Craig Berube Fired as Head Coach of the St. Louis Blues
ST. LOUIS — After six seasons, Craig Berube has been fired as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues. Berube, who led the team to their first Stanley Cup victory in 2019, was relieved of his coaching duties on Tuesday night. Drew Bannister, the coach of the organization’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, Mass., will serve as the interim coach.
BREAKING NEWS: Craig Berube has been relieved of his coaching duties and a new interim coach has been named. #stlblues
DETAILS ️ https://t.co/NHh9g2JTnt https://t.co/NHh9g2JTnt
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 13, 2023
Berube had signed a three-year extension in February 2022, which would have kept him with the team until the 2024-25 season.
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The decision to fire Berube came after a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, marking the team’s fourth consecutive loss.
During his tenure with the Blues, Berube had a record of 206-131-44 in 381 regular-season games, with a .598 points-percentage. This tied him for second in franchise history with Joel Quenneville, behind only Ken Hitchcock (.650).
The Blues, currently in the midst of a re-tooling season, have fallen to a record of 13-14-1 (27 points) after the recent loss. They are now one point away from a wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference standings.
“I’m not concerned about where we fit in the standings, quite honestly,” said Blues general manager Doug Armstrong in October. “My goal was to build this foundation to get back [to winning championships] as quick as possible.”
Clearly, Armstrong did not see the progress he had hoped for in St. Louis, leading to the decision to fire Berube.
Drew Bannister, 49, will take over as interim coach and will lead the Blues in their upcoming game against the Ottawa Senators. Bannister has spent the past three seasons coaching the team’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, where he achieved a regular-season record of 93-58-19. Under his leadership, the Thunderbirds made consecutive playoff appearances and reached the Calder Cup Final in 2021-22.
Prior to coaching, Bannister played 164 games in the NHL as a defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and New York Rangers.
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(Photo: Robert Edwards / USA Today)