Jim Montgomery was fired as coach of the Dallas Stars and replaced by assistant Rick Bowness on Tuesday.
Image courtesy of NHL.com
“The Dallas Stars expect all of our employees to act with integrity and exhibit professional behavior while working for and representing our organization,” Stars general manager said in a statement. “This decision was made due to unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.”
In response to the firing, Dallas reached to Austin for the next head coach.
Dallas appointed Texas Stars head coach Derek Laxdal as an assistant coach for the NHL club. Additionally, Texas assistant coach Neil Graham will assume the position of head coach for the Texas Stars, with Travis Morin serving as the AHL team’s new assistant coach.
Image courtesy of theAHL.com
Laxdal, 53, had served as Texas’s head coach since July 3, 2014. In five-plus seasons, he led the Stars to a 198-152-55 record, including a trip to the 2018 Calder Cup Finals. He has been instrumental in the development of many current Dallas Stars players including Esa Lindell, Roope Hintz, Jason Dickinson, Justin Dowling and Denis Gurianov.
As a player, Laxdal played 356 AHL games and won a Calder Cup with the Springfield Indians in 1990. He also spent parts of six seasons with Toronto and the New York Islanders, skating in 67 career NHL contests.
Graham, 34, is in his first season with the Texas Stars after being named an assistant coach prior to the start of the 2019-20 season. He becomes the second-youngest head coach currently in the AHL, behind Charlotte’s Ryan Warsofsky.
Before joining the Stars, Graham spent four seasons (2015-19) as head coach of the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL), amassing a regular-season record of 166-91-31 and guiding the team to four postseason appearances. Graham was an assistant coach with Idaho from 2013-15 and served as a player/assistant in 2012-13.
A native of Calgary, Alta., Graham played four years at Mercyhurst College before turning pro in 2010.
Morin, 35, announced his retirement on July 31, 2019, after 12 professional seasons, including 10 with the Stars. He joined the organization before Texas’s inaugural season in 2009 and went on to collect 175 goals, 385 assists and 560 points for the club, helping them to three Calder Cup Finals appearances and the 2014 championship. Morin’s 686 regular-season games played for Texas place him eighth all-time in games for any single AHL franchise.
Morin had one of the most decorated seasons in AHL history in 2013-14. After representing Texas in the AHL All-Star Classic, a showcase event against Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League, Morin went on to win the league scoring title and regular-season MVP honors before leading the Stars to the Calder Cup title and capturing the league’s playoff MVP award as well.
The native of Brooklyn Park, Minn., served as Stars captain from 2015-17, and led the team in scoring five times.
The removal of Montgomery comes in the wake of near embarrassing coaching reports in recent weeks.
Contemporary and past behaviors have been left unresolved in some cases and have hence festered and now come to the surface.
Bill Peters resigned from the Calgary Flames and Mark Crawford is under investigation by the Chicago Blackhawks.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made a statement Monday night after the general managers meetings in California.
“As one of the preeminent professional sports leagues in the world and the preeminent hockey league in the world, we recognize and embrace our role in setting an example,” He said..
“We are now obviously aware of conduct that was and is unacceptable. Whether it happened 10 years ago or last week, the answer must be the same – it is unacceptable.”
That clear and near defiant tone may have been in response to the pending decision by the Stars, or perhaps their initial efforts to react more close to the best.
Bettman continued in his statement: “While we may not have known, the fact is that we as a League – on behalf of ourselves, our teams, and our players, coaches, organizations and fans – must respond in a clear, meaningful and appropriate manner. Professionalism and respect have always been important to the League, but it is now a particularly important time to discuss it because everyone is entitled to a respectful workplace.
The world is changing for the better. This is an opportunity, and a moment, for positive change and this evolution should be expedited – for the benefit of everyone associated with the game we love. And even while change is taking effect, we still must acknowledge things that were wrong in the past. That acknowledgment allows those who were wronged to be heard, and it gives all of us an opportunity to prevent these things from happening again.
Inclusion and diversity are not simply buzzwords, they are foundational principles for the NHL. It’s why we initiated the Declaration of Principles and why we invest so much time and effort, along with so many resources into our Learn to Play and Hockey is For Everyone programs. Our message is unequivocal: We will not tolerate abusive behavior of any kind.”
The world is indeed changing and sports leagues need to take control of these situations quickly, effectively and fairly.
The NHL response, through Bettman, was laid out on Monday night.
“So, let me now address how we move forward.
