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Posted at 14:02 on November 20, 2018
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The Blues are going to throw a wide net in their search for coaches.
General Manager Doug Armstrong sacked Mike Yeo after losing 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Craig Berube is the acting coach, while Armstrong is developing a list of candidates for the permanent position.
"There will be experienced senior coaches on this list," he said at a press conference on Tuesday. "There will be some European coaches in the lead on this list.On university coaches on this list.Junior coaches in chief.We will not minimize or limit the scope we are going to consider."
Armstrong also did not rule out former St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville, recently sacked by Chicago. He added that it is unlikely that a permanent coach will be hired this season.
"It's possible, I'm not sure it's likely," Armstrong said. "This is not something we are going to be updating on … The job of this hockey team is to win games and it's my job to support this team."
To this end, Hall of Famer Larry Robinson will assist Bérubé for three weeks to a month because of the inexperienced assistants. Robinson, 67, won the Stanley Cup while coaching the New Jersey Devils.
"I think bringing in Larry to give Craig a person to talk to has been there, it's good for him," Armstrong said.
Armstrong fired Yeo about two hours after the third loss in four of the team's shutout. It was their fourth defeat in five games. The series without points is more than seven periods.
At 7-9-3, the Blues are the last in the central division. Their 17 points rank second to last in the NHL, ahead of only Los Angeles.
"The conversation I had with him last night was that we needed to make a change," Armstrong said. "I plan to return to Mike later, thank him and reassure him that he pays for the sins of myself and the whole of the world." # 39; organization. It's very unfortunate. "
The Blues lost a point before qualifying for the playoffs last season and have entered this season with the hope of a playoff race. They acquired Ryan O'Reilly's center in a Buffalo trade. Armstrong also recruited forwards Tyler Bozak, Patrick Maroon and David Perron.
"In the end, it comes down to our record," said Armstrong. "When he arrived, he was able to freeze the team and we had a great race, we won a playoff round, we had a good impression of ourselves, it was postponed to the next 25 games. of the season, a rut in December and quite honestly, we did not get out of there. "
Berube, a 52-year-old former player, joined the Blues in June 2017. He coached the league-affiliated club, the Chicago Wolves, with a 44-19-13 record and a division title in the 2016- 17.
Bérubé is a substitute for the second time in the middle of the season after succeeding Peter Laviolette with the three-game Flyers of the 2013-14 season. In two seasons, he had a regular season record of 75-58-28. The Flyers played in the playoffs of the 2013-14 season, but lost in the first round.
"Mike is a good friend of mine," Bérubé said. "I enjoyed working with him and coaching with him.We must go ahead and improve.It is our plan.It is absolutely necessary to restore confidence in this hockey team.C & # 39; is a good hockey team, we have good players. "
Although he does not propose any specific project, Bérubé has some ideas to improve the game of the team.
"I do not think it's anything huge, I think these are adjustments here and there," Bérubé said. "We're going to demand … and it starts with practice, I'm asking but I'm right."
Yeo joined the Blues after five seasons with Minnesota. The Wild played in the playoffs of three of Yeo's four full seasons. He was fired 55 games in 2015-16.
He was to replace Ken Hitchcock after the 2016-17 season, but Armstrong dismissed Hitchcock. On Tuesday, Hitchcock was named coach of the Edmonton Oilers after the dismissal of Todd McLellan, the NHL's fourth NHL coaching dismissal this season.
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