Mike Yeo for 4 years....

[Brian39]

I'm not quite as down on him as a lot of this board, but I don't think he lasts 2 more years. I don't like a lot of the decisions being made thus far, but I'm not ready to grab my pitchfork yet. I'm willing to accept that he is making these decisions with a lot more info than I have and I'm willing to see how they play out over a month or so before I mentally throw in the towel on him. I'm concerned though.

 

[Ranksu]

I don't believe Army has enough balls to fire Yeo and does Army has any good replacement guy for the job?

 

[The Note]

I don't believe Army has enough balls to fire Yeo and does Army has any good replacement guy for the job?

Armstrong has fired 2 coaches, one of whom he has a close relationship with. I don’t doubt Armstrong will fire Yeo if he thinks this thing is going off the rails. Him being able to make the right hire could be a concern though.

 

[Stealth JD]

Armstrong has fired 2 coaches, one of whom he has a close relationship with. I don’t doubt Armstrong will fire Yeo if he thinks this thing is going off the rails. Him being able to make the right hire could be a concern though.

Maybe in January we can call up Drew Banister and Ville Husso together.

 

[Ranksu]

Armstrong has fired 2 coaches, one of whom he has a close relationship with. I don’t doubt Armstrong will fire Yeo if he thinks this thing is going off the rails. Him being able to make the right hire could be a concern though.

Hitch was looooong process. Not one or two or three or four year thing.

How many years Hitch was in hot seat?

 

[The Note]

Hitch was looooong process. Not one or two or three or four year thing.

How many years Hitch was in hot seat?

I would say the year the Blues went to the WCF he was in the hot seat. If they didn’t make the playoffs or win a couple of rounds, he would’ve been gone. And the next year when they were sputtering they finally made the call. He probably earned more slack because of his history and Army’s ties to him. I don’t think Yeo has that luxury, especially after missing the playoffs and especially with the roster we have now. And, Yeo only has one more year on his deal after this. I could be completely wrong, but I think Armstrong isn’t content to call this year a wash and firing a coach is the first and easiest way to shake a team up.

 

[Brian39]

Hitch was looooong process. Not one or two or three or four year thing.

How many years Hitch was in hot seat?

How many years did this team miss the playoffs under Hitch? Zero

How many years did the team finish with fewer than 105 points under Hitch? One, the lockout season where we were on pace for 102.5 points.

How many years did the team finish below 2nd in the Central under Hitch? Zero.

Before Hitch arrived, we had missed the playoffs for 2 straight years and 5 of the last 6 years. Expectations were a hell of a lot different than they are right now and Hitch demonstrably took a bad team and made them good in the first half of his tenure with us.

We get that you hate Hitch, but there is a reason that he was here a "whopping" five and a half seasons. Last season was significantly worse than any season we had under Hitch. The first 3 years Hitch was here, we lost to either the Kings and the Hawks in the playoffs (who were objectively the best 2 teams in hockey over that 3 year stretch when no one else won the Cup). Of course he wasn't on the hot seat until the tail end of that stretch. Don't act like it took 4 years like last season to get Army to fire Hitch.

Even if you want to say that Hitch was "on the hot seat" from the moment we lost to the defending Cup champ Hawks in 2014 (which I vehemently disagree with), that means that he was on the hot seat for two and a half years. In that 2.5 year span, he coached this team to two 107+ point regular seasons and a Conference Final. Both of those results were drastically better than what we got last year even before you take Hitch's resume into account. He was fired midway through the next season, which was the first time we looked in danger of missing the playoffs with him as a head coach.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

I am an Avs fan and I am telling you to fire Yeo. You are better off without.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'm not sure I saw Minnesota take a step forward after moving on from Yeo. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but seems like they were about the same, and then a disappointing post-season.

I do think Yeo has a better track record of having his team ready to play well in the first round, both with the Blue and before.

 

[BlueDream]

I'm not sure I saw Minnesota take a step forward after moving on from Yeo. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but seems like they were about the same, and then a disappointing post-season.

I do think Yeo has a better track record of having his team ready to play well in the first round, both with the Blue and before.

They are the same, because their team just flat out isn't good enough. They need an elite forward up front and they refuse to do what's necessary to upgrade.

 

[Brian39]

I'm not sure I saw Minnesota take a step forward after moving on from Yeo. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but seems like they were about the same, and then a disappointing post-season.

I do think Yeo has a better track record of having his team ready to play well in the first round, both with the Blue and before.

98 and 100 points in his last 2 full seasons with the Wild, finishing 4th in the Central each time (and losing in the 2nd round).

Then he was fired 55 games into the next season when the team had 56 points. They snuck into the playoffs with 87 points. That means they earned 31 points in 27 games without Yeo, which is a 94 point pace over an 82 game season.

