Mike Yeo will be the next coach of the St. Louis Blues.
But first, the former Wild coach will spend next season -- Ken Hitchcock's last behind the Blues' bench -- as Hitchcock's associate.
Two weeks after immediately flying to St. Louis from Buffalo, where he interviewed for the Calgary Flames job, Yeo was announced essentially as the "Coach in Waiting" of the Blues today. One of his former assistants, Rick Wilson, Hitchcock's former assistant in Dallas, will also join as an assistant.
This was 100 percent Hitch endorsed. It was Hitchcock who picked Yeo up at the airport a few weeks ago. The Blues wanted to pounce quickly because Yeo had interviewed with the Flames and Anaheim Ducks multiple times.
Yeo signed a four-year deal, the first of which he'll be the associate. Here's my initial blog from earlier in the Final.
"What excites me is his experience," GM Doug Armstrong said. "At his age, he can really relate to today's players and it's an exciting day."
Yeo, 42, was 173-132-44 in parts of five seasons with the Wild and guided the franchise to three consecutive postseasons, including the conference semifinals twice. He was the league's fifth-most tenured coach before being fired in February.
There's a news conference in St. Louis soon.
Yeo feels it'll be a benefit to him to spend a year basically learning the ins and outs of the Blues. He also thinks it'll be a great benefit watching Hitchcock work for a year. Hitchcock will likely become the coach with the third-most victories next season.
I'll be back later with a Stanley Cup wrapup blog.
I'll also be on KFAN in a few minutes.
