The St. Louis Blues have had an interesting season thus far. After a tough start, with a flurry of injuries and some questionable leadership decisions, the correct changes were made and it may benefit in a playoff appearance.
One of those changes, that may have saved the season, was the firing of Drew Bannister and the hiring of Jim Montgomery. The Blues have responded flawlessly with the change in leadership, and are among the hottest teams in hockey. Despite ending their five-game point streak in the 4-2 loss to Edmonton last night, they
At 4-1-1 in his short tenure, he has been very successful since taking over. With one Jack Adams award under his belt already, will Montgomery collect his second this season?
Complete turnaround
This season has completely turned on its head in the past two weeks. The Blues were projected to just endure another long and grueling season with nothing to really show for it other than a possibility of a good draft pick in the next draft.
But, the vibe and sentiment is that the Blues may have transformed themselves into a team that could sneak into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He didn’t do everything, obviously, but a large part to the turnaround is Montgomery. The team is motivated and confident that they are a good team, despite the rocky start. That impact will resonate throughout the rest of the season.
With only about a quarter of the season gone, it is still too early to declare a winner of the Jack Adams Trophy for the best coach in the NHL. You can't even name nominees at this point. But, what Montgomery has done in his short amount of time in St. Louis should certainly not be ignored.