St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong abruptly decided to fire Drew Bannister and replace him with former Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.
In fact, the move was so sudden that Armstrong admitted that if Montgomery was still on the Bruins’ bench, Bannister would still be at the helm of the Blues.
“When I woke up Wednesday morning, there was no inclination to make a coaching change,” Armstrong told reporters, per team-provided video. ” And then when Jim got let go in Boston, it certainly was someone I’ve respected, someone I’ve admired, someone I felt had all the attributes to be a long-term coach for the Blues, and it started down that process.
“So, this was more of an opportunity to get someone of Jim’s caliber than anything else. … This decision, I would say, almost 100% on having someone of Jim’s caliber become available when I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
The Blues, similar to the Bruins, began the season struggling, dropping to 9-12-1 and six points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference under Bannister. Armstrong pointed out the decision was not entirely an indictment on Bannister’s shortcomings, but again on Montgomery’s sudden availability from the Bruins.
“When I talked to Drew today, I told him this was more of a decision based on the availability of someone I think is a top NHL coach,” Armstrong explained. “… Someone I really believe can coach this team and also coach the team when it reaches its ultimate level of competitiveness. (Jim’s) done that.
“He’s worked with younger players in the USHL and in college. Good success in Dallas, good success in Boston. He’s one of those coaches that I really do believe can be with this team now and as it grows.”
Armstrong added he was willing to go through the struggles with Bannister — until Montgomery was let go by the Bruins.
“I was willing to go through the peaks and the valleys with Drew,” he said. “Until Monty became available. And then it just felt that (the opportunity to hire Jim) might not be there over the next few years, and I didn’t know when the next opportunity would come, and I felt it was the right thing for the Blues franchise to get someone like Monty here when we could.”
The Blues went 39-31-6 in 76 games under Bannister. Montgomery was 120-41-23 with the Bruins, including the highest single-season win total in NHL history (65-12-5) in 2022-23.
Montgomery is expected to make his debut on the Blues bench in New York when the Blues face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
