The Bruins are hoping a change behind the bench will provide a spark for their foundering season.
Boston fired head coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday and promoted assistant coach Joe Sacco to lead the team on an interim basis.
“Today, I made a very difficult decision with regards to a coaching change,” general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement. “Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person. He has made a positive impact throughout the Bruins organization, and I am both grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with him and learn from him.”
Montgomery took over the Bruins job in 2022-23 and immediately saw success, leading the team to an NHL-record 135 points and 65 wins, though they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Panthers.
Though Boston followed that history-making season with 109 points last year, things have trended further down to start this campaign with an 8-9-3 mark, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
The final straw for Montgomery was seemingly Monday’s listless 5-1 loss to the Metropolitan Division basement-dwelling Blue Jackets, though it was far from the only reason.
The Bruins haven’t been particularly strong in any facet of the game, but Boston’s offense and special teams have been particularly troublesome as the team is 31st in goals per game (2.40) and at the bottom of the league in power-play conversion (11.7 percent).
They also rank 25th in penalty kill at 75.6 percent.
On top of that, they’re yielding 3.45 goals per game, 28th in the NHL.
Only one player ranks in the top 50 in points, as David Pastrnak’s 17 ranks tied for 41st.
Sacco is now tasked with leading a turnaround with things spiraling.
A Boston University star, Sacco played 13 years in the NHL before going into coaching, leading the Avalanche for four seasons (2009-13) with a 130-134-30 record.
He’s been an assistant with the Bruins for the last decade.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Sacco will get a “real crack” at the full-time job before the Bruins consider talking to other candidates.
“I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to bring the players and the team back to focusing on the consistent effort the NHL requires to have success,” Sweeney said. “We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect.”