St. Louis Blues remove interim tag and name Drew Bannister full-time coach

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St. Louis Blues remove interim tag and name Drew Bannister full-time coach

2024-05-08 05:50 Last Updated At：06:01

Drew Bannister is returning as coach of the St. Louis Blues after getting the interim tag removed from his title and being named Tuesday to the full-time role.

He signed a two-year contract that gives him the chance to oversee a bit of organizational retooling but also show he can get the most out of a roster stocked with veteran talent. The expectation is still for the Blues to contend for a playoff spot in the Western Conference with Bannister in charge.

Bannister, 50, replaced Craig Berube when the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach was fired in December. The Blues went 30-19-5 after Bannister took over and finished six points out of a playoff spot.

Three weeks after the regular season ended, and after discussing just two other potential candidates with his inner circle, president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong opted against making another change and decided to keep Bannister in the job.

“You’re just looking, like: 'Is there any better out there? Is there something different that we’re missing?” Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. "We just came back to our group that Drew had done what we’d asked him to do. We see progression. We see someone that’s earned the right to take the reins and we move forward.”

This is Bannister’s first head-coaching gig in the NHL. He previously coached the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, St. Louis' top affiliate, for two-plus seasons.

“(This is) something I’ve been working towards and something that I wanted for myself, my family moving forward,” said Bannister, who played 178 NHL games in the 1990s and early 2000s and was at peace with his status in recent weeks. “It can be a stressful time, but I felt by the end of the year that I’d done a lot of positive things with the players, with the team. Certainly was disappointing the way it ended up for us, but overall I was happy with the strides we made.”

Keeping Bannister fills one of the many potential vacancies this offseason, another of which closed when Ottawa announced the hiring of former New Jersey interim coach Travis Green 90 minutes after the Blues' news. There have been 16 coaching changes (half the league) over the past year, not counting the need for Winnipeg to find a successor for Rick Bowness, who announced his retirement Monday.

Others could be coming after Toronto lost in the first round for the fourth time in five seasons under Sheldon Keefe. Had his Maple Leafs come back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat Boston in Game 7 on Saturday night, it could have put in jeopardy the job security of Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who spent two seasons as a Blues assistant on Berube's staff after his 2019 dismissal in Dallas.

Armstrong said all assistants would return under Bannister, who will be tasked with building lasting relationships with the leadership group of captain Brayden Schenn, All-Star Robert Thomas and defensemen Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk, among others. He likes what he has seen so far in that and other departments enough to trust Bannister with the direction of the franchise.

“He did a very good job in a difficult situation last year,” Armstrong said. "Now having a full training camp and two-year term to put his stamp on this team, we’re looking forward to that.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

NASCAR star Kyle Larson to shoot for the Indianapolis 500 pole after blistering qualifying run

2024-05-20 04:07 Last Updated At：04:11

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson will shoot for the Indianapolis 500 pole after the NASCAR star posted a blistering four-lap average of 232.788 mph on Sunday during his Fast 12 run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Larson is trying to become the second driver ever and first since Tony Stewart in 2001 to complete “The Double,” running the entire Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day — a full 1,100 laps.

The fastest 12 from the first day of qualifying advanced to Sunday. The top six among them run for the pole.

By making the six-car shootout, Larson also will get a dry run for May 26. He is due at North Wilkesboro later Sunday to run the NASCAR All-Star Race, and he must leave Indianapolis Motor Speedway by helicopter by 6:15 p.m. EDT to reach a nearby airport and hop on a plane to North Carolina.

If all goes according to plan, Larson would land at Wilkes County Airport at 7:45 p.m., jump into another helicopter and land at the racetrack 15 minutes later — exactly 14 minutes before NASCAR drops the green flag.

“Pretty neat being in the top six,” said Larson, who pleaded with NASCAR and TV broadcaster Fox to delay the start of the All-Star Race. “Just happy with how the day is going. Felt like our car was good there.”

Chad Knaus, the vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports, said there was no backup plan if Larson does not make it in time.

“The car would just sit there and look pretty. We would save it for another event,” Knaus said from North Wilkesboro. “The way things are working out, all of our cards are in getting Kyle here. That’s the plan.”

Larson had a nervy first day of qualifying Saturday when an engine issue that Chevrolet has struggled with all weekend caused him to scrap his initial attempt. But he returned to the track a little later and laid down a 232.563 mph four-lap average, putting him sixth quickest among the 34 entries and into the pole mix.

Things were a little dicey again during an hourlong practice Sunday, too.

Larson had to abort his first qualifying simulation because of traffic, backed out of his second with understeer, but eventually put together a quality run that gave him confidence of making the final six going for the pole.

When he did it, thousands of fans along the front stretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway stood and cheered.

“People used to say to me, ‘Can you believe Kyle Larson?’” said Jeff Gordon, the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, which is working with Arrow McLaren to field the No. 17 car. “I used to think the same way but I don't anymore. He always steps up. He's just fun to watch.”

AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing