That didn't take long.

Just 11 games into Montgomery's tenure with the Blues, and already the new coach bump has worn off. The early returns were positive (more on that below), but the Blues have now lost 3 of their last 4 games and with it the return of all their offensive metrics back to their mean: wildly mediocre, if not downright pathetic.

In Montgomery's first 7 games, the Blues were 5-1-1, averaging 3.4 goals for per game, and 2.3 goals against per game. So far so good ... or so we thought.

In the 4 games since then the Blues are 1-2-1, averaging 2.0 goals for per game, and 3.0 goals against per game. The numbers have flipped, but that's not even the worst part.

You can go back to the start of the 2023-2024 season when Craig Berube was still the coach and trend out the Blues scoring numbers through today -- and you're going to find basically the same numbers over that entire span. 3 coaches, 2 seasons ... same pathetic offense.

In the first 28 games of the 2023-2024 season coached by Craig Berube: 2.8 GF/G, 3.3 GA/G

In the final 54 games of the 2023-2024 season coached by Drew Bannister: 2.8 GF/G, 2.8 GA/G

Hmph. Let's try this season-

In the first 22 games of the 2024-2025 season coached by Drew Bannister: 2.4 GF/G, 3.4 GA/G

In the last 11 games coached by Jim Montgomery: 2.9 GF/G, 2.5 GA/G

Notice anything? The goals for has basically remained constant over what is almost a full season and a half and 3 different head coaches. The only thing that changes is that whenever the coach changes the defensive numbers get a bit better.

Who cares.

The bottom line is: this is a bottom 5 offensive team in the NHL by pretty much every statistical measure, and if this re-tool/re-build is to ever move forward in any meaningful way, that needs to drastically change.

Here is a comparison of the 2024-2025 season between Bannister and Monty looking at shot attempts (fenwick) and shots on goal. It ain't pretty either, but I'll give the Blues credit for the consistency at which they put up such paltry offensive numbers:

First 22 games of the 2024-2025 season coached by Drew Bannister - 37.7 shot attempts/game, 29th in NHL. 26.2 SOG/game, 29th in NHL.

Last 11 games coached by Jim Montgomery - 36.6 shot attempts/game, 29th in NHL. 25.7 SOG/game, 28th in NHL.

The numbers don't lie: the Blues don't generate enough scoring chances. Not at even strength, not with the man-advantage. The Blues severely lack puck possession, above all. It's hard to score when you don't even possess the puck for long in the offensive zone, giving you opportunities to wear down a defense and create high-quality scoring chances for yourself. They don't do any of that; and until they do, they're going to continue to rank near the bottom of the league.