The St. Louis Blues made a predictable and inevitable move on Sunday, firing coach Drew Bannister and hiring Jim Montgomery. In this video, I praise GM Doug Armstrong for moving fast to make a deal with Montgomery, his No. 1 coaching choice since the end of last season. But Montgomery wasn't available last offseason because the Boston Bruins decided to bring him back for 2024-2025. But the Bruins got off to a slow start, Montgomery and the Boston GM didn't see eye to eye, and the Bruins fired "Monty" and opened the door for the coach to sign on with St. Louis.

In this video I explain why this move makes such obvious sense, the attributes Montgomery brings to the job, why he's an excellent fit -- and the strong connection between the new coach, Armstrong, the Blues and the St. Louis community. For the Blues to improve all aspects of the their team and push for a postseason spot, Armstrong had to make a change and make it now. This decision was easy.