The head coaching situation for the St. Louis Blues has been resolved. The team announced that they have hired Mike Yeo and Rick Wilson to serve as assistants to Ken Hitchcock in 2015-16 and that Yeo will step into the head coach role beginning in 2017-18.
BREAKING: #stlblues announce Mike Yeo has been hired to Ken Hitchcock's staff as an assistant and will take over as head coach in 2017-18.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 13, 2016
Yeo was given a four-year deal, meaning he will have three years left on his contract after he assumes the head coach position.
Yeo, 42, has signed a four-year contract, so he will have three years left on his deal after taking over as head coach. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 13, 2016
Some of last year’s assistant coaches will in fact be returning.
Ray Bennett, Jim Corsi and Sean Ferrell all returning to Hitchcock's staff as well. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 13, 2016
This should give Blues fans plenty to talk about this summer.
Yeo was removed from his job as head coach of the Minnesota Wild in February after the team lost 11 of their past 12 games. He was their head coach for five seasons (counting the partial season in 2015-16) and failed to lead them past the second round as the Chicago Blackhawks eliminated the Wild in three consecutive seasons.
Yeo’s age (he turns 43 in July) apparently made him an attractive option for the St. Louis front office:
Armstrong on Yeo: "What excites me is his experience. At his age, he can really relate to today's players and it's an exciting day."
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 13, 2016
Is Yeo the answer the Blues need? Realistically, the Blues’ biggest need is out on the ice, not behind the bench. The team made it further under Hitchcock than many would have believed and that could easily be the case with Yeo as well. The bigger, more pressing questions involve player contracts and potential trades. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out.
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