The St. Louis Blues have fired head coach Drew Bannister and replaced him with Jim Montgomery.

Earlier this week, Montgomery was let go as the head coach of the Boston Bruins, so he was not out of work for very long. In spite of a 120-41-23 in 2+ seasons with the Bruins, Montgomery could not guide the Bruins past the second round of the playoffs and had an 8-9-3 record to start this season.

Bannister was hired as the Blues' interim head coach in December 2023 following the firing of Craig Berube. During the offseason, Bannister was given the title of permanent head coach and received a two-year contract.

Montgomery is being given a five-year contract with St. Louis because he has a proven track record from his time with the Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins. He also has familiarity with the Blues, having been an assistant coach under Berube between stints in Dallas and Boston.

Montgomery is also known for his ability to improve power-play units, which could mean a boost in fantasy value for key Blues players like Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Pavel Buchnevich. The Blues are currently in the bottom third of the league with a 16.7% power-play conversion rate.

Montgomery has also brought a structured defensive approach to his teams, which should help Jordan Binnington's numbers. Binnington's stats have gotten worse in all significant goaltending categories compared to last season, when he rebounded from steadily declining numbers following the Blues' 2019 Stanley Cup season.

The Blues have a minus-21 goal differential, which is the worst in the Central Division. Of course, injuries to Thomas (recently returned) and Philip Broberg have hurt the team, and this roster as constructed seems to be mushy middle at best. However, the hope with this hiring is that Montgomery can guide this team to perform at its full potential, which could result in the Blues sneaking into the playoffs if he can turn things around quickly.

Montgomery's hiring should also signal that the Blues do not plan a full tear-it-down rebuild. The Blues have Kyrou, Thomas, Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn, and Colton Parayko signed until 2027-28, so management seems committed to this core. No significant players will be UFAs following the season, so the Blues have at least some incentive to compete.

Players this helps, in order:

Binnington

Buchnevich

Kyrou

Thomas

Players this hurts, in order:

No one in particular

–

Discuss this topic on the Forum.