Robert Thomas responds to Craig Berube’s comments in which he said Blues best players don’t play with any passion, emotion or inspiration.
February 24, 2023
Robert Thomas responds to Craig Berube’s comments in which he said Blues best players don’t play with any passion, emotion or inspiration.
45 comments
Bye bye Craig… thanks for the cup
This can be dangerous. A flame in this team would be nice. I just hope it doesn’t get out of hand
The Blues are Jerry Springer now
Oh really RT? What did you think of the 3rd period last night? How do you explain one of the shittiest teams in the league outshoots you by nearly double? How do you explain that over half the shots on Binngton came from the fucking slot?
Because the best players the Blues have showed up? Or is the best that the team has to offer just not good enough against the Canucks?
Stfu dude. Play fucking hockey.
Well something’s gotta give at this point. Player or coach I don’t know but something. Can’t have a coach and player publicly fighting.
Yikes. If this is what this team looks like when playing full of passion, emotion, and inspiration, then that does not bode well. Because right now, Binny and a couple other skaters are the only ones showing any signs of life.
Guess that extends the list of coaches likely not coming back next season to van ryn, mactavish, and chief.
Hmmm, has Chief lost the room? Or is it frustration at knowing the season is lost
Seems like the team and Berube are not handling missing the playoffs very well. Weird situation because I want us to suck for a draft pick but I don’t want the whole thing blown up. Just gotta tough out these last 25 games
this is bad, but not sure what everyone expected when the front office openly gave up on this season
If what we are seeing from Thomas and Kyrou is their version of playing inspired and with passion, then that’s a major problem. Torpo and Chief had every right to speak their minds. Look at the way Torpo gave his all last night. He does that every night. Thomas needs to put up or shut up.
This is what you get for wishing for a tank. These are all extremely competitive people and do not take losing well. Losing only promotes a losing culture.
I’d take Berube everytime here. Thomas is still super young.
To be a fly on the wall in the room today.
Yikes. What a mess. Just end this season already.
Okay so clearly it’s not a clean cut issue, and we’ve had a lot of changes since last season. Berube doesn’t have the same team as he did in 2019. If some of you watch all these games like you say you’d realize that Thomas and Kyrou do perform. Not lately, but they’re not the root problem. I can still hear the same fucking comments from earlier in the season clamoring for Kyrou to be traded and use him as their whipping boy.
Chief along with plenty other coaches are not working/able to use the (what’s left of) our build of a team. Our PP is fucking god awful, we don’t have any sort of rush offense. It’s dump and chase and hope we can grind teams down in their zone. This team doesn’t have the players to do that. It’s fucking insanity thinking we can continue to play that 2019 cup run style and we need to make a coaching change. This is the best time to do that while in the middle of retooling.
Also I think Thomas’ comment is more about that he hasn’t given up on the team, but they just aren’t producing. He needs to just go out there and play hockey. For fucks sake shoot the puck Robert!
Stating the obvious… but these comments might make Doug have to choose between a coach and star players… and I don’t think Chief is going to like the outcome.
When chief signed the extension he said that the coaches message typically has a shelf life of under 5 years. He’s been the HC now for what, 4+ years?
18 might be talking his way out of the C…
You guys should be listening to 101 espn right now. Jamie rivers is calling out the paid guys right now and basically summing up my feelings. Show everyone in the world that you stand out even when your team is at its worst. That’s a good quote right there. You should be losing because you aren’t as good. But you as a up and coming star should be standing out regardless.
It’s both. Chief has a smaller team than what he inherited and hasn’t pivoted his gameplan to the smaller team and faster tempo of the league. Also, our best players need to at least look like they’re trying, because RT and JK are invisible out there.
This is fine.
Thomas and kyrou are supposed to be point-per-game players. They are not playing that way.
It’s gonna be real hard to sign any free agents (or even get ROR to come back) the way we’re airing our dirty laundry
Looks pretty soporific out there, though. I’m with Chief on this one.
Berube wants to see how the players choose to react. Armstrong does as well. If they can’t handle being called out then they don’t belong.
