Blues hire former Stars coach Jim Montgomery as assistant

The St. Louis Blues added a former Central Division rival to their coaching staff, hiring former Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery as an assistant for the 2020-21 season. Montgomery signed a two-year contract with the Blues to join head coach Craig Berube’s staff, replacing the outgoing Marc Savard, who recently stepped away from the coaching ranks.

Montgomery was fired by the Stars in December 2019 for “unprofessional conduct” and later issued a public apology and entered an inpatient residential program for alcohol abuse. He was replaced by interim coach Rick Bowness, who now has the Stars in the Stanley Cup Final and is likely looking at an extension with the team if he decides to return as head coach.

A much-celebrated head coach at the University of Denver, Montgomery entered the NHL as the new bench boss of the Stars in 2018 and led them to a 43-32-7 record in his first year. The Stars actually came within a goal of the Western Conference Final that season, losing in overtime to the eventual champion Blues.

That second-round series isn’t his only interaction with the St. Louis organization though. In fact, Montgomery started his NHL playing career with the Blues in 1993 and played 67 of his 122 career games for the team. He’ll now join St. Louis to try and get his coaching career back on track.