The St Louis Blues have fired Head Coach Craig Berube after suffering a 6-4 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Berube had served as the Blues head coach for the past six seasons and was under contract through the 2024-25 season. He led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2019 and had a 206-132-44 record during his time with the team. St. Louis qualified for the postseason in each of the first four seasons under Berube but have only won a single playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.This season the Blues have a 13-14-1 record (27 points) and sit in sixth place in the Central Division. They're currently on a four-game losing streak and have been outscored 20-10 over that span. The Blues rank 26th in the NHL in goals per game (2.82) and have the second-worst power play in the league at 8.4% (7 for 83).

The Blues have tabbed Drew Bannister to be the new (interim) bench boss. Bannister spent the past three seasons as the Blues AHL affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds head coach, going 93-58-19 regular-season record during that span. The 49-year-old also led Springfield to back-to-back playoff seasons, including reaching the Calder Cup Final during the 2021-22 campaign. Bannister started his coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he served as an assistant coach with the Owen Sound Attack followed by three seasons as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds head coach. He also was the head coach of the AHL's San Antonio Rampage and an associate coach for the Utica Comets. Before coaching Bannister spent time as an NHL defenseman and logged 164 NHL regular-season games as a member of the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Berube becomes the third head coach fired this season after Jay Woodcraft formerly of the Edmonton Oilers (Nov 12) and Dean Evanson (Nov 27) parted ways with the Minnesota Wild. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said a search for a permanent coach is underway with no timetable on when a hire will be 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 also announced the Blues have hired Brad Richards as a consultant. He will look at the team's power play and make suggestions. Richards played in Dallas when Armstrong was there. Richards retired in 2015.