Drew Bannister took over as the St. Louis Blues’ interim coach following Craig Berube’s dismissal on Tuesday.
There is no set timeline for when a permanent coach will be hired, according to Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.
It’s reasonable enough. Regarding his temporary position, Bannister stated on Thursday, “Doug has a duty to do.
“My goal is to steer this team in the correct direction at this moment. What follows is what transpires. That is beyond my control.
My goal is to come in here and get this team to win hockey; that’s my ultimate goal. For me, if I come in here and do my job and the team begins winning hockey games, then we’ll see after that.
However, it’s out of my control and Doug has a job to do. If good things happen, if I have to return to Springfield (of the American Hockey League), that’s part of the game.
On Thursday night (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, TSN5, RDS), Bannister made his NHL coaching debut against the Ottawa Senators at Enterprise Center. After three seasons as the Springfield coach, he takes over in St. Louis.
“We went through this about five or six years ago,” Armstrong stated on the Wednesday. Good play will make a lot of decisions for you.
At the player level and throughout an organization, poor performance will determine a lot of things.
Of course, I want to thank Craig. In order to turn around a ship and get it to a championship, he and I got to work together in 2016.
Over the years, our friendship grew, so it was tough to have that conversation with him last night. He is an absolute pro.
We had a little conversation, enjoyed a beer, and briefly reminisced. Now that I’m moving forward, it’s my responsibility to let Craig recoup and get back on his feet. His coaching abilities are too great for this level.
