In less than six months time, Drew Bannister was promoted to the permanent head coach of the St. Louis Blues. Having now signed a two year contract, it will be up to the former defenseman to right the ship of a Blues team looking to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 2024-2025 season.
Bannister, now 50 years old, has had quite the journey to get to this point (his first NHL head coaching job). A one time 1st round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning (26th in 1992), he would play for four different franchises (also signed with the Senators though didn't play for the NHL club) although only amassing 164 games played (30 points in his career).
In between that, he would also play in Europe for seven years and would garner many accolades along the way including his "best defenseman" award in the 2nd Bundesliga league in Germany. While his return to North America didn't catapult his return to the NHL, it did include memorable stops in the AHL (he even would be coached by his father-in-law).
His coaching career, much like his playing career, reads like a sporadic tale of changing scenery. From England back to Canada (OHL) and finally to the AHL where the Blues would get first hand accounts of his abilities to coach.
Now, with the Blues' former Stanley Cup winning coach now in Toronto it will be Bannister that is tasked with helping St.Louis get back to a championship level. Will the much traveled and underestimated Drew Bannister be up to said task? If his stint with the team is any indication (65 points in 54 games) than the answer could be yes. That projection is actually a 99 point year which should be good enough for a return visit to Lord Stanley's Playoffs.
What do you think, is Drew Bannister the right fit for this particular Blues team?