Ken Hitchcock Fired by Blues: Latest Comments and Reaction

After a disappointing 24-21-5 start, the St. Louis Blues relieved head coach Ken Hitchcock of his position Wednesday.

The team announced that associate coach Mike Yeo—who was hired during the offseason to be Hitchcock's successor in 2017-18—will immediately assume head coaching duties.

The 65-year-old Hitchcock ranks fourth on the all-time NHL coaching wins list with 781, and he went 248-124-41 in parts of six seasons with the Blues.

Hitchcock led St. Louis to the playoffs in each of his five full campaigns with the team, including a trip to the Western Conference Final last season.

He reached the Stanley Cup Final on two occasions with the Dallas Stars, winning once, and won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach in 2011-12.

Despite the Blues' uneven start to 2016-17, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the organization made a mistake in firing Hitchcock:

The Blues are currently clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they have enough talent to be a threat in the postseason if they manage to make it.

A locker-room shakeup with Yeo in charge may prove to be the jolt the team needs in order to return to the top of the conference.

Yeo went 173-132-44 in parts of five seasons with the Minnesota Wild, leading them to the playoffs three times and winning two playoff series in the process.

He was fired last season after a 23-22-10 start, but the 43-year-old remained highly regarded for the overall success he enjoyed in Minnesota.

St. Louis has lost five of its past six games, and while it can be argued that Hitchcock isn't the reason for that, his firing could be a necessary wake-up call for a team that is underperforming.