Blues set a true course for future success with Jim Montgomery hire

Sorry, Drew Bannister, but you're more of a t-shirt of the week type right now.

I honestly didn’t think they’d do it, simply because of the reputation of firing two head coaches inside a year. Following Craig Berube’s dismissal last December, Drew Bannister found the early door Sunday morning as the St. Louis Blues made a big change by swapping head coaches. Welcome back, Jim Montgomery.

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After all, Doug Armstrong has never cared for tradition or what everybody would assume is the right play. Like his moves or not, the general manager has carried brass balls for quite some time now. The Montgomery hire is one that Armstrong wanted to do this past summer when the Blues were searching, but he was still a head coach with the Boston Bruins. Some things, especially in the world of professional sports, take care of themselves.

With all due respect to Bannister, who finishes his Blues tenure with a 39-32-6 record, he isn’t someone that you pin a rebuild on with so much at stake. The Blues don’t want to spend too much time away from postseason hockey, and this move reflects an assertiveness that other teams don’t have in their arsenal of tricks. If the Blues would have carried on with Bannister and finished with a much smaller point total and a decent distance out of the playoff picture, passing on Montgomery would have been mocked and quietly chirped for the entire summer.

Instead, St. Louis got out in front and acquired the prized horse. Being washed out of Boston and its high glitz and risk environment will do wonders for Montgomery, who has a comfort in St. Louis that other potential landing cities could only dream about during their presentation. “Monty” played NHL hockey here way back in the day, and was an assistant coach to Berube.

Here’s another big reason why it’s nice to have Montgomery back: Pavel Buchnevich just got his hockey doctor back. The two have a working partnership between coach and player that should help the newly extended Buch find another gear on the ice. The same can be said for Jordan Kyrou, a scoring threat who will get a polish on his game from the new head coach.

The putrid special teams units, which resemble Bad News Bears on the ice far too often in the 2024-25 season, will benefit from Montgomery’s presence. That was his bread and butter as an assistant here. It was the success he had with St. Louis that led to the head coaching offers that put him in the spotlight with the best NHL record last year with Boston.

Let’s be honest. Who seriously could hold an expression when asked if Bannister was truly the guy to take the Blues into the next generation of team success? Being nice and being honest are the two shades that fans acquire over their years of consuming sports. After rescuing last season and bringing the Blues to a 90+ point record and right outside the playoff door, Bannister’s effect had clearly worn off.

With a 3-1 loss Saturday night in New York to the Islanders, the Blues stood at 9-12-1. That’s good for sixth in the Central Division, a place that won’t lighten up with the competition as the season trudges on through the holidays. Getting fired before Thanksgiving is a ceremonial acknowledgement that a more extensive body shop manager is required to get this team in the right spot.

That’s how a head coach works his magic after all with a sports team. He doesn’t come in and immediately command the roster to do everything his way, or else see the highway. A head coach molds his way and style of coaching to the team’s way of playing, with the goal of finding symmetry in the middle. Bannister seemed to enforce a “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY” practicianer mindset, which had adverse effects.

Benching Kyrou last week towards the end of a tie game so the team could reach overtime was a warning sign. Tough coaching or not, sitting one of your highest paid and most talented-with-the-puck weapons on the ice was a shrewd move from the young head coach. Failing to find results from that kind of loud move led to his undoing.

In the end, it comes down to a team listening to one man or not. They’re human after all, and can choose to look away or lower their intensity without harm to their status. Players don’t go before the coach. But now with Montgomery in place, the stage has been set for the roster to get in line, or possibly see the door themselves.

A five-year contract means something to a head coach like Montgomery, especially in the city where he feels the most comfort and confidence. A team management including Armstrong, Alexander Steen, Tom Stillman, and Jim Montgomery should give Blues fans plenty of comfort and confidence about this team’s immediate and long-term future.

Thanks for reading, and have a pleasant and stress-free Sunday.