The St. Louis Blues had a wild campaign in 2024-25, and one of the reasons was due to the early-season coaching change. Drew Bannister was banished after a 9-12-1 start, and coincidentally, Jim Montgomery was bounced from Boston. General Manager Doug Armstrong made the change, and a quick transition happened.
Fast forward a few months, and the Montgomery-led Blues made franchise history with 12 straight wins and miraculously made the playoffs. With all that said and done, what kind of expectations await the former Jack Adams award winner for 2025-26?
A full offseason to prepare
When Montgomery came to the Blues, he had to learn the entire identity of this team on the fly. Being as successful and experienced as he is, he was able to use his leadership to rally this team throughout the season, and it created a perfect storm.
But now the new head coach has a little bit of an advantage this time around. With a full offseason to prepare, a game plan can be orchestrated to make this team optimal all season. There are some new faces to implement, like Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad into the middle of the lineup, as well as Logan Mailloux on the blueline.
It will be very interesting to see what the end result is next May.
Most pressure to succeed in his coaching career?
There might not be a bigger expectation in the entirety of Montgomery's coaching career than this upcoming season. After losing in the final minutes against arguably the best team in hockey last season, the Winnipeg Jets, in game seven, there is a disdain that the 2025-26 season must go further into the playoffs. A second-round appearance is not an expectation but a minimum next season.
The pieces are there for the Blues to be a competitive team all season. The top six will be healthy once again with the return of Dylan Holloway and a full season of Jimmy Snuggerud incoming. Additionally, the best goaltending tandem in the Western Conference is back again in Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer.
There is no reason this team should not hit that goal, and that the building blocks of a future Stanley Cup final appearance are coming. The Blues are stacked with talent, from all over the lineup and behind the bench. Montgomery has to continue to show that he is worth every penny of his five-year contract.