Blues fire HC Drew Bannister; hire Jim Montgomery as new HC

[LiveLongandProspal]

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[Seachd]

According to Seravalli.

 

[geebster]

Montgomery didn't go long without a job... not sure it's a fit but it wasn't looking great in St Louis

 

[Reality Czech]

Montgomery didn't go long without a job... not sure it's a fit but it wasn't looking great in St Louis

Monty already has relationships with many in the Blues organization as Armstrong and the Blues hired him as an assistant after the situation in Dallas. So from that point of view, it makes a lot of sense. His wife is also from St. Louis if I'm not mistaken.

As for "fit" in terms of the roster I guess time will tell but it was becoming more clear Bannister wasn't a great fit. It was either make a change now or prepare for an ugly final 3/4 of the season and likely miss out on the chance to hire Monty.

 

[Pietrangelo]

Wow, didn’t see this one coming. Was sad to see him leave the blues a few years ago. Glad he’s back as the HC now

 

[BB79]

Shocking news...right where Monty's wife wanted to be. Every married man knows how that goes

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

That was fast.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

That was quick.

 

[Peasy]

That was fast.

 

[Bradely]

Wow miracle or well discussed between Boston, St-Louis and Montgomery!

 

[PaulD]

Good hire by Blues.

Pittsburg says "no thanks we're all good here"

 

[SirPaste]

Bannister was just so out of his depth in the NHL and it became more clear every day he didn’t know what he was doing. Love this move, team is still retooling and a couple years away but looks like they gave him a long leash with a 5 year deal. They still likely aren’t a playoff team but they should be better than how they have been playing lately even with all the injuries to key players.

 

[serp]

A 5 year deal seems kind of long. Even more successful coaches rarely get that kind of contract length

 

[BallardEra]

Sullivan takes a deep breath.

 

[SirPaste]

A 5 year deal seems kind of long. Even more successful coaches rarely get that kind of contract length

It’s because he’s joining a retooling team that isn’t ready to compete yet but they wanted to get their guy before he got hired somewhere else

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Guess Sullivan is safe for another 10 years

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The Blues lead the league in man games lost, and those losses include extended time for their top center (and best player), and two of the top 3 defenders. With a roster that was a bubble team at best. Bannister couldn’t probably do much with that. But the biggest ugly surprise is that the decision-making around development of young players has been inexplicable.

Bolduc probably could have gone to the AHL from camp. Or after a few games sample. But he gets low minutes and lots of scratches. He’s not going to develop properly from practice alone. I had been fearing Dvorsky getting called up, but now I’m less worried.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Guess Sullivan is safe for another 10 years

Going to be replaced by Bannister

 

[Theodore450]

MSL survives. Damn

 

[dukeofjive]

What happened, some fans were sure the team would be playoff bound this year?

 

[JianYang]

5 years is a huge score for an NHL coach. Good for him.

 

[Fatass]

MSL survives. Damn

This is the guy the Habs should have jumped on before the Blues did.

 

[SirPaste]

What happened, some fans were sure the team would be playoff bound this year?

They been without their 1C and 2 of their top 3 dmen the majority of the season and don’t have the depth to mask those kind of losses

 

[Terrier]

Not surprised to see the Blues pounce and grab Monty. Who's next in the sack race?

 

[FlameChampion]

Good for Montgomery. Was a bs firing.

Probably smart move for the Blues