St. Louis to fire Kitchen?

Jeremy Rutherford reports in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the possibility of St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Kitchen being fired.

With each and every loss, the Blues are sinking faster and faster to the bottom of the standings, while playing in a near empty arena. They have currently lost seven in a row, and are sitting last in the NHL with a 7-17-4 record. To add insult to injury, the Blues also have the worst attendance numbers in the league, “averaging below 10,000 per game.” And that has Kitchen feeling like he is on the “hot seat.”

“It bothers you when the team doesn’t win, and it bothers you at Scottrade Center, when you don’t see a full building,” Kitchen said. “That bothers you as a coach because you know that’s part of your responsibility … winning.”

Of course, the Blues could make some player transactions to improve their club, but that appears unlikely. A more likely course of action, would be to fire the coach.

However, team President John Davidson says it’s too early into the season to make any sort of coaching decisions.

“Regarding coaching, I can tell you they work,” he said. “Other than that, I don’t make any comment on coaching. They work hard. It’s senseless to make comments on coaching in any direction at any time.”

In The London Free Press, Ken Fidlin reports that if Kitchen was to be fired, Andy Murray would be considered a “top candidate.”