There was a major shakeup for two NHL franchises last week, and both involved the same figure. The Boston Bruins terminated head coach Jim Montgomery after they stumbled out of the gate in the 2024-25 NHL season and replaced him with longtime assistant Joe Sacco.
Just days later, the St. Louis Blues terminated coach David Bannister after a 9-12-1 start to the season and immediately scooped up Montgomery, signing him to a five-year contract.
Montgomery makes his return to St. Louis, where he was an assistant for two years under coach Craig Berube. And he was excited to receive the call from Blues GM Doug Armstrong, via The Score.
“Crazy, crazy!” he exclaimed. “There's no other word for it. A lot of emotions. I'm a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing.”
“I've worked with over half this lineup already, and I know how committed they are to playing the right way and the type of people they are,” he said. “For me, this was a no-brainer to be able to come back home and be a Blue again.”
As far as expectations go for Blues fans, they can expect a “blue collar” style performance from the team along with playing energized hockey.
“I'm coming in here with no expectations,” he said. “For the players, that's healthy. For me, that's healthy. But there is an expectation for us to be a blue-collar team, that we're gonna work and we're gonna have energy.”
New Blues coach Jim Montgomery is a former Jack Adams Trophy winner
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After he was hired by the Bruins ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season, Montgomery helped the team re-write the NHL record books with an astounding 65 victories. This overtook the previous record of 62 wins, set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.
But Boston was shocked in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Florida Panthers, who won the series in seven games en route to an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
Montgomery coached the Bruins to a second straight postseason spot last season, and they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round before once again falling to the Panthers.
He was terminated by Boston after an 8-9-3 start to this season, but he's ready to write the next chapter of his career with the Blues.
