St. Louis Blues: Is Quenneville Part II In The Works For The Blues?
By Jason Martin
St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo has been on the hot seat for the past few weeks after an abysmal start to the season, and with one of the best coaches of all-time becoming available, it may be time to make a switch.
The St. Louis Blues have not shown any indication that they are ready to make a change behind the bench, but any person who has watched any of the Blues games this season should know that a change may be needed sooner rather than later.
One of the big reasons why I have been hesitant to believe that a change would be possible is because there is not an obvious candidate to replace Yeo as the Blues, head coach.
That changed on Tuesday when the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they had fired longtime head coach Joel Quenneville. Quenneville was the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL and won three Stanley Cups with the Hawks.
More from St Louis Blues News
- St. Louis Blues Giving Nick Ritchie A Look Is No Lose Situation
- St. Louis Blues Torey Krug Already Injured Before 2023-24 Season
- Former St. Louis Blues Forward Going Into Hall Of Fame
- Can Hofer Upstage Binnington in Starting Goalie Spot for Blues?
- St. Louis Blues 2023-24 fourth line depth chart could be surprisingly strong
In 11 seasons with Chicago, Quenneville amassed 1000 points and had a career record of 452-249-96 and ranks third all-time in wins by a head coach.
If the Blues were to make a change and bring Q back to the STL, he would be returning to a familiar situation.
Quenneville started his coaching career in St. Louis during the 1996-97 season and spent eight years as the coach of the Blues.
He won over 700 games as head coach of the St. Louis Blues and led the note to seven consecutive playoff appearances and a 114 point season in the 1999-00 season.
The timing of the firing of Quenneville came as a bit of a surprise. After a hot start to the season, the Blackhawks have lost three games in a row and have won three of their last ten.
Even after a hot start to the season, the Blackhawks are at 15 points and are two points back of a playoff spot. I know it is only November, and it may be premature to talk about playoff positioning, but it is significant that a team with more points than St. Louis fired their head coach.
All of this, of course, is all hypothetical and the Blues could very well turn this around with Yeo at the helm. But at the way things are going for St. Louis, and with a Hall of Fame caliber seemingly available, it could be the perfect storm for the Blues to make a change.
Next. The Blues Need To Fire A Mike, You Decide Which One. dark
Even if the Blues fire Yeo, Q would still need to want to come back to St. Louis. If he does want to come back, a coach with his resume could turn this veteran-lead team back to where it wants to be.