The St. Louis Blues might still be in the beginning stages of 2018-19, but their problems are well documented. It is time to ditch one of the Mike’s on staff, but which?
The St. Louis Blues management has a pretty big dilemma. They have an elephant, an 880 lbs gorilla and a pink bunny all in the room. In other words, there is a huge issue with this team but nobody seems to want to do much about it.
That problem is the defense. It is about as bad as we have seen out of a Blues team in years.
That is not to say the defense has been perfect over the last few years. Whether we realize it or not, this team was one of the best defensive teams in the league for the better part of the 2010’s. The last two seasons they have gone from bad to worse.
Of course, every fan has their own theory about the biggest problem with the Blues. The most vocal pick out the goaltending, but that is the lazy argument. Regardless of your personal feelings about Jake Allen, the way the team is currently playing, the best goaltender of all time – insert whichever name you want – would not bail this team out of their current funk.
The Blues have given up 47 goals in 12 games. That is basically four goals per game in the back of their own net. While the offense is much improved, you cannot depend on them to be scoring five goals per game simply to win by one goal. That is not a championship model.
So, the conclusion, unfortunately, for this Blues team is that one of the Mike’s on the coaching staff has to go. Now, the question is whether that is Mike Van Ryn or Mike Yeo.
Mike Van Ryn
The case to be made against Van Ryn is one of ease and lack of tenure. Van Ryn is an assistant and has been here for a cup of coffee.
Other than being a former Blues player for very small parts of two seasons, Van Ryn does not have a long history with the franchise. It would not be like firing Brett Hull or Al MacInnis if they were on the coaching staff.
It would also be the easiest thing. To compare it to football or baseball, if you are having a problem with a certain department, usually the coordinator or coach of that part of the team is the first to go. Defensive coordinators or offensive coordinators get the boot before the coach, usually in an attempt to save the coach’s job. The same is true with hitting instructors.
So, Yeo could simply make an early coaching staff move. All he would need to say is he appreciated Van Ryn’s work ethic, but things just did not mesh and they were moving in a new direction. That would buy Yeo some time and maybe spark this lethargic defensive crew.
Personally, I do not think this is all on Mike Van Ryn. He has been a head coach at other levels. While the range of success was varied, it is not as though defensive problems followed him wherever he went. Van Ryn has actually had a pretty solid overall record as a coach in the OHL and AHL.
You do wonder how much might change, were this to happen. The Blues already parted ways with Darryl Sydor and somehow got worse defensively. So, is it Van Ryn or someone higher up?
That’s hard to tell completely. All we know for sure is whatever problems the Blues had last season have become as large as the Grand Canyon under Van Ryn.
Fair or not, position coaches are easy scapegoats. Since the defense is the biggest issue, it might be the defensive coach to go.
Mike Yeo
Now, we switch to the big man in charge, Mike Yeo. This one is more difficult and complicated, but might actually cut more to the heart of the problem.
I’ve actually grown to like Yeo much more than I thought I might. I was against the hiring in the first place and Minnesota fans kept giving us the side eye, asking “really?”
However, there was immediate success after Ken Hitchcock left and then the Blues got off to a record start in 2017-18. The team had a really bad winter, which cost them the playoffs. However, while goaltending was blamed for that collapse, the start of 2018-19 makes you wonder if it is more a problem with the system now than just a cog here or there.
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While the players shoulder the responsibility of effort and tenacity, or lack thereof, there is no denying that the Blues have become a worse defensive team under Mike Yeo.
In 2015-16, the last full season under Hitchcock, the Blues finished fourth in goals against. They surrendered 201 goals against.
In 2016-17, they finished 12th in goals against. That season could be chalked up to many factors though. The team quit on Hitchcock, they did have shaky goaltending and you could also argue about whether there was a sophomore slump for guys like Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson.
2017-18 saw things improve with Yeo able to implement his own systems, right? Not really. The Blues climbed the leader board, finishing sixth in the league in goals allowed. However, they allowed more goals, giving up 222 for the season.
Now, through 12 games in 2018-19, they have allowed 47 goals. That is on pace to allow 321 goals. At this point, unless there was a miracle turnaround, the goal total will be immensely higher no matter what.
Eventually, that does fall on the coach.
We keep hearing about how the Blues were always a good defensive team and you could always count on that. However, that has not been the case the last two seasons. The reason it was in 2016-17 was because Yeo admitted there was not time enough to change systems mid-season. We just assumed he meant offensively and special teams.
Again, I do not completely blame Yeo. Nevertheless, under his leadership we have seen a Norris Trophy candidate become a wandering fool with no clue of where to be. We have seen two of the best looking defensive prospects this team has had in ages turn into lost puppies themselves. The entire defensive group looks like they don’t have a clue where to be, who to cover or even if they should hit anyone.
It has become a lazy group. They do not skate, take dumb penalties and constantly just reach out with their sticks instead of putting a hit on the opponent or even just a bump.
While it is team-wide, the defense also does not stick up for their goaltender. Jake Allen is constantly getting run into and there is almost never a response. When there is, it is more a shock than anything.
The problem with firing Yeo is the availability of something better. Craig Berube has the most experience on the Blues bench. Are we willing to have him take over for the season?
Guys like Alain Vigneault and Dave Tippett are available. The issue there is you could run into the same thing.
Vigneault won with Vancouver, but despite some good regular seasons, he was hit or miss in New York. Also, the Rangers steadily got worse defensively, though that was a lack of personnel too.
Tippett had some great defensive teams in Dallas. However, they had some really good defensive players and were not too far removed from the team that won the Stanley Cup. His Coyotes career is harder to judge. The defensive numbers went steadily south, but so did the direction of the team by management’s choice.
The bottom line is that change for change’s sake is not always better. Also, both coaches are getting paid by their old teams, so jumping into a messy situation midseason might not be appetizing.
Yet, you can’t keep coaches around if they are not getting the job done. I do not advocate for people losing their job since, from first hand experience, it is one of the more painful things you can go through.
But, here we are. Something has to give and you cannot get rid of six guys or 23 guys or however you want to slice it.
In online forums, I have seen several people make the argument that they hated their boss and still went in and did their job so the players should do the same. I fully agree with that, but these players have already been rewarded with a coaching change when they slacked off. In the back of their mind, they know it could happen again.
Eventually, the coach does shoulder the blame. He is the one responsible for getting these guys to buy in, even as tired as we all are of hearing that phrase. The coach has to find ways to put players in the best possible spot.
Van Ryn and Yeo have not found a way to do that.
Yeo has also never proven that he can handle multiple issues. Last season, it was the power play. That is fixed and now the defense is terrible. It was usually the same in Minnesota. Yeo was able to change one aspect of the team but never multiple things. The defense got better as he went on, but the team would fail to score.
The Blues do not have the luxury of waiting and hoping the defense gets better. Crowds are already impatient and dwindling.
St. Louis has a history of this too. They fired Davis Payne after only two seasons, as did Mike Kitchen and Jacques Martin. Jacques Demers only got three years.
You have to do what is best for this team. Sadly, it may be the only way. I don’t think benching anyone or stripping them of a letter will have much affect. Someone losing a job will wake some people up. It’s unfortunate, but it could be the only way out.