boston bruins Head coach Jim Montgomery took home the Jack Adams Award Monday night as the NHL’s Coach of the Year.
Montgomery led the Bruins to an NHL-record 65 wins and 135 points before falling to the florida panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Boston Bruins players and head coach Jim Montgomery react after the loss. The Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers, 4-3, in overtime of Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round Series. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
It’s been a long journey for Montgomery, who was fired for the dallas stars in 2019 for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the organization’s core values and beliefs.”
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On Monday, Montgomery opened up about the firing and his problems with alcohol.
“Three and a half years ago, the Dallas Stars terminated my contract for my you struggle with alcohol” Montgomery said after accepting the award. “I had to change my actions and behaviors. And that’s when my new team, the most important team of my life, is really what drives me to the success that I experience every day right now.
Head coach Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins accepts the Jack Adams Award during the 2023 NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 26, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
“And for those struggling out there, you can change. You can affect change within yourself. It doesn’t just happen. You need a team. You need a community.”
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Montgomery received a second chance in 2020 as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues before being hired as the Bruins’ next head coach in 2022.
Head coach Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins poses with the Jack Adams Award at the 2023 NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 26, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, who took home the Vezina Award as the The best goalie in the NHLhe said that Montgomery’s struggles “get to him a little bit more.”
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“For me, it comes a little more home to me because I’ve had [addiction] in my family too,” Ullmark said, according to ESPN. He is very open, which makes you trust him. For me to trust him and for him to trust us, you build that relationship, you build that connection between them that is so important when it comes to the team environment.”
In his head coaching career, Montgomery has a 125-55 record and led the Stars to the playoffs in his only full season in charge.
