University of Denver coach Jim Montgomery, who guided the Pioneers to the NCAA championship earlier this month, will interview for the Florida Panthers’ head-coaching position.

“I have spoken to Florida and I will meet with Florida over the next week to 10 days,” Montgomery said Wednesday in a phone conversation from Orlando, Fla., where he is vacationing with his family. “The date hasn’t yet been confirmed.”

His possible departure could lead to a handful of DU players leaving school early for NHL contracts.

Denver went 33-7-4 in Montgomery’s fourth season and is hoping to retain star forwards Henrik Borgstrom, a freshman, and sophomores Troy Terry and Dylan Gambrell. Borgstrom is a 2016 first-round draft pick of Florida and Terry and Gambrell are top prospects of the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, respectively.

“If my situation was to change, I think they would think long and hard about changing too,” Montgomery said of his top-three scorers. “If I was to leave, I know one of those guys for sure is gone.”

Montgomery, 47, also has been rumored to have spoken with the Los Angeles Kings, who recently fired head coach Darryl Sutter. Montgomery declined to confirm that speculation, but said: “I’m not going to leave Denver unless it’s a (NHL) head-coaching position.” Related Articles September 10, 2020 DU hockey nears return to ice with season format in limbo: “There’s a lot that’s still on the table”

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Montgomery, who had a phone interview with the Calgary Flames last summer before the team hired Glen Gulutzan as head coach, signed a five-year contract when hired at DU in 2013. That deal was replaced by a new five-year contract last summer. An NHL “out” clause would free him of the remaining four years of the deal.

“In life there are only so many opportunities and you have to listen,” Montgomery said of being wooed by NHL teams. “But it’s going to have to take the perfect situation for me to leave Denver. There is no indication from Florida that I’m they’re No. 1 guy — or No. 2 or No. 3 guy. I’m just going to sit and talk with them.”

Montgomery said he has advised Terry and Gambrell to return for their junior years and believes Borgstrom will return based on his conversations with Panthers executives. But even if Montgomery remains at DU, he won’t be surprised if he loses all three forwards.

“The guys listen to them,” Montgomery said of NHL executives. “They put something in front of them and tell you what you want to hear. It gets you excited, just human nature. I don’t think that any of our players were playing at a level like Danton Heinen was (in 2015-16) and he’s been playing in the American Hockey League all year (with the Providence Bruins).”