Cup Run? Bruins Could Become Latest Example After Coaching Change

The Boston Bruins made the decision to fire head coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday just 20 games into the 2024-25 season.

Montgomery coached the Bruins to a 120-41-23 record during his tenure, including a historic 65-win season in his first year that earned him the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top head coach.

This situation is not unique, though. Coaching changes have happened early in the season in the past and, in some instances, have been beneficial to the franchise.

Here are four examples of NHL teams that fired their head coach and the club either went on a deep playoff run or even won the Stanley Cup in the same season.

EDMONTON OILERS, 2023-24
The Oilers began the 2023-24 campaign with a 3-9-1 record under Jay Woodcroft.

Like Montgomery, Woodcroft had lost just 41 games in the regular season during his tenure at the helm but failed to get the Oilers going to begin the season. He was fired on Nov. 12.

Edmonton replaced Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch and the five-time Stanley Cup-winning franchise finished the season with a 46-18-5 record and a trip to the Final against the Florida Panthers.

Although the Oilers came up short in the ultimate goal of winning a title, the team certainly benefitted from the coaching change.

ST. LOUIS BLUES, 2018-19
In reality, every single Bruins fan knows the outcome of this coaching change.

After missing the playoffs in 2018 and suffering a 7-9-3 start the following season, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo and replaced him with Craig Berube on Nov. 19.

Berube’s start was not great — going 6-6-1 to end the calendar year, but after Jordan Binnington was recalled from the AHL, the club went on a 30-10-5 run to end the season.

From there, they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, winning two series in six games and the other two in seven games to capture the Blues’ first title in franchise history.

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LOS ANGELES KINGS, 2011-12
The Kings weren’t off to a horrendous start, but nonetheless, Los Angeles fired Terry Murray after a 13-12-4 start to the season and replaced him with interim coach John Stevens.

Stevens had a modest 2-2-0 record before the Kings hired Darryl Sutter as the new coach on Dec. 17. Sutter would coach the Kings to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference that season, going 11-4-3 down the stretch.

The team became a defensive juggernaut and captured the Stanley Cup in just 20 games through four rounds of the playoffs.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS, 2008-09
The Blackhawks wasted absolutely no time firing Denis Savard after a 1-2-1 start to the 2008-09 season.

The club hired Joel Quenneville as Savard’s replacement and the results were not that great in the beginning. Chicago went 6-1-3 in their first 10 games under Quenneville but rallied to finish the season with an overall record of 46-24-12 and 104 points.

The Blackhawks lost in the Western Conference finals to the Detroit Red Wings. Quenneville would lead Chicago to a Stanley Cup championship the following season.