How Have Bruins, Blues And Bla...

There have been three coaching changes in the NHL this season – the Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery Nov. 19, the St. Louis Blues fired Drew Bannister Nov. 24 and the Chicago Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson Dec. 5. Let’s take a look at how each of the three teams have fared since changing bench bosses.

The Bruins have gone 7-4-0 since dismissing Montgomery and going with interim coach Joe Sacco, but they’ve been shellacked in their past two games, being outscored 13-2 while being beaten by the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken. Boston’s offense remains a problem under Sacco, as they’ve scored two goals or fewer in six of the 11 games played under their new coach, and their overall offense is 29th overall at 2.48 goals-for per game.

Meanwhile, the Bruins’ defense has been better, as they’ve allowed two goals or fewer in six games under Sacco. But then again, Boston’s defense is still a bottom-tier group, allowing an average of 3.23 goals-against per game (25th overall). And while the Bruins have climbed up to the third spot in the Atlantic Division, that’s a bit of a false flag, as Boston has played a division-high 31 games, and most teams around them in the Atlantic have at least two games in hand on them, if not more. Fourth-place Tampa Bay, for instance, has a whopping four games in hand on the Bruins, and they’re just one point behind Boston. So it’s fair to expect the Bs will slide down the Atlantic standings relatively soon.

Turning attention to the Blues: they’ve gone 5-2-1 since firing Bannister and replacing him with Montgomery. In that span, they’ve beaten good teams including New Jersey, Winnipeg and Vancouver, but they’ve also lost to sub-par teams including Philadelphia and San Jose. They still give up too many goals in their losses, allowing a combination of 11 goals in their three defeats under Montgomery. And they have the league’s eighth-worst offense at 2.63 goals-for per game.

The addition of veteran blueliner Cam Fowler should help their offense, but the Blues are up against it in the Central, as they’re currently in sixth place in the division and facing an uphill battle as teams like Colorado and Utah are in the way of a playoff berth for St. Louis.

Finally, the Blackhawks have the smallest sample size since replacing Richardson with interim coach Anders Sorensen. But the sample size has not been ideal, with Chicago going 1-3-0 since firing Richardson. The Hawks’ defense has been brutal, surrendering 13 goals in their three losses. Their offense hasn’t been much better, generating only seven goals in those three losses. Chicago’s sole win under Sorensen came against the New York Rangers, but given the sorry state of the Blueshirts, that’s nothing to write home about for the Blackhawks.

As you can see, changing coaches is not an elixir that solves a team’s problems. There are good reasons why teams were in a position to fire their coach, and those reasons don’t disappear simply because there’s a new face behind the bench.

Things may change for the better for the Bruins, Blues and Blackhawks over the long haul, but if any or all of the three teams miss the playoffs, it won’t be solely because they didn’t have the right coach in place. There are significant roster deficiencies for each of the three teams, and until management addresses those deficiencies, things probably won’t change for the better.