Dallas Stars dismiss coach over ‘unprofessional conduct’

By Hana Mae Nassar and Sportsnet's Ryan McKenna

DALLAS (NEWS 1130) – The Dallas Stars have announced Jim Montgomery has been dismissed as the team’s head coach.

In a statement, Stars GM Jim Nill says the decision to let Montgomery go was made because of “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.”

“The Dallas Stars expect all of our employees to act with integrity and exhibit professional behavior while working for and representing our organization,” he says.

It’s unclear what exactly the unprofessional conduct entails. Nill declined to discuss the act that led to Montgomery’s firing during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, saying he wouldn’t comment out of respect to those involved.

He did specify the act wasn’t criminal and has no connection to players past or present that the organization is aware of.

He said ownership, general counsel and management were all involved in the process and no other employees were impacted by Montgomery’s act.

Nill added it was a “very tough decision.” “I have a lot of respect for Jim Montgomery. He’s a very good coach,” Nill said. “Unfortunately, sometimes in life, the hardest decisions are the toughest and this is one of them.”

Nill informed Montgomery of the decision earlier Tuesday, saying they had a conversation and Montgomery was “very disappointed.”

“This was a total surprise,” Nill said. “We had to do the right thing in this situation.”

Montgomery is the latest coach to be caught up in controversy in the NHL. Calgary Flames now-former head coach Bill Peters resigned from his position on Nov. 29 following accusations he directed racist slurs at a Nigerian-born player with one of Chicago’s minor league teams a decade ago.

WATCH: Flames investigate Peters’ past

Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks announced last week the team was reviewing assistant Marc Crawford’s conduct while he worked with another organization.

Montgomery’s dismissal comes after the league announced sweeping changes in the wake of the Peters scandal which includes a new code of conduct policy for teams to follow.

Former Canucks assistant coach Rick Bowness, who most recently served as assistant coach for the Stars, has taken over the position as interim head coach.

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