The St. Louis Blues have announced they have fired head coach Andy Murray, and have promoted Peoria Rivermen coach Davis Payne to interim head coach. Murray was in his fourth season as Blues head coach and the team had hoped to have a big year after a surprising run to the playoffs last season. The Blues have struggled so far this season however, and are currently 12th in the Western conference with a 17-17-6 record.
St. Louis Blues Fire Head Coach Andy Murray
From the team’s press release:
St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Saturday that the club has named Davis Payne as Interim Head Coach. Payne becomes the 23rd coach in the history of the St. Louis Blues replacing Andy Murray, who was relieved of his duties.
“Davis is very knowledgeable of the players in our organization and we feel he is the best candidate to coach our team,” said Davidson. “He has nine winning seasons at the minor league level which includes an ECHL Championship in 2006.
“I would like to thank Andy Murray for the job he has done here the past four seasons,” continued Davidson. “He was an intergral part in turning the St. Louis Blues around. He is a true professional and I wish him the best of luck in the future.”
Payne, 39, was named the 15th head coach of the Rivermen on July 8, 2008 after serving one year as an assistant with the club. This season, Peoria has posted a 19-13-1-2 record combining for a 62-44-3-6 (.578%) overall mark in two seasons with Payne behind the bench. In his first year (2008-09) as an AHL head coach, Payne guided the Rivermen to a 43-31-2-4 record and returned Peoria to the postseason following a two-year drought. Prior to joining the Rivermen before the 2007-08 campaign, Payne had spent a total of seven seasons as a head coach in the ECHL. The Kamloops, British Columbia native established a .691% winning percentage over four years as head coach for the Alaska Aces, the Blues’ ECHL affiliate.
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