MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Now that the decision has been made that Craig Berube is no longer the coach of the St. Louis Blues and that Drew Bannister has been elevated from Springfield of the American Hockey League to take over on an interim basis, the onus is on the players to make things right.
The Blues lost their fourth in a row on Tuesday, 6-4 against the Detroit Red Wings, to drop them to 13-14-1 with seemingly little to no end in sight to the shortcomings of an underperforming squad.
Assistant coaches ran practice on Wednesday after general manager Doug Armstrong made the decision to make the coaching change, an unpopular choice among the majority of Blues fans that feel he should have taken the fall. And now that the players have lost someone they all respected well but underperformed under Berube, it's their turn to take accountability.
"I think it is. It always has been," goalie Jordan Binnington said. "I think the message was if you're not here to be great or to do what it takes to win, to sacrifice for your team, then get out of here. We've got to be proud to wear that Bluenote jersey and proud to be part of this organization and play for this city. If you're not, just get out of here, because we're not wasting time. These are special years; being able to play in the NHL, it's a privilege. It's not going to be forever, so I think a good amount of us, we understand that. We want to make the most of our time.
"It's difficult. He's been my coach for the whole time I've been in the NHL and a little bit of the minors. I've got to know him over the years and had some success. It's always tough to see someone go, whether it's a teammate or a coach like that, so it's difficult."
The players have nowhere to turn now. For captain Brayden Schenn, who raised eyebrows after a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday when he said, "I feel we just pick and choose when we want to turn up the intensity in hockey games," it's a bitter pill to swallow since he played for Berube while with the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I guess the first emotions are you feel guilty and you feel responsible for a lot of it," Schenn said, who played for Berube with the Flyers from 2013-15. "It's happened in the past and stuff like that a coach being fired, but that one really stings for me personally because I've had him for so long and he's been so good for me throughout my career, what he means to the Blues organization and a lot of players currently and past for what he's done here. It's tough hearing that news, but to a man, we all have to be better in this locker room.
"At the end of the day, players in this locker room are going forward know that the accountability is going to be there. You just can't fire a coach and the players just turn the page and act like nothing's going to happen. I have to be better, we have to be better in this locker room. We're underachieving, we're underperforming through 28 games. It's been a roller coaster and even when we're winning, I don't feel like we're winning the right way for the most part. I would say time to pull the rope in the right direction and dig in and buy in as a group. Chief's a guy that takes the fall for it, but it's on these players in this locker room to be better."
Berube, who was hired after Mike Yeo was fired Nov. 19, 2018, guided the Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup that season while coaching on an interim basis before getting the job full-time.
Berube's contract runs through the 2024-25 season, but after finishing last season out of the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 at 37-38-7 and currently on a season-long four-game losing streak, was the message from Berube, a hard-nosed tough player in his playing days who carried that exterior with him into the coaching ranks, getting stale?
"It's pro sports where 'Chief' wanted a hard, physical, workmanlike, demanding hockey team," Schenn said. "He kept on pounding it home and for whatever reason, we had spurts of it but not enough of it. I felt like his message was very clear. It's always been black and white with Chief. I know guys certainly loved playing for him, but it's just one of those things for whatever reason, the response wasn't coming for enough games. Before you know it, changes are made."
The problem for the Blues is there have been too many inconsistent ebbs and flows this season, from starting with alternating wins and losses the first seven games (3-3-1) to also alternating wins and losses for eight games (4-4-0) prior to losing the past four.
Why is that?
"Because I feel like we come to the rink or the game and for whatever reason, right now we're sizing up opponents or feeling our way through games rather than sticking to the instruction to the game plan that ultimately wins you hockey games," Schenn said. "When you want to do it that way or maybe your own agendas on any given night, you get roller coaster results and that's what we've got so far.
"I think accountability comes from everyone. That's top down. When you know when you're coming to the NHL or to the rink and you're going to be held accountable every day, which should be that way. Obviously the last couple years have been rough with us trying to find our way and stuff like that, but the accountability's a big thing. People are held to that standard. You know you're job is on the line every single day and that's the NHL and that's the way it should be."
Now attentions get turned to Bannister, who guided Springfield to the Calder Cup Final in 2022 and has been a regular participant at Blues training camps the past three years.
"To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about him," Schenn said. "For me, for everyone, for a lot of guys, obviously some have had him in the minors, he doesn't a whole lot about me or as a person or a lot of guys in the locker room, but I do know one thing in this locker room, we're going to play hard for Drew. He's going to come in with a different message and guys are going to buy in and everyone gets a fresh slate. It's a different locker room for him and he's going to give guts a fair shake. I'm looking forward to working with him and seeing what he's all about. He's going to be hungry, he's going to be eager for a shot in the NHL. It's my job and guys around me to help him here, especially early on to get guys going in the right direction for what he's preaching to the team. I'm looking forward to playing for him."
Bannister and the Blues face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at 7 p.m.
