St. Louis Blues fire coach Ken Hitchcock, promote Mike Yeo to head coach

The Blues announced today that they have relieved head coach Ken Hitchcock of his duties and have promoted associate coach Mike Yeo to head coach. Yeo was hired this summer to be the heir apparent to Hitchcock’s coaching duties after he retired.

Despite a 248-124-41 record with the Blues, good for second most wins in team history, Hitch is retiring sooner than he had planned.

Last night’s 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets was the final straw for Doug Armstrong. The Blues have nearly fallen out of a playoff spot (they’re currently in the second wild card position) after heading to the Western Conference finals last year. After starting off January with a win at the Winter Classic, the Blues have gone 4-8 in February. They’re 11-14-2 over the past two months.

Jake Allen and Carter Hutton’s save percentage is the worst in the league; their GAAs are both career worsts. The defense is discombobulated. The offense has been generally ok, though there has been stretches of poor play there. The team looks lost and disinterested.

The concept of a lame duck coach is not a good one. People tune him out and listen to the new guy. Now it’s time for the new guy to shine. Yeo had a 173-132-44 record as head coach of the Minnesota Wild, taking them to the playoffs three seasons in a row.

Here’s hoping he can take the Blues to the postseason this year.