The St. Louis Blues are in the midst of a four-game losing streak that has dropped their record down to 13-14-1. The past week’s news cycle has been jam-packed with surrounding the franchise with the current state of the team.
In this edition of Blues’ 3 Up, 3 Down, I will discuss the coaching change, a forward being placed on waivers, the overall losing streak, and much more.
Plus One: Robert Thomas
Before getting into some of the other news of the week for the Blues, I wanted to give Robert Thomas credit for how good of a season he’s having. He plays on the Blues’ top line against other teams’ best lines and his production has been there all season long. He has 27 points in 28 games, including leading the team with 10 goals. His fit alongside Jake Neighbours and Pavel Buchnevich has proven to be one of the best and most consistent lines all season for the Blues.
Thomas’s extension looks like it’ll age well as the NHL salary cap increases over the next few years. At just $8.125 million per season, the Blues are getting a quality top-line center with scoring ability, playmaking skills, and two-way prowess. It’s one of the few great moves by general manager Doug Armstrong over the past few years.
Minus One: Head Coach Craig Berube Fired
The Blues made the tough decision to fire head coach Craig Berube after their 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, Dec. 12. With that move, they’ve brought in Drew Bannister as the interim head coach, and Armstrong says the search for a permanent head coach is underway and Bannister is a candidate. He has spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds. He’s led them to back-to-back playoff seasons with a record of 93-58-19. He also helped lead them to the Calder Cup Final in 2022 before losing to the Chicago Wolves in five games.
Related: Blues Relieve Berube, Appoint Bannister Interim Coach
Overall, the Berube era in St. Louis was undoubtedly successful. He won a Stanley Cup in his first season with the club and made the playoffs three times after that. His overall record was 206-132-44 in the regular season and 24-27 in the playoffs. It’s hard to blame Berube for a lot of the issues with the roster over the past few seasons as those issues should mostly be blamed on decisions made by Armstrong. He will land on his feet with another NHL head coaching job, and that would not be a surprise.
Plus Two: Kevin Hayes
For a player who got off to a slow start, Kevin Hayes has kept his head down and worked hard in his first season as a Blue. He’s been rewarded with plenty of scoring chances and different opportunities in the lineup. He is up to eight goals in 28 games and has a plus/minus of plus-2.
He’s also been really good in the faceoff circle at 57.9 percent, which leads the team. All of his 14 points have come at even strength, which isn’t a surprise with the Blues’ power play struggles. Props to Hayes for sticking with it, and his first season with the Blues has been solid because of that.
Minus Two: Jakub Vrána Waived
Everybody should have seen this one coming, but the Blues officially waived Jakub Vrána after three different incidents of being healthy scratched, and struggling to fit all season long. The Blues traded for Vrána at the trade deadline last season from the Red Wings and got it done with just a 2025 seventh-round pick, minor league forward Dylan McLaughlin, and 50 percent salary retained by Detroit.
He produced last season with 10 goals in 20 games, but the Blues were also playing for nothing after being out of playoff contention for quite some time. He didn’t play hard enough or up to the standard of Berube this season and that was clear from the start. He scored two goals in 19 games and didn’t play a two-way game overall. This is not the first time that he’s fallen out of favor as the same thing happened in Detroit. One difference is the well-known off-ice issues he had while in Detroit. After clearing waivers, he’ll report to Springfield to see if he can figure his game out down in the AHL.
Plus Three: Brad Richards Brought in as Power Play Consultant
During his press conference to discuss the termination of Berube, Armstrong announced the club’s hiring of former NHL standout Brad Richards as a power play consultant. The Blues have one of the worst power plays in the league. At 8.4 percent, the Blues rank 31st in the league above only the Washington Capitals. Nothing has worked in terms of structure or personnel changes, and assistant coach Steve Ott seems to have no answer for this lack of success.
Richards had plenty of power play success in his career, scoring 95 goals and 282 assists on the power play throughout his 15 seasons in the NHL. I think it’s great to get another voice in the room for the power play and a person like Richards could be a great choice. It remains to be seen whether this works or not, but it’s worth a try.
Minus Three: Losing Streak Continues
As a result of the four-game losing streak against mostly lesser opponents, the Blues moved on from Berube. In the losing streak, they have losses to the Vegas Golden Knights, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, and Red Wings. They have been outscored 20-10 in these games and the scores have been closer than they should have been in a couple of these games. They’ve looked bad and didn’t respond enough to the criticism from above, so Berube is now out the door.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Blues can find some wins under the guidance of Bannister as the interim head coach. I think it’s obvious that the blame lies more with Armstrong and the players over what Berube has done. He’s a good coach and didn’t deserve this, but that’s just the way things go in the NHL.
