Out with the old in with the new.
At least for now anyway.
The House of Payne remained the House of Pain Saturday night as the Blues did the only thing they’ve been consistent at doing all season long.
Losing their 14th game at home this season the Blues have become flat out Painful to watch at the Scottrade Center.
Saturday night 39 year old Davis Payne’s dream to become a Head Coach in the NHL was realized. Albeit on an interim basis this is Payne’s time to shine and show the Blues organization he’s capable of taking this club to another level. I have no idea if Payne is the right guy but it is nice to see new guys getting chances to prove they can coach in this league.
The last thing this team needs is a recycled, old, surely coach to come in and start screaming and yelling.
People will undoubtedly focus on the lack of improvement of the young talent on the roster. While that is true, it’s only part of the equation. At the end of the day it’s all about results. If the Blues were winning hockey games with Patrik Berglund in the press box and David Perron on the fourth line Andy Murray would still be coaching this hockey club.
It’s not just the youngsters who were failing to adjust to Murray’s style, several veteran players expressed frustration during the season as well. With that being said it’s fair to say the younger players are really the ones getting what they wanted.
It’s put up or shut up time for a number of players on the Blues roster who didn’t hide their feelings regarding Murray.
Often players have been critical of Murray’s tendency to over-coach his players. The idea of breaking down every area of the game and micro-managing every detail began to take its toll on the players.
When looking at the Murray situation it’s not nearly as complicated as it may seem. Every coach has a shelf life and it became pretty obvious early on this season that he was closing in on his expiration date. Getting fired is part of the gig when coaching professional sports and it was only a matter of time before John Davidson and company would shake things up.
Anyone who’s spent significant time around the NHL will tell you when the players stop listening it means it’s time to go in a new direction.
I really don’t see the use in going into huge detail on why I feel things didn’t last longer for Andy Murray. The guy was great to me from day one and I have nothing but respect for the guy.
Being fired doesn’t take anything away from what Murray has done in St. Louis since being hired in 2006. Davidson accurately pointed out numerous times on Saturday how far the organization has come since the day Murray arrived.
This guy cared about the Blues organization as much as anybody and worked as hard as any coach I’ve been around. He’s as prepared as anybody and it’s probably fair to say he’s too prepared at times. Regardless the Blues owe a lot to this guy for where he’s helped take this organization. He’s as responsible as anybody for the progress we’ve seen this organization make. It may not seem like the Blues have made much progress when you consider how disappointing the season has been but you can’t honestly compare what’s going on today vs. the first season out of the lockout.
Can Payne make the organization better, move it forward? That’s the task at hand for Davis Payne.
Payne has paid his dues and I have no issue with giving him a shot. It wasn’t too long ago he was in the ECHL wining every award possible including Coach of the Year and the championship. Three years ago he was recruiting players on his own, signing players, and negotiating contracts. I hope people won’t judge him solely on the fact he doesn’t have a household hockey name or because he hasn’t coached with three or four organizations.
I am somewhat shocked the organization is turning to Payne as I felt handing it over to assistant coach Brad Shaw made the most sense. Shaw has been in this position before with the Islanders and is well liked by the players. It goes without saying Shaw is likely disappointed but he’s being professional about it and handling the situation with class. Shaw likes Payne and the two of them have gotten to know each other the last few years.
It’s not exactly the most comfortable situation for Payne to walk into either but his only focus right now should be on doing what he needs to do to win hockey games and ultimately win the job.
You can argue the Blues are turning to Payne in part because there isn’t a guy out theere that excites the organization. If a coach like a Dave Tippett was still on the street I’m not convinced Payne gets this opportunity.
I think the Blues deserve some credit for at least having confidence in a guy they feel has special qualities. They aren’t committing long-term to the guy but they’re giving him every opportunity to take it.
As much as the NHL has turned into a young mans game it’s also turning into a league that develops Coaches. About 1/3 of the league is made up of guys hired out of the AHL. The NHL is no different than other professional leagues who copy other successful organizations.
Yor’re going to hear the comparisons to Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma, but I don’t see a Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin on the Blues roster.
