Montgomery has done an excellent job throughout his first two seasons with the Bruins.
Jim Montgomery, the 55-year-old head coach of the Boston Bruins, is entering the final year of his contract, and general manager Don Sweeney acknowledged Wednesday that the team has been in talks with him about an extension.
“There have been talks, and I think Monty will, I’m not going to speak for him, but I’m going to guess that he’ll take Brad’s line of, you know, keeping that between us,” Sweeney told reporters during a news conference. “Yeah, there have been talks of an extension.”
Montgomery was asked during his news conference on Wednesday how the lack of an extension now will effect him in the upcoming season.
“I don’t think it would affect me, just being honest,” Montgomery told reporters. “I love being a Bruin; I consider myself very lucky to be the head coach of the Boston Bruins, and my emphasis as coach is to stay in the moment and improve every day.
“I understand it’s a cliché… But I can’t allow myself to think about the future because it would be hypocritical, given that I expect our players to constantly be present. I need to stay in the moment. So that’s the way I see things. It doesn’t matter whether I had an eight-year or one-day contract. That’s how I proceed. That’s my procedure.”
Montgomery was hired in July 2022. In his two seasons in command, the Bruins had a terrific regular season record of 112-32-20. In 2022-23, they broke NHL records for the most wins and points in a regular season, but their playoff run was cut short by a squandered 3-1 series lead in the first round to the Florida Panthers, which included a Game 7 overtime loss at home.
Last season, the Bruins almost wasted another 3-1 lead in the first round, but they prevailed in overtime in Game 7 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Panthers knocked them out again, this time in the second round.
Overall, Montgomery has done an excellent job. Many of the team’s young players, including Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic, Mason Lohrei, Matthew Poitras, and Johnny Beecher, have thrived in Montgomery’s system. He is a player’s coach, and his style fits this group.
It would be wise for both sides to strike an agreement before the season begins. Montgomery deserves another contract.
But the Bruins have a more pressing contract concern to resolve, and that is Swayman. The organization’s No. 1 goaltender is still a restricted free agent and will not be joining the team in camp until his contract status has been settled.
