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

[geebster]

It is the perfect fit, but understandable if other fans don't know about the established connections.

Lots of established connections and he was an assistant there but I said that because I feel that St Louis isn't that close and Montgomery is a better coach for a more established contender. Could be wrong, I don't follow the Blues that closely but to me they seem like a team on the other end of their contention window and need to rebuild a bit.

 

[bb_fan]

Monty had 3 games to 1 lead twice bumbled once with historic point season team and almost coughed it up another 3 to 1 lead against leafs. I'm not sure why is so hyped to be so amazing?

110%.... plus another 20.... on the players not the coach.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Lots of established connections and he was an assistant there but I said that because I feel that St Louis isn't that close and Montgomery is a better coach for a more established contender. Could be wrong, I don't follow the Blues that closely but to me they seem like a team on the other end of their contention window and need to rebuild a bit.

You could be right. This move looks like it is one of those preemptive, slightly impulsive things that DA does. This is a good situation, though. Many of us thought the team would be the WC2 and get bounced in the 1st round or just miss the playoffs altogether. So, we're not far from being competitive, but at least 2-3 years from being seriously competitive.

Army struck while the iron was hot. Let's just make sure we forge a beautiful sword and not an anchor.

 

[JianYang]

Average time the last 3 Bruins head coaches remained unemployed after being fired.....6 day

That is pretty remarkable. Wonder if prospective coaches for the bruins look at that track record as a positive or a negative.

 

[stl76]

Crazy the Blues are going to pay three coaches this year to finish outside of the playoffs. Dumb, dumb, dumb. But at least they got their guy, i guess.

Don't think the Blues are paying 3 coaches. Thought usually a coach's contract ended when they signed with a new team (Toronto in this case). Could be wrong, but I thought that was the norm. This would also relate to Monty's term (if he leaves before 5 years probably wouldn't be unemployed long so ownership wouldn't be paying him not to coach long either). Unless I'm just completely wrong about coaching contracts...

Anyway, they can't be paying Bannister very much and if the ownership group is on board then honestly who gives a f*** lol

Monty had 3 games to 1 lead twice bumbled once with historic point season team and almost coughed it up another 3 to 1 lead against leafs. I'm not sure why is so hyped to be so amazing?

Funnily enough, his career did not begin and end with coaching the Boston bruins

 

[ON3M4N]

That is pretty remarkable. Wonder if prospective coaches for the bruins look at that track record as a positive or a negative.

No idea, I'd be more concerned that the team felt Bruce was too hard and got him fired. Monty was the polar opposite and they quit on him after 2 seasons.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Wow that dis not take long

 

[Reality Czech]

In not convinced he's a very good HC.

Think he'd very much be available in June/July

Not sure about your second statement. I feel like if he wanted a job now someone else would have signed him if we hadn't.

As for his coaching abilities, I guess we'll have to wait and see how the Blues do in the next couple years.

 

[jetsforever]

Good for Monty to get another job so quickly

 

[Number8]

Does Julien stay, leaving the Blues with two former Bruins head coaches let go by Sweeney?

Btw, the Bruins won a couple games sans Montgomery against non-impressive teams and they're 3 pts out of first. Montgomery didn't do all that bad to have them in that position.

The Bruins are in the hunt, no doubt. And, given the way they’ve played this season? A stark reminder that the League is in real danger of getting watered down. They have been rough with a Capital R.

That said, as a roster they are massively underperforming. We’ll see what we get over the season. In the meantime, Monty vs. 20 players type thing. That plus the STL/contract that another B’s poster mentioned earlier.

Pressure now on players and management.

Good luck to Monty in St Louis. Good guy and very classy man.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Good hire, not sure about giving any coach 5 years, but w/e.

 

[BergyWho37]

Good for him. Time will tell if this is the kind of coach St. Louis needs definitely a players coach but this can backfire cause everyone gets in this comfy zone and doesn’t necessarily get pushed to new heights depending on the players in the room.

