Stop me if you've heard this one before: the St. Louis Blues are off to a resoundingly mediocre start to the NHL season. They're 3-4-1, good for seven standings points and seventh in the top-heavy Central Division, and they've got a minus-1 goal differential. There are a couple of positives to take from the eight games we've watched, but plenty of causes for concern as well--the biggest is probably Jordan Binnington's continued poor play.
So, with Alex Steen at the helm, what is a new general manager to do in this situation? A roster-shaking trade is probably off the table, given how active the offseason was, and there aren't all that many exciting call-up options left in the AHL. In these situations, new GMs often have one card left to play: firing the head coach--and Jim Montgomery may be running out of leash.
Montgomery's Blues tenure
It came as a bit of a surprise when ex-GM Doug Armstrong announced the hiring of Montgomery: it was early in Drew Bannister's first season coaching the Blues, who were (as usual) off to a rough start, but the Blues' front office saw a coach they coveted and didn't hesitate to make a change. The Blues responded quite positively, turning it on through the remainder of the season on a surge to a wildcard spot and nearly knocking off the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets. Surely, with a full offseason of preparation, the Blues and Montgomery would pick up where they left off.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way: the Blues started 2025-26 sluggish, though league-worst goaltending was a major factor in their mounting losses. Joel Hofer nearly saved the season, but the Blues came up short anyway. Still, once again, a strong finish would surely carry over to the following season, this time, right?
Again, no. The Blues are sporting a losing record, and it may be time for a change behind the bench.
Why a change could be in order
The Blues are unique in that they had a planned transfer of power within the front office: Doug Armstrong announced he'd be handing the reins to Alex Steen far in advance. That's basically unheard of in the NHL, and the fact that those two worked so closely together likely means that Montgomery is "Steen's guy" just as much as he was "Armstrong's guy." New GMs do generally like to put their stamp on their team, though, and firing the coach is often the path of least resistance.
The slow start is another reason--we've seen this team start slow under Montgomery before, and that points to the coaching staff being unable to get the team prepped and ready for the regular season. Easing into the season hasn't worked out for the Blues in previous years, and there's no reason to believe it would now. If that's an acceptable approach, then Montgomery's message isn't getting through to the players, and a fresh voice may be required to get things back in order.
Who would deliver that new message? Montgomery is often viewed as a fairly player-friendly coach, and, after Craig Berube, the team probably needed a friendlier leader. NHL front offices often vacillate between those two coaching archetypes, so a "tougher" coach may be necessary. Two names that come to mind are John Tortorella, who came in at the end of last season and coached the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final, and Bruce Cassidy--if the Golden Knights would allow him to speak with other teams. There are a few teams around the league off to weak starts, too, who could be looking to make a change behind the bench; perhaps the Blues swoop in on a coach who suddenly becomes available.
The one reason this could all work out
While the Blues do have a losing record, their process isn't awful: per Natural Stat Trick, their 51.90 expected Goals For percentage (xGF) is 12th in the league--ahead of juggernauts like the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights. Their 27 goals-for is third in the Central Division, so their offense isn't as anemic as one might believe. Bad goaltending is what's killing the Blues, and a head coach can only play the goalies the general manager gives him--and Jordan Binnington is singlehandedly sinking the Blues' season.
If there's one move Steen could make to immediately help the Blues, it's to trade for a goaltender who can reliably back up Joel Hofer. Among goalies with three games played, Hofer's 1.3 Goals Saved Above expected (GSAx) is 22nd in the league, per Money Puck--a perfectly adequate mark this early in the year. Binnington, meanwhile, is the fifth-worst in the NHL with a minus-5; two of the four goalies worse than him are Darcey Kuemper and Dustin Wolf, whose teams have one win between them (that would be Wolf's Calgary Flames, as the LA Kings remain winless).
The only way to fairly judge whether or not Montgomery is the right coach for this team is to upgrade the goaltending. Easier said than done, if the Blues don't want to be in the same January hole they wind up in every year, change needs to come sooner than later.
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