Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is entering the final year of his contract, and general manager Don Sweeney confirmed Wednesday that the team has had extension talks with the 55-year-old bench boss.
“There have been talks, and I think Monty will, I'm not going to speak for him, but I'm going to guess that he'll take Brad's line of, you know, keeping that between us," Sweeney told reporters at a press conference. "Yeah, there have been talks of an extension.”
Montgomery was asked Wednesday at his press conference how the lack of an extension at this time might affect him going into the upcoming season.
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“I don’t think it would affect me, just being honest," Montgomery told reporters. "I love being a Bruin, I think I'm very fortunate to be a head coach of the Boston Bruins and my focus when I am the Boston Bruins (coach) is staying in the present and just getting better every day.
"I know it sounds cliché… but I can't allow myself to think about the future because I'd be a little bit of a hypocrite, because I'm asking our players to always stay in the moment. I have to stay in the moment. So that's the way I look at things. Doesn't matter if I had an eight-year contract or a one-day contract. That's the way I proceed. That's my process.”
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Montgomery was hired in July of 2022. The Bruins have been a fantastic regular season team in his two seasons in charge with a 112-32-20 record. They set NHL records for the most wins and points during a regular season in 2022-23, but that year's playoff run ended in shocking fashion -- a blown 3-1 series lead in the first round to the Florida Panthers, including a Game 7 overtime loss at home.
The Bruins nearly blew another 3-1 lead in the first round last season, but they won in overtime of Game 7 at home versus the Toonto Maple Leafs. However, the Panthers eliminated them again, this time in the second round.
Overall, Montgomery has done a very good job. Many of the team's young players, whether it be Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic, Mason Lohrei, Matthew Poitras, Johnny Beecher, etc., have played very well in Montgomery's system. He is a player's coach, and that style works with this group.
It would be smart for both sides to reach a deal before the season starts. Montgomery deserves another contract.
But the Bruins do have a more important contract matter to get done, and that's Swayman. The team's No. 1 goalie is still a restricted free agent and is not joining the team at camp until his contract situation is resolved.