Montgomery finds the ‘right situation’
Montreal native lands coaching job with a young Stars squad in Dallas
Jim Montgomery has gone from being the answer to a trivia question to being head coach of the Dallas Stars.
The 48-year-old Montreal native was introduced as the Stars coach at a news conference Friday morning. He replaces Ken Hitchcock, who stepped down at the end of the season.
Montgomery, who came to the Canadiens in the 1994 trade that sent Guy Carbonneau to St. Louis, has no coaching experience at the professional level, but he became a hot commodity last spring after he led the University of Denver to the NCAA championship and was named coach of the year.
He was the front-runner for the Florida Panthers head coaching job last year, but withdrew his candidacy after two interviews. He also turned down an offer to become an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings.
“I had five great years at Denver and I was happy there,” Montgomery said in a phone interview from Dallas. “The idea of coaching in the NHL was attractive, but I also said that I wouldn’t go unless it was the right situation. When Dallas approached, I felt comfortable talking to (general manager) Jim Nill and things went very quickly, probably two or three weeks. I had two interviews in Dallas and then I flew out to meet the owner ( Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi).”
While terms of the contract were not announced, Montgomery has a four-year deal.
While the New York Rangers also showed interest, Montgomery felt the Stars, who missed the playoffs by three points, were closer to turning things around. He also felt Dallas was a better fit for his family.
“New York is a great city but, when your have a wife and four kids, you have to think of them and Dallas is very similar to Denver,” Montgomery said.
At the news conference Friday, Montgomery noted Dallas already has a full complement of Jims with Nill and CEO Jim Lites and asked to be addressed as Monty.
The Stars have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and Montgomery will arrive with a system that emphasizes puck possession and winning faceoffs and special teams battles. He inherits a top line with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alex Radulov, and his experience in college and the USHL will serve him well as he helps develop youngsters such as Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Jason Dickinson and Devin Shore.
Montgomery has never coached at the pro level, but he had a 13-season pro playing career that included 122 NHL games, 451 games in the AHL and other action in Germany and Russia. He played with six NHL teams, including five games with Montreal and nine with Dallas under Hitchcock.
Montgomery grew up in Rosemount and his father, Jim Sr., was an all-around athlete who represented Canada in boxing at the 1956 Olympics. Prior to signing with the Blues, Montgomery was a college standout at the University of Maine. He is fourth on the all-time NCAA scoring list with 301 points. In his senior year, he was the most valuable player in the Frozen Four as Maine capped a 421-2 season with a national championship. Montgomery’s linemate was Hall of Famer Paul Kariya and the Black Bears roster included the goaltending duo of Garth Snow and Mike Dunham.
Montgomery spent five years as a college assistant at Notre Dame and RPI and won two USHL championships in three years with the expansion Dubuque Fighting Saints. His players in Dubuque included future NHLers Johnny Gaudreau, Will Butcher, Matt Benning, Zemgus Girgensons and Pointe-Claire native Mike Matheson.
In five seasons at Denver, he took his team to the NCAA championships four times with two trips to the Frozen Four. He solidified his reputation for working with young talent by helping to develop Troy Terry, Dylan Gambrell and Henrik BorgstrÖm, all of whom made their NHL debuts in the past season.
The idea of coaching in the NHL was attractive, but I also said that I wouldn’t go unless it was the right situation.