It’s devastating: the St. Louis Blues head coach has announced his unexpected departure, making a strong statement and wishing the team and fans a very fond farewell.
Saint Louis On Tuesday night, the St. Louis Blues fired head coach Craig Berube, ending their relationship with the man who guided the team to its lone Stanley Cup victory.
Hours after the Blues’ 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, general manager Doug Armstrong of the team announced Berube’s termination.
The Blues, who have a 13-14-1 record so far this season, suffered their fourth straight defeat.
Nine points behind division leader Colorado in sixth place in the Central Division is St. Louis. Out of 16 teams in the Western Conference, the Blues are ranked tenth.
The Blues’ 2.82 goals per game place them 26th in the NHL. and, at 8.4%, have the league’s second-worst power play (7 for 83).
In 2019, the 57-year-old Berube led the Blues to the Stanley Cup final.
On November 20, 2018, he took over as interim coach in lieu of Mike Yeo, and he oversaw an incredible turnaround. In 2018–19, he guided St. Louis to a 38–19–6 record.
Craig Berube, the Blues’ coach, has been fired.
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Craig Berube, the Blues’ coach, has been fired.
CNN via USA TODAY Sports Con
Berube had a 206-131-44 record in his sixth season with the Blues. Third in team history is his win total. With 51 postseason games played, he recorded 24 playoff victories.
Tuesday night, St. Louis was up 4-3 against Detroit heading into the third quarter, but they lost for the fifth time in six games after giving up two goals and an empty-net goal in the closing minutes.
“You must earn everything, am I correct? Following the game, Berbue stated, “It’s not just going to happen.” “You must merit it. To earn it, you must play the right way. You must pay attention to the details. We accomplished a great deal tonight. Even though we had enough goals to win the match, we ultimately performed poorly in front of the net this evening.
In 2019, Craig Berube raises the Stanley Cup.
In 2019, Craig Berube raises the Stanley Cup.
AP
Drew Bannister, the American Hockey League’s Springfield Thunderbirds coach, was named interim coach by the Blues.
Bannister, 49, has spent the last three seasons coaching Springfield. He guided the group to a regular-season record of 93-58-19.
The native of Belleville, Ontario, also led the Thunderbirds to back-to-back postseason trips, including a trip to the Calder Cup final and the Eastern Conference championship in 2021–2022.
On Thursday night, when the Blues play the Ottawa Senators, Bannister will be sitting on the bench.
He participated in 164 NHL regular-season games with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
