Management VIDEO: Bruins Introduce Jim Montgomery As Head Coach

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Can't believe the Globe had a take like that. So out of character for them. :-

 

[PlayMakers]

fwiw……

Clearly, Bruins ownership supports its management team. Here’s the problem with that. - The Boston Globe

General manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have their new coach and the blessing of Jeremy and Charlie Jacobs, but may need more than that to make the Bruins a true contender.

www.bostonglobe.com

The pucks equivalent of Punxsutawney Phil happened for Hub hockey fans Monday. The Jacobs — longtime Bruins owner Jeremy and his CEO son Charlie — emerged from their bunker to address the state of the Spoked-B’s. The occasion was the introduction of affable new coach Jim Montgomery.

Montgomery might want to watch his back because if the last guy is any indication, the Bruins will have no qualms about pinning blame on it.

There’s no truth to the rumor that if the Jacobs see their shadow at the dais it signals six more years of playoff gates. There also was no clear explanation for why ownership saw fit to can coach Bruce Cassidy, whose .672 point percentage is fourth-highest in franchise history and highest of anyone with four or more seasons, while granting Teflon general manager Don Sweeney a multiyear extension.

The incongruity and injustice of those decisions is harder to get around than Zdeno Chara in his prime, especially considering the Bruins have been eliminated by the second round in six of the seven seasons of Sweeney’s reign. Another hockey house of cards Bruins roster met its demise in the first round this past season thanks to the Carolina Hurricanes and some untimely Boston blue line absences.


It’s understandable and admirable that ownership wants to support management. There were obviously some restive players in Black and Gold sweaters who had enough of Cassidy’s brand of bluntness.

The problem is the gap between the Bruins and true Cup contention can’t be bridged by the guy behind the bench alone. That’s wishful thinking.

Sweeney and Neely have peddled this new coach-as-panacea plan to the Jacobs, who’ve bought it hook, line, and sinker.



Sweeney has done a solid job as GM, but we’re not talking about Bill Belichick or Theo Epstein.

The outlier over seven seasons of Sweeney-built teams was the 2019 Stanley Cup finalists. The Bruins enjoyed a gilded path with no Tampa Bay, Washington, or Pittsburgh and blew a golden opportunity to cart the Cup around Causeway Street. The entire organization has gotten more mileage out of that Cup Final than a Toyota Prius.


They’re still clutching their core, fingering rosary beads for the returns of Patrice Bergeron for a 19th season and 36-year-old David Krejci from a sabbatical in Czechia, and clinging to the idea they’re a new coaching voice away from legit Stanley Cup contention.

Not convincing. You would hope the Jacobs would demand more vision than that from those they’ve entrusted and empowered with the fate of the franchise.

It’s understandable and admirable that ownership wants to support management. There were obviously some restive players in Black and Gold sweaters who had enough of Cassidy’s brand of bluntness.

The problem is the gap between the Bruins and true Cup contention can’t be bridged by the guy behind the bench alone. That’s wishful thinking.

Sweeney and Neely have peddled this new coach-as-panacea plan to the Jacobs, who’ve bought it hook, line, and sinker.

If you’re the Jacobs, don’t you want to hear that instead of having to re-tool on the fly or undertake a painful rebuild, which Charlie said would be “awfully difficult to see in this market,” you can just change jockeys and return to the winner’s circle?

That’s apparently enough to distract ownership from the actual viability and veracity of this plan.

Even Montgomery acknowledged, “I think the staff did a really good job last year.”

He added, “Every team has a max ceiling, and the exciting part is it’s up to us — management, staff, and especially the players — to try and reach that ceiling.”

Cassidy usually did reach that ceiling, squeezing the most out of the rosters he was handed.

Sweeney has been heavily involved in player development for the Bruins since 2006. That was supposed to be his calling card as GM. He hasn’t delivered there in what he called a “results-driven business.” That’s hamstrung the Bruins far more than coaching.

The Jacobs are bankrolling the Bruins to win now.

“We’re going to spend to the max to deliver the best product we possibly can to our fans. That’s not going to change,” said Charlie Jacobs.

“I would hope that people could put that in their back pocket and understand that we are committed to winning a Stanley Cup, and we will do whatever it takes to get us to that threshold again.”

Well, not everything. They weren’t willing to take a hard look at the general manager’s office and move on.

Sweeney gets to continue while Cassidy gets canned. Bruins ownership is expert at crunching numbers, but that still doesn’t add up.

I think he hits the nail on the head here.

 

[smithformeragent]

I throw Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington all into the same pile; past their prime, but not ready to cut bait and start the rebuild.

And given that business is good, seats are filled, and beer is flowing, why would the Jacobs want to change direction?

