Montgomery brings new approach to Bruins in second chance as NHL coach

He knew Vladimir Tarasenko could be a difficult guy to get to know, hard to break through the surface, hard to reach. Montgomery, though, was undaunted. Every pregame skate the then-assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues would approach Tarasenko and engage with him.

“He would go out there and mess around with Vladimir Tarasenko, get ‘Vladdy’ in a good mood,” Blues coach Craig Berube said recently. “He won Vladdy over, eventually. Vladdy can be a tough guy to get to know. Vladdy can be Vladdy. But ‘Monty’s’ personality, every day of messing with him on the ice, he won him over. They became good friends. That’s just Monty.”

From the stars to the scratches, those who have worked closely with Montgomery say it’s the way he approaches his players, with a deft personal touch and an upbeat attitude that matches what the Boston Bruins believe were missing in their prior era. They praise his communication, his vulnerability, his ability to connect. Where former coach Bruce Cassidy, fired on June 6, could be demanding and exacting in the view of Bruins management, Montgomery brings an openness that can be rare among hockey coaches. 

“He’s got a real nice ability to connect with anybody in the lineup and make them feel valued and part of what the team has going on, whether you play 22 minutes or 12 minutes,” said David Carle, an assistant under Montgomery at Denver who succeed him as head coach in 2018-19.

It was why, on July 1, the Bruins hired Montgomery, the former Dallas Stars and University of Denver coach who had spent the past two seasons as an assistant with the Blues. It marks a second chance for a well-liked coach who had gone through a well-publicized personal struggle after being fired by the Stars on Dec. 10, 2019, for unprofessional conduct by general manager Jim Nill.

But long before Montgomery had to deal with his own personal demons — the firing in Dallas and subsequent rehab for alcoholism — the coach approached his players and his role with a distinctly human touch.

“He’s not afraid to be vulnerable and to be himself,” Carle said. “I think that that helps make players feel comfortable around him and when they’re at the rink. I think vulnerability is probably the word that probably stands out for me the most. He’s not afraid to take blame or admit fault or any of that type of stuff. He’s very much in it with the group, which oftentimes I think is refreshing for the players to hear.”

It was that vulnerability that Carle took from Montgomery as he ascended to the top job at Denver — the honesty, the sense that they were all in it together — pieces that he saw Montgomery impart to his teams. It’s something Montgomery said has always been “part of my DNA.”

“I think you have to listen,” he said Monday at his introductory press conference as the coach of the Bruins. “And I prefer to listen before I speak. And then I’ll turn it back into what is always best for the team after I listen to suggestions or ideas or opinions. We’re always going to be in this together. It’s going to be a ‘we’ culture.”

It was particularly notable in the way he dealt with players at Denver, in the younger population at an NCAA school and a group that is just finding its footing. It’s that group that the Bruins would like to see thrive in Boston: the draft picks, the college-age players, the players that they haven’t consistently developed over the past half a dozen seasons. 

“It was part of the job, when we hired him, to work with some of our younger guys, like [Jordan] Kyrou and [Robert] Thomas and he spent a lot of time with these guys and there was a lot of improvement,” Berube said. “He obviously knows what he’s doing.”

Montgomery’s strengths are evident in his attention to detail, teams that are fast and aggressive on the ice, the preparation and knowledge off it and the capacity for in-game adjustments. But it’s that vulnerability, that communication, that speaks to what the Bruins were seeking.

It’s an ability to elicit buy-in from his teams, the ability to make each and every player feel heard and cared for and understood. It dovetails with what the Bruins believed they did not get enough of from Cassidy.

“His communication, not only with the players but also I think with management, is something that’s important, especially today,” Bruins president Cam Neely said. “I mean, communication is key.”

But it also wasn’t a given that Montgomery would get back here, though when asked if he thought he’d be a head coach in the NHL again, he said, “Yes, I did.”

After being fired by Dallas, Montgomery was out of the NHL for nine months before being hired by the Blues as an assistant on Sept. 16, 2020, replacing Marc Savard. He would later say that he was thankful for the firing, for the ways in which it allowed him to alter his path and find a new way forward. It’s a way forward that included a second chance and newfound sobriety that, along with family and hockey, make up the three pillars of his life.

“He was very forthright with us with what happened, and I appreciate that,” Neely said. “I know [Bruins general manager Don Sweeney] appreciated it. It’s something that we took very seriously, considering him as a candidate, what bringing him on board, what it would mean. 

“I like the fact that everybody deserves a second chance and I think he’s worked towards that second chance and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for us here.”

[RELATED: Bruins awaiting decisions from Bergeron, Krejci]

For those who have worked with Montgomery, they noted his photographic memory and a tendency to be over-prepared “in a good way,” as Carle put it. It leads to an ability to make in-game adjustments and a lack of fear or reticence to make them. He has opinions and he’s not afraid to share them, in a direct and no-nonsense way. 

“He’s not going to hold back on his opinion,” Berube said. “He’s not afraid to try things.”

Berube was hardly surprised when Montgomery got another opportunity, given what he saw in working with him behind the bench in St. Louis. And while Berube can’t tell exactly how Montgomery will run the Bruins — a team with success in the past that needs help making it through this era to the next– he does know how Montgomery will approach it.

“He’s going to be himself,” Berube said. “He’s going to be a positive guy every day. He’s going to come in there with a great attitude on a daily basis and his team’s going to be upbeat because of it.”

And across the hockey world, many of those who have come across Montgomery, who have coached with him and learned from him, are cheering him on in this chance, this second chance, that he’s been given and that he’s earned.

“I never thought I’d be a Bruins fan,” Carle said. “But I am now.”

Photos: Steve Babineau/Boston Bruins