Blues make final decision on next head coach

The St. Louis Blues have announced that they have agreed to a two-year contract with Drew Bannister to make him the 27th head coach in franchise history.

Drew Bannister was the Blues‘ interim head coach after Craig Berube was fired in December, and he helped St. Louis improve its performance over the course of the rest of the season. The Blues had a 30-19-5 record with Bannister as the interim head coach head coach.

The Blues improved in many areas after Bannister took over for Craig Berube. St. Louis climbed from 23rd to 12th in goals-against per game, 31st to 13th in power play and 20th to 13th in penalty kill. As a result of these improvements, the Blues climbed from 21st to 16th in the final regular season standings but missed out on the playoffs by six points to the Vegas Golden Knights, who took the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Bannister has spent six seasons within the Blues’ organization and has worked his way up the ranks after coaching with the affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds and San Antonio Rampage franchises. His coaching career began in the Ontario Hockey League, serving as an assistant for the Owen Sound for three seasons before becoming the head coach for the So Greyhounds.

As a player, Bannister played with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and New York Rangers before finishing his career in Europe. He hopes to lead the Blues back to the playoffs and beyond starting next season.

Blues’ offseason outlook

It is interesting to see that the Blues kept their interim coach after firing Berube, but clearly they believe that Bannister can lead the team back to success, even though it is just a two-year deal for the head coach. The Blues likely will not be a team capable of winning or contending for a Stanley Cup in the next year or two, but there is some talent on the team to build around.

As noted above, the Blues improved on special teams under Bannister. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes implemented when it comes to five-on-five play this offseason, as it was likely tough to change from Berube’s philosophy in season. The special teams were a key, pairing that with better five-on-five play will be a key for St. Louis next season.

St. Louis will need some younger players to prove themselves as pieces for the long-term over Bannister’s two-year contract. If that happens, maybe he gets another contract when this one expires. If not, the Blues could look in a different direction behind the bench as they try to transition back into contending in a few years. It will be interesting to see how the next few years play out in St. Louis.