 

[Mainehockey33]

I throw Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington all into the same pile; past their prime, but not ready to cut bait and start the rebuild.

And given that business is good, seats are filled, and beer is flowing, why would the Jacobs want to change direction?

There’s more than one way to rebuild. The Bruins have a solid young core already, blowing that up for a chance at a top 5 pick is foolish. If they sign a UFA center next year and one prospect becomes a top 6 center they could be contenders for years. Blowing it up could easily turn us into the next Buffalo or Arizona.

If you meant a retool with trading guys like Coyle then I agree, but they could still do that next summer.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

When you look at a young core, so far I see...

xxx-xxx-Pasta
xxx-xxx-Debrusk
Whatever-

McAvoy-Lindholm

Swayman.

And Lindholm isn't even really young so idk if he counts

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

Anyway ... Back to Montgomery.

 

[everett rats]

There’s more than one way to rebuild. The Bruins have a solid young core already, blowing that up for a chance at a top 5 pick is foolish. If they sign a UFA center next year and one prospect becomes a top 6 center they could be contenders for years. Blowing it up could easily turn us into the next Buffalo or Arizona.

If you meant a retool with trading guys like Coyle then I agree, but they could still do that next summer.

So you're going to hire a coach tell him to tank they're going to have to tell the future franchise goalie to make sure he stinks you're going to have to tell 63 and 73 to not come back from injury you're going to have to trade number 88 and that's just the start of things you have to do to tank you can do all that and then the pink com balls can bounce the wrong way and then you end up getting the number four pick it will never happen so stop focusing on a rebuild and start focusing on this year's team and how they can rebuild on the fly you don't have a talk goal scorer I'm thinking going to tank anytime soon 27 and 73 are here for the next 8 years and argobly head together one of the best defensive combos in the league this team is nowhere close to tanking

 

[PlayMakers]

When you look at a young core, so far I see...

xxx-xxx-Pasta
xxx-xxx-Debrusk
Whatever-

McAvoy-Lindholm

Swayman.

And Lindholm isn't even really young so idk if he counts

DeBrusk-xxxxx-Pastrnak
xxxxx-xxxxx-Lysell

Lindholm-McAvoy
Lohrei-Carlo

Swayman

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

I agree with you @PlayMakers for the most part but i dont see Carlo.

 

[Mainehockey33]

So you're going to hire a coach tell him to tank they're going to have to tell the future franchise goalie to make sure he stinks you're going to have to tell 63 and 73 to not come back from injury you're going to have to trade number 88 and that's just the start of things you have to do to tank you can do all that and then the pink com balls can bounce the wrong way and then you end up getting the number four pick it will never happen so stop focusing on a rebuild and start focusing on this year's team and how they can rebuild on the fly you don't have a talk goal scorer I'm thinking going to tank anytime soon 27 and 73 are here for the next 8 years and argobly head together one of the best defensive combos in the league this team is nowhere close to tanking

Try throwing in some punctuation next time.

 

[Spooner st]

fwiw……

Clearly, Bruins ownership supports its management team. Here’s the problem with that. - The Boston Globe

General manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have their new coach and the blessing of Jeremy and Charlie Jacobs, but may need more than that to make the Bruins a true contender.

www.bostonglobe.com

The pucks equivalent of Punxsutawney Phil happened for Hub hockey fans Monday. The Jacobs — longtime Bruins owner Jeremy and his CEO son Charlie — emerged from their bunker to address the state of the Spoked-B’s. The occasion was the introduction of affable new coach Jim Montgomery.

Montgomery might want to watch his back because if the last guy is any indication, the Bruins will have no qualms about pinning blame on it.

There’s no truth to the rumor that if the Jacobs see their shadow at the dais it signals six more years of playoff gates. There also was no clear explanation for why ownership saw fit to can coach Bruce Cassidy, whose .672 point percentage is fourth-highest in franchise history and highest of anyone with four or more seasons, while granting Teflon general manager Don Sweeney a multiyear extension.

The incongruity and injustice of those decisions is harder to get around than Zdeno Chara in his prime, especially considering the Bruins have been eliminated by the second round in six of the seven seasons of Sweeney’s reign. Another hockey house of cards Bruins roster met its demise in the first round this past season thanks to the Carolina Hurricanes and some untimely Boston blue line absences.


It’s understandable and admirable that ownership wants to support management. There were obviously some restive players in Black and Gold sweaters who had enough of Cassidy’s brand of bluntness.

The problem is the gap between the Bruins and true Cup contention can’t be bridged by the guy behind the bench alone. That’s wishful thinking.

Sweeney and Neely have peddled this new coach-as-panacea plan to the Jacobs, who’ve bought it hook, line, and sinker.



Sweeney has done a solid job as GM, but we’re not talking about Bill Belichick or Theo Epstein.

