ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Blues have fired coach Ken Hitchcock.
Assistant and coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo replaced him ahead of schedule. Yeo was supposed to succeed Hitchcock after this season, the veteran coach’s final in St. Louis.
General manager Doug Armstrong announced the abrupt change Wednesday morning. The Blues are 24-21-5 and in eighth place in the Western Conference.
Despite being in a playoff spot through 50 games, St. Louis has lost five of six and went 5-8 in January. The Blues lost at home to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
Hitchcock took the fall for the Blues’ underachieving season, which had a lot to do with goaltending struggles. Goalies Jake Allen, Carter Hutton and Pheonix Copley have combined for an .887 save percentage, which is the worst team mark in the NHL.