By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on Twitter / X @cookejournalism
There were a lot of questions to be answered at the Boston Bruins’ end-of-season press conference last May. Freshly removed from a rather lifeless second-round exit at the hands of the would-be Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, there was a lot for management to consider over the offseason.
Whether it was their plethora of free agents due for contracts, the goalie situation, or how the team would approach improving their club in the offseason, there weren’t many queries that went unasked. There also weren’t many that were fully answered. But CEO and alternate governor Charlie Jacobs made one thing crystal clear.
“The three gentlemen to my left have my complete confidence,” Jacobs said, alluding to president Cam Neely, general manager Don Sweeney, and head coach Jim Montgomery. “We have no expectation of personnel changes coming during this upcoming offseason.”
A second-round bounce in a season where Boston wasn’t necessarily expected to make any noise was viewed by most as a success. Therefore, the Bruins’ playoff exit didn’t immediately point to any glaring changes to be made in the front office or behind the bench. The B’s finished the regular season with a fourth-best conference record of 47-20-15, overcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs in a thrilling seven-game showdown before being somewhat dominated by Florida. On the surface, that doesn’t sound so bad.
The Bruins flipped a bridge year to a season that had them in serious contention for the Stanley Cup, and a lot of that had to do with Montgomery maximizing the talent he had in front of him. Depth forwards Charlie Coyle (25-35-60), Trent Frederic (18-22-40), and Morgan Geekie (17-22-39) all had career-best seasons to supplement an offense carried by David Pastrnak (47-63-110). As a result, the Bruins didn’t lose much momentum after their historic 65-12-5 run in 2022-23.
But if you dug a little deeper, you’d uncover the gaping holes in Boston’s game—especially in their second-round series against the Panthers. A 1-for-16 power play skidded through the series amid a plethora of other issues, including a lack of rubber to the net and a general need for the snarl and moxie necessary to compete in the playoffs. So, that begs the question: If Montgomery is responsible for uplifting a group of over-performing players, is he equally liable for the profusion of flaws that plagued them at the most important time of the year?
The short answer to that is yes and no. As head coach, of course he is responsible for how his team plays and competes on any given night, and the brand of hockey they rolled out for most of the second round was unacceptable. But at the same time, how can you praise him for turning something into nothing and then turn around and point the finger at him when it all falls apart? It’s a question worth considering as the bench boss enters the final year of his contract in Boston.
How Vital is the 2024-25 Season for Montgomery?
For starters, let’s make one thing clear. First, Montgomery has been a phenomenal coach for the Bruins since taking over at the helm for the 2022-23 season. He’s led the Bruins to a dominant 112-32-20 regular season record, showing a potent ability to get the most out of his players. However, in that same breath, it’s hard to see through the fact that the Bruins have endured two painful losses to the Panthers in back-to-back seasons under Montgomery’s tenure. And if the Bruins can’t start finding success in the postseason, Boston could very well be searching for a new coach at this time next season.
Still, I don’t see Montgomery having to make drastic changes to his approach to avoid that catastrophic scenario. For Montgomery, this season is all about proving he can learn from the decisions that steered the Bruins wrong these past two seasons. That starts with his philosophy of shooting the puck. He’s made it very clear over his two-year stint with the B’s that he values puck possession and quality of opportunities over a mere quantity of shots on goal. There’s nothing wrong with that, except when the playoffs roll around, and you total just 129 shots on goal across six games for an average of 21.5 per contest.
This is something that comes with experience, just how he learned that rolling with the goalie rotation was the right move after riding Linus Ullmark in 2023 led to Boston’s demise. Montgomery adapted to that mistake last postseason, and it only paved the way for Jeremy Swayman to take over the reins and run away with the starting job. I’d look for Boston to be a more shot-heavy team this season, especially in the playoffs. If the Bruins end up falling in the second round again due to their struggle to funnel rubber to the cage, it will leave management no choice but to evaluate the coaching position.
But to his credit, Boston was simply outmatched by Florida’s deep roster that packed size, speed, and tenacity into a 200-foot game that was nearly impossible to compete against. So while you can criticize Montgomery for his strategy, you can’t knock him for his roster constraints. That’s something the front office clearly recognized this summer, adding hefty free agents Nikita Zadorov, Max Jones, and Riley Tufte to ultimately make the Bruins harder to play against. Pair those adds with two-way centerman Elias Lindholm, and the Bruins are well-equipped to make some noise.
There’s really not much else for Montgomery to prove. He has a solid track record of regular season success, establishing himself as one of the best coaches in the league. While this upcoming season may be extremely important for his standing within the organization to make that next jump, it would take a disaster of a year for Montgomery to be without a job at the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign.
This season is essential not to prove that he’s a great coach—because we already know that—but for him to make that next step with the Bruins and pull them back into contention for the ultimate prize. If the Bruins stumble come May as a result of the same lingering issues that hampered them the past two seasons, that opens the door for an entirely different conversation regarding Montgomery and his future with the team. But I wouldn’t count on that happening for a third straight season.
With all the additions that Sweeney has made I feel optimistic about the upcoming season. That being said I still don’t know if the Bruins have what will take to beat Florida in a playoff series. Aside from the obvious lack of offense and shots on net against Florida the defense specifically McAvoy and Lindholm were awful. They were turning the puck over time and time again, I believe leading the NHL in playoff turnovers last year. Hopefully those two can get that cleaned up because no matter the good additions to the team and Montgomery’s coaching if your best defensmen don’t play like it the Bruins will not beat Florida.