The St. Louis Blues are the second NHL team to fire a head coach in the 2024-2025 season. Following a disappointing 9-12-1 start, the Blues fired Drew Bannister on Sunday, November 24, 2024. The Blues are in sixth place in the Central Division and lost their Saturday game 3-1 to the New York Islanders.
Bannister, 50, is a former Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick named the Blues’ interim coach in December 2023 when the Blues fired Craig Berube. In May 2024, he was named the head coach and signed a two-year contract. Bannister coached the Blues for 76 games between the two seasons and ended with a 39-31-6 record.
His firing was prompted by the immediate hiring of Jim Montgomery, the Boston Bruins coach fired on November 19, 2024. Many said Montgomery would not be unemployed for very long, and that was the case. Montgomery has signed a five-year contract to become the Blues’ head coach.
Big move in the Central Division as #stlblues hire Jim Montgomery to take over for Drew Bannister👇 https://t.co/wahFhkLUru
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebesWorld) November 24, 2024
The Blues continue their New York tour by playing the Rangers on Monday, November 25, 2024, at 7 PM EST. That will be Montgomery’s first appearance with the team.
For those wondering about the Blues playing Montgomery’s former team, the Bruins, the teams have already met twice this season. They split the series with each game ending 3-2. Those games happened on November 12 and November 16.
The Blues will have more eyeballs on them as Montgomery takes the helm. Other teams’ fanbases including the Pittsburgh Penguins, had hoped their GMs would fire the existing coach (Mike Sullivan) to get Montgomery.
