St. Louis Blues Need To Get On The Ball Regarding Assistant Coaches

The St. Louis Blues are clearly taking a very tactical approach to filling out their coaching staff. While there is no need for speed for the sake of speed, the Blues might want to get moving.

It was not even a week ago that I pointed out some of the absurdity behind the reaction to the current situation with the St. Louis Blues coaching staff. There was a lot made of the departures (and a little made of keeping Ken Hitchcock also) and the idea of the Blues only offering one year contracts.

I still stand by that assertion. Kirk Muller did not feel there would be any guarantee he would become the head coach for the Blues and wanted to return to Montreal, where he had the glory days of his playing career. Brad Shaw was in St. Louis for 10 years and wasn’t awarded the head position despite surviving three head coaching changes, so he wasn’t likely to be handed the reigns this time.

Each coach made the best decision for their careers. The Blues made the wise decision because it doesn’t make sense to give your assistants multi-year contracts if a new coach might want to bring in his own staff next season.

All that said, the Blues need to get on their horse a little bit and hurry this up. They starting to lose out on some of the more interesting names.

Todd Richards just got signed to be an assistant in Tampa Bay.  While his name wouldn’t have set the world on fire, he has head coaching experience and a respectable track record.  While his time with the Minnesota Wild was underwhelming, he led the Columbus Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff wins.

Scott Stevens was also swooped up by the Minnesota Wild.  Stevens is still very young in his coaching career, but brings a wealth of experience from his playing days and was a respected leader in the locker room.

Stevens style could have been just what the Blues needed.  They have two openings and one of those openings should probably be a respected former player.  The current group of Blues seem to need that voice that has been there and done that to compliment the tactical knowledge that Hitchcock brings.

Stevens could have helped out a Blues defensive squad that, while solid positionally and good offensively, lacked a bit of bite and ferocity in the physical side of the game.  He is going to head up the penalty kill with the Wild and that was something the Blues needed with the departure of Shaw, who had the Blues as one of the top PK units.

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It’s hard to say what the Blues are looking for.  Maybe Stevens was not a fit for what Hitchcock wants.  However, if Hitchcock wants people he has worked with before, then just hire them and get everyone to work.

Yes, it’s early and as of writing this the Cup Finals are not over yet.  However, other teams are getting their ducks in a row and the Blues seem to be lagging a bit.

Maybe they are waiting for the Stanley Cup Finals to end.  Perhaps there is someone we don’t know of on either the San Jose staff or the Pittsburgh bench that could be lured away and the team is waiting for that.

Maybe Mike Yeo has already been unofficially hired and they are simply dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.  It would just be nice to know something is going on.

We had that initially flurry of activity right after Muller and Shaw left.  It’s been calm waters since then.

Steve Thomas is now available also, after letting the Tampa Bay Lightning know he will be moving on (thus the Richards hire).  Similarly to Stevens, his coaching career is still in its infancy but he had a long career on the ice.  He’s also served as an assistant on the Lightning when they played in the finals and also the conference finals in consecutive seasons.

There were also faint whispers, not long ago, that John Anderson might make the move up since he and the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, agreed to part ways.  Anderson won four titles with the Wolves, but that success never translated into the NHL as he had unproductive runs as head coach with the Atlanta Thrashers and as an assistant in Phoenix.

Personally, I’m not in favor of bringing in Yeo.  He has a mind for the game, but if he is labeled as the coach-in-waiting, I just envision terrible hockey.  Minnesota was incredibly boring to watch when he was behind the bench.  It was like watching a copy of the absolute worst Jacque Lemaire during his days of implementing the trap.

In his defense though, he might be a decent fill-in for Shaw.  The Wild were the top penalty killing team in the league during his last full season as their coach.  Bringing in a mind that found a way to shut down the Blues offense in the playoffs in 2014-15 could help the team figure out how to overcome any lingering postseason hurdles as well.

If the Blues want to bring him in, then do it.  Just don’t make any guarantees.  You never know who will be available for head coaching interviews next season.  For all we know, Boston could relieve Claude Julien of his duties, which has been rumored just about every year following their Cup win.

Next: Who to keep? Steve Ott or Scottie Upshall?

St. Louis needs to find the right candidate.  Finding someone you would feel comfortable with making your next head coach would be nice, but shouldn’t be the deciding point.  The Blues must take their time and go through the process, but the clock is ticking with the draft and free agency coming up quickly.

The current situation is almost a catch-22.  The Blues don’t want to rush anything, but they also need to hurry things up a bit.  The Blues have two assistant roles to fill and potential candidates are coming off the board.