Montgomery hired as Blues coach, replaces Bannister

Signs 5-year contract just 5 days after being fired by Bruins, was St. Louis assistant for 2 seasons

Jim Montgomery was hired as coach of the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

The 55-year-old replaces Drew Bannister, who was fired. Montgomery signed a five-year contract with the Blues just five days after being fired as Boston Bruins coach after two-plus seasons. Montgomery went 120-41-23 with the Bruins but got off to an 8-9-3 start this season.

In his first season as Boston coach in 2022-23, Montgomery led the team to a historic season, with the best single-season record in League history (65-12-5). The Bruins earned 135 points and an .823 points percentage, also NHL bests. Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award that season as the League’s top coach.

But the Bruins lost in seven games in the 2023 Eastern Conference First Round to the Florida Panthers, who went on to the Stanley Cup Final. They held a 3-0 series lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs the following season, then lost the next three games before prevailing in Game 7.

Boston lost to the eventual champion Panthers in the second round in six games.

Montgomery has also been coach of the Dallas Stars, serving the 2018-19 season and part of 2019-20, going 60-43-10 in 114 games. His NHL career record is 180-84-33 in 297 games.

He returns to St. Louis after being an assistant coach there for two seasons (2020-22) under Craig Berube.

As a player, Montgomery enjoyed a 12-year career, including stints in Germany, Russia and North America. He appeared in 122 NHL regular-season games, including 67 with the Blues during his rookie season.

Bannister went 39-31-6 in 76 games as Blues coach after replacing Berube on Dec. 14, 2023. He went 93-58-19 as coach of Springfield in the American Hockey League and guided it to consecutive Calder Cup Playoff appearances, including the 2022 Calder Cup Final. He also played 164 NHL regular-season games from 1995-2001 for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers. A defenseman, he was selected by the Lightning in the second round (No. 26) of the 1992 NHL Draft.

St. Louis (9-12-1) is sixth in Central Division and is 3-6-1 in its past 10 games. The Blues lost 3-1 at the New York Islanders on Saturday.