The St. Louis Blues have had several really good coaches. However, their current bench boss might be the one that pushes all the right buttons like a famous NBA counterpart.
The St. Louis Blues figured they had a pretty good coaching talent when they made Craig Berube an assistant coach in the NHL instead of trying to keep him in the AHL or letting him go elsewhere. Clearly that decision paid dividends since he replaced Mike Yeo and led his team to a Stanley Cup in the same season.
With everyone watching The Last Dance, an ESPN documentary focusing on the championship days of the Chicago Bulls, it sprang to mind that Berube could very well be the Blues’ version of Phil Jackson. It seems an outlandish claim, but hear me out.
One of Jackson’s best features was his ability to relate to players and figure out what made each one tick. Though he was not the coach Michael Jordan wanted initially, the two formed such a bond that Jordan refused to entertain the idea of staying with the Bulls without Jackson at the end of his Chicago career.
Similarly, Jackson figured out ways to keep Dennis Rodman in line. While that meant giving the rebounding genius an unnervingly long leash – too long in some estimations – he managed to get the best out of the enigma. Only Chuck Daly managed to get anything even close to what the Bulls got from Rodman.
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The key was Jackson knew what to do with each player. While some coaches apply a hard-line approach across the board, and while that seems better in many fans opinions, sometimes each player needs to have their own relationship with the coach.
Some players need a kick in the butt or a tongue lashing to get their motor going. Other players need more understanding or a pat on the back instead of being yelled at. Knowing who needs what is something that not all coaches can do.
Brian Sutter was one of those coaches. Mike Keenan was an extreme example.
Of course, this is painting with a broad brush, but both of these guys were gruff coaches that simply expected players to perform. If they weren’t doing all that was expected, they had no qualms about letting the player know.
From everything we know, Ken Hitchcock was similar as well. While he certainly had a ton of success with almost all his stops, Hitch also wore out his welcome after awhile because players got tired of being beaten over the head with the same message.
It is too early to tell how successful Berube will be. It is extremely likely he will not have anywhere near the amount of success as Jackson. No hockey coach will have that much success because one team does not win that many Stanley Cups while one NBA team can win regularly.
In terms of championships, only Scotty Bowman can compare to Jackson since he has nine Stanley Cups. In modern day, only Joel Quenneville can compare since he has three as a head coach and one as an assistant.
However, as far as the Blues are concerned, Berube might be close to what Jackson did for the Bulls. The Blues don’t have major egos like the NBA, especially those Bulls, have, but he still manages players quite effectively.
Berube knows that Vladimir Tarasenko seems to do much better with positive motivation. On the flip side, he knows how far he can push some of the younger players without taking away their motivation.
He also knows how to relate to some of the younger players better. Coming up through the AHL as a coach likely helped him in that aspect.
Berube also found a way to put Alex Steen‘s ego in check. While the guy says all the right things in public and has a great connection to St. Louis, it is no secret that he played somewhat of a role in getting Hitchcock fired.
The reality is it was Hitch’s time, but the rift between the two was widely speculated. Berube had no such problems, at least not publicly.
However he did it, Berube got Steen to accept a fourth-line role late in the 2018-19 season and through the 2019 playoffs. It might have been a blow to his ego, but that gave the Blues much more depth and might have lengthened Steen’s career.
Berube also got Brayden Schenn to fall in line. Schenn was growing slightly discontent after the 2017-18 season, not seeming happy with Tarasenko.
Berube not only smoothed that over to the point they regularly played Tarasenko with Schenn, but he also got Schenn to accept an occasional winger role. The Blues brought Schenn in with the idea he would be a regular center, but showing that flexibility was part of the buy in with his coach and it helped the team win a championship.
Berube is not going to lead the Blues to six championships. That is just not realistic.
However, his management of the team is similar to how Jackson got the Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to fall in line. It was not that hard-nosed, my way or the highway style. It was a hybrid that respected players for being individuals because he was a player himself, just as Berube was.
Perhaps Chief can pull a little more Jackson magic and the Blues will win at least one more Cup while he’s behind the bench. We likely won’t see any 10-part documentaries featuring Berube, but we’d be ok with the Cups.