Bruins Both Jim Montgomery and Bruce Cassidy will coach at 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend Montgomery and Cassidy have led the Bruins and Golden Knights to the top of their respective divisions. Both Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery have led their respective teams to the top of the Pacific and Atlantic Divisions. Ethan Miller/Getty Images, Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Both Jim Montgomery and Bruce Cassidy have led their teams to the top of their respective divisions during the 2022-23 NHL season.
Both Jim Montgomery and Bruce Cassidy’s teams sit at the top of their respective divisions at the midway point of the 2022-23 NHL season.
And now, both the current Bruins bench boss and the B’s former coach will battle against one another during the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Montgomery and Cassidy were named as the head coaches for the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions, respectively, during the All-Star showcase, which will be held in Sunrise, Florida, from Feb. 3-4.
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Rod Brind’Amour (Carolina Hurricanes, Metropolitan Division) and Pete DeBoer (Dallas Stars, Central Division) were also named as coaches, with the four NHL divisions set to battle at FLA Live Arena next month.
The head coaches for the league’s All-Star Weekend are selected based on which teams boast the highest points percentage in each of the four divisions through the halfway point of the season.
Montgomery’s appointment to his first All-Star event has been a lock for some time. In his first season at the helm, Montgomery’s Bruins have an impressive 32-4-4 record, including a 19-0-3 showing at TD Garden.
“For me, it’s an honor. And I’m honored to represent our team,” Montgomery said at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday morning. “I’m representing our group and what we’ve accomplished so far in the first half. Unfortunately, we probably deserve to have six guys [as] All-Stars.
“But the way the game is run now, it’s not like it used to be. So not as many guys get the opportunity, so I think how they have coaches represent teams with the highest winning percentage is a reflection on how good your team has been playing in the first half.”
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The Bruins have responded well to Montgomery’s influence behind the bench. Boston currently leads the NHL in goals against per game (2.13) and ranks second in goals scored per game (3.85), with the team seeing results after tweaking the transition game and focusing more on quality over quantity with its shot selection.
But Cassidy, who was fired by the Bruins in June after six seasons with the team, has also made a sizable impact with the Vegas Golden Knights.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, the Golden Knights are tied for the most points in the Western Conference (56) and have tightened up their defensive structure under Cassidy’s watch.
The All-Star Weekend will mark the third time that Cassidy will coach against Montgomery (and potentially a few of his former players) this season. Vegas defeated Boston in a shootout, 4-3, at TD Garden on Dec. 5 before Boston countered with a 3-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 11.
Montgomery will have some familiar company down in Florida, as goaltender Linus Ullmark was named as a first-time All-Star last week. Another B’s skater could join Ullmark and Montgomery, with a fan vote on both NHL.com and Twitter determining the final 12 players added to the four divisional rosters.