3 reasons why Blues may regret signing Jim Montgomery

The St. Louis Blues hired Jim Montgomery as the team’s 28th head coach, "The Athletic" reported. The Blues fired Drew Bannister after the team started the season 9-12-1. Bannister’s dismissal was sealed after a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

The Blues moved quickly to hire Jim Montgomery after he had been fired earlier in the week by the Boston Bruins. While Montgomery’s hiring could signal an opportunity for the Blues to turn things around, there’s reason to believe Jim Montgomery’s hiring won’t work out as expected.

So, here are three reasons why the Blues may regret hiring Jim Montgomery.

3 reasons why St. Louis Blues could regret hiring Jim Montgomery

#3 The Blues are a team on the decline

The Blues’ competitive window has gradually dwindled since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. The club has desperately tried to retool on the fly in order to remain competitive. However, it seems like the Blues are headed toward an inevitable rebuild.

As a result, Montgomery’s signing won’t do much to turn things around. The Blues have good, young players to build around. But a full rebuild may be on the cards, especially if the team cannot make the playoffs this season.

#2 Montgomery’s coaching style is not suited to the Blues roster

Montgomery’s coaching style is more focused on hard-hitting, tight-checking play. This style does not mesh well with the current Blues roster construction. The team lacks the depth and physicality required to make opposing teams suffer due to relentless forechecking.

Moreover, the Blues lack a solid bottom six that can carry out the tough assignments needed to give them a break during stretches of the game. As such, Blues GM Doug Armstrong will need to add more depth to scoring and bulk up to suit Montgomery’s coaching style.

Otherwise, the Blues may find themselves forcing Montgomery to adapt his coaching style to the roster put in front of him. That may not work out quite as expected.

#1 The Blues made a gamble on a recently-fired coach

There’s a reason why the Boston Bruins let Montgomery go. While there is all sorts of speculation surrounding the Bruins’ reasoning, they made the decision to dismiss Montgomery for the same reason the Blues let Bannister go.

Thus, the Blues are making a gamble on a coach that comes with baggage despite winning the Jack Adams in 2022. There’s no guaranteeing that Montgomery won’t suffer the fate in St. Louis as he did in Boston.

Ultimately, the Blues are gambling on a coach with enormous potential, but who is yet to attain a major achievement. If the Blues fail to make the playoffs this season, Montgomery and the team will need to do some soul-searching in the offseason.