NEW YORK — As new Blues coach Jim Montgomery appeared before reporters Monday at Madison Square Garden sporting a dark blue sweatshirt emblazoned with the team’s famed blue note logo, there was no hesitation about his emotions.
An assistant with the Blues from 2020 to 2022, Montgomery is overjoyed to be back with St. Louis.
“Crazy — there’s no other word for it,” the 55-year-old said less than a week after he was fired by the Boston Bruins and hired by St. Louis to replace Drew Bannister. “I have worked with over half this lineup already, and I know how committed they are. For me, this was a no-brainer for me to come back home.”
The Blues, who missed the playoffs last season after Bannister took over for 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube in December, have work to do. They started the season 9-12-1, only two teams have scored less than their 2.36 goals a game and they rank in the bottom third of the league on the power play and penalty kill.
St. Louis downed the Rangers 5-2 on Monday night and played a spirited game in Montgomery’s debut behind the bench, firing more than 40 shots at Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Forward Zack Bolduc scored his first two goals of the season for the Blues.
“I loved our effort,” Montgomery said. “We could have eight tonight. Shesterkin played well. … For 60 minutes we stuck with how we needed to play.”
Montgomery guided the Bruins to a record-setting 65-win, 135-point season in 2022-23 and was named coach of the year. When he became available, Blues president and general manager Doug Armstrong pounced.
“When you get a phone call and you hear Doug Armstrong’s plan and how you’re a big part of it, that makes you feel it is the right place to go,” Montgomery said. “The best line that put his hooks into me is, ‘When something delicious falls on my plate, I eat.’ I don’t know. I guess I was a T-bone that day.”
Every NHL team Montgomery has coached for a full season has qualified for the playoffs, and his .659 points percentage ranks among the best in league history.
“I believe in this group,” Montgomery said. “It’s not easy to make the playoffs in this league. Half the teams miss it. But I do think that in time this is a caliber playoff team.”
Blues players reacted positively to the coaching change.
“He’s detailed and structured, but at the same time he lets guys play hockey,” captain Brayden Schenn said earlier Monday after the Blues’ morning skate. “He’s a guy you want to play hard for, who has had success in this league.”
Schenn scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period against the Rangers and said following the win that he sensed an immediate boost with a different coach behind the Blues bench.
“There’s always life and energy when any team makes a midseason coaching change,” Schenn said. “Tonight it showed. Now it’s our job to keep building on that.”
Robert Thomas, a first-round draft pick by St. Louis in 2017 now in his seventh season with the Blues, said he was sorry to see Bannister go but happy the energetic Montgomery was back as head coach.
“He was a huge help for me and someone I really relied on a couple of years ago,” Thomas said. “He’s someone a lot of us have a ton of respect for. He’s got a big personality.”
The Bruins fired Montgomery last Tuesday after losing 12 of their first 20 games. Boston won 120 of 184 regular-season games with Montgomery behind the bench, though its playoff success was limited to a first-round series win over Toronto last spring.
His first NHL coaching job, with the Dallas Stars, ended when he was fired in December 2019 for unprofessional conduct.
Armstrong hired Montgomery in September 2020 to serve on Berube’s staff. Now, he gave his new coach a fresh, five-year contract and the expectation of trying to help St. Louis get back into the league’s elite tier.
“He’s one of those coaches that I really do believe can be with this team now and as it grows,” Armstrong said Sunday. “The proof of that is the five-year commitment. One of the things I think is the next part for Jim’s career is to get that longevity in one spot.”
Leaving the Bruins after success in Boston wasn’t easy, but Montgomery said he immediately chose a positive mindset.
“I’m a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing,” he said. “It’s about your relationships in life. … The five-year deal shows the commitment of Tom Stillman and the ownership group, that we are in this together.”
Following the game, Montgomery said his new team’s enthusiasm was palpable from morning skate to the final buzzer.
“It was very evident guys were excited to get out and play some hockey,” he said.
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