I certainly didn’t hate him some frustration during the first playoff experience Ullmark injury debacle.. I’d possibly say later on like late last year and this year he’d change the lines so often before they could get a chance to gel other then this the assistant coach’s need to take some blame in Boston too.

 

[The don godfather]

Good for him. Time will tell if this is the kind of coach St. Louis needs definitely a players coach but this can backfire cause everyone gets in this comfy zone and doesn’t necessarily get pushed to new heights depending on the players in the room.

I certainly didn’t hate him some frustration during the first playoff experience Ullmark injury debacle.. I’d possibly say later on like late last year and this year he’d change the lines so often before they could get a chance to gel other then this the assistant coach’s need to take some blame in Boston too.

Monty blew that historic president trophy cup run to the moon like wild e coyote playing with acme explosive products. Let's see if he can redeem himself.

 

[Voight]

Do not fall in love with your head coaches. That is the moral of this story. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh we are stuck with a guy who has not done squat since 2018 but is one of the most beloved bench bosses in the history of the game for some warped reason.

I envy the Blues and have a lot of respect for Doug Armstrong. It sucks for Bannister because I think he was actually doing a good job under trying circumstances. But in pro sports, if you do not win it all, you are just one of the losers. It sends the right message that winning is the only thing that matters. Not tenure, not legacy, not resume, not process, not anything else.

Armstrong basically made it sound like Bannister wasn't in danger of losing his job until Montgomery became available. They clearly believed in him given they took the interim tag off and gave him. 2 year deal. Montgomery also had an inside track since he was a Blues assistant for two years previously.

 

[QuizGuy66]

37 games... he's on the list

The tweet is wrong it was 33 games
9-22-2

John MacLean (ice hockey) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And then Lemaire took over and after a 1-7-0 start took them on a 22-3-2 that almost got them to the playoffs.

 

[Mike Liut]

Lots of established connections and he was an assistant there but I said that because I feel that St Louis isn't that close and Montgomery is a better coach for a more established contender. Could be wrong, I don't follow the Blues that closely but to me they seem like a team on the other end of their contention window and need to rebuild a bit.

This is year 3 of their rebuild. A very good prospect pool to add to several very good young players on the current team. Monty knows this

 

[Mike Liut]

Lots of established connections and he was an assistant there but I said that because I feel that St Louis isn't that close and Montgomery is a better coach for a more established contender. Could be wrong, I don't follow the Blues that closely but to me they seem like a team on the other end of their contention window and need to rebuild a bit.

He also played for the Blues

 

[Breeze 44]

Well that did not take long...good for Montgomery.. he was done dirty by Boston...

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Lots of established connections and he was an assistant there but I said that because I feel that St Louis isn't that close and Montgomery is a better coach for a more established contender. Could be wrong, I don't follow the Blues that closely but to me they seem like a team on the other end of their contention window and need to rebuild a bit.

Montgomery may thrive in a non contender situation where each flaw is not hyper analyzed.

Also, it may not have mattered what team made the offer since it was 5 years of job security. Montgomery and his family are now well taken care of.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Babcock with a record that will be hard to beat.

 

[1specter]

Armstrong has been very aggressive this year, have to respect it even though I feel bad for Bannister.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Babcock with a record that will be hard to beat.

Feels like a record that Mike Keenan could have beaten

 

[Suntouchable13]

Yup. One of our insiders had mentioned that it would have happened if Toronto beat Boston in the 1st round. The win gave Monty some rope and negotiating room for a contract in Boston but they couldn't come to an agreement. It was also told to us a few weeks ago that a motivating factor for Monty was that his wife wanted to go back to St Louis.

He should have told her if she wants to go, she can go. There's the door

 

[BB79]

Well that did not take long...good for Montgomery.. he was done dirty by Boston...

Done dirty? Haven't watched a Bruins game this season eh? They've looked terrible, something had to be done and almost always the coach is the one to take the fall. It's standard professional sports stuff.

I wish him all the best

He should have told her if she wants to go, she can go. There's the door

Not married, huh?