When the Boston Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy in June of 2022, it not only sent shockwaves through the fanbase, but also the NHL. It was a firing that nobody saw coming and if they said they did and are outside of the front office, then they're lying.
The Bruins hired Jim Montgomery a few weeks later, which was an under-the-radar hiring, and it turned out to be a move that paid quick paid off quickly. The Black and Gold had a 2022-23 regular season that was the best in NHL history and will be very difficult to repeat anytime soon. They set the NHL record for points in a season in the standings with 135 after 65 wins and five overtime/shootout losses.
As the trade deadline approached, general manager Don Sweeney knew he had something special and loaded up with deals that acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings. The GM did his part; now it was just up to the coaching staff and players. Easier said than done.
Boston Bruins 2022-23 team failed the most when it mattered
After a record-setting regular season, the Bruins drew the Florida Panthers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This should have been a layup for the Black and Gold. There were national talk shows that were asking, "Should I take the Bruins or the field to win the Stanley Cup?" There were a lot of people who said the Bruins instead of the field. In the end, the field was the bet, but not why you would think.
Florida, which had nothing to lose but everything to gain playing the Bruins, gained everything with a historic comeback from down 3-1 in the series. That's right, the Black and Gold had a chance three times to close out the pesky Panthers, only to fail each time. It appeared that Boston had a stranglehold on the series after splitting the first two games in Boston, and then swept Games 3 and 4 in Sunrise.
Boston had a chance to close things out in Game 5 at home and almost did when Brad Marchand had a breakaway as time expired, only to be stoned by Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers won the game in overtime, then won a high-scoring affair in Game 6 at home to force a Game 7 in Boston. Who saw that coming?
The Bruins held a 3-2 lead late in regulation and had to just hold on. Instead, the Panthers tied the game late and won it in the first overtime for a 4-3 win in Game 7 and the series. Just like that, all the work in a record-setting 82-game regular season was gone. Season over and a dynasty in Florida was born. Since that Sunday night in April of 2023 in the TD Garden following the Game 7 loss, the Panthers have been the Stanley Cup Final three times in a row and won the last two titles. The Bruins are ehading in the other direction, quickly, finishing tied for last place in the Eastern Conference this past season.
To add insult to injury for the Bruins, Sweeney, and the fanbase, Cassidy was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights shortly after being fired in Boston, and it was the Golden Knights who won the Stanley Cup in 2023 over Florida. I mean, could the theater have been any better for the Boston/Vegas Stanley Cup Final?
Now, there is no telling how things would have played out if the Bruins had gotten past the Panthers in 2023, but there is no doubt that was the Boston Bruins team that failed the most when it mattered. The roster built by Sweeney and the job Montgomery did pushing the right buttons were perfect, until the playoffs.
The argument that was had for some time was whether Montgomery, who was fired in November of 2024, switched his goaltending in time. Linus Ullmark played the first six games, but was not right as the series went along, but Monty stuck with him and didn't make the move to Jeremy Swayman until Game 7. Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy that year, but you could tell he wasn't right as the series went along, and a move earlier than Game 7 between the pipes might have been the difference.
It'll be hard for any NHL team to top failing the most when it mattered than the 2022-23 Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.