It’s been an emotional week for new St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery.
Montgomery, who was fired by the Boston Bruins last Tuesday, was named the head coach in St. Louis merely five days later.
“Crazy. Crazy,” Montgomery told reporters at Madison Square Garden on Monday, per a team-provided video. “There’s no other word for it. A lot of emotions.”
Montgomery didn’t say exactly when St. Louis reached out, but called it a “whirlwind.”
“I’m a firm believer when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing,” he said. “It’s about your relationships in life. Ultimately, at the end of the day, when we’re all done and retired and we’re not fortunate enough and privileged enough to be in NHL buildings again, it’s the relationships that you have in your life.”
Montgomery received text messages from Blues players after he was fired in Boston, and received messages from Bruins players since landing in St. Louis.
“Those are the emotional swings that I talked about that make it crazy,” Montgomery said. “That’s why I talk about why it’s a special game with the relationships you build with people.”
Montgomery, who served as an assistant coach in St. Louis before he was hired in Boston, will be behind the bench when the Blue face the New York Rangers on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the Black and Gold are gaining momentum since interim head coach Joe Sacco took over for Montgomery.
