ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues Friday fired head coach Brian Sutter and replaced him with Bob Plager.
Sutter, 35, was the NHL's Coach of the Year just one season ago, when his club finished the regular season with 105 points, second only to Chicago. The Blues, however, were eliminated by Minnesota in the second round of the playoffs last spring and fell in six games to the Blackhawks in the opening round this season.
Plager, 49, an original member of the 1967-68 team, was signed to a two-year contract.
Assistant coach Wayne Thomas will remain on the job and another assistant coach will be appointed at a later date, Vice President and General Manager Ronald Caron said.
Plagerwas the first player-coach of the Blues Central Hockey League affiliate, succeeding his brother, Barclay, who was named head coach of the Blues during the 1977-78 season.
Prior to Friday's appointment, Plager was the Blues' vice president- director of player development. He had a 11-year career as a defenseman with the Blues and the New York Rangers. Before taking the front-office post at the start of this past season, Plager won International Hockey League Coach of the Year honors with Peoria in 1990-91.
Plager becomes the 16th head coach in a franchise that just completed its 25th NHL season.
Sutter compiled an overall mark of 153-124-73, making him the winningest coach in franchise history. St. Louis was 36-33-11 and third in the Norris Division this past season, despite another 70-goal season by Brett Hull.
Sutter was named head coach on June 20, 1988. He was team captain for nine of those seasons, and his jersey No. 11 was retired in December 1988.
Sutter, one of six brothers who played in the NHL, coached his younger siblings Ron and Rich this past season.
Bob Berry and Ted Hampson were named assistant general managers, reporting to Caron. Berry has served as an assistant coach for four years and Hampson joined the club eight years ago as director of scouting.
Berry began his coaching career with the Los Angeles Kings. He served as head coach in Montreal and then moved to Pittsburgh.
Hampson began his NHL career in 1959 and spent 13 seasons on the ice. In 1989 he was promoted to vice president/director of scouting and player personnel. His new position will enable him to supervise the Blues' overall scouting and personnel efforts.
