ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Drew Bannister, by most accounts, had an impressive stint as the interim head coach for the St. Louis Blues last season. That impressive stint has now landed him the permanent job.
On Tuesday morning, the Blues announced they have removed the interim tag off of Bannister, signing him to a two-year contract and officially naming him the 27th Head Coach in franchise history.
Bannister was named interim head coach in December 2023, replacing Stanley Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube. In 54 regular-season games he was behind the bench, Blues had a 30-19-5 record, racking up 65 points.
Hours after firing Berube, Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong previously told media the next head coach he wanted was somebody who would be able to keep the club competitive but also develop the younger players. It hard to argue Bannister didn't check both boxes, with the Blues falling just six points short of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
In addition, younger players like Jordan Kyrou (50 points in 54 games), Robert Thomas (59 points in 54 games), Jake Neighbours (17 goals in 50 games) and Matthew Kessel (played 39 games) also saw success on the ice under Bannister.
The Blues saw improvements from both sides of the ice, with the Blues seeing improvements offensively from a more improved power play, climbing from 31st to 13th (22.8) and also saw better play defensively, seeing a climb from 23rd to 12th (2.87) in goals-against per game and 20th to 13th (79.4%) on the penalty kill.
While names like Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft, Joel Quenneville, and University of Denver Head Coach David Carle were floated as names that were linked to the job, ultimately the Blues have decided to stay with Bannister and give him a chance to help the Blues get out of the retool phase and back into the playoffs.