Dallas Stars fire head coach Jim Montgomery for ‘unprofessional conduct’
The Dallas Stars on Tuesday dismissed second-year head coach Jim Montgomery due to «unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.»
Assistant coach Rick Bowness, who was brought aboard a month after Montgomery’s hiring in May 2018, has been named interim coach by Stars general manager Jim Nill.
«The Dallas Stars expect all of our employees to act with integrity and exhibit professional behavior while working for and representing our organization,» Nill said in a news release.
Dallas is fourth in the Central Division with a 17-11-3 record.
Joining Bowness’ staff is Derek Laxdal, who was serving as head coach of the Texas Stars, who promoted Neil Graham to head coach.
On Monday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league would work swiftly to make changes to better deal with personnel conduct issues in the wake of incidents that surfaced in recent weeks.
«Our message is unequivocal: We will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind,» Bettman told reporters at the end of the first day of the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif.
