The team’s recent struggles made a change unavoidable, especially after a rough 5-1 defeat against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite the necessity, firing Montgomery isn’t a magic fix for the Bruins’ issues. The real responsibility lies with Don Sweeney, who put together this underperforming team and has already cycled through several head coaches during his time as general manager.
Sweeney’s track record includes dismissing three head coaches in eight years, with Claude Julien and Bruce Cassidy among them; Cassidy even went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights shortly after leaving. If one GM keeps changing coaches without success, maybe it’s time to question his decisions . After all, he hasn’t won a championship and last reached the Stanley Cup Final over five years ago.
Bruins’ Success: A Closer Look
The Bruins have been solid in recent years, consistently making it to the playoffs for eight straight seasons. Montgomery’s first year saw them tie an NHL record with 65 regular season wins but ended in disappointment with an early playoff exit. Last year they secured 51 wins—an achievement many teams would envy—but their playoff performance has faltered lately.
Fans might wonder if there’s more beneath these numbers than meets the eye. The team has only managed one playoff round victory in three seasons despite decent regular-season records. Sweeney hasn’t addressed critical roster flaws while adding new ones along the way.
Roster Challenges and Changes
A significant issue arose when Patrice Bergeron retired two years ago, leaving a gap at center that Sweeney attempted to fill by signing Elias Lindholm for $54M over seven years. While Lindholm is talented, he’s similar to existing players like Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle—not quite what they need for contention.
Defensively, things have slipped too; they’ve become overly dependent on strong goaltending performances which can’t always save them. Adding Nikita Zadorov was costly in free agency and forced trading Linus Ullmark due to cap constraints—problems Sweeney himself created! Meanwhile playing tough negotiations with Jeremy Swayman led him into starting this season poorly without covering defensive weaknesses anymore.
Ultimately it seems like someone else should be held accountable besides just another coach being fired again… What do you think?
