflected on being fired by the Boston Bruins in November 2024. The decision was made after the Bruins' slow start in the 2024-25 NHL season. The team eventually missed the playoffs, and it even had to trade their captain, Brad Marchand.

On Tuesday, during his appearance on The Cam & Strick Podcast, Montgomery said it was quite emotional.

"Well, emotionally, when I got let go by Boston right away, you always look at what I could have done better," Montgomery said (Timestamp: 1:33:01). "Why? How could I have still been coaching, you know, the Bruins?"

However, soon after the Bruins' firing, Montgomery was hired by the St. Louis Blues as their coach. Still, those few days were emotional for Montgomery's family. His first concern was how his wife and kids were handling it.

"You know, my first emotion always has to protect my family and make sure that, you know, my wife is a real tough woman, in a great sense, the rock of our family," Montgomery said. "But your kids, you know, like they're emotionally at a vulnerable age. "It doesn't matter what age they are, under 18, and a couple of them had a hard time with it, and that affects you as a parent. It's, you know, you live through the emotions of your kids at times. So that part, you know, was down."

Montgomery said his outlook changed once he began thinking about a new opportunity. At first, he did not feel ready. Each day, however, he grew more confident about coaching again. He wanted to make sure his family agreed with the decision. It was going to be a sacrifice, with six months of separation.

Montgomery remembered his phone ringing shortly after the news. The first player to call him was Marchand:

"I don't remember verbatim, but it was, you know, 'It's an unfortunate part of the business.' And you know, wishes that he could have done more. And he's just an incredible human being, an incredible captain, an incredible teammate, and everybody saw, not only in the playoffs, it just was another nail in his coffin towards the Hall of Fame."

Marchand won his second Stanley Cup in Florida.

---

Jim Montgomery's statement after joining the Blues

Only five days after his firing, Jim Montgomery signed a five-year contract with the St. Louis Blues. He replaced Drew Bannister, who had been fired. Montgomery said the fast move felt strange but exciting.

"Crazy. Crazy. There's no other word for it," Montgomery said in November, via NHL.com, "A lot of emotions. I'm a firm believer when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing. And it's about your relationships in life."

Montgomery had strong success in Boston, winning 65 games in 2022-23. That year, he also won the Jack Adams Award. Now, he will try to help the Blues reach new heights in the 2025-26 season.

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos