Former St. Louis Blues Head Coach Drew Bannister Opens Up After Being Replaced by Jim Montgomery
The former St. Louis Blues head coach Drew Bannister opened up for the first time since being replaced by Jim Montgomery.
The Boston Bruins made a massive change to their organization back in November when they fired their head coach Jim Montgomery.
A few days later, the Blues jumped on the opportunity to hire Jim Montgomery, letting go of Drew Bannister less than a year after naming him head coach.
Bannister opened up about the whole process in an interview with The Post-Dispatch.
He started by talking about his reaction and the phone call with General Manager Doug Armstrong:
"You don't really know how you're supposed to react."
"Those conversations are quick. They're uncomfortable at times, and obviously, for me, it was disappointing, but certainly, I understand what Doug's process was going through that. For me, it's disappointing not being able to follow through with what I intended to do for the term of my contract."
"Those conversations are quick. They're uncomfortable at times, and obviously, for me, it was disappointing, but certainly, I understand what Doug's process was going through that. For me, it's disappointing not being able to follow through with what I intended to do for the term of my contract."
From an outside view, the Blues didn't seem to put Bannister in a far position. They fired him after only 22 games as full-time head coach, after signing him to a two-year contract, set to end in 2026, when Armstrong will retire to let Alexander Steen run the organization.
As you know, the Blues ended up signing Jim Montgomery to a five-year contract.
Bannister revealed how he felt about this:
"(Stuff) happens and things happen on the move. It is what it is. I can sit back and be bitter about the situations, but those situations are out of my control. All that I can control is how I react to it, how I'm reacting to it in the time, how I react to it after."
"It's me learning from those situations, understanding them, and moving past them. If I'm going to sit here and dwell on it and be 'Poor me,' then I'm not going to get better and I'm not going to move forward as quick as I want to."
"It's me learning from those situations, understanding them, and moving past them. If I'm going to sit here and dwell on it and be 'Poor me,' then I'm not going to get better and I'm not going to move forward as quick as I want to."
Despite how it ended, Bannister isn't angry towards the Blues or Armstrong, saying he takes out much more positive than negative.
"There's so much more positive than this one negative. The Blues have been really good to me. Doug has been good to me, giving me my first job as an American League head coach, giving me my first job as a head coach in the NHL, and the first one to fire me. A lot of firsts with Doug."
"I'm not bitter at all because the organization has been so good to me. A lot of good things have happened for me as a coach with the organization and the people I've met and the relationships. Those aren't going to end just because I'm no longer with the organization."
"I'm not bitter at all because the organization has been so good to me. A lot of good things have happened for me as a coach with the organization and the people I've met and the relationships. Those aren't going to end just because I'm no longer with the organization."
This season, Bannister had a 9-12-1 record with the Blues. Reflecting on the team's struggles, Bannister revealed that he reevaluated his decisions as coach after being let go:
"There are some situations that I'd probably change, I don't really want to speak about that. But yeah, for sure. As a coach, you have to take ownership of how the team is playing and some of the decisions you make. "
"When you go through the time, you have to reevaluate that. When you're in a position like me and you end up getting fired, you have to take ownership, there's no question. That's something that I'm evaluating and continuing to evaluate."
"When you go through the time, you have to reevaluate that. When you're in a position like me and you end up getting fired, you have to take ownership, there's no question. That's something that I'm evaluating and continuing to evaluate."
The former coach also wished to see his former team succeed this year:
"I want to see them have success. I care deeply for the players on the team that I've had for a long time. You cheer them on. Certainly for the staff, had a lot of good relationships with the people there. I want to see them succeed and continue to grow and play to their potential."
It'll be interesting to see if Bannister gets another opportunity to work in the NHL in the coming years. We wish him the best in the next chapter of his career.
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