Blues fans aren’t the only ones awaiting clarity on the team’s coaching future.
So is interim coach Drew Bannister.
Bannister, installed behind the bench in mid-December when the Blues fired Craig Berube, will coach the season finale Wednesday in Dallas and then await word about his future within the organization. General manager Doug Armstrong will address reporters Thursday morning, and Bannister’s future will be one of the topics.
“This organization has been really good to me,†Bannister said in a conversation with the Post-Dispatch. “They’ve been very loyal. Obviously, I’d be open to staying in the organization with them if there was a spot. No. 1 would be to be an NHL head coach for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues. That’s my No. 1 goal and has been my No. 1 goal since I came into the organization. They’ve given me an opportunity to do that right now.â€
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Bannister is in his sixth season in the Blues organization, having served as head coach in the AHL with San Antonio and Springfield (Massachusetts), as well as a stint as an associate coach in Utica during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season.
Since Bannister took over the Blues on Dec. 13, ºüÀêÊÓƵ has gone 30-19-4, a .604 points percentage that ranks 13th in the league. Across an 82-game season, that would put them on pace for 99 points. The Blues were eliminated from postseason contention Friday night following their 80th game of the season.
“This is not where we want to be, so my evaluation on that would be that I would have to be better certainly,†Bannister said. “As a whole, we have to be better to get to where we want to be. Certainly, I want to be a big part of that. It’s been a great learning experience for me.â€
Bannister said one of the biggest changes in the NHL was not related to playing style or players but the schedule. Instead of four or five off-days between games like in junior hockey or in the AHL, the calendar is condensed. Games are every other day on average, and practice time dwindles as fatigue sets in across the six-month grind.
Gone is the time for extra skill work or more in-depth tactical changes. It’s about “quickly just trying to simplify a lot of things, keep it moving forward, address the things that need to be addressed and get ready for the game,†Bannister said.
Bannister said the Blues played similar systems to the ones he deployed in Springfield before his promotion, so that meant wholesale changes weren’t necessary, nor were they practical. Still, the Blues tweaked their game throughout the season under Bannister and the rest of his coaching staff.
They changed the way they broke the puck out of their own zone and again adjusted that around March following a loss in New Jersey “to become more predictable,†Bannister said. Their neutral-zone counters were different, as was their power play. Their offensive zone play was tweaked when the coaching staff realized they weren’t getting enough of a net-front presence at even strength.
Bannister said there would be “no question†he would still implement changes during training camp in the fall if he were to return as the Blues coach.
“Would I make major changes? I don’t think so,†Bannister said. “I think there’d be more tweaks, whether it’s the way we defend, the way we track, but a lot of that starts off your forecheck and builds its way back. There’s areas where we can improve in, and we’ve kind of identified some of those areas in our game, when we don’t have the puck on our stick, that we have to get better at.â€
Under Bannister, the Blues were above average on the power play (22.9%, 12th in the NHL) and elite in net (.909 save percentage, sixth). But at five on five, they were bottom five in the league at controlling shot attempts, shots on goal, expected goals, scoring chances and high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Beginning a season behind a team’s bench is what’s normal for Bannister. Throughout his coaching career, he’s never had a midseason switch of teams like he had this season. So that entailed learning players and personalities and culture in addition to normal coaching duties.
“When you’re coming in at the beginning of the year and it’s your team, you’re able to start to build what you want to see, what you envision as your team,†Bannister said. “I think there was already a vision here put in place. For me, it wasn’t (about) looking to blow things up. It was just sit back, look and identify areas that we can get better at in our game to help us without changing things drastically.â€
Despite his team’s deficiencies at even strength, Bannister accomplished two of the things Armstrong said he wanted from the next coach of the Blues. He made them a more competitive team, and he brought accountability.
The Blues won nine games in which they did not score the game’s first goal, and that included five in regulation. In five games, ºüÀêÊÓƵ erased a two-goal deficit. Under Berube, the Blues once went more than five weeks without scoring a game-tying goal, and they won once when trailing first, in the second game of the season vs. Seattle.
“We certainly became a better working team but not to the point where we need to be,†Bannister said. “I think that has to start with setting a standard in the summer and then training camp and meeting those standards daily. It’s hard when you come in in the middle of the season to set the bar and not having enough practice time where a lot of those habits are built into your game.
“That’s where I found it was tough to find those competitive things where you could put the guys on the ice and really start to work them to get that competitive edge. When it comes to games, it just becomes kind of normal for them.â€
With his lineup construction and his ice time deployment, Bannister was able to send a variety of messages to his players throughout the year.
In his third game behind the bench, Bannister benched Pavel Buchnevich for the third period in Tampa Bay. In February, both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou were benched in the third in Detroit. Kevin Hayes, Kasperi Kapanen and Torey Krug were all healthy scratches at points this season. Scott Perunovich came out of the lineup for errors.
“I think I held the players as accountable to the point that was needed and to get attention at times, too,†Bannister said. “Could I do that more? Probably. I’m sure there’s other areas where I could have got their attention a little bit quicker.
“That’s a learning lesson for me, too, being at this level and dealing with these types of players and building relationships. Obviously, when I’m coming in, you want to start to build trust with your players, too, and for me to trust them. That’s always a juggling act in itself.â€
Bannister’s contract ends in the summer, and he would have been looking for a new deal regardless of his promotion to ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Asked whether he would consider a return to Springfield if he doesn’t get the NHL gig, Bannister said he had not thought of it but would like to stay in the organization however he can.
“I’ve been very lucky,†Bannister said. “I’m sure people thought, ‘Here we are bringing up this guy that has no experience.’ ... Doug gave me the opportunity and trusted me to do that. Certainly, for me, I wanted to come in and do the best job I can for them and for the players and the staff, too.â€