St. Louis Blues: Coaching Changes Don't Always Work

The St. Louis Blues made the only choice they felt they could when firing Ken Hitchcock. Though many fans felt it was necessary, coaching changes have been a mixed bag over the years.

When the St. Louis Blues fired Ken Hitchcock, many fans rejoiced. Not all of them were in the group that was over the top and practically celebrating, but there was just a relief to see a change that might spark the team.

The funny thing is so many of them were sure the switch would bring about a positive change when there has been no documented proof that it always makes a big difference. Yes, there are success stories and teams that were much better off. There are also teams that took significant steps backward.

First off, before I get comments about being against Mike Yeo or being in the back pocket of Hitchcock, I am fine with the switch. I want Yeo to succeed and am pleased with the look of the team early on. That does not mean this will be for the long-term benefit of the team, nor does it mean it won’t work either.

The truth of the matter is that it is a 50/50 proposition. Coaching changes have some high profile successes and high profile failures.

Successes

Perhaps the most successful coaching change in NHL history is one Blues fans are hoping to have happen to their own team. After successive first-round exits, the New Jersey Devils fired their coach, Robbie Ftorek in a move that was described as “pure panic” at the time.

Larry Robinson, then just an assistant, took over and promptly led the Devils to the Stanley Cup championship. Interestingly enough, the win came over the then Hitchcock led Dallas Stars.

The Devils featured in another high profile change as well later on. Though it did not have the immediate impact as Robinson’s, Pat Burns replacing Kevin Constantine in the offseason eventually led to a Stanley Cup for the Devils again.

With each example, the returns seemed to take a little longer to show up. For example, you would think it would be hard to top the success Marc Crawford had since he won a championship with the Colorado Avalanche.

Apr 9, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Bob Hartley matched it, winning his own Cup in 2001. He was later replaced by Tony Granato, who had three months of assistant experience, and Granato still led that team to a conference regular season title.

In the Blues own history, they have had times when coaching switches worked pretty well. Jacques Martin has been successful in many of his stops, including his current one in Pittsburgh.

However, it just never fully clicked with the St. Louis Blues. He was then replaced by Brian Sutter.

While Sutter would have no more playoff success than any other coach, he is regarded as one of the best coaches the team had. If he had not had such a meddling GM, you wonder what Sutter’s teams might have accomplished.

Failures

For this one, the Blues need not look much farther than their own history. There are plenty of examples there to pick from.

First and foremost was the removal of Joel Quenneville. Like Hitchcock, Quenneville’s voice had supposedly gone stale and fans were more than happy to see him go.

Jan 30, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

What the Blues got after that was a string of inexperienced coaches and a long time to wait before they even returned to the playoffs. Mike Kitchen has the second worst winning percentage of all Blues coaches to be behind the bench at least 100 games. Davis Payne aged in ways only the President of the United States should and despite a respectable winning percentage was basically spinning his wheels after replacing Andy Murray.

Additionally, the Blues got rid of Scotty Bowman. I don’t care that they replaced him with Al Arbour. Because ownership was going through some difficulty at the time, the Blues lost out on the winningest coach of all time for crying out loud.

Even outside of the program, the results are hit and miss. Lindy Ruff was the winningest coach in Buffalo Sabres history. He was going to conference finals and league finals. There was a small tail off, but the team completely tanked once Ruff was gone.

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Anything can happen

The fun and scary thing is we don’t know how things will play out for the Blues under Yeo, both this season and beyond. You never know how quickly the new coach effect wears off and reality sets in. You never know what that reality will be.

Barry Trotz seemed irreplaceable in Nashville. The team is actually better off under Peter Laviolette.

Conversely, Trotz has made the Washington Capitals a more complete team. Bruce Boudreau has turned the Minnesota Wild into a powerhouse.

Still, the Blues have not completely turned the page under Yeo. They have plenty of confidence now, but still the same mistakes. The mistakes just are not being backbreakers at this moment.

Similarly, the Boston Bruins face an uncertain future without Claude Julien. The New York Islanders got a nice boost from promoting Doug Weight, but the Florida Panthers have not seen such a turnaround with their own switch.

We all hope that the Blues find that special magic under Yeo that carries them to the next step. Nobody thinks Yeo is going to be the next Kitchen or Payne.

There is just too much talent on this team for that to happen. Sports are a fickle thing though, perhaps even more fickle than fans. Nothing is certain and success is definitely not guaranteed – especially when replacing a coach who averaged 100 points a season in full seasons with St. Louis.

Yeo had flaws in Minnesota. This current squad of Blues has some fundamental flaws of their own. Here’s hoping the mixture turns out like Dr. Pepper. Just pour all the things in and hope it comes out great.