The latest on Denver coach Jim Montgomery and his potential NHL future
May 2, 2018 | 1:31PM
Jim Montgomery reportedly the favorite to coach the Stars
Mar 24, 2018; New York, NY, USA; A general view of Madison Square Garden before a game between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports (Danny Wild)
5/2/18 | 3:57PM: Larry Brooks writes in the NY Post that Jeff Gortondid not try to "entice" Montgomery to come to the Rangers once he indicated that he would be going to Dallas.
1:50PM: Both Bob McKenzie and Elliotte Friedman report that Montgomery is going to be the next coachof Dallas.
McKenzie says that an announcement could be expected this week.
1:31PM: Denver coach Jim Montgomery has moved to the top of the potential replacements for Ken Hitchcock in Dallas and Craig Custance cites a source saying that he should be "considered the favorite" to land with the Stars. (The Athletic)
5/1/18 | Reports on Tuesday from people connected to college hockey indicate that University of Denver coach Jim Montgomery could be the next head coach of the Dallas Stars. (Dilks, College Hockey News)
TSN's Frank Seravalli notes that Dallas GM Jim Nill has cast a wide net in his search to replace Ken Hitchcock and that Montgomery is a candidate for the job.
Seravalli notes that Montgomery has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Alain Vigneault as well.
Larry Brooks writes in the New York Post that the Rangers came away "very impressed" when they met with Montgomery.
The Rangers are not believed to have a timeline to name a new coach
Adam Rotter: Montgomery was one of the most buzzed about potential coaching candidates this year and Dallas is a great job. They have Tyler Seguin, at least for another year, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg and finished just outside of the playoffs. I thought Alain Vigneault made sense for Dallas, based upon where they are as a team and their past desire to hire him, but they decided to go with Montgomery and the potential that he brings.
So what does this mean for the Rangers? It's hard to say because we don't have an indication of how interested they were or how high on their list he was. Montgomery was definitely someone of interest, but the Rangers are going through what seems like a methodical process to make sure that the next person they hire is the right one. They ultimately won't know that until that guys is behind the bench, but there are still a number of interesting candidates that range from Sheldon Keefe and David Quinn to Todd Nelson and Dallas Eakins to Dave Tippett, Dan Bylsma and others. There is no obvious choice this time for the Rangers, like Alain Vigneault was in 2013, so they are taking their time. All we know for sure is that it definitely seems like it won't be Jim Montgomery behind the bench.