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Why did the St. Louis Blues fire Craig Berube? ‘Chief’ was shown the door on Tuesday after more than five years since he was named interim coach of the team following the dismissal of Mike Yeo.
Berube, who played 17 seasons in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, was fired as head coach by the St. Louis Blues and replaced by Drew Bannister.
The 57-year-old was in the midst of his sixth season at the helm in Missouri, but following his side’s fourth consecutive loss at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, the front office decided it was in the franchise’s best interests to part ways.
Berube replaced Mike Yeo in November 2018 and led the Blues to their first ever Stanley Cup triumph in 2019, amassing a 206-131-44 record over his coaching career in St. Louis.
Blues forward Kevin Hayes said after Tuesday’s defeat:
“We’re all professionals here. We’ve all got to show up and do our job, work at your job. No single guy is going to get us out of it. We have to do it together as a group.”
Craig Berube’s pregame speech before Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final will live in history forever #STLBlues
— STL Sports Central (@stlsportscntrl) December 13, 2023
Bannister, who previously held the head coaching position at the San Antonio Rampage in the American Hockey League – the top development team for the Blues – has been thrown right into the deep end with the big boys.
The 49-year-old was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 1992 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played in the minors for the most of his career, but spent a decent period in the NHL too.
His best season came in 1996/97 when he played 65 times, scored a career-high 18 points and made 12 playoff appearances with the Edmonton Oilers.
