Blues remove interim tag, name Drew Bannister head coach

Bannister was originally named the Blues’ interim head coach after Craig Berube was let go from his position on Dec. 12. The 50-year-old was promoted from St. Louis’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In the final 54 games of the regular season, the Blues went 30-19-5 under Bannister. They stayed in playoff contention up until the final weeks of the season, but finished six points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

With Bannister at the helm, the Blues improve steadily, especially on the defensive end. The team went from 23rd to 12th in the NHL in goals-against (2.87) and 20th to 13th on the penalty kill (79.4%). Overall, St. Louis had an 11-point increase from the 2022-23 season–the campaign that saw the Blues finish below-.500 for the first time in 15 years.

The Sudbury, Ontario native spent three seasons with the Thunderbirds, guiding the team to its first Eastern Conference championship and Calder Cup appearance in the 2021-22 season. Bannister was also the head coach of the San Antonio Rampage when they were the Blues’ affiliate from 2018-20. He served as an associate coach with Utica Comets during the 2020-21 season, the final year they were affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks.

Bannister played 164 games in the NHL, making stops with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers.