ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues have officially promoted Drew Bannister to head coach on a full-time basis, removing an interim tag he carried for more than four months.
Bannister has agreed to a two-year contact extension to remain the head coach of the Blues, according to a team announcement Tuesday morning.
The Blues went 30-19-5 under Bannister’s first run to finish the 2023-24 season at 43-33-6 (92 points). The Blues missed the playoffs by six points, but were the closest team outside of the playoff picture. Bannister’s record was the 12th best in terms of points percentage in his interim run. Near the end of last season, the Blues made some strides behind stout goaltending and the emergence of several young players.
Bannister took over as the Blues interim head coach after the team fired Craig Berube, the only coach to lead St. Louis to a Stanley Cup title, last December.
Prior to his promotion, Bannister had served as head coach of St. Louis Blues AHL affiliates, the Springfield Thunderbirds and San Antonio Rampage, for parts of six seasons, taking Springfield to the Calder Cup Final in 2022.
Bannister also enjoyed NHL experience as a player before his first coaching role, playing 164 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and others.