Berube is an idiot.
You were waving to the bench to sub off, on the game ending/ losing play, not much effort visible, either.
If Thomas is right, the other possibility is just that these guys just aren’t any good.
The quote in the graphic is only part of his answer. If you listen to the entirety of his answer this bit is less inflammatory when placed in the proper context. IMHO he had great answers to all the tough questions during the interview.
My doctor advised me against so much spice in my life
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… Coaches should not talk to their players through the press. If you have a problem with how your team, or individual players, are playing, then take that up with them directly. You’re the fucking Coach and that is your fucking job.
Earlier in the season, I let this pass as I believed he was talking to Tarasenko, ROR, and the other leaders on this team at the time. Thomas and Kyrou have been thrust into this position because we got rid of those other guys. This is a new team now, and it’s going to change even more in the next few months.
But if Chief is doing this now, out of frustration because we lost a winable game, then perhaps he *is* part of the problem. Perhaps he’s been part of the problem all along. If he can’t communicate these feelings to the team directly, then perhaps he has lost the room, and that is why the team has been playing the way they’ve played this year.
I love Chief, and I don’t know of any NHL caliber coaches that are available to replace him. I don’t know that Ott is ready for the big chair, yet. But Chief airing dirty laundry to the press is unacceptable at any time, and if we’re going to blow this team up for the better, than perhaps that includes Chief as well.
This is the opposite of the type of comment I was hoping for lol
The beginning of the end for Chief . The inmates are gonna run the asylum now .
Love Rob standing up for himself and his teammates. Berube has obviously done a great job here but this team is not talented- that is the main reason it is losing.
What would the comments be like in r/hockey if Binnington said this
As a blues fan, I have no idea what it is going on any longer, and at this point; I’m afraid to ask
That sounds like Bruce Boudreau music!!
Thomer has been one of my favorite players for a long time. But how can he say it’s not true? The fans can clearly see a lack of effort from our “top” guys. You don’t like what the coach said? Then play better and make Chief eat those words. It’s that simple.
Rebuilds, retools, and tanking is tough business. It is easy to point at a few examples of franchises that were awful, drafted well and then won cups. But the reality is for everyone one of those there are 10 other examples of teams that tried and failed.
In the process you tear down everything, churn through coaches, GM’s, players, etc. It was never going to be easy or pretty.
Picks take forever to develop and patience is tough for the fans, coaches and guys in the room. When attendance decreases it becomes hard for ownership too.
So much comes down to the GM. The question becomes are you team big dick Doug where’s he is a genius who built the perfect cup winner with just the right mix of trades and drafting or team Doug got lucky ROR panned out, and a 26 year old nobody goalie got hot and saved the GM’s bacon only to blow the cup window with bad moves.
Just stop. The headline and what Thomas was referring to are two different things.
The graphic conveniently left off the last part of Thomas’ statement:
“I know everyone in that room cares, and it’s frustrating to hear.”
He’s responding to Berube saying, “I guess they don’t care about the team.”
I know some of you will say, “it’s the same thing” but it’s not exactly. It’s not that they don’t care, they’re just frustrated.
Krug fuckin Sucks!
This helps change those NTC’s to please trade clause PTC
Truthfully, I have watched every game for the last 3-4 years and never been happy losing but at this point win or lose i’ll be happy for the rest of the year. Lose? Great, closer to Bedard (or someone else high up). Win? Great, players building their game for next year. But that being said, i’m with Chief and Torpo. Some of the team still look like they’re pouting about the ROR trade, and while I get it and they’re allowed to be humans too, they also need to show some of that cup winning mental and put their heads down and get to work.
Thomas can say whatever he wants, it isn’t showing right now. Show that you’re an elite player, that you’re worth your contract and try to do something besides say the right words. Try to inspire the team and fans to show there is a future and if not just play your ass off night in and night out. Coaches should also be looking to try and do things to look at for next year but yeah, I don’t think Berube or Torpo were out of hand for what they said last night but it was bold. I hope the locker room can find ways to be agreeable after this and work together because if not the coaching change is inevitable. Good luck Berube, I’m pulling for ya.
