The St. Louis Blues have fired head coach Craig Berube. He was relieved after his duties following Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. They were beaten 6-4 at Enterprise Center.
Drew Bannister is going to be the interim head coach for now. He was the Springfield Thunderbirds head coach for the past three seasons ahead of getting this gig with the Blues.
Berube had a very successful run as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues. He was hired as an interim midway through the 2018-19 season when the team was in bad shape.
The Blues rallied from there and ended up winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Berube didn't have that interim tag on him for very long.
The St. Louis Blues have had some amazing moments with Craig Berube
2019 was a handful of years ago now so there has been some change with the team since then. They just aren't as deep as they once were. They have not been terrible this year but they haven't necessarily been good either.
This news is a bit surprising but GM Doug Armstrong isn't giving up on this season. We've seen teams like the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild both find success after firing a coach early this year. The Blues are going to try the same thing.
Bannister played hockey for over 20 years. 164 games of his career were spent in the NHL split between the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, and New York Rangers.
He has also coached in the OHL and AHL now so he has paid his dues. The Thunderbirds even appeared in a Calder Cup Final under his leadership.
St. Louis currently sits in fifth place in the Central Division. They are five points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators. They also sit just one point behind the Arizona Coyotes for the final Wild Card spot. There is still a lot of hope that they can get in.
The Blues will have their first game with Bannister as the head coach on Thursday. They will be playing against the Ottawa Senators at home as they try to get their season back on track with a new bench boss.