By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Blues on Tuesday fired their longest serving and winningest coach in team history.
Joel Quenneville is out; assistant coach Mike Kitchen is in as new head coach.
The Blues are ninth in the Western Conference standings with a 29-23-7-2 record, one point behind Calgary for the final playoff position.
Quenneville is the winningest coach in team history and was NHL Coach of the Year for the 1999-2000 season. He took over the team in January, 1997 and won 307
regular-season games.
The Blues made one appearance in the Western Conference finals under Quenneville, losing to Colorado in 2001.
Kitchen received a multiyear contract. He's been a St. Louis assistant since 1998. Before that, he was an assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1990 to 1998.
The Blues resume a five-game road swing Thursday at Colorado. They lost the first two games of the trip while going just 9-18-5 since December 20th.
Earlier in the season, the Blues were among the Western Conference's best.
Quenneville was the 19th coach in Blues history and ranked among the top active NHL coaches in winning percentage.