Management Montgomery fired - Sacco named interim coach Sacco - Blues hire Monty

[GordonHowe]

One thing was for sure monty had to be
removed it was a train wreck here. Hopefully sacco stabilizes team so far so good.

I believe he will. I can already see it. I'm delighted by the recent turn of events on several fronts,

 

[ON3M4N]

The point is there were no impact players to draft where the Bruins were drafting.

Depends as what we're defining as an impact player.

I think we can all agree that this management group has struggled to draft & develop impact forwards. By impact, I'm talking about top 6 level forwards.

 

[GordonHowe]

 

[bobbyorr04]

Is it possible there was some collusion between the two??

It would actually make sense as to why Monty stopped coaching this season

either way...it sure looked like he was TRYING to get fired

 

[chizzler]

Is it possible there was some collusion between the two??

It would actually make sense as to why Monty stopped coaching this season

either way...it sure looked like he was TRYING to get fired

Something wasn’t right and you could be right. Who knows. People talking of the smear campaign annoys me. They guy had to go. This team was disorganized. There was know type of system that I could detect. His constant line changing would result in TMM penalties. That’s a sign of things. Didn’t they get the record last playoffs? I won’t mention the first year collapse . Sweeney had to do something. Everyone saying he can’t fire another coach. The Blues GM has no problems going through caching candidates.

 

[McGarnagle]

Is it possible there was some collusion between the two??

It would actually make sense as to why Monty stopped coaching this season

either way...it sure looked like he was TRYING to get fired

Honestly I think all three parties here were ready and preparing for this as far back as this summer.

It's clear that Sweeney/Neely had lost confidence in Jim and would've fired him outright if they lost to Toronto, but winning that series and taking Florida to six games a year removed from a historic regular season tied Boston's hands and they couldn't fire him in the offseason especially after Cassidy had instant success after leaving. Their roster moves they made this summer, bringing in guys who didn't fit Jim's system like Zadorov and Lindholm, showed they were looking at a future without him.

Monty, for his part, stalled any extension talks knowing he had a backup plan(and I don't think Sweeney was particularly serious about the extension either, they were just doing formalities), and St. Louis dragged their feet this summer in naming a coach, going with a low-commitment backup option in Bannister who would be easy to ditch on short notice.

I don't know if there was proper collusion like any words actually being exchanged by Armstrong and Monty's agents that say with a smoking gun that you have a job here if Boston fires you, but I'm pretty sure all parties had an understanding of the lay of the land. I doubt the Bruins pursue any tampering charges.

 

[UncleRico]

If monty was purposefully having the team tank this season, that definitely says alot about the players. So Monty told them to panic from the opposing forecheck? to don't do any backchecking? for the D to leave everyone alone in front of the net?

Damn, he must be a Jedi or something. Why couldn't he just do it to the opposing players?

Ya the notion from quite a few people here that Monty was trying to make the team perform poorly so he could leave is insane.

Not surprising though. Just like with every person who leaves this organization it’s kick them in the ass and smear their name on the way out.

 

[Pia8988]

Ya the notion from quite a few people here that Monty was trying to make the team perform poorly so he could leave is insane.

Not surprising though. Just like with every person who leaves this organization it’s kick them in the ass and smear their name on the way out.

It's also not the silver bullet people think it is. It's a massive indictment on every single player and coach still here.

 

[LouJersey]

Only Matter of Time Before Blues Hired Jim Montgomery

The St. Louis Blues wasted no time in hoping on free agent coach Jim Montgomery after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. Not only did the Blues hire Mongtomery

www.si.com

Blues general manager Armstrong pretty much said the main reason he fired Bannister was to hire Montgomery, but Friedman says the Bruins coach was on the Blues’ radar for much longer than his few days after firing.

“I think everybody knew the Blues had one eye on Montgomery, and Montgomery had one eye on the Blues.”

No wonder his coaching was awful this year, one eye on the Blues job. Just like the GM has one eye on the Four Nations. We need some full time bosses here

 

[Ratty]

Best coach we had since Bruce Cassidy. Good guy. Fell into a great spot in St. Loo., his home.

 

[Chevalier du Clavier]

Is it possible there was some collusion between the two??

