In a surprising move, the St. Louis Blues on Sunday fired Drew Bannister after less than a year as coach, replacing him with former Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery.
The announcement from Blues president and general manager Doug Armstrong comes with the team losing 13 of its first 22 games this year. Bannister had taken over for Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube last season and had his interim tag removed at the end of the season.
Montgomery, a former assistant to Berube, has an overall regular-season record of 180-84-33 as a head coach with Boston and Dallas. He was just let go by the Bruins last week after they lost 12 of their first 20 games.
Montgomery, a former player who made his NHL debut with the Blues in 1993, signed a five-year contract to take over in St. Louis.
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