NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Dec 13, 2023, 03:05 PM ET
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong said he got tired of seeing the Blues being a punching bag, leading to his decision to fire coach Craig Berube.
“Your mind starts to work when you’re everybody’s homecoming game,” Armstrong said Wednesday. “It’s not a good feeling.”
Armstrong dismissed Berube late Tuesday night, about two hours after the Blues lost to the Detroit Red Wings 6-4. The two men had a beer and the move was made.
“I feel personally responsible for the situation that we’re in,” said Armstrong, who has been with the Blues since 2008 and the GM since 2010. “It’s not a great day but it’s a new day. Now we move forward.”
Armstrong said he made the decision after consulting team owner Tom Stillman.
“The players didn’t come in and say ‘fire Craig Berube and we’ll be better.’ The way we play the game right now isn’t good enough,” Armstrong said. “I think we’re a better team than our play indicates. We’ve changed the coach. If we could move, I guess, chairs on the Titantic, I guess we would but it’s harder to do.”
The loss to Detroit was the latest in a string of disappointing defeats. St. Louis entered the third period up 4-3 but ended up losing their fourth in a row. The losses came against Vegas, Columbus, Chicago and Detroit, with the middle two games being on the road.
The 57-year-old Berube guided the Blues to the Stanley Cup championship in 2019. He replaced Mike Yeo on Nov. 20, 2018, as the interim coach and led an amazing turnaround. He led St. Louis to a 38-19-6 record in 2018-19.
“We’ve built a friendship over the years. He’s a true professional. We talked a little bit. We had a beer. We reminisced for a second and now my job is to move forward,” Armstrong said. “Craig will now regroup. He’ll land on his feet.”
Drew Bannister will be the interim head coach. He had been the head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League. He was traveling Wednesday to St. Louis from Springfield and did not…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39105963/blues-gm-armstrong-aims-move-forward-firing-berube
Author :
Publish date : 2023-12-13 20:05:33
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
