Are we overachieving with Monty? Were we underachieving under Bannister?
Both?
Was Bannister just in over his head and incapable of managing a squad of professionals at this level? Was Bannister an overreacting jerk who didn’t know how to talk to professional athletes?
The official postmortem on the Bannister experiment can truly begin now.

18 comments

  1. Well, 3-0-1 to start. But really honestly I think the team needed a guy more apt at managing personalities than Bannister, and the lack of focus on working on the offense was rough.

  3. Bannister was always interim. He was neutral and professional. Berube was the fall guy and Bannister was the filler until management wanted something else. Management has been the issue. Monty can go down just as easily as our past coaches. We need to be more critical of management.

  4. Bannister coached not to lose, relying on vets way past their capabilities and suffocating our offense to suppress the opposition.

    Monty is encouraging young players like bolduc and perunovich and the team is playing a more aggressive style to give us more chances.

  6. I mean, Bannister had a good start to his HC career as well. I think he’s a really good HC, he showed it with Springfield, but he needs some time as an assistant in the NHL to really establish his connection with pro players and learn under some other established coaches (which I thought it was really admirable for him to bring in Claude Julien). Berube, who I don’t regard particularly well (though I am forever grateful for 2019 ofc), had a similar path and will likely be a HC in the league for the next 20 years.

    Ultimately, the problem for Drew Bannister is that he was an fairly raw HC, meanwhile Jim Montgomery is easily top 5 in the league. It’s a tough comp.

  8. The new coach effect is a thing, we saw it happen last year when Bannister took over. It also helps having Thomas and Broberg back on the ice.

    This team is still what it was before Monty came on board. Its going to have good and bad streaks, much like last year. With that said I like Monty, and he is the guy they wanted after last season. We’ve seen weirder stuff happen, but I think it is still a year or two out from being a favorite rather than an underdog when it comes to making the playoffs.

  9. New coach bump is a thing so the sample size is too small. Happy with how its going so far.

    Given that we are not in the locker room or at the practices, I don’t think its fair to say he in incapable of managing professional athletes. He came in and did what was expected of him last year pretty damn well, all things considered. He had earned a chance to continue that this year. We’ve had some injury problems and a lot of new blood.

    For better or worse, we know what this team is. The talent is there to make a push for a playoff spot when healthy. Armstrong brought in some new, young talent and Bannister put them in places where they have seen success. That is a huge win in my book. Montgomery is here now to set the line up and tell everyone to do their fucking job.

    Different styles with different strengths for different rosters.

  11. Looking at headlines I think the players are relieved Monty is here. When Buch is openly questioning practice decisions and Schenn consistently saying that he and others have to play better. That was going on all year. There was no energy. There was no identity.

    With Monty it looks like players have responded in a good way. Sample size small. But there is a noticeable change in game plan. And the players are responding. Shooting more. Breakouts. Faster tempo. It’s a good recipe for success.

  14. Monty has a great resume but this is the first NHL team he’s coached that isn’t a real serious playoff contender. Bannister did his job and had some great success when he took over. He’ll be fine and I think he still has an NHL future.

    I am getting tired of coaches taking the fall when teams are underperforming. It’s not their fault when the bosses write bad contracts and players are mailing it in. Players and GMs need to be held to the same standard as coaches, the lowest paid of them all.

  17. When Jim Montgomery left the team, an unnamed player mentioned how the team missed Monty when we hit struggles. (per Joey Vitale today on 101.1 ESPN). Joey went on to explain it’s because when things are tough Monty will go down the bench and ask the entire bench what they think and how to get better, then the team can come together and at minimum feel heard. That’s the Jim Montgomery effect, not necessarily what your average coach in the NHL does for a team.

    It’s not that Bannister necessarily mismanaged the team. It’s that Monty is just that much better of an option compared to most of the league, including Bannister.

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