Andy Murray seems like a great guy, and the veteran leadership on the Blues is highly suspect. So there is no ill will and the dude had a lot to deal with.
But he seriously had a stopwatch on the bench during games, timing shifts, forcing guys to keep their shifts under 45 seconds. And one of the Blues’ worst problems under Murray was poorly timed line changes that led to odd man rushes. Now, under Payne, their average shift length is almost identical, but the players are encouraged to make smart shifts and go by feel. Sometimes this means a quick shift, other times this means staying out there to help establish pressure, etc. And it shows. They were tired against Anaheim, but they’ve looked like a completely different team in every other game. And not because of effort, but because they seem to have a different attitude and thought process. A different purpose.

That’s just one example of the kind of rigidity Murray seemed to crank up as problems arose. Sometimes that rigidity got results, other times it made a team that seemed dull, even when they were working hard. Great for short-term results, but it seems that as time goes on, enough new problems are going to get caught in that net and weigh the team down permanently.

Maybe Payne will turn out to be crap and Murray will go lead another team to a Cup. But I think even those who like Murray agree that a change was necessary.

But by the time he was on his way out, it sounded like the team had already tuned him out. Might be the same case in St. Louis…