NHL coaches come and go so often, teams should keep a UPS truck parked outside the arena, waiting to haul the discarded gaffer to the recycling plant. There’s an old saying: coaches are hired to be fired. In the NHL, coaches are fired so they can be fired again at...
BERNIE BITS 1. Oli Marmol is preparing for this third year as manager of the Cardinals. But Oli’s contract expires after the 2024 season, and I’d be a little surprised if the team lets him wander into a lame-duck season. That would work against Marmol’s fervent desire...
BLUE NOTES The bizarro Blues did it again on Thursday night. The circuitry in their on/off switch went crazy. On, off. On, off. On, off. Inspired hockey, followed by Insipid hockey. Leads taken, leads blown. The Blues show determination, then no-show and disappear....
Former Blues coach Ken Hitchcock will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Congratulations to one of the greatest coaches in franchise history. Though it’s just a coincidence and nothing planned, the 2023-2024 Blues are honoring Hitch by doing a helluva...
BLUE NOTES The Blues are all over the map, and I’m not referring to last week’s trip into Canadian territory. The recent trend is … volatile. There was the 6-2 home loss to Arizona, followed by a fine 4-2 win over visiting Pittsburgh. The itinerary in Canada started...
In reading some of the prognostications from NHL scriveners scattered around North America, I hadn’t realized that the Blues had either gone out of business, or relocated to Saskatoon. OK, so maybe it wasn’t that bad. But most hockey authors have dismissed the Blues...
BERNIE BITS Opening Remarks: All Hail St. Louis City SC. Perfect. St. Louis City SC is perfect. I’m not talking about their record (15-10-5) on the pitch. But in the much larger view, I can’t think of a way that their inaugural season could have gone better. The 2023...
When team captain Alex Pietrangelo left the Blues for a stratospheric free-agent deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, I didn’t participate in the blame game. My feelings could be summed up in four parts. 1. Petro was a fantastic all-purpose, indefatigable defenseman...
The Blues are wide awake. Energetically so. The boys are scoring goals like crazy, winning games and smiling again. This is an interesting, surprising twist in what appeared to be a throwaway season. With their overall 34-34-6 record the playoffs are out of reach. But...
