Blues hire Jim Montgomery as coach, fire Drew Bannister

The St. Louis Blues hired Jim Montgomery as their head coach on Sunday and fired bench boss Drew Bannister.

Montgomery signed a five-year contract with the Blues just five days after being fired as the head coach of the Boston Bruins after two-plus seasons.

A Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year in 2022-23, Montgomery posted a 120-41-23 record with the Bruins before being dismissed after an 8-9-3 start to this season.

The Blues also limped out of the blocks under Bannister, losing seven of their past nine games (2-6-1) to fall to 9-12-1 on the season. They reside in sixth place in the Central Division.

Montgomery, 55, owns a 180-84-83 record in 297 games behind the bench as a head coach with the Dallas Stars (2018-20) and Bruins. He also served as an assistant in St. Louis for two seasons (2020-22) under then-head coach Craig Berube.

During his first season behind the bench in Boston (2022-23), Montgomery guided the team to a 65-12-5 record for 135 points and an .823 points percentage -- all NHL single-season marks.

However, the Florida Panthers stunned the Bruins in seven games in the Eastern Conference opening round in April 2023. Last season, Boston won its first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Panthers in six games.

Bannister, 50, took over behind the bench on Dec. 14, 2023, after Berube was fired following a 13-14-1 start. St. Louis went 30-19-5 under Bannister's leadership but missed the playoffs for a second straight season.

The Blues removed the interim tag from Bannister's title on May 7 and signed him to a two-year contract.

--Field Level Media