ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Let's be frank about the last 24 or so hours when it comes to the St. Louis Blues and Craig Berube: it was not Berube's fault for the Blues poor play for the last 15 months.
When a coach no matter what professional sport get fired for poor performance, most of the time the blame is on them, with reasons like the coach lost the dressing room being the most common narrative.
That wasn't the case with Berube, who was fired by the club after the team's loss to the former Central Division rival Detroit Red Wings 6-4 Tuesday night.
Players certainly didn't feel like Berube lost the dressing room at all.
“I didn’t even know that that was a topic of conversation,” Blues defenseman Torey Krug told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford before Berube news came out. “I don’t think there’s an issue with the message. I think, frankly, we have to perform better. We have guys that just need to step up."
It certainly didn't feel like Berube was the root for why the Blues have been been poor by the franchise standards for the past 15 months - who have only missed the playoffs 10 times in it's near six decades of existence.
Ultimately, most of the blame has to be directed to Blues general manager Doug Armstrong for the questionable roster decisions made since the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2018-2019.
It was not Berube's fault Alex Pietrangelo and David Perron both left despite both desiring to stay with the club. It's not Berube's fault for Armstrong questionably giving both Marco Scandella and Nick Leddy four-years deals after acquiring them at trade deadlines. The list can go on.
The truth is Armstrong has as more blame for the Blues tough stretch as anyone. To his credit, he even admits himself he certainly has fair share of blame for how poorly the Blues have been the past 100 or so games.
"If I get fired in the next hour or I get hit by a bus, I don't feel today I left this roster any better than I found (when I got here in 2008)," said Armstrong to reporters. "You come in to a organization to make it better and you want to leave it in a better spot."
You certainly can respect Armstrong, who has been one of the most decorated general managers in the sport both domestically and internationally since he's joined the Blues in 2008, for admitting fault.
Armstrong's successful tenure as general manager of the Blues and the respect he has carved across both the club and industry will certainly give him a chance to fix the mess he created, but the path will certainly be tougher.
The first step on that path will certainly start with whoever Armstrong chooses to be the club's next head coach, the fifth one under Armstrong's tenure. Armstrong admitted he was looking for someone who could keep the club competitive but also develop the younger players.
There are certainly plenty of coaches available at the moment who have shown to be good NHL head coaches. Jay Woodcroft, Gerard Gallant, Dean Evason, and Bruce Boudreau are just some of the names who are available right now who have taken teams to the playoffs.
Drew Bannister is also a candidate if he shows, like Berube previously did, he can turn the team around and make them competitive during this interim stint, which begins Thursday night when the team plays the Ottawa Senators.
Whether who among them fills all the boxes that Armstrong said he wanted in his future head coach will ultimately be up to him. But there are options.
Next up, Armstrong has the trade deadline. There are no shortages of players that could fetch good packages on the roster right now if the Blues continue to stumble and (somehow) decide to tear it down, with players like Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Binnington being the most likely to draw the largest interest across the league.
If the Blues show more competitiveness and stay in playoff hunt, they have five picks through the first three rounds of next year's NHL Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas to dangle and go after someone at the deadline.
Finally, there's next offseason, which could be one of the Armstrong's most important ones in his time with the Blues. With the cap expected to rise to $87.7 million next year, the Blues will have more space than last offseason to improve.
With the contracts of Scandella, Kasperi Kapanen, Jakub Vrana, Sammy Blais off the books after the season, the Blues have near $17 million available next season, according to Cap Friendly.
There's potential for that number to be higher if Blues consider buying out players, something Armstrong has never done before. But that option looks possible now for the first time as Armstrong did admit he could start to legitimately consider it when he talked to reporters Wednesday morning.
"No one in our group should feel safe right now, player wise, management wise, obviously the coach has been changed," said Armstrong.
Armstrong has been one of, if not, the best general manager in the National Hockey League since he became GM in 2010. He certainly has shown the ability to fix the team. But he will more face scrutiny than ever before in his tenure and any mistake he makes could impact his legacy with the club.
Armstrong admitted it was his fault for the Blues poor roster construction, but he also believed he can fix it. How he shows fixes that problem is undetermined right now. But the next eight months could be the most important stretch of his time in St. Louis.