I’d like to convey to you exactly what was said to the Board of Governors during our meeting.
1. We don’t like surprises – the Bill Peters situation was a complete surprise.
Going forward, our clubs are on notice that if they become aware of an incident of conduct involving NHL personnel on or off the ice that is clearly inappropriate, unlawful or demonstrably abusive, or that may violate the League’s policies, involving NHL Club personnel, on or off the ice, we at the League office – Bill Daly or me – must be immediately advised. There will be zero tolerance for any failure to notify us and in the event of such failure, the club and individuals involved can expect severe discipline.
As it relates to incidents involving Bill Peters in Carolina – there seems to be some confusion between statements by Peter Karmanos and Ron Francis, which I still need to sort out. However, I am fairly clear that none of this has anything to do with Carolina under Tom Dundon, who was among the first to call me when Peters’ conduct came to light and he first learned about the Peters physical abuse allegations in Carolina.
2. While I do not believe most NHL coaches conduct themselves in an inappropriate manner – in fact, I believe most NHL coaches are professional and respectful in the way they coach and the profession is not deserving of blanket condemnation because of the conduct of some individuals – however in order to expedite a change in culture and make clear the expectations we have for the conduct of coaches and other personnel, we will formulate a mandatory annual program on counseling, consciousness-raising, education and training on diversity and inclusion.
This program will be required for all Head Coaches, Minor League Coaches under contract with NHL teams, Assistant Coaches, General Managers and Assistant General Managers. We will focus the programming on training and other exercises and initiatives to ensure respectful locker rooms, training facilities, games, and all other hockey-related activities; and teach to ensure bystander intervention techniques, anti-harassment, anti-hazing, non-retaliation and anti-bullying best practices.
The exact structure of the program will be created by outside professionals in the field and we will consult with the Players’ Association and the Coaches’ Association in the program’s creation. We will also discuss with the Players’ Association the extent to which this program or another customized program should be presented to the players. Also, under the direction of NHL Executive Vice President Kim Davis, we will form a multidisciplinary council to suggest initiatives, monitor progress and coordinate efforts with all levels of hockey. The council will also make resources available to help any organization that might reach out for assistance.
3. Inappropriate conduct engaged in by club personnel will be disciplined, either by the team, the League or both. While discipline as always must be on a case-by-case basis – it is my intention that it must be severe and appropriate and designed to remedy the situation and ensure that the conduct does not occur again.
4. In that light, the passage of time is not the most effective way to address these situations. Accordingly, we will create a platform – perhaps a hotline – where instances of inappropriate conduct connected to the NHL can be reported either anonymously or for attribution for us to follow up. It can be any team personnel such as a teammate, trainer, or even the player himself. In this regard, we understand the critical importance of ensuring that no one is retaliated against for raising a concern or participating in an investigation – again either anonymously or for attribution – and I guarantee we will take all reports seriously and follow up. My expectation is that this hotline can function like our SABH hotline, which has been credible and effective.
A couple of closing points:
Not everyone will approve of every coach’s methods. However, there are lines that cannot be crossed – clearly physical abuse and racial and homophobic language cross the line. And while we acknowledge that there may be other actions that could cross the line or fall in a gray area, we hope the program we create, and its attendant consciousness-raising will help better define what is and what is not acceptable conduct and will make for a better playing and coaching environment. Over time, we have been able to change the culture of our game as it relates to substance abuse and player safety. And while we have taken many important steps forward on diversity and inclusiveness, as well as respect and professionalism in hockey, we intend to do more and faster.
Calgary’s response initially to Akim Aliu’s allegations and then the Carolina issue, was timely, professional and appropriate. While none of Bill Peters’ inappropriate conduct occurred on the Flames’ watch, they undertook the important effort to try to understand what happened 10 years ago and thereafter. Once Calgary could satisfy itself as to what transpired, they achieved an appropriate result and I commend the Calgary organization and in particular, Brad Treliving, for their efforts and cooperation. I think it is pretty fair to say that from now on when a Club is hiring a coach, the due diligence a team conducts will go to levels never seen before. And, that is a good thing.”
No league can sweep any misbehavior under the proverbial rug. Say what you will about the NHL commissioner, but this response seems to be the most forceful yet of any league or sport.
Bettman closed his statement by saying: “Finally, Bill Daly and I had a constructive meeting last week with Akim Aliu and his lawyers. We heard what they had to say, have initiated our own review and will ultimately determine how we believe most appropriate to proceed.”
Story with AHL, NHL press releases.
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