Any thoughts on assistant coaches/ AHL coaching vacancy fills?

I'd love to see Oates and Yeo come together as Offense and Defense coaches. It would also create an interesting push/ pull for the head coaching vacancy in 2017.

I would think Oates would get the most out of Lehtera, Tarasenko, Fabbri, and Schwartz.

Yeo is a very structure-minded coach, like Hitch.

Thoughts?
- eggsegan

Oates might make a good assistant coach hut I do not think he has shown well enough to be a head coach.

I have liked Yeo but thinking about I am not sure I would be too eager as a head coach at this point.

I think they should do some deep exploration. Hell maybe Payne needs a new shot. I think he got screwed and was not maybe ready yet for a head coaching position. I do not think he was a bad coach at all. I think he was inherited by a new GM and him and the team were trying to figure things out.

Would love to hear what Bcall has to say on the subject? Any idea when he will be released?
- sycsam

Looking for me, big boy?

Looking for me, big boy?
- bcallaway

Welcome back

Looking for me, big boy?
- bcallaway

Quit clowning around! This is serious business and does not require a real job.

Quit clowning around! This is serious business and does not require a real job.
- eggsegan

Beware of the humor-impaired Mod. He/She hangs around the comments sections of Paul Stewart and now Jillian Fisher.

He/She may be among us, may look like us but He/She has a hair trigger ban-finger.

I've said much worse things to Carcus.

Makes me think if he were a toothy blonde with librarian glasses, I'd be serving a lifetime banishment. (Or a no-talent hack ex-referee who thought he was God's gift to all referees everywhere).

Beware of the humor-impaired Mod. He/She hangs around the comments sections of Paul Stewart and now Jillian Fisher.

He/She may be among us, may look like us but He/She has a hair trigger ban-finger.

I've said much worse things to Carcus.

Makes me think if he were a toothy blonde with librarian glasses, I'd be serving a lifetime banishment. (Or a no-talent hack ex-referee who thought he was God's gift to all referees everywhere).
- bcallaway

Maybe she could get a job being a referee. She has glasses. She might do a better job than the aforementioned ex-referee...

Beware of the humor-impaired Mod. He/She hangs around the comments sections of Paul Stewart and now Jillian Fisher.

He/She may be among us, may look like us but He/She has a hair trigger ban-finger.

I've said much worse things to Carcus.

Makes me think if he were a toothy blonde with librarian glasses, I'd be serving a lifetime banishment. (Or a no-talent hack ex-referee who thought he was God's gift to all referees everywhere).
- bcallaway

I have hit the flag for every one of your posts for the last year. Maybe they are starting to pay attention....

I have hit the flag for every one of your posts for the last year. Maybe they are starting to pay attention....


- carcus

apparently Scott Stevens could have been hired as an assistant coach. Man that could have undone the curse.

apparently Scott Stevens could have been hired as an assistant coach. Man that could have undone the curse.
- BluemanGuruu

JR made a joke on Twitter yesterday about if Stevens had agreed to join the blues the Judge would have awarded him to the Wild

JR made a joke on Twitter yesterday about if Stevens had agreed to join the blues the Judge would have awarded him to the Wild
- sycsam

And it would cost the Blues another first round draft pick.

Die hard Blues fan, but this may come to an end. Hitch resigning for one last year is the worst decision this organization has made in years. Other moves I can live with, but this is just awful! This organization had an opportunity to bring in a new voice, new leadership and mold these young players to become champions. They just went through a long playoff run and know now what it will take to go further and win. Hitch is not and never will be the answer. Scott Stevens, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Kirk Muller or a combination would have brought in a coaching/leadership group that would have brought in championship rings, toughness (which the Blues lacked against San Jose), how to play hockey the right way and Hall of Fame credentials. This "one last ride" will not work and at some point next year, Hitch will be let go! The players will not want to hear his rants any longer and the Blues will be left to pick a coach from the left behinds, or worse, have the assistant coach take over that ALSO will have a one year contract!! Just a joke! For what it's worth, Muller and Shaw left because they didn't want to hear Hitch's crap any longer either. No other reason!

