After a three-week stint in rehab, former Stars coach Jim Montgomery is back home with his family in Frisco.
In his first comments since releasing a statement to The Dallas Morning News on Jan. 3, Montgomery and his wife Emily spoke with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman about what it was like dealing with Jim's firing initially and how his acclimation has been now that he's out of rehab.
Jim would not discuss the incident that ultimately led to his firing, but he did tell Sportsnet that he's "feeling great" and is at peace with himself right now. He said that even though he made bad mistakes, he is not a bad person.
"It was surreal, like an out-of-body experience," Jim told Sportsnet about how he felt at the time of his firing. "All I could feel was incredible shame and guilt. All I was thinking was that it was going to be tough to protect my family. Making mistakes that affect them ... it hurts."
Emily said that she "knew he was not relieving his stress the right way," but said her husband wouldn't drink heavily when he was at home with his family. Now he's not drinking at all, as the story notes he celebrated 90 days of sobriety on Tuesday.
Now that he's back from rehab (he spent three weeks at an undisclosed inpatient facility), Jim attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every day. He and Emily see a therapist.
Jim now helps his 10- and 8-year-old sons' hockey teams and is in the process of teaching his 5-year-old daughter how to skate. He told Sportsnet that he'd like to get back into coaching, and that he finds himself scribbling down plays he'd like to use in the future in a notebook that he carries around.
Emily said she knows that coaching is still in her husband's blood, and that she can see it when he's on the ice. When asked if she'd be OK with him returning to coaching, she gave Sportsnet a thumbs up.
"I'd love him a little more if I saw him a little less," she joked. "He needs to do it, and he's good at it. I believe in my husband. I know he's going to be better."
"What happened is on me," Jim said. "Vulnerability is actually a positive that allows trust and love to progress and grow. Growth occurs from it. I am living my life with a lot of gratitude.
"It's like recovering from a car accident. I'm ready to get back behind the wheel."