It would actually make sense as to why Monty stopped coaching this season

either way...it sure looked like he was TRYING to get fired

 

[McGarnagle]

Only Matter of Time Before Blues Hired Jim Montgomery

The St. Louis Blues wasted no time in hoping on free agent coach Jim Montgomery after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. Not only did the Blues hire Mongtomery

www.si.com

Blues general manager Armstrong pretty much said the main reason he fired Bannister was to hire Montgomery, but Friedman says the Bruins coach was on the Blues’ radar for much longer than his few days after firing.

“I think everybody knew the Blues had one eye on Montgomery, and Montgomery had one eye on the Blues.”

No wonder his coaching was awful this year, one eye on the Blues job. Just like the GM has one eye on the Four Nations. We need some full time bosses here

While true, I think that's pretty dumb for Armstrong to say out loud. Gives Neely ammunition if he was thinking of pressing tampering charges.

That kind of talk could cost the Blues a second round pick.

 

[Pia8988]

Listen to the actual quote and not Ty's BS. It's obvious the call came after he was fired.

 

[Dr Hook]

The point is there were no impact players to draft where the Bruins were drafting.

Missed your reply here but all I will say to that is we’ll never know. You can’t look solely at a guy’s stat line in another org , especially young guys, and say unequivocally they wouldn’t have been an impact player here. And that is what is missing from the young player cupboard, especially forwards, who have they drafted - I’ll give you Swayman- other than Mac who has been that? Especially forwards, which is what started the conversation.

 

[PlayMakers]

Sweeney has done that. I am going middle of the road here, though. While he has gotten some regular NHL players from draft positions that more often give you nothing (Frederic, Beecher for example), you'd hope he'd have done a little better anyway. I think of picks like Vaak, Studnicka, Axel Andersson, JFK (that one maybe not his fault) and wish there'd been a bit more there there if you know what I mean. The Bruins have not really drafted an impact player since McAvoy, right? Pretty much everyone they have that has made it is of the quality that you can sign as cheap UFAs or make low-level deals to acquire. The cupboard is bare. Some of it is on Sweeney, some of it is draft position, but in the end it's been mediocre.

I am not opposed at all to trading this year's first if it goes for a young player approaching their prime that can be an impact player. If it goes to get another veteran deadline player, then I'd prefer to keep it.If kept, we are looking at a mid-round pick that might or might not give you a quality player a few years down the road. I'd rather see that turned into a player that can help now, so long as it's the right one.

I agree with your approach to dealing the 1st. I'd deal it for a young NHL'er, I would not deal it for a player over 30. You want to help Pasta win? You need young legs for that. A team of 30 somethings isn't going to win the Cup. A few guys here and there? Sure, but we've got.

Also, with regard to not drafting an impact player since McAvoy... They drafted Swayman after McAvoy. They didn't have a 1st the year after Sway in 2018, picked Beecher 30th in 2019, didn't have a 1st in 2020 but still got Lohrei who looks like he could be an impact player when he matures, they grabbed Lysell in 2021 (at 21), they didn't have a 1st in 2022 but still picked up Poitras. There are some intriguing picks in the more recent drafts too. You can nitpick any team and say this pick or that pick is a disappointment but at the end of the day, Sweeney's well above the league average in terms of hits and has sprinkled in a few home runs.

 

[Chevalier du Clavier]

Listen to the actual quote and not Ty's BS. It's obvious the call came after he was fired.

I'm not saying he did or didn't, but I can see why someone would question the timing based on listening to his response. He switched gears quickly, like a person does when they get excited and forget they shouldn't be saying something. No one's stopping you from disagreeing.

 

[PlayMakers]

Listen to the actual quote and not Ty's BS. It's obvious the call came after he was fired.

I listened to it and don't think Ty's take is BS. Monty specifically didn't answer the question and got a little animated in with his response.

Monty knew STL was interested. They would have signed him after Toronto G7 if he lost that game. I think Monty knew then that's where he wanted to be. It's where his wife is from and wants to be. It's why Monty turned down extension offers...

Monty had 1 foot out the door. I don't think he deliberately coached to lose, I think he has more integrity than that, I just think he knew and the players knew he was leaving after this year and that helped contribute to the awful start.

It's also why the buzz phrase the day after Monty was fired was "we want to go forward with people who want to be here."

 

[bobbyorr04]

Ya the notion from quite a few people here that Monty was trying to make the team perform poorly so he could leave is insane.

