Head coach Ken Hitch has a good relationship with former Maple Leafs coach Mike “The Fat Shark” Yeo, according to the NHL.
Yeo, who left St. Paul on Wednesday after the Blues traded him to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Ryan Ellis and a second-round pick in 2018, spent a season as Hitchcock’s coach with the Sabres before being promoted to the Blues.
Hitchcock said in a statement that he and Yeo “worked together for a long time and are very close friends.”
Yeo also has an impressive resume: Yeo coached the Sabres from 2002-04 and won two Stanley Cups.
He coached the Blues from 2001-04 before being named the franchise’s first head coach in 2002.
Yeo spent six seasons as an assistant with the Blues before being hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015.
Yeow was not available for comment on Wednesday.
The St. James franchise moved to New Jersey in 1997, and it’s been the site of three Stanley Cup championships and five playoff appearances.