Craig Berube Fired as Blues HC After 5-Plus Seasons with STL; Won 2019 Stanley Cup

The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday night that they fired Craig Berube after parts of six seasons as the team's head coach.

General manager Doug Armstrong added that Drew Bannister, who is the head coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate in the Springfield Thunderbirds, will serve as St. Louis' interim head coach.

Berube, who led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2019, had St. Louis off to a 13-14-1 start this season placing it sixth out of eight teams in the Western Conference's Central Division.

The decision to fire Berube came after a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, which marked the Blues' fourth consecutive defeat.

Berube went 75-58-28 in two seasons as the Philadelphia Flyers' head coach from 2013 to 2015, but his next head coaching opportunity didn't come until the 2018-19 season when he replaced Mike Yeo 19 games into the campaign.

After taking over, Berube went 38-19-6 and led the Blues on a deep playoff run, culminating in their first-ever Stanley Cup win.

Berube took the Blues back to the playoffs in each of the next three seasons as well, but they were unable to get past the second round.

Last season marked the first time the Blues missed the playoffs under Berube, finishing 37-38-7, and they were on pace to miss the playoffs this season also before Berube's dismissal.

Overall, Berube went 206-132-44 in 382 regular-season games as the Blues' head coach, and 24-27 in 51 playoff games.

Prior to his coaching days, the 57-year-old Berube spent 16 seasons in the NHL as a forward. His replacement, Bannister, is also a former NHL player, playing six years in the league as a defenseman.

The 49-year-old Bannister is 93-58-19 as an AHL head coach, leading the Thunderbirds to back-to-back playoff appearances, including a trip to the Calder Cup Final in 2022.