This whole situation seems like stuff a coach who is about to get fired says.
45 comments
Bye bye Craig… thanks for the cup
This can be dangerous. A flame in this team would be nice. I just hope it doesn’t get out of hand
The Blues are Jerry Springer now
Oh really RT? What did you think of the 3rd period last night? How do you explain one of the shittiest teams in the league outshoots you by nearly double? How do you explain that over half the shots on Binngton came from the fucking slot?
Because the best players the Blues have showed up? Or is the best that the team has to offer just not good enough against the Canucks?
Stfu dude. Play fucking hockey.
Well something’s gotta give at this point. Player or coach I don’t know but something. Can’t have a coach and player publicly fighting.
Yikes. If this is what this team looks like when playing full of passion, emotion, and inspiration, then that does not bode well. Because right now, Binny and a couple other skaters are the only ones showing any signs of life.
Guess that extends the list of coaches likely not coming back next season to van ryn, mactavish, and chief.
Hmmm, has Chief lost the room? Or is it frustration at knowing the season is lost
Seems like the team and Berube are not handling missing the playoffs very well. Weird situation because I want us to suck for a draft pick but I don’t want the whole thing blown up. Just gotta tough out these last 25 games
this is bad, but not sure what everyone expected when the front office openly gave up on this season
If what we are seeing from Thomas and Kyrou is their version of playing inspired and with passion, then that’s a major problem. Torpo and Chief had every right to speak their minds. Look at the way Torpo gave his all last night. He does that every night. Thomas needs to put up or shut up.
This is what you get for wishing for a tank. These are all extremely competitive people and do not take losing well. Losing only promotes a losing culture.
I’d take Berube everytime here. Thomas is still super young.
To be a fly on the wall in the room today.
Yikes. What a mess. Just end this season already.
Okay so clearly it’s not a clean cut issue, and we’ve had a lot of changes since last season. Berube doesn’t have the same team as he did in 2019. If some of you watch all these games like you say you’d realize that Thomas and Kyrou do perform. Not lately, but they’re not the root problem. I can still hear the same fucking comments from earlier in the season clamoring for Kyrou to be traded and use him as their whipping boy.
Chief along with plenty other coaches are not working/able to use the (what’s left of) our build of a team. Our PP is fucking god awful, we don’t have any sort of rush offense. It’s dump and chase and hope we can grind teams down in their zone. This team doesn’t have the players to do that. It’s fucking insanity thinking we can continue to play that 2019 cup run style and we need to make a coaching change. This is the best time to do that while in the middle of retooling.
Also I think Thomas’ comment is more about that he hasn’t given up on the team, but they just aren’t producing. He needs to just go out there and play hockey. For fucks sake shoot the puck Robert!
Stating the obvious… but these comments might make Doug have to choose between a coach and star players… and I don’t think Chief is going to like the outcome.
When chief signed the extension he said that the coaches message typically has a shelf life of under 5 years. He’s been the HC now for what, 4+ years?
18 might be talking his way out of the C…
You guys should be listening to 101 espn right now. Jamie rivers is calling out the paid guys right now and basically summing up my feelings. Show everyone in the world that you stand out even when your team is at its worst. That’s a good quote right there. You should be losing because you aren’t as good. But you as a up and coming star should be standing out regardless.
It’s both. Chief has a smaller team than what he inherited and hasn’t pivoted his gameplan to the smaller team and faster tempo of the league. Also, our best players need to at least look like they’re trying, because RT and JK are invisible out there.
This is fine.
Thomas and kyrou are supposed to be point-per-game players. They are not playing that way.
It’s gonna be real hard to sign any free agents (or even get ROR to come back) the way we’re airing our dirty laundry
Looks pretty soporific out there, though. I’m with Chief on this one.
Berube wants to see how the players choose to react. Armstrong does as well. If they can’t handle being called out then they don’t belong.
Berube is an idiot.
You were waving to the bench to sub off, on the game ending/ losing play, not much effort visible, either.