Die hard Blues fan, but this may come to an end. Hitch resigning for one last year is the worst decision this organization has made in years. Other moves I can live with, but this is just awful! This organization had an opportunity to bring in a new voice, new leadership and mold these young players to become champions. They just went through a long playoff run and know now what it will take to go further and win. Hitch is not and never will be the answer. Scott Stevens, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Kirk Muller or a combination would have brought in a coaching/leadership group that would have brought in championship rings, toughness (which the Blues lacked against San Jose), how to play hockey the right way and Hall of Fame credentials. This "one last ride" will not work and at some point next year, Hitch will be let go! The players will not want to hear his rants any longer and the Blues will be left to pick a coach from the left behinds, or worse, have the assistant coach take over that ALSO will have a one year contract!! Just a joke! For what it's worth, Muller and Shaw left because they didn't want to hear Hitch's crap any longer either. No other reason!
- Ibleedblue74

Adios

Hitch coming back for one year is not ideal but who cares

Blues will find a guy that can coach and players that can play

Die hard Blues fan, but this may come to an end. Hitch resigning for one last year is the worst decision this organization has made in years. Other moves I can live with, but this is just awful! This organization had an opportunity to bring in a new voice, new leadership and mold these young players to become champions. They just went through a long playoff run and know now what it will take to go further and win. Hitch is not and never will be the answer. Scott Stevens, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Kirk Muller or a combination would have brought in a coaching/leadership group that would have brought in championship rings, toughness (which the Blues lacked against San Jose), how to play hockey the right way and Hall of Fame credentials. This "one last ride" will not work and at some point next year, Hitch will be let go! The players will not want to hear his rants any longer and the Blues will be left to pick a coach from the left behinds, or worse, have the assistant coach take over that ALSO will have a one year contract!! Just a joke! For what it's worth, Muller and Shaw left because they didn't want to hear Hitch's crap any longer either. No other reason!
- Ibleedblue74

Meh, I think this rant may be a bit over the top.

You know, if there were a Mike Babcock-type coach out there on the market right now, and the Blues were passing him by to entertain Captain Kangaroo's desire to take one more shot - I might agree with you about this.

But there isn't. There's going to be no shortage of good head coach candidates that would find this job attractive.

Die hard Blues fan, but this may come to an end. Hitch resigning for one last year is the worst decision this organization has made in years. Other moves I can live with, but this is just awful! This organization had an opportunity to bring in a new voice, new leadership and mold these young players to become champions. They just went through a long playoff run and know now what it will take to go further and win. Hitch is not and never will be the answer. Scott Stevens, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Kirk Muller or a combination would have brought in a coaching/leadership group that would have brought in championship rings, toughness (which the Blues lacked against San Jose), how to play hockey the right way and Hall of Fame credentials. This "one last ride" will not work and at some point next year, Hitch will be let go! The players will not want to hear his rants any longer and the Blues will be left to pick a coach from the left behinds, or worse, have the assistant coach take over that ALSO will have a one year contract!! Just a joke! For what it's worth, Muller and Shaw left because they didn't want to hear Hitch's crap any longer either. No other reason!
- Ibleedblue74

And i thought i was the pessimist after being thoroughly pissed off for the first 12 hours after we were eliminated.

There will be better coaching options next season probably. Not sure if i like the idea of Yeo, or Berube. Hopefully someone else pops up before we need to find a new head coach. I truly wonder what effect this will have on signing guys though. If they don't know who they are going to be playing for here then they will probably sign elsewhere for a coach that they feel like they can play for.

And i thought i was the pessimist after being thoroughly pissed off for the first 12 hours after we were eliminated.

