Murray out, Payne in

[kksgeo]

http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512037
Discuss.

[Carl Racki]

Holy midnight oil, batman....wow. Did not expect this. Good luck Davis Payne is all I can say.

[Nyghtewynd]

At least someone's paying attention. First sign of that in a month.

[Repeal-56a]

Payne has been coaching Eller and Junland all season, and has seen what they are capable of at that level (both on the AHL all-star game) hopefully we will see eller, pie and company this season with someone who is willing to give them more than janssen minutes.

[goon attack]

how long until cries of "FIRE PAYNE!" are abundant here? I say 3 games!

[_Gassoff]

This is the "something" that had to happen.

Now, the onus is on the players.

[goon attack]

This is the "something" that had to happen.

Now, the onus is on the players.

That's true. This will really test whether or not there's any leadership on the roster. We'll see.

[Guppy]

Now if the players were playing for Murray to be gone, they sure got it. Like _gass said, it is up to them now to make things happen. Tonight should be interesting

[Winning Unlimited]

If this happened a week ago, I'd be pissed! However, the Erik Johnson scratch did me in. I wish we had this figured out before Laviolette was gone.

Someone, say something comforting about Payne.

[Jeffro]

If there's one non-Jarmo guy responsible for the development of young players in this organization, it's Davis Payne.

Love this move. Love it.

[sseagle]

Hmmm, now I can consider attending a home Blues game?

My cold is clearing up too... coincidence?

[bigjoe332]

If this happened a week ago, I'd be pissed! However, the Erik Johnson scratch did me in.

Actually I agree with that scratch, however, don't agree with AM demanding Derek Armpit being up here. EJ does way to much standing around on the defensive end. He can move the puck up ice very well yet he hibernates when in his own zone. Watch him for about 2-3 shifts and you should see what I'm talking about.

So since Davis is "Interm" does this mean the Blues are waiting for Toronto's coach, Ron Wilson to get the boot?

[F Keenan]

[dmiles2186]

I love this move. We've seen teams gravitate towards their AHL coaches with success in recent years (Capitals and Penguins come to mind).

[Jeffro]

Dan Bylsma
Joe Sacco
John Anderson
Peter DeBoer
Cory Clouston

All young coaches promoted from the team's AHL affiliate. Bylsma, Clouston and Sacco are all coaching playoff teams and DeBoer and Anderson are easily the best things about their respective organizations. Bylsma has a ring.

Payne is a great fit.

EDIT: Forgot about Boudreau too.

[abc789987]

Welcome Payne. Good luck and don't suck, please...

Bye Murray and thanks for the awesome run to the playoff last year. Good luck on whatever you do next.



I still can't believe this, am I still sleeping?

[SIU LAW]

Replace "interim" with "tryout."

Per JR, Wammer takes over Peoria and we may see Belfour here as the goalie coach.

[STLADOGG]

Ehh im not really sure what this means i read nothing about him being fired but repaced i guess.....and Interim Head Coach i wonder if tht means payne will be the coach until they get a better one....well see.

[cprice12]

My wife woke me up with this news this morning. FINALLY!! What a nice way to start the day!
Before I went online, I flipped the tv on channel 5 at 8:50am and they said they were going to have "details on the Murray firing at 9am".
So when 9am rolls around, their "breaking news" information consisted of..."Blues coach Andy Murray has been fired...he's being replaced by interim coach Davis Payne."
And that was it. No interviews...not even a sports anchor in the studio to give his two cents. They literally spent about 15 seconds talking about it.
What the hell.
And of course, they go on to mention in detail the weather every 10 minutes during the broadcast.
If the Cardinals or Rams had fired their head coach, channel 5 would have told the sports anchor to get his ass in the studio and talk about it for at least a few minutes.

Anyway,
It will be interesting to see what names crop up as potential candidates.
If the team performs well under Payne, they may keep him on as the head coach...but I doubt it. We'll see.

This is a good day.

[cprice12]

.....and Interim Head Coach i wonder if tht means payne will be the coach until they get a better one....well see.

That's exactly what that means.