If Thomas is right, the other possibility is just that these guys just aren’t any good.
The quote in the graphic is only part of his answer. If you listen to the entirety of his answer this bit is less inflammatory when placed in the proper context. IMHO he had great answers to all the tough questions during the interview.
My doctor advised me against so much spice in my life
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… Coaches should not talk to their players through the press. If you have a problem with how your team, or individual players, are playing, then take that up with them directly. You’re the fucking Coach and that is your fucking job.
Earlier in the season, I let this pass as I believed he was talking to Tarasenko, ROR, and the other leaders on this team at the time. Thomas and Kyrou have been thrust into this position because we got rid of those other guys. This is a new team now, and it’s going to change even more in the next few months.
But if Chief is doing this now, out of frustration because we lost a winable game, then perhaps he *is* part of the problem. Perhaps he’s been part of the problem all along. If he can’t communicate these feelings to the team directly, then perhaps he has lost the room, and that is why the team has been playing the way they’ve played this year.
I love Chief, and I don’t know of any NHL caliber coaches that are available to replace him. I don’t know that Ott is ready for the big chair, yet. But Chief airing dirty laundry to the press is unacceptable at any time, and if we’re going to blow this team up for the better, than perhaps that includes Chief as well.
This is the opposite of the type of comment I was hoping for lol
The beginning of the end for Chief . The inmates are gonna run the asylum now .
Love Rob standing up for himself and his teammates. Berube has obviously done a great job here but this team is not talented- that is the main reason it is losing.
What would the comments be like in r/hockey if Binnington said this
As a blues fan, I have no idea what it is going on any longer, and at this point; I’m afraid to ask
That sounds like Bruce Boudreau music!!
Thomer has been one of my favorite players for a long time. But how can he say it’s not true? The fans can clearly see a lack of effort from our “top” guys. You don’t like what the coach said? Then play better and make Chief eat those words. It’s that simple.
Rebuilds, retools, and tanking is tough business. It is easy to point at a few examples of franchises that were awful, drafted well and then won cups. But the reality is for everyone one of those there are 10 other examples of teams that tried and failed.
In the process you tear down everything, churn through coaches, GM’s, players, etc. It was never going to be easy or pretty.
Picks take forever to develop and patience is tough for the fans, coaches and guys in the room. When attendance decreases it becomes hard for ownership too.
So much comes down to the GM. The question becomes are you team big dick Doug where’s he is a genius who built the perfect cup winner with just the right mix of trades and drafting or team Doug got lucky ROR panned out, and a 26 year old nobody goalie got hot and saved the GM’s bacon only to blow the cup window with bad moves.
Just stop. The headline and what Thomas was referring to are two different things.
The graphic conveniently left off the last part of Thomas’ statement:
“I know everyone in that room cares, and it’s frustrating to hear.”
He’s responding to Berube saying, “I guess they don’t care about the team.”
I know some of you will say, “it’s the same thing” but it’s not exactly. It’s not that they don’t care, they’re just frustrated.
Krug fuckin Sucks!
This helps change those NTC’s to please trade clause PTC
Truthfully, I have watched every game for the last 3-4 years and never been happy losing but at this point win or lose i’ll be happy for the rest of the year. Lose? Great, closer to Bedard (or someone else high up). Win? Great, players building their game for next year. But that being said, i’m with Chief and Torpo. Some of the team still look like they’re pouting about the ROR trade, and while I get it and they’re allowed to be humans too, they also need to show some of that cup winning mental and put their heads down and get to work.
Thomas can say whatever he wants, it isn’t showing right now. Show that you’re an elite player, that you’re worth your contract and try to do something besides say the right words. Try to inspire the team and fans to show there is a future and if not just play your ass off night in and night out. Coaches should also be looking to try and do things to look at for next year but yeah, I don’t think Berube or Torpo were out of hand for what they said last night but it was bold. I hope the locker room can find ways to be agreeable after this and work together because if not the coaching change is inevitable. Good luck Berube, I’m pulling for ya.
This whole situation seems like stuff a coach who is about to get fired says.