In true Armstrong fashion, the St. Louis Blues acted boldly and aggressively to sign Jim Montgomery to a five-year contract, only five days after his dismissal by the Boston Bruins. The Blues, who are struggling to perform this season, and are at a critical point of their retool, have a considerable number of question marks. One of those has been answered - Montgomery is the head coach that Doug Armstrong and Alexander Steen have chosen to lead them back to relevance.
Montgomery will undoubtedly shake things up following Drew Bannister's tenure, but how? What might we see from Montgomery for the remainder of the 2024-25 season? How might Montgomery impact the Blues long term, as they attempt to emerge from their retool successfully?
How could Montgomery impact the Blues this season?
It's no accident that some of the Blues' biggest issues just so happened to be strengths for the Bruins under Montgomery. This, in large part, is why Armstrong and Steen were so eager to hire him.
Special Teams
In 2022-23, the Bruins had an effective power play at 22.2%, the 12th best in the NHL, with an NHL-best penalty kill unit at 87.3%. This remained consistent into 2023-24, when their PP was fourth in the NHL at 22.2% and their PK was seventh at 82.5%. Granted, Boston's special teams are far less effective this season, with an NHL-worst PP% at 12.8%, but the under-performance of key players like Elias Lindholm have complicated the situation.
This season, Jim Montgomery should be able to resolve some issues with the Blues special teams. If he can help the Blues clean up the PP with a clear game plan, and likewise mobilize defenders on the PK to actively disrupt plays, he could give this Blues team a brand new look.
5-on-5 Offense
Another strength of the Bruins under Montgomery was offense at even strength. In 2022-23, Boston had an xGoal% of 53.77% (sixth in the NHL) and 200 goals scored (second in the NHL). They were also above average in productive zone time in all three zones, and excelled in generating high-danger and mid-range shots on goal.
In 2023-24, their xGoal share dropped to 49.94% (18th in the NHL) and goals scored were down to 176 (10th in the NHL). However, they were tied for the most rebound goals scored with 31, and their excellence at generating high-danger scoring chances continued last season and into the start of the current season.
With St. Louis this season, Jim Montgomery could very likely inject some energy into the offense, encouraging them to shoot more, and coaching them to generate more offense in high-danger areas, which has been a weakness for the Blues.