ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said he got tired of seeing his team being a punching bag, leading to his decision to fire Craig Berube as head coach.
“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 6-4 to the Detroit Red Wings. 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 with 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 Titanic, 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 its fourth in a row. The losses came against Vegas, Columbus, Chicago and Detroit, with the middle two games being on the road.
Berube, 57, guided the Blues to the Stanley Cup championship in 2019 against the Boston Bruins. He replaced Mike Yeo on Nov. 20, 2018, as the interim coach of a last-place team and led an amazing turnaround.
“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.
JETS: Winnipeg’s leading goal scorer, Kyle Connor, has been placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury.
The Jets announced the move on social media. They did not provide a timetable for the forward’s return.
Connor was injured during the second period of Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Ducks when he took a knee from Anaheim defenseman Ryan Strome, who received a game misconduct but avoided a suspension.
Before Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at San Jose, Jets Coach Rick Bowness said Connor underwent an MRI on Monday and had been sent back to Winnipeg to be examined by team doctors.
Bowness stood by his original opinion, saying the hit should have drawn a suspension.
“I respectfully disagree with the league,” Bowness said. “I still think it’s a suspendable offense. I felt it then, I’ve looked at it a number of times, and I still feel that way.”
Connor has 17 goals and 28 points in 25 games this season. He leads the team in goals and is tied with Mark Scheifele for the lead in points. He recorded a career-high 47 goals and 93 points in 2021-22.
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