St. Louis Blues fire Stanley Cup champion coach Craig Berube
The St. Louis Blues fired Stanley Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube just hours after Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, which dropped St. Louis to 13-14-1 on the season.
Drew Bannister, the head coach of the team's AHL affiliate, has been named the Blues' interim coach.
Berube, a longtime NHL tough guy, was elevated to the head coaching role in November 2018 and oversaw the Blues' stunning turnaround that season. St. Louis went from last place to capturing the first Stanley Cup in team history with a Game 7 victory against the Bruins in Boston. Berube was named a Jack Adams Award finalist for coach of the year after posting a 38-19-6 record.
He guided the Blues back to the playoffs the next three seasons, but their best showing was a second-round exit in 2022 vs. the eventual Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. St. Louis became sellers at last season's deadline — captain Ryan O'Reilly and longtime winger Vladimir Tarasenko were shipped out of town — and the team missed the playoffs after posting a 37-38-7 record.
Another uneven start to this season, punctuated by a current four-game losing streak, cost Berube his job.
He ends his Blues tenure with a 206-132-44 record over parts of six seasons.