The St. Louis Blues have hired former Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo as associate head coach and will hand him the head coaching job when Ken Hitchcock retires after next season.
"For being 42 years old, he's got a lot of experience," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement. "He's won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh, he's taken an American League team to the finals, and you saw the good job he did in Minnesota in taking that team to the second round. What excites me is his experience, but with his age, he can really relate to today's players and it's an exciting day for our team."
Yeo coached the Wild from 2011 to '16, making the playoffs three straight times but losing to the Chicago Blackhawks each time. He was fired after 55 games last season, with the Wild having a 23-22-10 record. The Wild, who rallied to return to the postseason under interim coach John Torchetti, were mired in a 3-12-4 slide when Yeo was let go.
Yeo was an assistant on the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins team that won the Stanley Cup.
"Wherever I go, I know I want to be surrounded by good people. I know we have that [in St. Louis]," Yeo said in the statement. "From ownership to management to coaches to the team that they've built, I really feel like this is a place where I can be successful. I want to win Stanley Cups, and I believe that we've got a group that should go into every season with that mentality. I'm really excited about that."
After taking the Blues to the Western Conference finals where the lost to the San Jose Sharks, Hitchcock signed a one-year extension but announced that next season would be his last.
"I feel really confident that the team and the franchise is going to be in great shape with Mike at the helm," Hitchcock said in the statement.
The Blues also announced that they hired former NHL defenseman and longtime Wild assistant coach Rick Wilson to be an assistant. He was on Hitchcock's staff in Dallas in 1999 when the Stars won the Stanley Cup and on Yeo's staff in Minnesota. Yeo and Wilson were picked as replacements for assistant coaches Brad Shaw and Kirk Muller, who decided not return to St. Louis.
The Blues had 107 points last season, before eliminating the defending champion Blackhawks and the Central Division champion Stars in the playoffs. They lost to San Jose in six games in the conference finals, a step slow to the potent Sharks.
Under Hitchcock, 64, St. Louis has finished first or second in the division each year.
"I feel pretty humbled and honored to be part of his final season. I want to help make it a special one for him," Yeo said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.