最新杏吧原创

Doug Armstrong isn鈥檛 messing around. I wrote 鈥渕essing鈥� because we鈥檙e not allowed to write the word I want to write. Look, this move by Armstrong was some cutthroat stuff and some striking stuff 鈥� and it鈥檚 the perfect move at the perfect time for the 最新杏吧原创 Blues.

On Sunday, general manager Armstrong fired coach Drew Bannister, just 200 days after Bannister had the 鈥渋nterim鈥� title dropped and became the official head coach.

And yes, Armstrong can say 鈥� as he did in Sunday鈥檚 Zoom with reporters 鈥� that he wasn鈥檛 looking to fire Bannister and only did so because Jim Montgomery suddenly became available.

But he wouldn鈥檛 have fired the guy if the team was winning.

And so sometimes bold isn鈥檛 beautiful. It can be messy when you鈥檙e not messing around. And a good man with an overall winning record was fired.

But this season, Bannister鈥檚 Blues were 9-12-1 after missing the playoffs the previous two seasons.

So Armstrong鈥檚 move is to get 最新杏吧原创 in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year 鈥� and to get the Stanley Cup in 最新杏吧原创 sometime this decade.

He got a top guy. An elite coach. Boom. It happened. Banny is out. Monty is in.

Classic Doug Armstrong.

鈥淗e can coach a team that鈥檚 evolving and then coach a team that has evolved and is ready to win,鈥� said Armstrong, the longtime general manager who gave Montgomery his first gig (as Blues assistant coach in 2020) after Montgomery was dismissed by Dallas and spent time in an alcohol addiction recover program. 鈥淎nd it reminds me a little bit about when we brought Ken (Hitchcock) in, over a decade ago 鈥� an experienced coach to a team that was learning and working to grow. And he was able to maximize that group.

鈥淎nd I think that as we continue to learn how to win and learn how to be competitive on a nightly basis, Monty can push us all to get better. And then when we get there, can take us to the promised land.鈥�

As for this season, it needed to be a 鈥渢ake-a-step鈥� season. And sure, Armstrong can say he had no inclination as recently as Wednesday of firing Bannister (until Boston fired Montgomery). But if the Blues still were playing this way in a couple of weeks, he sure would have thought so by then.

The Blues are playing unacceptable hockey. Yes, Robert Thomas and a blossoming Philip Broberg were out for many games. But did those injuries prevent other players from playing hard?

As I wrote 10 days ago in the Post-Dispatch:

鈥淭he Blues are at a crossroads. They need to decide, right now, who they want to be. If they truly yearn to be good, they need to then change things immediately. They need to become a serious hockey team. They need to play 60 hard minutes (or at least more than 40).鈥�

And even with Thomas back, the five-on-five offense was inconsistent. On Saturday, the Blues didn鈥檛 get one five-on-five goal against the 7-8-5 (now 8-8-5) Islanders.

I asked Armstrong if he sensed the Blues are on pace to be a playoff team.

鈥淥bviously our record would indicate no, we鈥檙e not headed to the playoffs,鈥� said Armstrong, whose team is amid a 鈥渞etool鈥� but looking for improvement from last year. 鈥淚 think our season to date has fluctuated. We鈥檙e obviously having a hard time on both ends of the special teams and our scoring goals 鈥� and that鈥檚 obviously not a good recipe to have success.

鈥淚 think having (defensemen) Nick Leddy and Broberg out at the same time is something that you have to deal with. We鈥檝e seen growth from certain players, but I think getting those two guys back will help stabilize things. And losing Robert like we did took away from the offense 鈥� and it hasn鈥檛 come back since he鈥檚 been back. So we have our work to do. We have a lot of things that Jim has to get organized to his satisfaction. And we鈥檙e ready to move ahead.鈥�

Some fans and critics (and skeptics) are saying that firing coaches again and again isn鈥檛 the answer. The Blues, of course, fired Cup-winning coach Craig Berube last December and replaced him with the interim Bannister, who eventually was elevated to the job full time.

But this was different.

Jim Montgomery is an exception. We鈥檙e talking about one of the best coaches alive. A guy who had these records in his five seasons as a head coach:

• 2018-19 with Dallas: 43-32-7.
• 2019-20 with Dallas: 17-11-3.
• 2022-23 with Boston: 65-12-5 (yes, you read that right).
• 2023-24 with Boston: 47-20-15.
• 2024-25 with Boston: 8-9-3.

And then consider that in his time as a Blues assistant, he rejuvenated both the power play and the penalty kill.

And he had strong relationships with numerous top players here.

Oh, yeah, come to think of it: Can Monty be the one who elevates Jordan Kyrou鈥檚 overall game?

鈥淗e can share his experience of working with top players in the game 鈥� and what made them top players,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淟ittle, subtle things that they did to exploit the defenders. Monty was a skilled player also, so he understands the nuances of trying to produce 鈥� and also responsibility of trying to produce at this level. So I think he can hopefully unlock some of the things that can help not only Jordan but all players to maximize their talents鈥�- and get them to the areas where we believe they can get to.鈥�

Montgomery already is part of 最新杏吧原创 hockey culture. As a player, he indeed suited up for 最新杏吧原创 as a rookie in 1993-94. He married a woman from 最新杏吧原创. He returned to 最新杏吧原创 as an assistant following rehab. And now he鈥檚 back in 最新杏吧原创, at 55, to make this hockey-proud town proud again.

And, of course, to get his name on the Cup.