Doug Armstrong has his list. He’s just not sharing it.
Across the last four-plus months, the Blues general manager has reduced his list of candidates for the team’s head coaching position from a wide net to a relatively short list. When he spoke to reporters last week, Armstrong wouldn’t disclose how many people remained in the running, and who — other than Drew Bannister — was in the hunt. Armstrong said previous NHL coaching experience was not a prerequisite.
Armstrong did say the Blues would have a head coach installed prior to the NHL draft June 28-29, and potentially by the start of June. He said the hangup is due, in part, because some of the candidates he wants to speak to were still playing this season.
So what’s his criteria?
“Wants to have the respect of the veteran players, but the ability for the younger players to express themselves and grab a bigger role,†Armstrong said. “That’s a difficult task. You can go to a certain coach and you know what their mindset is. It’s, ‘I have the team that I think can win the Stanley Cup, and here’s the guy that can get us over the next three or four percent.’ I believe in our team, but we’re not at that level quite yet. That removes a coach that would fill that criteria.
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“This coach, we want to come in that has an understanding of pushing and prodding and expectations of a fanbase that should have expectations, but also knowing that we are in the process of doing something sustainable and allowing learning and growth to happen.â€
Given what we know about the search, here is a list of potential candidates, with the caveat that not all of these names will be considered by Armstrong and the Blues.
The incumbent: Drew Bannister
Bannister took over the Blues on an interim basis in mid-December after they fired Craig Berube, and Armstrong confirmed Bannister is a finalist to keep the job. Under him, the Blues went 30-19-5, a record that would have put them on pace for 99 points across an entire season.
Bannister, who was previously the head coach of AHL affiliate Springfield, just finished his sixth season in the Blues organization and is familiar with a lot of the team’s younger players since he coached them in the minors. Tasked with delivering accountability and competitiveness, Bannister tried to pull strings in order to guide the Blues into the playoff race.
Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich were all benched in third periods under Bannister. Torey Krug, Kevin Hayes, Kasperi Kapanen, Marco Scandella, Scott Perunovich were all healthy scratches at different points of the season.
The Blues became more resilient under Bannister, winning nine times after allowing the first goal and coming back from two-goal deficits five times.
Bannister currently does not have a contract for next season.
The hotshot: David Carle
Carle is perhaps the hottest name in the hockey coaching world right now after having led Denver to its second national championship in the last three years. The 34-year-old just finished his sixth season in Denver after he took over for Jim Montgomery, who left the school to take a job with the Stars in 2018. Carle also coached the United States and the World Juniors this season, and the Americans (including Jimmy Snuggerud) won the gold medal.
Sportsnet previously reported that the Blues are interested in speaking with Carle.
Jumping from a college job into the NHL is relatively uncommon, though there have been more examples in recent years. Dave Hakstol went from North Dakota to the Flyers in 2015 and is now with the Kraken. Montgomery went to Dallas, but is now in Boston after a brief stop as an assistant in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. David Quinn moved from Boston University to the Rangers in 2018 and was just fired in San Jose.
Prior to those coaches, it had been since 1982 since a coach went directly from a college job to the NHL.
The AHL guys: Karl Taylor, Todd Nelson
Taylor and Nelson were among the coaches that had the best years in the AHL this season.
Taylor and his Milwaukee Admirals (Predators affiliate) ripped off a 19-game win streak this season and won the Central Division by 11 points. He was a candidate to fill the vacant spot behind the Nashville bench over the summer but was passed over when the Predators decided to go with Andrew Brunette instead.
Taylor would have to get accustomed to the NHL schedule, though, since he never played in the NHL and has been working in the minor leagues (minus two seasons) since 2005. His only previous NHL experience was filling in for two games due to COVID-19 protocol.
Nelson was named the AHL’s coach of the year as Hershey (Capitals affiliate) put together a 53-14-0-5 record this season, the second-best regular season in the history of the AHL. Hershey had the league’s best defense, allowing the fewest shots per game and goals per game while leading the AHL in penalty killing.
Nelson also won the Calder Cup last season with Hershey. His last role in the NHL was as an assistant in Dallas from 2018-22, when he ran the power play and served as the “eye in the sky†at various points in his tenure.
The NHL retreads: Jay Woodcroft, Dean Evason, Todd McLellan
Logic dictates that if Woodcroft, Evason or McLellan were top contenders for the job, they might have been hired already since they have been available since they were fired earlier this season by the Oilers, Wild and Kings, respectively.
Woodcroft was the victim of a 3-9-1 start to the season in Edmonton, a record that turned around once the Oilers’ dominant underlying numbers translated to goals thanks to better goaltending and some puck luck. He previously was an assistant in the NHL with Detroit, San Jose and Edmonton before taking over Bakersfield in the AHL.
Evason coached Minnesota for parts of five seasons, making the playoffs four times but failing to win a series. The former NHL forward is perhaps best known for his intense demeanor and varied facial expressions behind the bench, but overall had a .639 points percentage with the Wild, good for a 105-point pace.
Both Woodcroft and Evason will be assistant coaches for Canada at the upcoming World Championship, as will Blues assistant Steve Ott. While Armstrong is not the general manager for Team Canada at the Worlds, he oversees the management team (Rick Nash is GM) and should have some familiarity with both Woodcroft and Evason.
McLellan was fired in February by the Kings but has been a coach in the NHL since 2008 with San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles. McLellan’s trademark is his 1-3-1 neutral zone forecheck that frustrates opponents and sets up his teams as some of the best defensively in the league.
The obstacles: Joel Quenneville, Rod Brind’Amour
Quenneville, the former Blues coach and three-time Stanley Cup champion with Chicago, is not currently eligible to return to the NHL because of his role in the Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal and would have to be reinstated by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Quenneville was recently in ºüÀêÊÓƵ as part of the Puck Cancer alumni fundraiser game and said on the Cam and Strick podcast he was interested in returning to coaching. When Armstrong was asked directly about Quenneville, he said, “I’m not going to get into individual names on what we’re going to do on anyone quite honestly.â€
Brind’Amour’s contract in Carolina ends after this season, but even if indications point to him remaining with the Hurricanes, his potential availability would be a pipe dream for the Blues.
For both Quenneville and Brind’Amour, the Blues’ criteria of having a coach that can help their young players transition might not fit with those candidates.