St. Louis Blues brand head coach, hire 3rd coach in less than a year

On November 25, 2024By Littum

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – In a whirlwind Sunday morning move, Drew Bannister is out as St. Louis Blues head coach.

And this time, no temporary mark is required for his replacement.

The Blues have replaced Bannister with Jim Montgomery as their new head coach on a five-year contract, the team announced Sunday after Saturday’s loss to the Islanders. The announcement comes as the Blues have won just two of their last nine games.

Montgomery becomes the third head coach for the Blues in less than a year, with Note previously firing Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube and naming Bannister as his replacement after he served in an interim role to close out last season.

Although the product on the ice has struggled this season, with the Blues sitting just three points above the bottom of the Central Division, Sunday’s move is probably more about Doug Armstrong taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity than anything else.

The Blues made the decision to remove the temporary tag from Bannister after last season, only after it became clear that Montgomery would not be an option to replace him at that time.

Rumors of the Blues’ interest in Montgomery swirled when his status as head coach of the Boston Bruins came under scrutiny toward the end of last season. But when the Bruins won their opening round against the Maple Leafs in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was enough to secure his role in Boston through the summer.

But when the Bruins fired Montgomery this week, it seemingly spelled the end for Bannister.

Montgomery has been signed to a five-year contract, becoming the 28th head coach in franchise history. Previously, Montgomery spent two seasons with the Boston Bruins, breaking the mark for most wins by a coach in their first season with a team and winning the 2022–23 Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year.

As a player, Montgomery appeared in 122 regular season NHL games, including 67 with the Blues during his rookie season.