The outlier over seven seasons of Sweeney-built teams was the 2019 Stanley Cup finalists. The Bruins enjoyed a gilded path with no Tampa Bay, Washington, or Pittsburgh and blew a golden opportunity to cart the Cup around Causeway Street. The entire organization has gotten more mileage out of that Cup Final than a Toyota Prius.


They’re still clutching their core, fingering rosary beads for the returns of Patrice Bergeron for a 19th season and 36-year-old David Krejci from a sabbatical in Czechia, and clinging to the idea they’re a new coaching voice away from legit Stanley Cup contention.

Not convincing. You would hope the Jacobs would demand more vision than that from those they’ve entrusted and empowered with the fate of the franchise.

It’s understandable and admirable that ownership wants to support management. There were obviously some restive players in Black and Gold sweaters who had enough of Cassidy’s brand of bluntness.

The problem is the gap between the Bruins and true Cup contention can’t be bridged by the guy behind the bench alone. That’s wishful thinking.

Sweeney and Neely have peddled this new coach-as-panacea plan to the Jacobs, who’ve bought it hook, line, and sinker.

If you’re the Jacobs, don’t you want to hear that instead of having to re-tool on the fly or undertake a painful rebuild, which Charlie said would be “awfully difficult to see in this market,” you can just change jockeys and return to the winner’s circle?

That’s apparently enough to distract ownership from the actual viability and veracity of this plan.

Even Montgomery acknowledged, “I think the staff did a really good job last year.”

He added, “Every team has a max ceiling, and the exciting part is it’s up to us — management, staff, and especially the players — to try and reach that ceiling.”

Cassidy usually did reach that ceiling, squeezing the most out of the rosters he was handed.

Sweeney has been heavily involved in player development for the Bruins since 2006. That was supposed to be his calling card as GM. He hasn’t delivered there in what he called a “results-driven business.” That’s hamstrung the Bruins far more than coaching.

The Jacobs are bankrolling the Bruins to win now.

“We’re going to spend to the max to deliver the best product we possibly can to our fans. That’s not going to change,” said Charlie Jacobs.

“I would hope that people could put that in their back pocket and understand that we are committed to winning a Stanley Cup, and we will do whatever it takes to get us to that threshold again.”

Well, not everything. They weren’t willing to take a hard look at the general manager’s office and move on.

Sweeney gets to continue while Cassidy gets canned. Bruins ownership is expert at crunching numbers, but that still doesn’t add up.

Great article, I like the tone and the delivery. No mince words.

Can't believe the Globe had a take like that. So out of character for them. :-

Ooh please.

I think he hits the nail on the head here.

Absolutely. Love it.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Can't believe the Globe had a take like that. So out of character for them. :-

Gotta give the people what they want.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

I think he hits the nail on the head here.

Me too. Gets to the point, well written, identifies the issues management would rather not talk about. Good piece.

 

[chizzler]

This guy Gasper rubs me the wrong way. When does this guy ever cover the B’s? He’s not a hockey guy. Let the other beat writers take their shots. Don’t like how he was bringing up Cassidy at Monty’s introduction. Weasel.

 

[Gordoff]

Charlie either misspoke or divulged a secret. He said Cam reports to Don

On how they came to the conclusion to release the previous coach instead of hockey operations…

Charlie Jacobs: “I’ll let the Chairman speak, but I’ll go first on that one. I want to say the Boston Bruins have been to the Stanley Cup Finals three times in the past eleven years under Cam Neely’s tenure. I want to say we have somewhere around a 600+ win percentage under our general manager’s tenure. The head coach frankly is the responsibility of the general manager, in our opinion. He has to be accountable for that. Likewise, the president is accountable to the general manager. So, if they come to us and say, ‘Hey listen, we think this might be in the best interest,’ we’re of course going to follow their lead. They’re empowered to make those decisions and it’s not our job to interfere with them but rather to empower them to make those types of decisions and support them. I’m not sure if I answered all of your question, but I think that’s the general gist, is that we went and followed management’s direction. There are different types of decisions that are involved in the National Hockey League, and Jim Montgomery just spoke to how he plans to lead, how he makes decisions, what is the process. Some are consultative, some are collaborative, and some are unilateral. I think by in large, if you were to speak to a majority of management in the National Hockey League, there’s a time where they have to make a decision that might not necessarily be collaborative or consultative. But something that they have to make is in the best interest of the club. It’s our job to support them in that process.”

Jeremy Jacobs: “I totally agree with him. It was a long answer, but it’s quite truthful, we’ve been doing that for the last forty years or so and it’s worked pretty good.”

If he had said the president is accountable FOR the general manager that would seem normal, but he didn't and was not corrected by Papa.

