St. Louis Blues general manager’s latest magic trick is his most genius move yet

What a difference one week makes. Yeah, we can name millions of examples, but wow, just last week, Jim Montgomery may have still looked like a long-term coach for the Boston Bruins. I mean, the guy led the team to a Presidents’ Trophy and back-to-back playoff appearances. But the organization had other ideas, and just a few days later, so did the St. Louis Blues. 

Enter Drew Bannister, who did a fine enough job last season following head coach Craig Berube’s firing that general manager Doug Armstrong wanted to give him a full year on the job. Or so we thought. Obviously, that’s no longer the case, as Armstrong handed Bannister his walking papers and seized the opportunity to hire Montgomery following the Blues latest loss.

Just as it was last summer when Armstrong took Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers, firing Bannister and hiring Montgomery was a genius move. I mean, the Blues were sinking fast in the Western Conference under Bannister’s leadership (even if there were some injuries to key players), and the team has been among the worst in hockey.

They were a boring group that couldn’t score, nor could they stop anyone else from scoring most of the time. Miscues were aplenty, and if fans were losing interest in this team early, we don’t need to look far to wonder why.

Doug Armstrong just hit a home run for the St. Louis Blues

Honestly, there shouldn’t be a single Blues fan who would have a problem with this. It became clear early, at least after some beginner’s luck, that Bannister wasn’t the answer, and when a big name like Jim Montgomery becomes available, you take it. 

Armstrong, never afraid to make the big move, did just that. Now, will Montgomery turn around the Blues season? Probably not. But what hiring Montgomery does show us is that Armstrong may be willing to speed up this retooling process and start expecting more wins sooner than we thought, which will make the rest of this season rather interesting even when the Blues don’t make the playoffs. 

But who cares? Barring some monumental meltdown, which won’t happen, Montgomery will be in Gateway City long-term, and he will inevitably lead the Blues back to relevance. It’s not happening this season, but look forward to a very, very interesting 2025-26 season.