The St. Louis Blues front office has been led by Doug Armstrong since the 2010-11 NHL season. Since then, he’s hired a total of six coaches across 15 seasons.
In this piece, I’ll rank all six coaches in the Armstrong era. A couple of hits and misses, but overall he’s done a decent job of keeping the franchise afloat and consistent after what he inherited early on.
Too Early: Jim Montgomery
It’s too early to rank current Blues head coach Jim Montgomery. He’s only been in this position for just under two months after taking over in late November 2024. He’s been solid so far, but the results haven’t been good enough to propel the team into a playoff spot yet.
Related: Blues Shouldn’t Sacrifice the Future for a 2025 Playoff Push
This hire was always about organizational stability and creating success in the near future. I still believe the Montgomery era in St. Louis will work out in the end.
5. Drew Bannister
Record: 39-31-6 (0 playoff appearances)
The Blues brought in Drew Bannister after firing Craig Berube in December of the 2023-24 season. He was the head coach for the organization’s Springfield Thunderbirds, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate before taking over in St. Louis.
Drew Bannister, St. Louis Blues (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The record looks good, but the Blues didn’t seem to respond to Bannister as the head coach, especially in the early parts of this season. They went 9-12-1 before he was let go to hire Montgomery in late November. While Bannister didn’t get a long leash, it was clear that Armstrong was always going to pounce on the opportunity to hire Montgomery. I think he’ll get another opportunity on an NHL staff, but it may take some work before he gets another head coaching opportunity at this level.
4. Davis Payne
Record: 67-55-15 (0 playoff appearances)
Davis Payne was the first coach who Armstrong decided to stick with after taking over in St. Louis. In the 2009-10 season, Payne replaced Andy Murray as the interim head coach and got the interim tag removed after that season. He was the head coach in Armstrong’s first season as the Blues general manager. While he didn’t hire Payne, he stuck with him when he took the job over and was a strong influence in the front office at that point.
The Payne era was a bit on the boring side by the numbers. They finished fourth in the division in the two seasons he finished as the club’s head coach. In his only full season, he led them to a 38-33-11 record and missed the playoffs by double-digit points. He was fired after a 6-7-0 start in the 2011-12 season and replaced by Ken Hitchcock.
3. Mike Yeo
Record: 73-49-11 (1 playoff appearance)
Mike Yeo‘s tenure in St. Louis saw a lot of wins, but the group didn’t respond to him at the end. Rewinding back to the 2016-17 season, the club had just fired Hitchcock and named Yeo the interim. He finished the season 22-8-2 and got to the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Nashville Predators in six games.
Infamously, the Blues started 7-9-3 under Yeo before firing him and hiring Berube in 2018-19 – they went on to win the Stanley Cup in the same season.
2. Ken Hitchcock
Record: 248-124-41 (5 playoff appearances)
Hitchcock is a coaching legend and a Hockey Hall of Famer. He had a great run in St. Louis and many people thought he was prematurely fired in 2016-17. He led the Blues out of the first in the 2012 playoffs and to a Western Conference Final appearance in 2016.
He’s second all-time in franchise history with 248 wins, behind Joel Quenneville (307). He’s also tied for fourth amongst all-time Blues coaches in playoff wins with Brian Sutter. He’s certainly in the tier one of Blues coaches in history, alongside Quenneville, Berube, and Scotty Bowman.
1. Craig Berube
Record: 232-106-44 (4 playoff appearances), Won 2019 Stanley Cup
This is an obvious pick in the number one spot. Elevating Berube to interim head coach in 2019 was one of the best moves Armstrong’s ever made. He instilled toughness and confidence into a Blues team that was severely underperforming expectations that season. They rode a long win streak into a 38-19-6 regular season record under Berube and a Cup.
He did a phenomenal job during his time in St. Louis. He made the playoffs four straight times before the roster started to break down and he got a decently long leash. Armstrong likely didn’t want to ever fire him, but it had to be done and both sides parted ways mutually. He’s been welcomed back to St. Louis this season behind the Toronto Maple Leafs bench. I can’t say enough good things about Berube and the job he did behind the Blues bench.
The contract and timing of the Montgomery hire tell me that he will be Armstrong’s final coaching hire before Alexander Steen takes over as general manager after the 2025-26 season. While Armstrong will remain President for a time after, I think Montgomery will be here for a long time.
