There has been a lot of discussion about Blues head coach Jim Montgomery in the last year. He was fired from the Boston Bruins in December of 2024, hired by the St. Louis Blues within a week, and led the Blues to an unlikely playoff appearance all in the same season. Recently, however, the discussion has been more negative.
The Blues have started the season winning just nine of their first 28 games, a dismal start for a team that had incredibly high expectations coming into October. Because of this, there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not Monty is the man for the job in St. Louis – but the fact is, he may be the only one who can right the ship for the Blues.
Montgomery is a proven winner in Boston
Jim Montgomery was hired as coach for the Boston Bruins in 2022. The Bruins were coming off an okay but disappointing year, finishing 10th in the league with a record of 51-26-5. Monty then led the squad to an NHL record 65-12-5 year and won the Jack Adams Award – the annual award given to the best coach in the league. It was an unbelievable achievement, and many expected a dynasty to be created that he would lead for many years to come. However, that season still didn’t give Monty a long leash, and he was fired just a year and a half later after a slump that resulted in the coaching change and trading away Captain and franchise star Brad Marchand.
Monty has led this team to dominance before, he can do it again
While some may dismiss Montgomery’s success in Boston as a product of the incredibly high talent level on that team, they can’t as easily explain away his arguably more impressive feat, accomplished right here in St. Louis just months ago. He took over what was undeniably a broken hockey team and managed to turn them into the holders of the Blues’ longest winning streak in franchise history – 12 games from March 15th to April 5th of this calendar year.
Monty did this with a team nearly identical to the current lineup, so what happened? This season’s shortcomings have been a combination of multiple factors, including poor goaltending, injuries, lack of production from stars, and yes – even coaching. With Armstrong being very clear in his unwillingness to move Montgomery any time soon, Blues fans need to accept that he’s the best man for the job, even with the team in its current state. Obviously some things need to change with the kind of hockey the Blues are playing, but given his record setting success in Boston and St. Louis, his familiarity with this roster, and the backing he has from both the players and the general manager, it’s clear that Jim Montgomery is the only one who can lead the Blues out of this dreadful hole they find themselves in.