There will be better coaching options next season probably. Not sure if i like the idea of Yeo, or Berube. Hopefully someone else pops up before we need to find a new head coach. I truly wonder what effect this will have on signing guys though. If they don't know who they are going to be playing for here then they will probably sign elsewhere for a coach that they feel like they can play for.
- BluesDroogie

That's fine

Build from within

Trade up to get Logan Brown and hope he makes it

Blues have a lot of prospects and it might be time to see what we have

Rumor is Stevens turned the blues down

I am not worried about two years from now yet

Next year is the key and I think we could see a few one year contracts to see where the team is in 2017

Expansion is coming so who knows who will even be on the blues in 2017-2018

Rumor is Stevens turned the blues down


- sycsam

I read this as well, and Yeo is only interested in being a head-coach-in-waiting, not an assistant coach.

A head coach is only as good as his assistants so this one year dalliance is proving to be problematic.

Were I Doug Armstrong, would I perhaps speak with Al MacInnis and Martin Brodeur about stepping behind the bench for one season?

I might, perhaps.

I read this as well, and Yeo is only interested in being a head-coach-in-waiting, not an assistant coach.

A head coach is only as good as his assistants so this one year dalliance is proving to be problematic.

Were I Doug Armstrong, would I perhaps speak with Al MacInnis and Martin Brodeur about stepping behind the bench for one season?

I might, perhaps.
- bcallaway

Imagine Chopper coaching up the D

Wowzer

Great players do not tend to make great coaches. This guy with the rant might be partially correct, but then again I bet someone would have found some problem with the top two winningest coaches during a bad year and they did and both coached for the Blues.

I think there is a serious problem among St. Louis sports fans that has to do with the Cardinals doing all of this winning. They think they are entitled to a Stanley Cup. Hell I think the reverse is true for Cubs fans.

Hitch for all his warts is obviously one of the best coaches in the history of the league. Now would I have welcomed him back if I also talked to the assistants especially if one were even a consideration for a head coaching job then I would reconsider.

But what do we know from the outside? Do you think Army is aware of who makes what decisions and does what for the team? Maybe here he forgot to do his due dilligence and collect all the information necessary before making a decision, and if so shame on him.

But this is hardly the end of the world. If they start doing a deeper search for assistants they will have more information about up and coming coaches.

Hell in the end most of the coaches can only get in the way of a team so much, or mismanage the other coaches and scouting, otherwise these players have been around long enough to know whatvthey are doing. The coach is more important on a team of mostly young guys with little to no experience, much like this team was some six odd years ago.

Die hard Blues fan, but this may come to an end. Hitch resigning for one last year is the worst decision this organization has made in years. Other moves I can live with, but this is just awful! This organization had an opportunity to bring in a new voice, new leadership and mold these young players to become champions. They just went through a long playoff run and know now what it will take to go further and win. Hitch is not and never will be the answer. Scott Stevens, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Kirk Muller or a combination would have brought in a coaching/leadership group that would have brought in championship rings, toughness (which the Blues lacked against San Jose), how to play hockey the right way and Hall of Fame credentials. This "one last ride" will not work and at some point next year, Hitch will be let go! The players will not want to hear his rants any longer and the Blues will be left to pick a coach from the left behinds, or worse, have the assistant coach take over that ALSO will have a one year contract!! Just a joke! For what it's worth, Muller and Shaw left because they didn't want to hear Hitch's crap any longer either. No other reason!
- Ibleedblue74

Why didn't your fandom come to an end the year before? Because the coaches came back on a 1 year deal after losing to the Wild in the first round.

But they took this team to the WCF in a year that was crazy with injuries/etc, and now you want to leave?

Hope you find another team to root for. Trust In Jarmo probably has an open seat next to him in Columbus if you are interested.

Great players do not tend to make great coaches. This guy with the rant might be partially correct, but then again I bet someone would have found some problem with the top two winningest coaches during a bad year and they did and both coached for the Blues.

