Boston Bruins Shake Up Jim Montgomery’s Coaching Staff

Boston Bruins Shake Up Jim Montgomery’s Coaching Staff

Jim Montgomery’s coaching staff got a bit of a shakeup on Wednesday but what does it all really mean you’re locked on Bruins your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day what is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the locked on Boston Bruins podcast I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a Daily Show where we discuss all things spoked be today is uh sorry Thursday June 13th and I want to thank you so much for making lockdown Bruins part of your daily routine got ahead of myself there thinking it was Friday but sadly it’s only Thursday podcast is free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube and we’re part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply we’re going to be talking about Jim Montgomery’s coaching staff and some additions promotions that were made there too on Wednesday before we get into that quick reminder you can find the podcast on social media at locked NHL Bruins and you can find me by hockey thoughts dad jokes ATC McLaren a familiar face will be back with the Boston Bruins this coming season as Bruins GM Don Sweeney announced yesterday that Jay leech has been named an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins in addition Joe Saco has been named associate coach and John mlan will join the Bruins Player Development staff as a skating and skills coach now leech of course 44 years old he most recently served as an assistant coach with the Seattle Kraken from 2021 up until this past season prior to that time he spent Five Seasons with the Providence Bruins acting as head coach from 2017 to 2021 and for quite some time he was seen as kind of the air apparent to Bruce Cassidy however his time in Boston ended before Bruce Cassidy was let go he joined the Kraken but now now he is back and Don Sweeney said the Bruins are excited to welcome Jay back to the organization he was a very successful coach with the Providence Bruins where he greatly impacted the Player Development system he also brings valuable experience as an assistant coach from the Seattle Kraken the Bruins believe Jay will integrate quickly and compliment the current staff as he comes back to the Bruins to work Prim primarily with the team defense Corp leech of course was instrumental in uh uh helping the Kraken reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2023 the team did fall off a bit this year they had a coaching change with uh Dave haxall out Dan bilma in leech coming back to the Boston Bruins as an assistant coach who will work primarily with the defense now Joe sacko as I mentioned as well promoted to associate coach he’s been an integral part of the coaching staff for quite some time due to his experience and the passion he brings to the group every day and he is going to be an associate coach as opposed to an assistant coach and there’s a fine line between the two uh assistant coaches help with practices they’re usually in charge of one group of players either the forwards or the defenseman they usually help with one area of the game as well whether it be the penalty kill or the power play according to hockey skills training all associate coaches are assistant coaches but not all assistants are Associates and the reason for the discrepancy is that not all NHL teams designate associate coaches uh in terms of the hierarchy Associates are one step above a normal assistant coach and one step below a head coach so Joe sacko essentially is Jim Montgomery’s right-hand man he’s not on the level of Montgomery but he’s above the assistants uh it gives them a bit of power and if the team designates an associate coach it does make them the true second in command in the locker room if a head coach is not around for any reason the associate could step in and assume the role if the head coach is fired midseason and the organization is not interested in filling the vacancy with an outsider the associate is generally the one who steps in as interim so the main difference is Rank and the respect and Reliance from the head coach himself um uh it’s an earned title for sure given the fact that there’s only a handful of teams that have associate coaches in the NHL two positions are similar associate assistant in the fact that they overlap quite a bit and he’s kind of now considered the lead assistant coach one that’s understood to step in and lead the team at a moment’s notice if required to uh associate coaches as does sacko usually have prior head coaching experience and um while there’s not a huge difference between the two there’s some subtle differences and you can now consider Joe sacko to be uh Jim Montgomery’s rightand man and uh again Montgomery said he’s been integral to the staff and um is pretty much the second in command now I did mention John McAn shifting back to a skating and skill development position where he will remain integrated with the current staff as well as Broad in his scope to work with the entire Player Development system uh John has been instrumental working with the medical staff on players returning from injury and his experience as an assistant coach will provide great insights to young players throughout the organization to understand the work required to develop as a bruin so when it’s all said and done um here is kind of the lay of the land at the you have Jim Montgomery as the head coach overseeing everything working on the power play as well along