Yes, I was wondering about that. I doubt that he divulged a secret. Maybe
Charlie ain't that smaht.

 

[Gordoff]

This guy Gasper rubs me the wrong way. When does this guy ever cover the B’s? He’s not a hockey guy. Let the other beat writers take their shots. Don’t like how he was bringing up Cassidy at Monty’s introduction. Weasel.

I hope he rubbed the front office and the Jacob's the wrong way too. He seems
to have more balls than most of the "hockey media" in this town. I don't care what he's supposed to cover, if it's okay with his bosses, kudo's to him!

 

[Fenway]

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I hope he rubbed the front office and the Jacob's the wrong way too. He seems
to have more balls than most of the "hockey media" in this town. I don't care what he's supposed to cover, if it's okay with his bosses, kudo's to him!

Of course it’s ok with his bosses it’s The Globe going after the other sports teams in town. They’ve been doing it for a long time…

 

[ODAAT]

sorry if posted already, real nice article, I identify a ton with what he says here due to personal experience with this myself.

Jim Montgomery had 'long conversation' with Bruins about Dallas firing, alcoholism

Jim Montgomery was introduced as the Boston Bruins’ head coach on Monday, two and a half years after being fired by the Dallas Stars for unprofessional conduct stemming from his alcoholism. He said he a “long conversation” with the Bruins about it.

www.audacy.com

 

[Alicat]

Of course it’s ok with his bosses it’s The Globe going after the other sports teams in town. They’ve been doing it for a long time…

Gasper needs crap for his Saturday radio show that airs after the Hockey Show when in season. Don't forget that he is also employed by the owner of the Penguins who would love nothing more than to embarass Jacobs and the Bruins.

Gasper went to WCVB and lasted all of 5 minutes which speaks volumes.

His questioning and harping on Monty's past is what the directive from both 98.5 and the Globe said. Every host in the studio since Monty has come aboard has gone after him b/c he's an alcoholic and has demanded to know why. It's disgusting.

 

[Gordoff]

Gasper needs crap for his Saturday radio show that airs after the Hockey Show when in season. Don't forget that he is also employed by the owner of the Penguins who would love nothing more than to embarass Jacobs and the Bruins.

Gasper went to WCVB and lasted all of 5 minutes which speaks volumes.

His questioning and harping on Monty's past is what the directive from both 98.5 and the Globe said. Every host in the studio since Monty has come aboard has gone after him b/c he's an alcoholic and has demanded to know why. It's disgusting.

I didn't know this. I'm okay with an open dialogue/discussion about the front office but taking shots at Montgomery is very low class. JM's job is going to be tough enough without the nonsense.

 

[Alicat]

I didn't know this. I'm okay with an open dialogue/discussion about the front office but taking shots at Montgomery is very low class. JM's job is going to be tough enough without the nonsense.

As soon as it broke that the coach was Monty and not Dave Quinn suddenly him getting fired because of inappropriate conduct was brought up repeatedly. Social media was disgusting no doubt fueled by these idiots.

As far as I'm concerned, sports radio as well as other "fans" who are suddenly "Cassidy was the best" owe Monty a huge apology..

You don't like Cam, Don or the Jacobs Family fine but don't take it out on Monty.

 

[chizzler]

Always thought Gasper was a weasel.

 

[Otherworld]

With the Bergeron signing, his job got a little easier

 

[ODAAT]

I throw Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington all into the same pile; past their prime, but not ready to cut bait and start the rebuild.

And given that business is good, seats are filled, and beer is flowing, why would the Jacobs want to change direction?

There is definitely that element of seats filled, beer flowing and not to defend Sweeney and Co but can anyone here tell me what the Pens succession plan is for Sid leaving? Do they have a viable 1C candidate? Hell, I`d argue they have no plan for post Gino life either or they likely wouldn`t have re-signed him

How bout the Caps, plan for life post Ovi? Backstrom likely done or close to it, any plan as far as internal readiness of a prospect?

You simply can`t have a legit plan B for superstar players, now, can or could the B`s have drafted better? Looking at the Pens history, not a ton of names here playing meaningful minutes since say 2015

Pittsburgh Penguins Draft History at hockeydb.com

Here`s the Caps , not a ton of minutes being played by these picks since 2015 draft

Washington Capitals Draft History at hockeydb.com

www.hockeydb.com

Bruins

Boston Bruins Draft History at hockeydb.com

www.hockeydb.com

Since 2015, Carlo, Jake, McAvoy, Sway, Studs to a lesser degree all have played meaningful minutes with the team and I`d argue that the last few drafts by the B`s might produce some solid prospects

The B`s don`t own the market on poor drafts but in regards to succession plans, there simply isn`t a team out there who has one for superstar players who are nearing the end that I can think of