Note: This is the last of 10 installments of a pre-training camp series asking the most important questions facing the Blues this season.
The Blues displayed their confidence in Jim Montgomery when they hired him to be their coach in November.
Less than a week after he was fired by the Bruins, Montgomery landed with St. Louis. The team fired Drew Bannister after just 22 games as the full-time coach. They signed Montgomery to a five-year contract that granted him security. They aggressively and decisively shifted their plans to chase and hire Montgomery.
And then he delivered on what he was asked to do.
Montgomery led the Blues on a turnaround that was highlighted by their post-4 Nations Face-Off run as the best team in the league, underscored with improvements in many different parts of their game.
Under Montgomery, the Blues became one of the best defensive teams in the league. That should be no surprise after looking at the stats of the Stars and Bruins when Montgomery was a head coach in Dallas and Boston, respectively. In the 60 games after Montgomery was hired, the Blues ranked second in high-danger chances allowed, fourth in expected goals allowed and fourth in goals allowed, all per hour at five on five.
It was an area of the game that waned during the Blues’ couple of years out of the playoffs, as teams invaded the net-front and decimated the team’s defensive numbers. Even under Bannister, as the team went 30-19-5, the defense remained a bottom-five unit in the league.
With Montgomery, the Blues spent less time in their own zone thanks to a better forecheck, they kept tighter gaps in the neutral zone to cause more dump-ins and then broke out pucks cleaner to head back the other way in transition.
Beginning with the Winter Classic, the Blues figured out how to have success on the power play by rolling out a pair of balanced units instead of loading up on the top group. And it resulted in St. Louis owning the NHL’s fifth-best power play (27.8%) across the final 44 games of the season.
From an individual perspective, plenty of players took a step forward with Montgomery behind the bench.
Dylan Holloway became a point-per-game player with 55 points in 55 games, which included both nine- and seven-game point streaks. Jordan Kyrou went from a 22-goal pace (six goals in 22 games with Bannister) to a 41-goal pace by scoring 30 goals in 60 games with Montgomery. Robert Thomas led the league in scoring after the 4 Nations break while also taking on top matchups.
Cam Fowler’s entire Blues tenure came with Montgomery, but he nevertheless became one of the most productive defensemen in the league with 36 points in 51 games in the Note. The Blues traded Zack Bolduc to Montreal over the summer, but the young winger also thrived under Montgomery, with all 19 of his goals coming after Nov. 24.
Between the improved team play, the better power play and the individual steps, it’s worth getting excited about what a full season under Montgomery could look like. The last time the Blues had a break (for the 4 Nations Face-Off), the coaching staff studied ways to fix their forecheck.
Now, the staff has had a summer to address what they want to work on in training camp. Might that be a more stringent penalty kill? Or more emphasis on closing out games with empty-net goals? Or developing three scoring lines with different combinations?
Whatever it is, having Montgomery for a full season should allow the Blues an extra layer of confidence heading into the start of camp on Thursday.
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Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch
Hockey reporter
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