with Chris Kelly who’s still around sacko who’s been with the organization since 2014 is Montgomery’s number two he’ll continue to work on the penalty kill which routinely draws High marks mlan Focus focusing on more of a skills role last season uh will and served as kind of an eye in the sky still doing a bit of that but also now uh helping in terms of Player Development so that is kind of the lay of the land for the Bruins in terms of the uh the coaching staff at the moment you have Montgomery as a head coach sacko as an associate Chris Kelly John mlan sorry Chris Kelly and Jay leech as assistants John mlan Player Development Bob essensa remains around as the goenda what does this mean for Jim Montgomery and what does it mean for uh the Bruins moving forward well we’ll talk about that here as the podcast continues game time makes getting NBA Finals ticket gets even faster and easier now chances are there will not be a game five in the NBA Finals back in Boston but if there is you want to check out game time because prices on the app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off they have killer last minute deals Allin prices views from your seat and a lowest price guarantee so game time takes all the guesswork out of buying MBA tickets the last minute deals you can save up to 60% off buying last minute ticket tiets for sports Celtics Red Sox or concerts comedy 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believed he was given a three-year contract at around $2 million per season so do the math this will be his third season behind the bench as coach of the Boston Bruins now well last season’s regular season campaign was exceptional they flamed out in the playoffs in the first round this year pretty good regular season they went even further in the second round or into the second round this year and therefore it’s reasonable to assume that at some point Jim Montgomery will be given a contract extension he’s done pretty well coaching the Boston Bruins All Things Considered last year you know it wasn’t the toughest job in the NHL seeing as the Bruins were so loaded but you know there’s still something to be said for pulling everybody together learning from your mistakes certainly and then rectifying those as you move forward and there were some improvements coaching wise in the playoffs although there were some uh decisions made that perhaps shouldn’t have been like changing the lineup in the leaf series after game four Etc Jim Montgomery though 164 regular season games a record of 112 32 and 20 a 744 safe percentage N9 and 10 in the playoffs interestingly Bruce Cassidy had a record of 36 and 37 in the playoffs uh but he did take the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 I believe his uh what was it his second or third year on the job with the Boston Bruins um let’s see it was his yeah third year on the job so if we uh go by that trajectory hey under Bruce Cassidy the Bruins lost in the first round to the Ottawa Senators lost in the second round to the Tampa Bay Lightning then advance to the Stanley Cup Final lost to the St Louis Blues and then lost second round second round first round so he got six seasons as head coach of the Boston Bruins Jim Montgomery’s only had two so far uh if you go back prior obviously Claude Julian had quite a run 10 seasons with the Boston Bruins w a cup one a jack Adams Bruce Cassidy won a jack Adams Jim Montgomery’s won a jack Adams neither have one cups prior to that Mike sulliv or Dave Lewis one season Mike Sullivan had uh two seasons 164 games kind of a quick succession of coaches with Michael Connell coaching nine games Robbie fic a couple Seasons Mike Keenan one season Pat burns like three and a bit so you see that dating back to the 90s there wasn’t a lot of job security with the Boston Bruins the front office was a bit more volatile there has been some stability there with Claud Julian getting like 10 seasons almost Bruce Cassie six seasons Jim Montgomery two so far third on the way but he does need a contract extension and with Joe sacko stepping in as associate like I mentioned earlier that means he’s basically the second in command if Montgomery is absent for any reason or if Montgomery were to be dismissed say the Bruins go out and sign a bunch of high-profile free agents or some at least make a trade for involving lenus allmark bring somebody in and the expectations are higher heading into this season and they come out flailing to open the year and off to a terrible record there’s some builtin insulation there for a coaching change sacko could just step right in and leech would be there as assistant Chris Kelly as well and they could carry on I doubt that’s going to happen uh I would think it would at least be another like maybe missing the Playoffs altogether I think he’ll get the full season and then they’ll evaluate give him a contract extension or or if they get off to a hot start remember if you bring in a bunch of new players it takes time for them to acclimate to their surroundings to become tight as a unit we saw that with lenus olark when he first came to Boston it took him yeah like that one full season to really feel at home which is partly why he’s reluctant to move on he’s been here for two solid or three seasons two of which he’s felt really comfortable in Boston so all this to say the structure is kind of rewarding sacko for what he’s accomplished as coach as a coach with the Bruins as an assistant coach for going on 10 years now uh he obviously has a tight