NEW YORK — In a hallway outside the St. Louis’ Blues locker room at Madison Square Garden, Jim Montgomery spoke for the first time since being hired by the organization Sunday.
Montgomery stepped in front of reporters wearing a Blues sweatshirt.
“It was in the closet,” the former Blues assistant joked. “Once a Blue, always a Blue.”
Montgomery, who was announced as the Blues coach just five days after being fired by the Boston Bruins, started his interview by saying that the decision to return to St. Louis on a five-year contract was about people.
“I’ve always believed that you align yourself with good people, and for me, with (Blues chairman) Tom Stillman and the ownership group, it starts right there,” Montgomery said. “I appreciate their confidence and their vision.
“(General manager) Doug Armstrong, someone who was really important to my second chance, I think he’s elite at what he does — his vision, his plan for how the Blues are going to become a consistently elite team again.
“The people under him from the hockey operation side of things. The Scott Mellanbys. Alex Steen, who’s an incredibly bright man that I love talking hockey with. Al MacInnis. The Hall of Famers in and around everywhere.
“And the last thing — the people in this room. I’ve worked with over half of this lineup already, and I know how committed they are to playing the right way and the type of people they are. So this was a no-brainer to be able to come back home and be a Blue again.”
Montgomery and the players met at the team hotel Sunday night, and he said the excitement was tangible.
“There was naturally a lot of smiles between us because of what we’ve been through before,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot of wars together already.”
And now, together again, they’re about to engage in their biggest battle yet.
Here’s are some of the highlights from Montgomery’s first media session with reporters Monday morning at MSG.
(Note: questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity).
What has the last week been like?
Crazy! Crazy! There’s no other word for it. A lot of emotions. I’m a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing. It’s about your relationships in life. Ultimately, when we’re all done and retired and we’re not fortunate enough and privileged enough to be in NHL buildings again, it’s the relationships that you have in your life.
What was it like getting the Blues’ call?
It was very exciting, but I was in the mindset, when Army called, I thought this was a social call of like, “Hey, I’ve been there, keep your head up, take a breath, enjoy the family.” I got a lot of those text messages and calls. Once it turned to business, the engine and my blood started pumping.
What’s one thing Army said to lure you back?
The best line that put his hooks into me was, “When something delicious falls on my plate, I eat.” I don’t know. I guess I was a T-bone that day.
Did you consider waiting until the offseason to return?
When you get a phone call and you hear Doug Armstrong’s vision and plan and how you’re a big part of it, it makes you feel like this is just the right place to go. Army, he’s very persuasive.
What’s the investment like switching teams in a week?
Those are the emotional swings I talk about that make it crazy. I received text messages from current Blues players when I was let go in Boston, and I’ve received text messages from Bruins players when I got the job here. That’s why I talk about why it’s a special game with the relationships you build with people.
Is there an advantage to jumping back in so quickly?
I think it helps because you don’t lose sight of the schedule, the energy, the importance of how you need to touch different players and different lines and talk to your leaders and captains. So all those things, it’s easily transferrable and you don’t get a chance to take a breath and get away from it. So I do think it’s an advantage.
What’s your first task as the new coach?
I think the No. 1 thing is to reconnect with the guys that I worked with previously when I was fortunate enough to be a Blue, create new relationships with the others I haven’t worked with, but most importantly it’s about attitudes and intensity. The energy that we’re going to bring to the rink and the attitude that it’s a we thing here.
Does knowing a lot of the players give you a head start?
I think it gives me a tremendous head start because there’s been hard talks, there’s been a lot of good memories. We did a lot of good things. and watching the growth of all these individuals. (Brayden) Schenn was an assistant, now he’s a captain. (Colton) Parayko and (Justin) Faulk — Faulk was not an assistant when I was here. Now Robby Thomas is wearing a letter. The relationships I have with (Jordan) Kyrou and (Pavel) Buchnevich, skilled guys who think the game at a high level, that compete. Those are things I’m looking forward to continuing. I know we’ve got a tremendous goaltender (Jordan Binnington) and a great young goalie (Joel Hofer) that I had the fortune of doing shootouts with when I was doing skill work at the end of practice.
How do you balance coaching for today versus coaching for tomorrow?
As a coach, you coach for today, but I’m also coaching for tomorrow, so there’s going to be a balance of: What do we need to do to be competitive right now without losing sight of the team? The team is always going to be first. The Blue note is always going to be first. Our team identity and not letting a standard that we set slip from our structure standpoint. Also, there’s some players that need to play. Learning how to win in this league is part of that development. Whether I’m on the end of a one-year deal or have a five-year deal, it’s not going to change the way I do things with the process and the results. I expect that to drive success in this league. But when you have a five-year deal you can afford to be a little more patient at times.”
Could this be a playoff team this season?
I’m a process-oriented coach, so in that process, there’s certain things that we’re going to do daily, and I like to be stuck in today. Worrying about what we’re going to be, I don’t know the ceiling yet so I can’t answer that definitively. I believe in this group. It’s not easy to make the playoffs in this league — half the teams miss it — but I do think in time this is a playoff-caliber team. That’s why I say I don’t know the ceiling. You ask the question, is this a playoff-caliber team? I don’t know it in its entirety. You can have the same 23 guys return, and it’s going to be a different year just because of expectations. So it’s lucky I’m coming in here with no expectations. But there is an expectation that we’re going to be a blue-collar team, that we’re going to work, and we’re going to have energy.
(Photo: Jeremy Rutherford / The Athletic)
