Drew Bannister is out as coach of the St. Louis Blues after lower than a full calendar 12 months on the job. Jim Montgomery is again behind the bench of an NHL workforce 5 days after he was fired by the Boston Bruins.
The Blues fired Bannister on Sunday and employed Montgomery as his substitute, a shocking transfer 1 / 4 of the way in which by way of the NHL season that places a seasoned coach in command of preserving St. Louis’ window open for Stanley Cup rivalry.
President and common supervisor Doug Armstrong stated he didn’t anticipate making a change till Montgomery turned a free agent.
“This was extra of a chance to get somebody of Jim’s caliber than the rest,” Armstrong stated on a video name with reporters. “Once I talked to Drew as we speak, I informed him this was extra of a call primarily based on the supply of somebody I believe is a high NHL coach, somebody that we’ve got expertise with, somebody I actually do imagine can coach this workforce and likewise coach the workforce when it reaches its final degree of competitiveness.”
Armstrong confirmed no hesitation in reducing ties with Bannister, who had the interim tag faraway from his title and was named the coach in Could. Bannister was promoted from Springfield of the American Hockey League to interchange 2019 Cup-winning coach Craig Berube final December, and the Blues missed the playoffs regardless of profitable 30 of their closing 54 video games.
Editor’s Picks
1 Associated
The Blues misplaced 13 of their first 22 video games this season following a roster overhaul that included poaching younger ahead Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg from defending Western Convention champion Edmonton and including a number of different gamers as they try and get again to the postseason.
“It wasn’t a simple state of affairs for him to stroll into,” Armstrong stated, including he felt Bannister was studying on the fly as a first-time NHL head coach. “He was making errors. We have been all making errors. … I used to be greater than prepared to undergo the peaks and valleys with Drew till Monty turned accessible.”
Montgomery, 55, is tasked with getting probably the most out of the expertise accessible, one thing he has achieved elsewhere. Each workforce he has coached for a full season has certified for the playoffs, and his .659 factors proportion ranks among the many greatest in NHL historical past.
“He is bought a wealth of expertise, and he is at actually the prime of his teaching profession,” Armstrong stated. “He is the total package deal, or at the very least we hope he is the total package deal.”
The Bruins opted to maneuver on from Montgomery after their tough begin (8-9-3), culminating in a 5-1 dwelling loss to Columbus. Boston gained 120 of 184 regular-season video games with Montgomery working the present, together with setting the league data for victories and factors in 2021-22, when he was the apparent alternative for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the 12 months.
Montgomery’s second act as a head coach within the NHL got here after his first ended abruptly. Employed by the Dallas Stars in 2018, he led them to the second spherical after which was fired in December 2019 for unprofessional conduct.
Montgomery referred to as his dismissal applicable, entered rehab and started placing his life again collectively.
“He is clearly gone by way of issues on the rink and away from the rink that outlined who he’s as we speak,” Armstrong stated.
Montgomery bought his re-entry into hockey from the Blues, with Armstrong hiring Montgomery as an assistant on Berube’s workers in September 2020. That was the primary signal of the longtime govt’s affinity for Montgomery, and the most recent comes with job safety. St. Louis signed him to a five-year contract.
Montgomery is the most recent coach to be fired and rehired midseason, a extra widespread incidence within the NHL than {most professional} sports activities leagues. Being out of a job for mere days is harking back to Bruce Boudreau’s expertise in 2011, when he was fired by Washington on a Monday morning and changed Randy Carlyle in Anaheim later that week.
That is the twenty third teaching change among the many league’s 32 groups since January 2023, with the Blues amongst these making a number of strikes in that point.
“A coach that I imagine is a difference-maker turned accessible, and we reacted to it,” Armstrong stated. “We’ve got a top-level NHL coach, and now it is time for all of us to do our jobs and help him.”
