Bruins fire Jim Montgomery, name Joe Sacco interim head coach

Channelcat

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Feb 8, 2013
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honestly, I look at boston's core and it sounds good on paper but most of the players are aged. even pastrnak isn't young anymore.

I think that Montgomery fell in to the old trap. He massively overperformed with a mediocre roster several years in a row. Then when his team plays at an expected level, he gets fired. They think his coaching is the issue, but it more than likely is not. He had a couple of INSANELY good seasons on the Bruins rosters that he had.

Sweeney is the one that should be fired. The players are the problem.


And btw, if I was a GM of a struggling team, I'd seriously consider jumping the line and firing my current coach for Montgomery, because I hold him in quite high regard.
Sweeney misread the Ullmark/Swayman situation. Should have at least had a verbal understanding with the Swayman camp, which he didn't. And that's only 1 of many examples of gross incompetence.
 

BostonBruins11

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Dec 4, 2010
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to the uninformed.... the Bruins have one of the youngest teams in the league. The rebuild has begun, they're literally in a mid-rebuild atm.

1732215949859.png


They're going through a difficult period, but they'll be fine.
 
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ijuka

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May 14, 2016
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Sweeney misread the Ullmark/Swayman situation. Should have at least had a verbal understanding with the Swayman camp, which he didn't. And that's only 1 of many examples of gross incompetence.
Ullmark has been playing like trash, too. Was he misreading it? I think that keeping Swayman was obvious. But it's true that Swayman was still unproven enough that giving him such a contract was a risk.

It's also genuinely possible that both Ullmark and Swayman are system goalies that benefited from playing behind the Bruins during that time. Although, I think that Swayman is genuinely underperforming, and can do better.

to the uninformed.... the Bruins have one of the youngest teams in the league. The rebuild has begun, they're literally in a mid-rebuild atm.

View attachment 933638

They're going through a difficult period, but they'll be fine.
While this is a fair point, it would be more fruitful to look at the average age of the core players / difference makers. The average age of random 10min/game 0-0 4th liners isn't that important. Many contending teams instead fill those spots with cheap veterans, for good reason.

Lindholm is 30, Pastrnak 28, Marchand pushing 40, Lindholm 30, even McAvoy is already 27.

They do have some youth such as Koepke, Kastelic, Lohrei, Beecher, Poitras, Geekie and all. But are any of these truly first-rate? Any future franchise players? Of course, Poitras is good and anything can happen, although I do wonder whether it's best for his development to play in NHL right now.
 
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PaulD

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Feb 4, 2016
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honestly, I look at boston's core and it sounds good on paper but most of the players are aged. even pastrnak isn't young anymore.

I think that Montgomery fell in to the old trap. He massively overperformed with a mediocre roster several years in a row. Then when his team plays at an expected level, he gets fired. They think his coaching is the issue, but it more than likely is not. He had a couple of INSANELY good seasons on the Bruins rosters that he had.

Sweeney is the one that should be fired. The players are the problem.


And btw, if I was a GM of a struggling team, I'd seriously consider jumping the line and firing my current coach for Montgomery, because I hold him in quite high regard.
Worked for Vegas . Stanley Cup Cassidys first season.
 
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bb_fan

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to the uninformed.... the Bruins have one of the youngest teams in the league. The rebuild has begun, they're literally in a mid-rebuild atm.

View attachment 933638

They're going through a difficult period, but they'll be fine.
Age has nothing to do with being in a rebuild.
They are also one of the 'heavier' teams in the league but they still haven't been a physical team.

This ain't a rebuild.
 
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Andre Palot

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Oct 20, 2012
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Even on an interim basis, firing one of your better coaches after an albeit rocky start for a coach who had one winning season a decade ago is just a wild move
 

SoundAndFury

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May 28, 2012
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Even on an interim basis, firing one of your better coaches after an albeit rocky start for a coach who had one winning season a decade ago is just a wild move
It's also wild how many people don't know what "interim" means. Monty wasn't fired FOR Sacco, Bruins might have a new head coach a week from now.
 
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PaulD

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Feb 4, 2016
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Everyone except the Bruins ownership seems to know the coach isn’t the problem. What are the odds Montgomery gets a job and goes further than the Bruins next season?
Sames as Cassidy did in Vegas.
and Keefe will do in Jersey?
 

HockeyVirus

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Nov 15, 2020
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IDK, they won 1-0 with a shutout but had 7 PP's. The roster is simply not talented enough unless the plan is to win 1-0 or 2-1 all year.
 

Suntouchable13

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Dec 20, 2003
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Toronto, ON
Ullmark has been playing like trash, too. Was he misreading it? I think that keeping Swayman was obvious. But it's true that Swayman was still unproven enough that giving him such a contract was a risk.

It's also genuinely possible that both Ullmark and Swayman are system goalies that benefited from playing behind the Bruins during that time. Although, I think that Swayman is genuinely underperforming, and can do better.


While this is a fair point, it would be more fruitful to look at the average age of the core players / difference makers. The average age of random 10min/game 0-0 4th liners isn't that important. Many contending teams instead fill those spots with cheap veterans, for good reason.

Lindholm is 30, Pastrnak 28, Marchand pushing 40, Lindholm 30, even McAvoy is already 27.

They do have some youth such as Koepke, Kastelic, Lohrei, Beecher, Poitras, Geekie and all. But are any of these truly first-rate? Any future franchise players? Of course, Poitras is good and anything can happen, although I do wonder whether it's best for his development to play in NHL right now.

So? Look at the Cup champs ages from last season: Barkov, 28. Bob, 35, Bennett, 27, Ekblad, 27. OEL, 32. Montour, 29. Rodrigues, 30. Tarasenko, 32. Verhaghe, 28. It's dumb to say that a team with a bunch of 22, or 23 year olds only win the cup.
 
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Mosby

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Feb 16, 2012
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On the Bruins feed last night they mentioned that Sacco is the guy for the season. Re-evaluate the interim tag in the offseason.
 

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