relationship with Jim Montgomery well respected within the organization he’s been rewarded with a promotion here but it’s not to say that Montgomery is necessarily on the hot seat here and uh there would have to be certain circumstances that arise for him to really be tossed aside here again look at back at Bruce Cassidy they went to the first round lost lost in the second round in year two then went to this Final in year three and then he was given three more seasons to work with I could easily see a similar trajectory here with with Jim Montgomery don’t forget you know general managers only get so many coaching hires once you play that card and if things still don’t improve and you still don’t reach the Pinnacle it starts to fall on the the head office here so I think Sweeney is just kind of insulating the coaching staff reinforcing it in the hopes that they will take an even bigger step forward here moving out of this transition year and being able to add to the roster where they want to get is the Stanley Cup Final which continues tonight and uh are the Oilers taking inspiration from the Boston Bruins well it’s very possible and we’ll discuss that here as the podcast continues hey lockdown Bruins fans I want to take a moment to bring up one of our partners the mobile game ultimate hockey GM have you ever dreamed of becoming an NHL GM and managing your own franchise do you think you could run the Bruins better than Don Sweeney well your dream can come true and this game is most definitely for you you can manage every strategic aspect of your team play through the seasons and Lead it to Glory hire the right coaches and staff trade players or draft picks navigate through free agency and the draft all in a challenging and realistic game world as a Bruins fan you know there’s no offseason GMS are constantly making moves at every point of the year to improve their team’s chances and that’s why I think you’re going to love this game ultimate hockey GM is completely free and playable offline play on the go as you want and when you want by the way locked on network listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo code locked on NHL in the game store so make sure to check it out download the game visit hockey gm. apppp that’s hockey gm. apppp or look it up on the App Store ultimate hockey GM start your Dynasty today game three of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight there was a lot made yesterday about the Florida Panthers choosing to leave Florida a day later than the Oilers they got caught in weather they arrived less than 24 hours before puck drop here in game three the Oilers find themselves down 02 after losing games one and two on the road by very close margins if that sounds familiar well that’s exactly what happened to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final they lost games one and two by one goal in each of those two games came back took games three and four at home lost game five won game six and then ultimately took game seven on the road in Vancouver the Oilers facing a similar situation here as again down 02 after losing two games on the road but they have Conor McDavid they have le leonido they have Evan buard they have Ryan Nene Hopkins they are not dead yet and maybe Andrew fence who played for the Oilers after his time with the Bruins served as Captain prior to Conor McDavid maybe uh MCD reached out to talk to him about what it takes to pull off this kind of comeback it’s not impossible it’s unlikely Vancouver fans obviously still resenting the fact that that was the case back in 2011 but it’s very possible and when you have Conor McDavid Leon dry sidle playing on home ICE to get the power play going uh it’s certainly a real possibility that they can at least make this a series and in a related note which I found interesting Evander Kane uh was saying the other day on a podcast I believe uh that the Boston Bruins sent him a basket to thank him for taking on Matt Cook back in the day um he said what was the exact quote um he said he got a gift basket from the Boston Bruins later that year in the off season because of because of what cook had done to Mark sard and this was back in what 2010 uh he knocked out cook with a single punch during a scrap when he played for the Atlanta Thrashers so there’s another Bruins connection there Keith Gretzky was with the Bruins when they pulled that off he’s now with the Oilers they surely will be looking to replicate what the Bruins were able to pull off against the Vancouver Canucks as game three turns to uh Edmonton here tonight one more episode this week tomorrow well we’ll save what we’re going to talk about until then uh I likely will be not recording on Monday as I’m going on a field trip with my grade eight kid one of the end of the year trips uh to Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto which should be fun uh so just subscribe to get all 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The Boston Bruins have made some changes to Jim Montgomery’s coaching staff. Joe Sacco has been promoted to Associate Coach, while Jay Leach has returned to the organization to serve as Assistant Coach after a few years in the same role with the Seattle Kraken.

What does this shake up mean for Jim Montgomery, and what’s the difference between Associate and Assistant coach?

Plus, are the Edmonton Oilers using the 2011 Bruins as inspiration in the Stanley Cup Final? Because they definitely should be.

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