But Payne comes with a reputation of getting the most out of his guys and developing kids into NHL players. This season he’s had four rookie forwards to work in ( Eller, Palushaj, Sonne, Peluso) and he’s received strong reviews. When you look at what he done with Jonas Junland, Tyson Strachan, Eller, Ryan Reaves, Nicholas Drazenovic, Julian Talbot and Goaltender Ben Bishop he deserves a lot of credit. Players in Peoria tell me he’s a real strong communicator who makes sure the players know what they need to do to get to the next level.
Payne comes to St. Louis with a clean slate but there’s no time to wait. He’ll be expected to deliver immediately and how he handles the pressure and emotions of coaching in the NHL will play a role in how successful he’ll be. At the end of the day all he can be is himself but also realize he can’t be afraid to upset a few people along the way. From this day moving forward it’s his show and he needs to run things his way period.
What about Wamsley?
Did Rick Wamsley get a promotion or was he demoted? That’s the question several players were wondering early Saturday morning. The Blues and Wamsley tell me they have had multiple conversations in the past regarding his desire to one day become a Head Coach. He’s excited about the opportunity to run things down in Peoria and is obviously hopeful this turns into something permanent.
Some people are looking at the Wamsley situation as if the Blues are firing him as well. Word is Wamsley wasn’t exactly thrilled when first told he’d be headed to Peoria but in my conversation with him he didn’t say anything that led me to believe that was the case. If Wamsley has aspirations to become an NHL Head Coach he’s in a great position to one day achieve his goal.
Wamsley originally negotiated an “out clause” if a better coaching opportunity became available. These clauses have become more and more common among assistant coaches in the NHL. This leaves a door open for a ciach to take a better job if an offer were to come his way. Under this scenario he could not take what would be considered a “lateral position” with another club.
One thing you can’t deny is how solid the Blues goaltending has been since Wamsley arrived in St. Louis. Goaltending led the Blues to the playoffs last season and Manny Legace developed into a NHL All-Star under Wamsley’s watch.
Wamsley along with the other assistants on the Blues coaching staff were given two-year extensions following last season. It’s a safe bet to assume Wamsley won’t be returning to St. Louis next season but I guess you shouldn’t never say never.
Blues Clues!
Keith Tkachuk lost four teeth and received several stitches both on the inside and outside of his mouth after taking a puck in the face. The puck re-directed off his mouth and into the goal for his 10th goal of the season. What does it say about the Blues season when Tkachuk is really the only forward meeting expectations this season. He’s on pace to score 20 again.
Chicago forward Ben Eager was given a match penalty for fighting with tape on his hand. Word is he told Barret Jackman he didn’t want to fight because he didn’t want to receive match penalty due to the tape on his hand. When Jackman let him go he suckered the Blues D-man in the face which resulted in a few stitches. Eager continued to run his mouth chirping the Blues bench as he skated off the ice.
I’m told Joel Quennville used his time out late in the game with a substantial lead because he was unhappy with how his team was playing, Word is he handed it to his players during the timeout. Several Blues officials were unhappy with Quennvile taking a timeout in that situation.
Blues off ice video crew were working extra hours Saturday afternoon erasing Andy Murray from the videos shown during the game on the jumbotron.
Andy Murray left St. Louis yesterday to attend his son Jordy’s hockey game who plays for the University of Wisconsin.
The Blues had to re-work the contract of David Payne before he officially took over the Blues.
Doug Armstrong took in the Peoria game Saturday night in Chicago.
The Blues did not notify Murray he was being fired until he arrived to the Rink early Saturday morning. Murray showed a ton of class with the way he exited the building. He met face to face with a few players and most of his training staff. He also left several people in the organization voicemails.
Larry Pleau formally introduced Payne to the players Saturday morning.
Future GM Doug Armstrong will make the decision as to who coach’s the Blues next season.
The first sign Murray was going to be fired was when Blues management watched only a very small portion of practice Friday morning.
I asked Murray following practice if he was concerned his position with the organization had changed? He was unhappy with the question being asked but went on to tell me he doesn't worry about that stuff.
Pleau is scheduled join me live at Johnny Mac’s on Watson Rd. from 6-7 Monday evening for Blues Buzz on 590 the fan in St. Louis. He’ll be there unless something else comes up. He already fired the coach, the next step is making a trade and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some news on that front in the near future.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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