Doug Armstrong addressing Bannister/Montgomery swap

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong speaks to the media over a video call to discuss the decision to relieve Drew Bannister of his coaching duties while also naming Jim Montgomery as the 28th head coach in franchise history. Montgomery signed a five-year contract.

20 comments
  1. When will Armstrong deal with the real problem? He’s given inflated contracts to children who just won’t grow up. I’m thrilled with Montgomery but bannister inherited a cesspool. This is grossly unfair to bannister.

  2. The Blues are currently a mess, from Stanley Cup Champs to bottom feeding chumps in just 5 seasons–GM Armstrong has made some really poor choices IMHO, starting with not retaining Pietrangelo and ending with firing Coach Berube, with not retaining Ryan O'Reilly right in the middle.

  3. i don't have anything against Jim but Drew needed to go he got the offense going but it wore off from last season something had to change I was more hoping we would bring in coach Q he is the best coach out there someone just has to be brave enough to hire him

  4. The problem with the Blues isn't the coach. It's the people on the ice. If I'm coaching an NHL team, I want players who know how to focus and work their butts off every minute of every game. No coddling allowed. I want players on my team who want their name on the Stanley Cup and will do whatever it takes to realize their goal. Unwavering desire and determination is required and if the players don't have it then they won't be on the team, period. My motto for my players is simple when playing the game: Take the shortest route to the puck and arrive there in Ill humor. Everything else will take care of itself. Good luck to Jim Montgomery… he'll need it with the group that currently wears the Bluenote.

  5. Reading some of these comments trouble me. Sounding like "fair weather friends." I've been following this franchise since the beginning. I'm excited for the future. Some of the comments I understand, but not every franchise can have perpetual success. The Blues were dealt misfortune due to factors out of their control. Covid being just one of them. Free Agency, Salary Cap and other issues were real challenges.

    We watched young players develop that are spread around the league, Barbesev being one of them. Accept it, the Blues, Detroit and the Pens would inevitably take a step back.

    Some of this talk existed in the years prior to the cup year, get over it.

    I am excited to see this young talent arrive and develop. Give it some time.

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