The St. Louis Blues have shaken up their coaching staff in back-to-back seasons. Prior to the 2023-24 season, the club dismissed Mike Van Ryn and Craig MacTavish, replacing them with Mike Weber and Michael Babcock. They also fired head coach Craig Berube and replaced him with Drew Bannister in December 2023. They’ve shaken things up a great deal after missing the playoffs in two straight seasons.
For the 2024-25 season, Bannister is the head coach with a two-year contract signed in the summer and they’ve added experience to put alongside him. Assistants Weber, Babcock, and Steve Ott are still around, which is good for continuity purposes. The big and important addition this summer was former Stanley Cup-winning head coach Claude Julien joining the staff. Let’s get into the staff and why the experience under Bannister is key.
Julien Brings a Wealth of Experience
Julien hasn’t coached in the NHL since 2020-21, when he was the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He brings plenty of experience to the table for Bannister and staff. He won 667 games as a head coach and won the Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. General manager Doug Armstrong made a wise choice in finding the proper experience to place alongside the inexperienced head coach. This is how you put coaches in positions to succeed.
Julien is a good fit for this staff. He commands respect and brings a level of experience where he can help mentor the younger coaches on the staff. Every member of the Blues’ coaching staff is under the age of 50 outside of Julien. It’s a role that I believe he will embrace.
Ott and Weber Bring Continuity
Ott and Weber will both return to the staff in large roles under Bannister this season. Ott has been an assistant in St. Louis since the 2017-18 season. He was promoted to associate head coach for this season, which is a well-earned promotion. Although, it’s somewhat surprising that Armstrong didn’t promote him to interim head coach last season when Berube was let go.
Ott is a coach that players respect and he’s grown into a high-level role on staff over time. It wouldn’t surprise me if he left St. Louis to become a head coach in the next couple of seasons. As for Weber, defensive continuity is important this season. He did a solid job with the unit last season, but there’s plenty of room to grow in 2024-25. The Blues need him to help raise the level of play and get the most out of this veteran defensive unit. I believe he is still the right man for the job and bringing him back makes sense.
Bannister Has a Chance To Succeed as Head Coach
I wasn’t overly thrilled with the Bannister hiring this summer, but he must be given a chance. He has a quality staff around him and a deeper roster as opposed to last season when things were in limbo. He only signed a two-year deal, so he has to make the most of it this season. He’s in a position to succeed and that’s saying something given where this franchise was a couple of seasons ago. They’re still somewhat of an underdog to make the playoffs, but I think they will. They have cornerstone pieces and the depth to go around them, plus it doesn’t hurt to have quality goaltending with Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer.
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I won’t go as far as to say that Bannister is a lock to become a quality NHL head coach, but he’s on a better path right now than a year ago. The Blues should be somewhat entertaining to watch as they fight for a wild card spot all season long.