I think there is a serious problem among St. Louis sports fans that has to do with the Cardinals doing all of this winning. They think they are entitled to a Stanley Cup. Hell I think the reverse is true for Cubs fans.

Hitch for all his warts is obviously one of the best coaches in the history of the league. Now would I have welcomed him back if I also talked to the assistants especially if one were even a consideration for a head coaching job then I would reconsider.

But what do we know from the outside? Do you think Army is aware of who makes what decisions and does what for the team? Maybe here he forgot to do his due dilligence and collect all the information necessary before making a decision, and if so shame on him.

But this is hardly the end of the world. If they start doing a deeper search for assistants they will have more information about up and coming coaches.

Hell in the end most of the coaches can only get in the way of a team so much, or mismanage the other coaches and scouting, otherwise these players have been around long enough to know whatvthey are doing. The coach is more important on a team of mostly young guys with little to no experience, much like this team was some six odd years ago.
- BluemanGuruu

I would imagine he wasn't sold on having Mueller or Shaw as the next head coach, and was fine if they decided to leave.

In all honesty, if Shaw or Mueller was really a candidate for the head coaching job and wouldn't stay on for 1 more year before getting it, knowing that Hitch isn't coming back in 17-18, then I am not upset that they are gone.

I understand wanting stability, but if you really want to coach the Blues, you would still be here under Hitch for one more year.

I would imagine he wasn't sold on having Mueller or Shaw as the next head coach, and was fine if they decided to leave.

In all honesty, if Shaw or Mueller was really a candidate for the head coaching job and wouldn't stay on for 1 more year before getting it, knowing that Hitch isn't coming back in 17-18, then I am not upset that they are gone.

I understand wanting stability, but if you really want to coach the Blues, you would still be here under Hitch for one more year.
- carcus

I agree with that first statement. I think what makes Muller a really good assistant coach is the strong personal bond he has with his players but I don't know if that alone would translate to him being a good head coach. At times he looked like a cheerleader behind the bench which is not really what you see out of head coaches.

I like Muller, I wish he would have stayed on, but it still would have been just as much of a gamble to name him as any other similarly qualified coach. Like guru said, former top players rarely make good head coaches.

#MovesLikeJagr

Hope he never changed.

Jagr dances while holding hockey stick
http://www.thescore.com/news/1039586
(via http://thesco.re/theScore_app )

I agree with that first statement. I think what makes Muller a really good assistant coach is the strong personal bond he has with his players but I don't know if that alone would translate to him being a good head coach. At times he looked like a cheerleader behind the bench which is not really what you see out of head coaches.

I like Muller, I wish he would have stayed on, but it still would have been just as much of a gamble to name him as any other similarly qualified coach. Like guru said, former top players rarely make good head coaches.
- fattyboubatty

Interesting concept, Fatty. Maybe having a guy like Muller on staff breathed vitality into Hitch's message. Nothing wrong with a smart head coach that stays an arms length from players if he's got an assistant that can balance the chumminess with the head coach's message...

Interesting concept, Fatty. Maybe having a guy like Muller on staff breathed vitality into Hitch's message. Nothing wrong with a smart head coach that stays an arms length from players if he's got an assistant that can balance the chumminess with the head coach's message...
- eggsegan

I think you might be onto something here.

Look I am not a big football guy but Vermeil obviously understood the game a great deal, yet his having the best offensive tactical man freed him up to manage the team in a certain way. I think your point is akin to that. I think you might be onto something.

I also think Carcus did not have a bad idea but there is something more to it than is not at all being said publicly. I think Army might have said Muller would be a possibility publicly but I do not think he said it to either coach or he said it to both and they realized that meant one of them or both might not have gotten the job and only had a one year deal. So weighing it with other options and being closer to their families I think had a lot to do with it all. I am more shocked by Shaw leaving. Ten years behind a bench in one city and poof.