Not surprising though. Just like with every person who leaves this organization it’s kick them in the ass and smear their name on the way out.

I don't know how he could MAKE the team perform poorly, but he sure wasn't trying to make the team play better

Constantly mixing up line combinations in a blender before each game, and losing his cool on some players during games told me his days were numbered

..and his post game comments after each loss were hilarious and maddening at the same time ...and made no sense

He wanted to get fired IMO

 

[Pia8988]

I listened to it and don't think Ty's take is BS. Monty specifically didn't answer the question and got a little animated in with his response.

Monty knew STL was interested. They would have signed him after Toronto G7 if he lost that game. I think Monty knew then that's where he wanted to be. It's where his wife is from and wants to be. It's why Monty turned down extension offers...

Monty had 1 foot out the door. I don't think he deliberately coached to lose, that doesn't make any sense, I just think he knew and the players knew he was leaving after this year and that helped contribute to the awful start.

It's also why the buzz phrase the day after Monty was "going forward with people who want to be here."

"Army called me and I thought it was going to be a 'hey keep your head up, enjoy the family we've all been through it' support type call but then it turned business and my blood started pumping"

When do you think the call happened? It was a call after being fired. For f***s sake. But yeah. Ty's take is totally genuine.

 

[Dr Hook]

I agree with your approach to dealing the 1st. I'd deal it for a young NHL'er, I would not deal it for a player over 30. You want to help Pasta win? You need young legs for that. A team of 30 somethings isn't going to win the Cup. A few guys here and there? Sure, but we've got.

Also, with regard to not drafting an impact player since McAvoy... They drafted Swayman after McAvoy. They didn't have a 1st the year after Sway in 2018, picked Beecher 30th in 2019, didn't have a 1st in 2020 but still got Lohrei who looks like he could be an impact player when he matures, they grabbed Lysell in 2021 (at 21), they didn't have a 1st in 2022 but still picked up Poitras. There are some intriguing picks in the more recent drafts too. You can nitpick any team and say this pick or that pick is a disappointment but at the end of the day, Sweeney's well above the league average in terms of hits and has sprinkled in a few home runs.

That's fair. I don't think he's sucked like some here do, but I do wish he had done better at the forward position particularly ( I left Swayman out, mea culpa there). There is still time for a few to be the impact player the team needs in terms of scoring, which is my real issue. I think the D bench is also pretty thin. I do agree with (and why I am not in the Sweeney sucks at drafting camp) that lack of picks and low draft position in rounds is a real thing and it is harder to hit gold that way.

 

[KrugAvoy]

Is it possible there was some collusion between the two??

It would actually make sense as to why Monty stopped coaching this season

either way...it sure looked like he was TRYING to get fired

Yeah I don't know how much it played a roll but this situation does kind of smell fishy

 

[HumBucker]

Monty had 1 foot out the door. I don't think he deliberately coached to lose, that doesn't make any sense, I just think he knew and the players knew he was leaving after this year and that helped contribute to the awful start.

This makes more sense to me than all this talk of collusion. I think people, as usual, are reading way too much into things. We don't know what the nature of the contract talks were between Monty and the Bruins management. Maybe he had a good enough sense that they were looking to move on, or were just hard-balling him, and maybe he knew St. Louis was a possibility.

I don't think any NHL coach with any self-respect would not coach to win, whatever their scenario is off the ice. But I think it's possible, as Playmakers says, that Monty knew his time was finite behind the Bruins bench, and the players knew it too.

Also, consider the language used by the Bruins management and players after Monty was fired. Almost to a man they described him as a great coach "and a better human being." If they thought he had colluded with another team and had been self-servingly coaching to lose just so he would get fired, I don't think they would have opted to speak so glowingly about him as a human being. It wasn't necessary.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Alicat]

The whole thing smells fishy. At this point I am glad he's gone.

 

[ON3M4N]

If the info here is true, it seems like neither side saw a future with the other. They should have mutually agreed to part ways and call it a day.

Neely didn't like Monty
Sweeney built a roster that doesn't fit Monty's playing style
Bruins wouldn't go more than 3yrs on an extension (Monty wanted 5yrs)
Monty knew STL wanted him back and would give him 5yrs
Monty felt like STL was home and was done with Boston