ST. LOUIS — Craig Berube has been "relieved of his coaching duties" with the St. Louis Blues and an interim head coach has been named, the team announced late Tuesday night.
The abrupt announcement came via a news release posted to the team's website around 11 p.m. Tuesday night, following the team's 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Enterprise Center.
Current Springfield Thunderbirds head coach Drew Bannister was named interim head coach. Bannister will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday and serve his first game behind the bench on Thursday vs. the Ottawa Senators. The Thunderbirds are the AHL affiliate of the Blues.
The decision to fire Berube comes in the middle of a 4-game losing streak by the Blues, which sunk them to 6th place in the Central Division.
Berube took over as head coach in the middle of the 2018-2019 season for the Blues, and guided the franchise to its first and only Stanley Cup championship later that year, defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games.
In parts of six years in St. Louis, Berube compiled a 206-132-41 record as head coach and took the Blues to the playoffs in every season except the 2022-2023 campaign.
Blues President and General Manager Doug Armstrong will meet with the media at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday to discuss the decision.
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