Insider Hints Bruins Hiding Truth Behind Montgomery Firing

The Boston Bruins stirred up conversation this week with their decision to fire head coach Jim Montgomery, a move that some saw coming but was still a surprise given his success with the team. General Manager Don Sweeney explained Montgomery’s release as a decision driven by the Bruins’ exceptionally high standards. They weren’t happy with how the team was performing and a change was made. But, one insider thinks there is more to it than that. In fact, he believes the Bruins are hiding the reason Montgomery was fired.

Sweeney did say in his media avail that he initially spoke with Montgomery about a contract extension. He said the two sides couldn’t agree on the financials so an extension was never completed. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has suggested the real issue ran deeper, pointing to philosophical differences between Montgomery and the Bruins’ front office.

Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast:

“The one thing that I look at from everything that happened this week is, I hope there is a day where we get a chance to hear what kinda happened in those negotiations between the Bruins and Montgomery. Because I don’t think it is as simple as they made him an offer and they couldn’t come to a deal, and uh, it’s over, and the team’s not winning and we’re going a different direction. … I think it was deeper than that… I don’t know if [GM Don] Sweeney and Montgomery saw the future the same way.”

Friedman is suggesting that Montgomery told Sweeney about his vision for the team and that didn’t jive with what Sweeney had in mind. Friedman also revealed that disagreements about the coaching staff may have contributed to the rift. “Picking assistant coaches, that was a bit of a bone of contention between the two of them too,” he noted.

Montgomery Will Get a Chance to Prove the Bruins Wrong

Montgomery delivered impressive results during his run with the Bruins and, no doubt, another team will pick him up and let him run the show as he sees fit. The Bruins have a reputation for micromanaging and it would make sense that Montgomery might have hesitated to sign long-term if he didn’t have more sway in big team decisions.

Bruins fans will undoubtedly await more details and hopefully the truth about what really happened here. This seems to be about more than a tough start to the season or the dollar figure on a new contract. Montgomery and Sweeney might have been bumping heads and Sweeney decided to put an end to it.