"Jim Montgomery Named New Coach for Blues, Drew Bannister Dismissed"
The St. Louis Blues appointed Jim Montgomery as their new head coach on Sunday and terminated Drew Bannister from his position as bench boss.
Montgomery was given a five-year deal with the Blues only five days after being released as the head coach of the Boston Bruins, where he had been for over two seasons.
In 2022-23, Montgomery was awarded the Jack Adams Award for being the NHL coach of the year. During his time with the Bruins, he achieved a record of 120-41-23 before being let go after a slow start to this season with a record of 8-9-3.
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The Blues also had a rough start under Bannister, losing seven of their last nine games (2-6-1) and currently hold a record of 9-12-1, placing them sixth in the Central Division.
Montgomery, who is 55 years old, has a total of 180-84-83 record in 297 games as a head coach with the Dallas Stars (2018-20) and Bruins. He also worked as an assistant coach for two seasons (2020-22) under then-head coach Craig Berube in St. Louis.
During his first season with the Bruins (2022-23), Montgomery led the team to a record of 65-12-5, earning 135 points and an .823 points percentage, setting new NHL single-season records.
However, in April 2023, the Florida Panthers shocked the Bruins by defeating them in seven games during the Eastern Conference opening round. Last season, Boston managed to win their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games, but ultimately lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers, in six games.
Bannister, who is 50 years old, took over as interim head coach on December 14, 2023, after Berube was fired following a 13-14-1 start. Under Bannister's leadership, the Blues went 30-19-5 but failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
On May 7, the Blues removed the interim tag from Bannister's title and signed him to a two-year contract.
