The St. Louis Blues have dismissed head coach Drew Bannister and then hired Jim Montgomery five days after the Boston Bruins fired him which won the 2022 Jack Adams Award.
Blues president and general manager Doug Armstrong made the stunning change Sunday. He is to give some interviews to reporters via videocall in the afternoon, whereas Montgomery is to arrive to New York on Monday.
Bannister took the St. Louis job less than a year ago after taking over the team from 2019 Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube and retaining the permanent position after the past season’s playoffs. This current sea-son, Blues have played their first 22 games and out of which they have lost 13.
Montgomery was also for two seasons on Berube’s staff in St. Louis after coaching Dallas and before moving to Boston. They dismissed him before he completed a quarter of the campaign after the Bruins had dropped 12 of their first twenty games.
To replace him Montgomery was offered a 5-year contract by The Blues.
Armstrong moving on quickly from Bannister and making a long-term commitment to Montgomery is the longtime NHL executive’s latest move in the hopes of keeping St. Louis’ championship window open. Last summer, the Blues signed restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets to entice them away from the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton and Armstrong got several other players to overhaul his roster all at once.
Giving the reins to Montgomery places a winning experienced coach in position of power behind the bench. The 55-year-old former player is 180-84-33 in the regular season — with a points percentage of .659 that comes in down the list of the best.
