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Slumping NHL Blues axe Berube as coach / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Slumping NHL Blues axe Berube as coach
Craig Berube was fired as head coach of the NHL's St. Louis Blues on Wednesday and replaced on an interim basis by Drew Bannister, who had been guiding their top developmental club.
Berube, who led the Blues to their only Stanley Cup title in 2019, was axed after St. Louis lost 6-4 to Detroit on Tuesday, the team's fourth consecutive defeat and sixth in eight games.
"It's not a great day, but it's a new day and now we move forward," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday. "It was difficult to have that talk with him last night. He's a true professional... he's too good of a coach not to be in this league."
The Blues squandered three leads in falling to 13-14 with one overtime loss, ranking sixth in the Central division. With an average of only 2.82 goals a game, the Blues rank 26th of 32 teams in the NHL in scoring.
Berube, 57, was in his sixth season as Blues coach after replacing Mike Yeo early in the 2018-19 campaign that ended with the NHL crown. He went 206-131-44 with the Blues.
The Canadian became the third NHL head coach fired in a season barely two months old. Minnesota dumped Dean Evason on November 27 and Edmonton fired Jay Woodcroft on November 12.
Bannister, 49, will coach his first NHL game on Thursday when Ottawa will visit St. Louis. He had a record of 93-58-19 in charge of the Blues' farm team in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The former NHL defenseman also played in Finland, Russia, Germany, England and Scotland in a playing career spanning from 1995-2012.
A. Williams--BTZ