106 and 101 points under Boudreau, losing in the 1st round each time.

I personally think the roster has gotten older and worse in the last couple years, but take that info as you will.

 

[WeWentBlues]

I'm not sure I saw Minnesota take a step forward after moving on from Yeo. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but seems like they were about the same, and then a disappointing post-season.

I do think Yeo has a better track record of having his team ready to play well in the first round, both with the Blue and before.

They made the playoffs after he was fired by turning their season around and had a great first year under Boudreau.

 

[Mafisen]

Hire Hitch as the coach in waiting and let him take over next season.

 

[mw2noobbuster]

I'm not sure I saw Minnesota take a step forward after moving on from Yeo. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but seems like they were about the same, and then a disappointing post-season.

I do think Yeo has a better track record of having his team ready to play well in the first round, both with the Blue and before.

They never had game-breaking talent though. When the Wild beat the Blues in 2015, Hitchcock was just plain old outcoached terribly. Allen also had a rough series. The Wild today still don't have a game-breaker.

 

[MissouriMook]

Sadly, an in-season move probably won’t result in the best possible hire, because that would almost certainly mean we’re hiring someone that is currently unemployed.

 

[BlueDream]

Sadly, an in-season move probably won’t result in the best possible hire, because that would almost certainly mean we’re hiring someone that is currently unemployed.

Eh, that’s usually gonna be the case though. Somebody hired during the summer would have had to have been unemployed too. Unless you want to hire somebody’s assistant coach or an AHL/junior coach but something tells me that’s not the route the Blues front office wants to go.

I think they’d want a proven guy. Looking forward to next summer, who is projected to possibly become available that we would want? Todd McLellan comes to mind, but that’s about it. Maybe an outside chance of Boudreau? I can’t think of any other good vet coaches that would get fired.

We aren’t really in much of a position to wait because we can’t afford to throw away this season though. It’s not like we can really say “let’s wait until this other guy MIGHT become available” because we don’t know if they will.

 

[Dbrownss]

I'm not quite as down on him as a lot of this board, but I don't think he lasts 2 more years. I don't like a lot of the decisions being made thus far, but I'm not ready to grab my pitchfork yet. I'm willing to accept that he is making these decisions with a lot more info than I have and I'm willing to see how they play out over a month or so before I mentally throw in the towel on him. I'm concerned though.

Oh, stop being rational......

 

[TruBlu]

Hitch hockey would help us right now. We'll see what happens.

 

[mk80]

What does the Coaching Free Agent list look like in the NHL right now?

Other than AV I honestly don't know which is why I've only suggested him in other threads.

 

[Evocable Manager]

What does the Coaching Free Agent list look like in the NHL right now?

Other than AV I honestly don't know which is why I've only suggested him in other threads.

You do know that it doesn't have to be a former NHL coach, right?

If DA does his homework, there are many individuals who would make fine coaches, without NHL head coaching experience. Other teams have gone the same route and found success.

 

[ezcreepin]

Hire Hitch as the coach in waiting and let him take over next season.

So crazy it just might work

 

[mk80]

You do know that it doesn't have to be a former NHL coach, right?

If DA does his homework, there are many individuals who would make fine coaches, without NHL head coaching experience. Other teams have gone the same route and found success.

Yeah, I know there are some good candidates at those levels. For example Sheldon Keefe is a great coach in Toronto with the Marlies, that is at the top of many lists who would be good among others.

 

[ezcreepin]

Eh, that’s usually gonna be the case though. Somebody hired during the summer would have had to have been unemployed too. Unless you want to hire somebody’s assistant coach or an AHL/junior coach but something tells me that’s not the route the Blues front office wants to go.

I think they’d want a proven guy. Looking forward to next summer, who is projected to possibly become available that we would want? Todd McLellan comes to mind, but that’s about it. Maybe an outside chance of Boudreau? I can’t think of any other good vet coaches that would get fired.

We aren’t really in much of a position to wait because we can’t afford to throw away this season though. It’s not like we can really say “let’s wait until this other guy MIGHT become available” because we don’t know if they will.

preferably someone who isn't old-schooled. There needs to be tightening up in the defensive end, but we need someone who can run an offense, powerplay, and use everyone to their strengths. There are a few AHL candidates that would probably do well up here, or even people that are part of Babcock's staff that could work. I wish I knew more about systems and coaching in general to point out a few people we could hire, but I'm clueless.

 

[Evocable Manager]

I just would like a coach that preaches more of a high octane offense. Given our roster construction it just seems like it's a better fit for our group. Guys like Tarasenko, Schwartz, Schenn, Thomas, Kyrou, O'Reilly, Bozak would thrive. Then with 27, 55, 29 and 43 playing regular minutes, that's a lot of mobility on the back end.