St. Louis Blues, Craig Berube Agree to Three-Year Contract

The St. Louis Blues announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to a three-year contract with Head Coach Craig Berube to keep their bench boss in place through the 2024-2025 season.

Berube stepped into his current role at a difficult time for St. Louis during the 2018-2019 season. At the time of his arrival, the Blues were struggling mightily and found themselves at the bottom of the NHL standings.

Despite the long odds, Berube pulled his team out of its deep hole and not only led it to a postseason berth, but also the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. As a result, he was named a finalist for the Jack Adams award that goes to the league’s best coach each season.

Over the course of his four seasons behind the St. Louis bench, Berube has compiled a 133-71-30 record. He has been nothing short of excellent for this team, as the Blues have qualified for the playoffs in every season under Berube.

The Blues have extended coach Craig Berube for three more seasons.

So far in this 2021-2022 campaign, the Blues have emerged as a Stanley Cup contender once again. The team owns a 26-13-5 record, which puts it in fourth place in the Central Division entering play on Thursday. St. Louis ranks 12th overall in the NHL and ninth in terms of point percentage (.648)

The team has been driven by a well-rounded attack under Berube’s watch this season, as it ranks in the top-eight league-wide in both offense (3.4 goals per game) and defense (2.7 goals allowed per game). It also boasts two top-five special teams units, giving St. Louis plenty of reasons to be optimistic about what is to come this year.

Players like Jordan Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko have led the way for the Blues from an individual standpoint with 42 and 40 points, respectively. In total, nine players have eclipsed the 20-point mark, giving St. Louis the ability to thrive under the leadership of Berube.

If and when this club returns to the postseason this year, it will look to build off of what has been an impressive regular season. St. Louis has not won a playoff series since the 2019 title run, so this roster will look to change that this spring.

The Blues certainly have the right man for the job, and they did well to lock up their championship-caliber coach. With the extension, the NHL can expect the Blues to be a threat for the foreseeable future.